Ayo Dosunmu has been everything that the Minnesota Timberwolves could have hoped for since they acquired him in February. The 26-year-old played a huge role in helping the Wolves advance past the Denver Nuggets in the opening round. It would be surprising if they don't do everything in their power to ensure that he remains on the team after the season when he enters free agency.
Thus far in the Western Conference semifinals, due to injury and a much more formidable defense in the San Antonio Spurs when compared to the Denver Nuggets, Dosunmu hasn’t had the same impact in this series.
The Timberwolves count on Ayo’s ability to attack the rim, but with his not being 100 percent (on top of the presence of Victor Wembanyama), this may not be the series for him to do so with enough consistency.
Dosunmu hasn't had as much success at the rim against the Spurs
Ayo missed the series-clinching Game 6 against Denver in the first round. He also missed Game 1 versus the Spurs, both because of right calf soreness. In Game 2 against San Antonio, Dosunmu left midway through the second quarter with right heel soreness.
When he has played, Dosunmu is just 1-for-6 in the paint during the Western Conference semifinals. Most of those misses weren’t blocked by Wembanyama, but he often contested the shot, affecting Ayo’s ability to make them.
It wasn’t that much of an issue against the Nuggets, a team that has no rim protectors to strike fear in an opponent. In his epic Game 4, where he scored 43 points, Ayo got into the lane frequently, and he finished 8-for-12 inside the paint.
This season, both with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota, Dosunmu was one of the league’s better 3-point shooters. Many shoot it more often than the fifth-year wing, though. Ayo attempted eight triples in Game 3, and there may be more outings like that during the remainder of the series.
The paint just isn’t as available as it was in the first round. Bones Hyland hasn’t been able to finish there, and now he’s out of the rotation. Jaden McDaniels just had a 5-for-22 shooting performance, making just 2-for-14 from inside the arc.
Dosunmu makes his largest impact when he’s a threat from 3-point range and inside the paint. He certainly can still be from deep. However, this may not be the series that Ayo can for the latter.
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