On Friday night, Anthony Edwards shot 5-for-23 from the field. LaMelo Ball shot 4-for-13. The Minnesota Timberwolves shot just 42.9 percent from the field. And yet they found a way to win, beating the Orlando Magic 115-93.
Winning by 22 against a playoff-level squad in a game where your two best players have off nights is beyond impressive. It shows why the sky is the limit for this Wolves team. The dynamic backcourt of Edwards and Ball is obviously their identity, but they are an incredibly balanced team.
The Timberwolves' win over the Magic highlights how well-rounded they are
How did the Wolves win this game? Through great defense, crisp ball movement, and an unrelenting effort on the glass.
The Wolves outrebounded the Magic 61-43, including a 22-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Minnesota took 98 shots to Orlando's 84. In other words, they dominated the possession battle.
The Wolves' defensive engagement and effort never wavered. Their rotations were crisp, they pressured the ball, they navigated screens well—the connectivity popped through the screen.
Minnesota assisted on 33 of their 42 baskets. All of this made up for a bad shooting night from their stars. If the Wolves can continue to do these "little things" at a high level, imagine what they'll look like when the stars are hitting their shots. That's a thrilling possibility, and one we saw in the season opener against the Miami Heat.
There wasn't one specific player who picked up the scoring load. Jaden McDaniels had 15 points, Ayo Dosunmu and Rudy Gobert had 14 points, Terrence Shannon Jr. had 13 points, and Jonathan Kuminga had 11 points.
Simply put, it was a fantastic all-around effort. The Wolves played unselfish and highly focused basketball for all 48 minutes. That's exactly what you want to see when stars struggle. Frankly, this felt different from last year's Wolves team, which was overly dependent on Edwards.
Clearly, the Timberwolves are a very versatile and balanced team. Yes, they have two elite guards and volume shooters in Ant and LaMelo. But they also have a plethora of other scoring threats. The Wolves are also filled with superb athletes, which lends itself to rim pressure, speed, defense, and rebounding. This pairing has led the Wolves to a top-10 defense in the past four years and served as their primary identity.
As we saw on Friday, this all-around excellence helps them overcome bad nights from their stars, and ultimately, it may make them a championship-winning squad.
The Timberwolves' ability to win when their stars underperform will pay off in the postseason
In the playoffs, this ability to win when their stars underperform will benefit the Wolves a ton. Opposing teams will be laser-focused on limiting Ant and LaMelo.
Thankfully, the complementary players will be ready to pick up the slack on offense, and their defense will give them a chance to win in every game. Likewise, games often slow down in the playoffs, and you need a team that can get timely stops.
With all that being said, Edwards and Ball are great players, to the point where off nights like this won't be commonplace. As hinted at earlier, if the Wolves can continue to excel around the margins and play team basketball, when the stars have dynamic nights, this team will be borderline unstoppable.
The best teams respond to adversity. They can overcome their stars having bad games. They can win playing multiple styles. That's exactly what the Timberwolves showed they could do on Friday night, and it demonstrates this team's championship-level ceiling.
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