On the season, Donte DiVincenzo is averaging 13.0 points per game. That is the second-highest mark of his eight-year career. Jaden McDaniels’ 14.8 scoring average is more than 2.5 points greater than he averaged in any of his first four seasons.
While neither of the two is a primary option, they both deserve to feel like they are included in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offense. Both DiVincenzo and McDaniels were barely on Sunday in what was a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Combined for just 7 shot attempts on Sunday
It wasn’t Minnesota’s finest performance on the offensive end in Sunday’s 115-96 defeat. They had just 19 points after one quarter, 42 at halftime, and 59 through three. This occurred against a Clippers team that ranks just 22nd with a 117.7 defensive rating.
At halftime, the Timberwolves’ top two scorers, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, combined to shoot just 6-for-19 from the field. The aforementioned DiVincenzo and McDaniels combined to total only four field goal attempts by halftime. For the game, the final total was 32 field goal attempts for Edwards and Randle compared to just seven for DiVincenzo and McDaniels.
A sign of the Wolves' anemic offense was Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo combining to only score three points.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 8, 2026
Finch on their lack of involvement in the offense: "It's the 7 (combined) shots. I've got to get them to 10 shots at least and we've got to be able to find the… pic.twitter.com/XcT0DW0gFW
Now, Edwards attempted 18 shots in Sunday’s contest, which is less than his season average, but this year has shown that just because he is the top scorer, it doesn’t mean the team is more successful when he is more aggressive, throwing up shots. The team is actually 7-11 when Ant-Man attempts 22 or more field goals in an outing.
Minnesota’s offense looks its best when DiVincenzo and McDaniels also get to put their stamp on the game. Prior to the 2-game losing streak, McDaniels averaged 22.3 points in the 4 games from January 29 through February 4 (Timberwolves went 3-1) while remarkably shooting 14-20 from beyond the arc. Now, in the last two games, he has attempted just 12 shots.
DiVincenzo averaged 14.5 points over that same four-game span. Now, in the 2-game losing streak, the 29-year-old has only seven points.
You can look at the Clippers’ box score and note that Kawhi Leonard attempted 30 field goals while nobody else on the team had more than 9. While that is true, keep in mind that LA traded away both James Harden and Ivica Zubac. None of the pieces they got back in return, including Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin, were available for Sunday’s contest. Another difference is that Leonard was cooking on offense, which wasn’t really the case for Edwards or Randle.
Minnesota must remember what has helped it maintain a top-10 offensive rating throughout the season. Sure, Edwards and Randle will get their lion’s share of points, but DiVincenzo and McDaniels need to get their fair share of touches on offense as well.