Since joining the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ayo Dosunmu has showcased his immense value on a contending team. The 26-year-old is coming off a historic performance on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks, where he finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals. He is now averaging 18.7 points and has connected on 53.8 percent of his 3-point tries over the last 6 outings.
With Jaden McDaniels now out week-to-week, Dosunmu was inserted into Minnesota’s starting lineup. Someone that could help more so than it has been talked about is Julius Randle, who shouldn’t need to do nearly as much ball-handling/playmaking with Ayo alongside him.
Dosunmu can give Randle less on his plate to handle
Nearly the whole season, the Wolves have gone without a true point guard in their starting lineup. While Dosunmu may be more in the vein of a combo guard, he has had his fair share of moments with the Chicago Bulls (and now the Timberwolves) where he has run the point.
One person who could truly benefit from Dosunmu running with the starters is Randle. Now Julius has played the point forward role at times during much of his career, particularly after he joined the New York Knicks. It’s something you don’t want him to do too much of, though, as it can lead to some costly turnovers and ball-watching.
Having Ayo on the floor with him to start the game will allow Julius to feel less pressure to initiate the offense. Having Dosunmu, someone could penetrate into the teeth of the defense, can provide more open looks for the three-time All-Star. That’s not exactly Donte DiVincenzo’s speciality, and while McDaniels is capable of doing so, he’s not the passer that Dosunmu is.
There are still going to be instances where Randle seems to bog down the offense by playing iso-ball. He will have varying levels of success doing so, as he has all season. They should occur less frequently, though, with Dosumnu helping to run the show with the starters.
The way that Ayo has played since joining the team is going to make Chris Finch need to make a tough decision once the playoffs starts and (hopefully) McDaniels is back. If Dosunmu continues to thrive with the starters, Finch may have no choice but to keep him in the starting lineup, perhaps at the expense of DiVincenzo.
It'll be interesting to see if Dosunmu continues to thrive over these last seven regular season games and if Randle's responsibilities lessen.