Everyone is aware of the Minnesota Timberwolves' current struggles. The team that many picked to go far this season even after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade has been a disappointment through three and a half weeks of the season, currently standing with an equal number of wins and losses on their resume.
The Timberwolves coaches and players have not been shy about their shortcomings. They all know just what they accomplished last year, and they know they can get to that level again. Falling short of those expectations, even at this early point in the game, has led to guys like Anthony Edwards taking blame and accepting responsibility while expressing a desire to be better.
Certainly, guys like Ant are saying all the right things, and he specifically seems to have a solid grasp on his team's struggles as a vocal leader. Everyone is aware that the team is losing games due to being lazy at times in defending the fast break, and being careless with the ball has not helped improve matters either. Lacking an overall mental edge needed to stomp out inferior competition has been the finishing touches on Minnesota's struggle bus.
One of the top individual concerns on the Wolves' roster has to be Donte DiVincenzo. When he was traded to Minnesota in late September, some, including Timberwolves reporter for The Athletic, Britt Robson, believed that DiVincenzo was actually the main reason the Wolves agreed to the trade.
DiVincenzo's shooting percentages are concerning
While this could be classified as a bold take, the argument holds water just based off of how valuable a role player Donte is and how well he was theoretically going to fit next to Anthony Edwards in comparison to Julius Randle. So far, we are yet to see DiVincenzo's talent or his supposedly ideal fit shine through.
For the season, DiVincenzo is averaging 9.4 points per game, which is really not a terrible average considering he put up that same number with the Golden State Warriors two years ago while starting half of his games that season. But the more concerning statistics are his shooting splits. Donte is averaging just 34% shooting from the floor as a whole, and a meager 30% from beyond the arc. These numbers are well below his career averages of 42.5% and 37.3% in those categories.
His struggles have really worsened over the last three contests for the Wolves, where he has averaged just 4.3 points while shooting a dismal 22.7% from the floor and 18% from three, all in games Minnesota lost. Chalk it up to an early season wall while trying to acclimate to a new team, but as Kyle Theige mentioned on Dane Moore's podcast a few days ago, it does not seem like the Wolves are generating particularly good shot attempts for players like DiVincenzo.
Failing to get the kind of contributions you were banking on getting from DiVincenzo has obviously been a big detriment for Minnesota. This trend obviously has to change, and I would be surprised if Donte continues to look like a below-average shooter for a long period of time.