There's rightfully a ton of excitement around LaMelo Ball's fit with the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, one area I'd like to see improvement in is his rim pressure.
During an interview with Dane Moore, head coach Chris Finch discussed how rim pressure will be more of a theme with this new-look roster.
"One thing our teams lacked in the last couple of years is guys who can get to the rim," Finch said. "We've not had a lot of natural penetrators; we feel like we've got more of that now, whether it be Ayo, TJ, Bones, Anthony, of course, Jonathan. All those guys now can kind of go somewhere with the ball, and now we just have to make the right play at the end of that."
The Timberwolves could be an elite rim pressure team if LaMelo Ball reaches another gear
I think this is fair to note from Finch. The Wolves getting out in transition more can help them get to the rim more naturally. Likewise, with Terrence Shannon Jr. getting more minutes and Ayo Dosunmu in the fold for a full season, these numbers could naturally improve. Looking at the Wolves' starting group, they have a ton of rim-pressure guys, with Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Jonathan Kuminga.
Likewise, there's a lot of meat on the bone considering the Wolves ranked just 17th in drives per game last season. Nevertheless, looking at rim attempts per 75 possessions (to adjust for minute differences), Ball and the newly acquired Kuminga combined for 8.1 rim attempts, according to Databallr, while Julius Randle and Naz Reid combined for 8.3 rim attempts last season.
With LaMelo shooting a career-low 3.1 rim attempts, this is a clear area of improvement for him. In terms of percentiles, Ball ranked in the 90th percentile or higher for rim attempts in three seasons, but last season he dipped down to the 58th percentile.
While the drive numbers paint a more favorable story, it's worth noting that Ball's 13.4 drives per game was the lowest mark since his rookie season. As such, for the Wolves to truly improve as a rim-pressure team, they need Ball to rediscover this part of his game.
Now, part of Ball's decline as a driver could simply be him leaning into a playmaker role. Notably, he shot 17.3 field goals per game last season, which was the third-lowest per-game mark of his career. Part of what makes LaMelo great is his ability to break the paint and spray out to his teammates. Still, it would behoove him to drive to the rim more often, with more than just a passer mindset.
In addition to Ball's declining rim pressure, he shot just 57.2 percent at the rim. While this was actually a career high, it's well below the league average and something LaMelo needs to improve.
Overall, Ball improving around the rim would help the Wolves maximize their lofty offensive ceiling. Surely the Wolves will have a ton of 3-point volume with Ball and Edwards. But to maximize this 3-point shooting upside, LaMelo needs to attack the rim.
Perhaps more importantly, great teams can beat you in a variety of ways, and the Wolves have the potential to do just that if they attack the rim more, and that largely hinges on LaMelo.
Just imagine how hard the Wolves would be to play against, with Ant and LaMelo making it rain from deep range all thewhile those two and the rest of the team were constantly pressuring the rim. That sounds like a nightmare to deal with, and for the Timberwolves to unlock this upside, Ball needs to attack the rim more.
Luckily, Ball has the tools to unlock this part of his game again.
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