One thing you all lovely Canis Hoopus readers will find out about me as you see more and more of my writing and just general basketball sense is that I absolutely despise when teams, especially the Minnesota Timberwolves, come out flat and lay an egg.
Not only did they do that tonight, but they did it in a way that directly contradicts how they’ve been playing on their (now ended) win streak. The opportunity to watch and recap this Wolves game came as a form of relief from that Gophers debacle in State
College, and I was met with a team that didn’t take their opponent seriously, and I am ending the night even more frustrated than I was when it began.
What predicates success for the Timberwolves offense is how consistently they’re able to play with a rhythm. In order to get in that rhythm, you have to make defenses work and make multiple efforts. That comes from moving the ball to different sides of the floor, or effective penetration that forces a defense to rotate.
Tonight, there was none of that.
Too many times, there were shots that came off one or zero passes, out-of-control drives, or not rebounding well enough to get out in transition. When those things happen, you end up with Rudy Gobert shooting push shots from the free-throw line and a final score that you finished the game with.
One of the main talking points of the broadcast team of Jon Sciambi (who’s been great so far) and Jim Petersen in the first and second quarters was how the Timberwolves were an uncharacteristic 0/12 from the three-point range. Their first three-point make came with roughly 9:00 minutes to go in the second quarter.
In the next minute of game time, the Wolves had three makes from beyond the arc. I actually wrote down, “See what I mean about rhythm?” Consistent makes from long range only happen when your team as a whole is playing with feel. The Wolves did not put in a worthy effort to do that tonight.
Now, why would this phenomenon occur? Chicago was coming off a major rest disadvantage, having played last night in an overtime game and had to fly this morning due to nationwide delays and cancellations due to FAA outages (maybe asking AI to do well, anything, is a foolish idea, pushed only by the unintelligent).
The Timberwolves, in the middle of not only a win streak but also an eight-game homestand, had every opportunity to just bury this team that came in with an abysmal 2-9 record. What also comes with that is the desire to rest on your laurels and not take this game seriously, which they clearly did. The NBA is chock full of really good basketball players, so even with all those factors of a seemingly poor opponent and a rest advantage, the “mighty” Timberwolves can still get caught and lose a game they should win.
Speaking of resting on your laurels, I want to talk about Bones Hyland.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually like Bones and think he’s a good player and deserves some of the good press he’s gotten recently. On nights like tonight, he’s exactly what you don’t want on the floor. When things are going well, his no-pass threes early in the shot clock (that go in largely because the team as a whole is rolling) are very fun to watch. When the Wolves need someone to just stabilize the offense and get them moving in the right direction, his shot choice is a major problem.
He often receives a high ball screen to start possessions and loves to manipulate his defenders to get open threes. Within the actual context of this game, it’s an awful shot and exactly not what the team needs. Even if he was 3/5 from three, those two misses that are bad shots can completely kill any positive momentum.
Moving forward, while Anthony Edwards is out, he needs to be more of a floor general and move downhill with those high ball screens and force multiple defensive engagements. That will get him from just a fun player to someone who can actually be trusted in a playoff series, because you know there will be a time in April or May when he’s going to be asked to deliver some stability.
Now, when it comes to LaMelo Ball, his 4/19 stat line from three looks equally as abysmal. I will give Ball more grace because those “awful” shots are normally what get this team going. However, the patience ends there. After the first couple, he needs to play facilitator more. He kept trying to shoot himself into heating up, but it wasn’t working.
Quickly, here are some positives from tonight:
- Ayo Dosunmu was again excellent, but more of his downhill nature would be needed to get this team where it wanted to be tonight.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. showed some positive things (including using his right hand not once but twice), as, not unlike Ayo, he can be a real bull in a china shop and force movement with his rim attacks.
- Jaylen Clark was doing Jaylen Clark things before he got hurt. I know well that hamstrings can be tricky business, but hopefully the Mayo Clinic medical staff can use some of that voodoo magic they’re clearly using on Donte DiVincenzo to get Jaylen back on the court ASAP.
Overall, it was clearly a night to forget. Notice how I haven’t mentioned Jaden McDaniels yet, and that’s exactly how his game felt tonight, save for a poster dunk in transition. It seemed like he was nowhere to be found, even if he did pour in 18 points. Without Anthony Edwards, he needs to make his presence known.
Speaking of AntMan, games like this are largely cleaned up when he is on the floor. He’s like Denzel Washington in The Equalizer; he sets everything right. When defenses have to focus on him, it’s a lot easier to make defenses play from behind.
Up Next
Your Minnesota Timberwolves play their next game on Monday, November 16th, when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on the first night of a back-to-back series with the Blazers. That game will be available to stream on DAZN for in-market fans and NBA League Pass for out-of-market fans.
