Beating the San Antonio Spurs with Victor Wembanyama's generational rim protection is a tricky task. The Minnesota Timberwolves are learning this lesson the hard way as they are down 3-2. With their season on the line Friday night, the Wolves will need some massive changes, but one of the simplest (yet impactful) changes is hitting 3-pointers.
Without a doubt, to beat the Spurs, you must knock down your outside shots to negate Wemby's presence. Furthermore, the Spurs aren't a great outside shooting team, which makes pouring in 3-pointers a clear blueprint to success.
Unfortunately, that's not something the Wolves have done, as they've netted just 33.3 percent of their triples this series. The Wolves were able to get by against the Denver Nuggets due to their superior athleticism (and Denver's lackluster defense) despite poor shooting. Nevertheless, without having this same advantage against the Spurs, Minnesota has struggled.
If the Wolves win on Friday (and somehow in a possible Game 7 on Sunday), it will certainly be paired with them transforming their 3-point shooting.
How the Timberwolves can transform their 3-point shooting in Game 6
Despite the Wolves struggling to shoot thus far, there's reason to believe that this could change in Game 6. For starters, the Wolves ranked ninth in 3-point percentage during the regular season. Now, Donte DiVincenzo's injury hurts the Wolves' shooting immensely. Regardless, the Wolves still have plenty of 3-point shooting talent throughout the roster.
Plus, there are several changes the Wolves could implement to generate better shots. Establishing a drive-and-kick game would be a great place to start. We've seen flashes of this throughout the series, but it's not something that the Wolves have leaned on enough. Making the extra pass and not taking difficult shots would certainly benefit the Wolves.
Anthony Edwards has been relentlessly doubled when initiating the offense. As such, the Wolves need to utilize him in off-ball actions to open up easy shots on the perimeter. Much like the drive-and-kick game, the Wolves saw some success with this strategy, but haven't fully committed to it.
Lastly, the Wolves could look to change their starting lineup with Naz Reid starting in place of Rudy Gobert. Even if Chris Finch doesn't tweak the lineup (which is totally understandable given Rudy's importance to the team), limiting the amount of time that Rudy and Julius Randle share the court is logical for floor spacing reasons. In Game 5, Gobert struggled, and he only played 23 minutes due to how his presence negatively impacted the Wolves' offense, especially when he was paired with Randle.
The point is that the Wolves have some clear adjustments to make in Game 6, which could lead to better shooting and ultimately, it might save their season.
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