The Minnesota Timberwolves fell to 4-3 on Saturday after their 121-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. They are now 1-2 without Anthony Edwards.
When the Timberwolves traded for Ball early in the offseason, opinions weren't universal about how the trade would turn out. Yes, Ball is dynamic, but he is flawed.
The most talked-about flaws entering the year were his injury history and his tendency to take bad shots. Instead, fouls have been a major issue over seven games and the main topic of discussion. His turnovers have also been crippling at times.
LaMelo Ball is turning the ball over at the highest rate of his career
With Ant-Man sidelined after arthroscopic knee surgery, Ball was expected to become Minnesota’s top scorer. That hasn’t really happened.
He’s shooting less frequently and losing playing time because of his foul woes. But his turnovers have also been problematic.
LaMelo is certainly not the only player in the league coughing it up, as 10 other players average more than his 3.7 turnovers per game. All 10 of them also average at least 31.7 minutes per game. Ball is at 25.1.
Throughout his career, Ball has been a high-turnover player, but early in this season, it has reached new heights. He’s playing the fewest minutes of his career and has his lowest usage rate since his rookie year. His turnover percentage of 21.4 is a career high by a fairly wide margin.
If Ball isn’t scoring much—he’s averaged 14 points since Edwards went down—the turnovers become a bigger concern, and many of them are avoidable.
Spurs game saw Ball commit costly turnovers in the fourth quarter
Ball performed poorly on Saturday, fouling out in just 20 minutes. The seventh-year point guard shot just 2-for-10 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.
It’s never good when a point guard finishes with more turnovers (five) than both assists (four) and field goals made (two). The Spurs make life hard for opposing offenses, but the Timberwolves needed more from Ball to have a chance.
His first turnover came about a minute and a half into the game. He drove into the lane, then threw a lazy pass to the 3-point line in the middle of the floor, and it was easily picked off.
Three of the turnovers came in the fourth quarter, when Minnesota entered trailing by five. They all came within just over two minutes of each other. Ball committed a backcourt violation midway through the frame, kicked it out of bounds with 4:46 left, and was called for an offensive foul with 3:43 left, which fouled him out.
All three were costly as the Wolves tried to close the gap, and the Spurs scored off the first two turnovers. The sixth foul and last turnover came when he put his hand on Victor Wembanyama’s shoulder on a drive, which seemed unnecessary because Wembanyama’s jump looked too late to challenge the layup.
To beat a team like the Spurs—particularly without Edwards—Minnesota needed a stellar performance from Ball. A combination of inaccurate shooting, foul woes, and untimely turnovers ensured that didn’t happen. Going forward, Ball needs to clean these issues up, or it will be tough for the Timberwolves to reach their ceiling.
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