When Julius Randle entered the picture for the Minnesota Timberwolves, so many things had to change in a short period of time. Gone was the superior floor-spacing of Karl-Anthony Towns, and figuring out Rudy Gobert's fit next to Randle in the starting lineup proved to be a significant challenge.
Chris Finch has only recently changed the starting lineup, allowing some new elements to come into the picture for the Wolves' first five on the floor. But he has been trying different lineups over the course of the game all throughout the season, with the hope of improving what has been a less-than-optimal Minnesota offense.
We have seen lineups where shooters like Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo share the floor have success at improving the offense by way of opening up not only the spacing but the ball movement as well. Finch has talked about how the Timberwolves' spacing issues can often be traced back to situations where the ball is being held for too long, which ultimately mucks up the team's offensive flow.
Recently, it is becoming apparent that lineups where Rudy Gobert is not on the floor have also shown to be successful at generating better offensive looks.
The Wolves ball movement from the groups that don't have Gobert on the floor has gotten better and better over the course of the season.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 12, 2025
The defense is worse, but they're making up for that with more effective offense, which they find through playing 5-out and ball movement. pic.twitter.com/B2AmLlcOEv
Lineups without Gobert are scoring more efficiently
In the above clip from Dane Moore, we see a clip from Saturday's game against the Grizzlies featuring a lineup of Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Julius Randle and Naz Reid. As you watch the clip, you notice right away how free-flowing the offense is. Reid gets the ball after screening for DiVincenzo, and gives the ball right back after realizing nothing is there while matched up with a former DPOY.
From there, Donte uses his speed to get in the paint before dishing to Alexander-Walker, who finds a wide open Naz at the top of the key for three. This five-out style offense works so well largely because of the absence of Gobert standing in the paint. Defenders are forced to run around more which can lead to confusion, like on this play where Reid was left standing all alone for a good look at a three.
If we look at the numbers, this specific lineup is actually Minnesota's third-most used this season, logging a total of 255 possessions together on the floor this year (according to Cleaning The Glass). This unit ranks in the 97th percentile in points per possession among all lineups in the NBA with at least 100 possessions played.
As Moore points out, the defense suffers a bit when Rudy is not out there, which is totally predictable. But it is becoming more evident just how effective these lineups without Gobert are offensively.