LaMelo Ball's infectious joy has been talked about almost since the moment he got traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. For a team that dealt with moodiness last season, this will be a big change. Moreover, Ball has never played on a winning team—in his six-year tenure with the Charlotte Hornets, Ball never played in the playoffs. As such, this will make him more motivated to build habits and give it his all in the regular season.
Recently, Rudy Gobert discussed LaMelo's energy and hunger to win.
“It’s been great, just his energy, he comes in everyday and you can tell he’s been working really hard, in the weight room, on the court, really trying to get to know all of us… You can tell that he’s hungry to win," Gobert said.
For all the talk about the change from the moodiness of last season to Ball's upbeat personality, this desire to play winning basketball has to be accounted for, because it will help the Wolves greatly.
LaMelo Ball's desire to win can help the Timberwolves avoid another rocky regular season
Critics will say that LaMelo's lack of playoff experience is a problem. I think this is a fair point, as we still have to see how he deals with playoff physicality. Still, in the regular season, Ball's desire to win can help the Timberwolves avoid the malaise of an 82-game season.
Last year, the Wolves were clearly bored in the regular season. They had just made two conference finals runs, and they were ready to get back to the playoffs from the moment the season started.
Heck, after a December game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Edwards all but admitted that the Wolves were already bored with the regular season.
“It seems like we don’t want to play these games. We just want to fast-forward the season to the playoffs and then play all-out defense and play super hard. It just don’t work like that. We gotta be ready to play on any given night, and it starts with me. I came out kind of sluggish. I’ll be better next game," Edwards said.
Obviously, the Timberwolves' main goal is to win a championship. But you have to build those habits in the regular season to maximize your chances of winning a title. The Wolves have had playoff success in the past two seasons, but they haven't put themselves in a position to succeed as a sixth seed. Furthermore, some of the Wolves' frustrating regular-season habits have popped up in the biggest moments of the playoffs.
It might not add up with the narrative around him, but LaMelo can help solve these problems. He is eager to play in the playoffs. Therefore, he'll be willing to do whatever it takes to enter the playoffs in a good position. This mentality can have a positive ripple effect throughout the team. If Ball is giving it 100 percent on every night, best believe the rest of the team will follow suit.
Plus, Ball's playmaking will be a clear advantage for the team. He solves their biggest roster flaw from the past several years and can transform the offense. Among other things, LaMelo will lighten Ant's offensive load, maximize Gobert's abilities as a lob threat, and feed Jaden McDaniels open shots.
Both on the court and from a mentality standpoint, Ball feels poised to fix the Timberwolves' biggest problems, which could result in a championship leap.
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