Is anyone suggesting the Minnesota Timberwolves should move D’Angelo Russell now? Where are the hot takes on why it won’t work out for DLo here? Am I overreacting to a limited sample size? Perhaps, but who really cares? Russell has returned from knee surgery, and he has been a problem for opposing teams.
When you score 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 from downtown, you’ve had yourself quite a game. DLo did that in the first half on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings.
“But what about the second half for Russell?”
Watch your mouth. Let’s bask in the good and ignore the underwhelming portions of these performances.
How about that cold-blooded, game-tying three-point shot against Boston over a week ago to send the game to overtime?
“Yeah, well, he banked it in.”
Can you brush the Cheeto dust from your fingers before you slam away at your keyboard? Thanks in advance.
The Timberwolves have been playing much better basketball lately in large part thanks to Russell. They are 3-3 in their last six games, which certainly doesn’t sound like much. However, it’s noteworthy when you’re 16-43 overall.
While the defense has still struggled mightily at times, the offense is grooving. There were questions about how things would look once DLo returned during the emergence of rookie sensation Anthony Edwards. With Russell coming off the bench for Chris Finch, the early results have been great. And for now, Finch prefers to keep Russell as the spark coming in with the second unit.
“In general the second unit has been really good and D-Lo has been a part of that,” Finch said. “He’s been able to create and out there with a defensive-oriented lineup that can get stops and get out and run and do things that benefit him and everyone else.
“If you take him out of the second unit and put him in the starting unit, you have to rejig many of your rotations in general. Obviously, you don’t want to leave yourself exposed.”
Everybody knows Russell is good enough to be in the starting lineup, but what the Wolves need right now is that instant offense off the bench. It doesn’t mean this strategy is set in stone for next year, but when the vibes are good in the moment, you might as well stick with the method that got you there.
Russell seems to be taking it all in stride and hasn’t mentioned much, if anything at all, about coming in with the second unit. With a starting five that features Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, it’s an incredible luxury for Minnesota to have someone as capable as DLo coming off the bench for the rest of this season.
In some ways, the Wolves are getting the most they could’ve hoped for down the stretch run of the season. They’re winning games more consistently while finding cohesion on the court with one another — but they aren’t winning at a rate that should lessen their chances at keeping their first-round pick next year. Remember, if Minnesota’s pick lands outside the top three, it goes to the Golden State Warriors, according to the terms of the trade that brought DLo to the Twin Cities.
If the Wolves can keep tight-roping that balance between showing promise, building chemistry, and winning some games while not winning too many (as strange as that sounds), they will best position themselves to have their lottery ball selected for one of the first three picks in the draft.
One thing has become abundantly clear: There is genuine optimism about the future of this team. There has been a lot of doom and gloom. But with Edwards showing star potential alongside KAT, plus the sensational shooting and scoring abilities of DLo, the Wolves already have an array of pieces in place. Get Malik Beasley back on the court, and the Wolves have a fairly formidable lineup.
Now imagine that group with Cade Cunningham or Jalen Suggs.
There’s plenty of room for improvement in what has without a doubt been another wildly disappointing year for the Timberwolves. It’s been a season filled with injuries, coaching turnover, and plenty of losses. But there’s reason to be optimistic now, and a large part of that is how D’Angelo Russell has fared since returning from injury.
