After the Minnesota Timberwolves split their mini-series with the Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans, much of the focus was centered on the Wolves’ poor rebounding. Over the two-game stretch, Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas ate a 40-course meal off the glass. By that, I mean he had 40 rebounds.
In two games.
As you can imagine, the Pelicans won the battle of the boards to the tune of 121-88. This was simply untenable, and the Wolves needed an adjustment.
Now, I don’t know anything about cars. But I do know that when a warning light comes on — like the Wolves losing the rebounding battle 121-88 — I know it’s time to take it into the shop. Usually, the mechanic just changes my oil or says something about my fluids. Sometimes they say they’ve got to rotate my tires, which has never made sense to me.
But when the Wolves went into the shop, head mechanic Chris Finch took a look under the hood and decided that a bigger fix was necessary. He replaced a JO engine with a V8.
In all seriousness, Finch made the call to sub Jarred Vanderbilt for Josh Okogie against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. It was the right call. The Wolves beat the Bucks 113-108 in a game where Milwaukee never held the lead.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, I think it’s important to remember that the Bucks were missing their starting center Brook Lopez. Giannis certainly can play the part moonlighting at the 5, but battling for rebounds against him and Khris Middleton is a far less daunting task than if he were paired with Lopez. Nevertheless, I want to give Vando all the credit I can for his efforts on Wednesday night. He fought hard from the opening tip and reminded us all why he can be such a valuable part of the rotation.
Vanderbilt finished the night leading the Wolves with 13 rebounds. He’s been lauded for his hustle since he first stepped on the court in a Timberwolves uniform. But beneath the energizer bunny-level intensity, there is skill and precision. I think many Wolves fans have felt frustrated by Vando’s shortcomings. His hands can be hard as a rock at times, he can’t shoot 3s (but don’t tell him that), and he often seems to be moving faster than he needs to. However, his strength is his feel, timing, and persistence when attacking the glass.
I want to start by looking at this play. D’Angelo Russell does perhaps the most D’Angelo Russell thing I’ve ever seen. He pulls up for a 3-pointer in transition during a 1-on-5 situation. I just watched “Coach Carter,” and Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) nearly blew a gasket when Timo Cruz (Rick Gonzalez) pulled up for a wide-open 3-pointer in transition. If coach Carter had seen that, the whole team would be doing suicides until their knees fell off.
Anyway, DLo shoots the errant shot. Luckily Vando is hot in pursuit. He beats two Bucks to the ball, secures the offensive rebound, and passes the ball to Jaden McDaniels before he falls out of bounds. To the hustler goes the spoils. Jaden passes the ball right back for Vando to get the easy lay-in.
In this next play, Vanderbilt tries to crash the glass by going around Pat Connaughton. Connaughton gets an arm on Vanderbilt, but Ant’s shot misses badly. As Vanderbilt’s momentum is taking him toward the right side of the court, he can jump and reach back to the left to grab the rebound. His hustle got him in position; his athleticism allowed him to make the phenomenal play. Vanderbilt’s ability to quickly get high off the ground, paired with his 7’1” wingspan, makes him a pest to keep off the boards.
This last one is the most impressive. Watch as Vanderbilt runs in to grab this rebound. Initially, he mistimes his jump. But like Mario’s famous triple jump, Vando can use his momentum from his first jump to spring into the air and beat everyone to the ball. It seems like he jumped higher than he thought he would. He mishandles the ball at the peak of his jump. It was almost as if he wasn’t expecting the ball to be in his hands so soon. Then he’s able to gather the ball, fend off Grayson Allen, navigate the end line, and zip a pass to Edwards streaking down the lane.
Inserting Vanderbilt into the starting lineup seemed to be a boon for the Wolves. They were able to go into Milwaukee and win impressively. So impressive that national media is starting to give the Wolves some positive attention for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
This weekend, the Wolves take on the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is another massive body attacking the glass similar to Valanciunas. It will be a real test to see if the Wolves’ rebounding can hold up against real size.
