One of the most exciting aspects of the Minnesota Timberwolves' new-look roster is the 3-point shooting upside that LaMelo Ball gives the team. Ball ranked third in the league last season for both 3-point attempts and 3-pointers made. Minnesota ranked 13th in 3-pointers made and 15th in 3-pointers attempted last season. Ball should transform the Wolves' offense into a 3-point shooting juggernaut.
Not only is he a high-volume 3-point shooter, but he generates open triples for his teammates with his stellar playmaking chops. Being an elite shooting team is the Timberwolves' best path to challenging the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. I'm excited about this proposition, and I think it gives the Wolves an enormous offensive ceiling.
However, there's no denying that this new identity comes with some level of volatility. That's simply the name of the game when you are a 3-point shooting team. As the famous saying goes: you live by the 3, you die by the 3.
Becoming a 3-point-centric team is inherently volatile
Even some of the best 3-point shooting teams in league history carried this volatility. The Boston Celtics won a championship with this playstyle in 2024, and the Golden State Warriors had one of the most impressive dynasties. Still, these teams even had nights where they couldn't buy a bucket.
Beyond these undeniable success stories, there are teams like the Houston Rockets, who had regular-season success, but their poor shooting cost them in the playoffs. Heck, you could even argue this has been a factor in the Celtics' playoff disappointments outside their 2024 run.
Against teams with good 3-point defenses, the Timberwolves might not be able to get quality looks despite LaMelo's playmaking. Plus, while the Wolves have two elite 3-point shooters, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga, and Ayo Dosunmu (to a lesser extent) are all fairly inconsistent outside shooters.
Thankfully, the Timberwolves ranked 10th in rim frequency last season, per Cleaning the Glass. Edwards, McDaniels, Ayo, and Kuminga can all get to the rim at will. LaMelo can unlock Rudy Gobert as a lob threat. And the Wolves should be a lethal transition team.
Balancing a high volume of 3-point shooting with ample rim pressure can offset some of the volatility that comes with being a high-volume 3-point shooting team. There's reason to believe that the Wolves can strike this ideal balance.
Still, the Wolves sacrificed a lot of their frontcourt size, which could hurt their rim pressure. Moreover, LaMelo isn't great at scoring around the rim. At its core, this team's identity will be centered around shooting, especially when they play teams with elite rim protection.
To be clear, I don't think the Wolves will be a bottom-rim-frequency team, but they'll lean into their shooting more, which carries both excitement and risk. This could very well be a masterstroke and give the Timberwolves an unstoppable identity that propels them to a title run. The flipside is they could shoot themselves out of games or even playoff series if they are overly reliant on their 3-point shooting.
Generally, I believe that leaning into 3-point shooting is the only logical path to challenging the Spurs and Thunder. Nevertheless, there's no denying this could backfire in high-leverage situations and on any given regular-season night.
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