Timberwolves

Minnesota's Bench Has Untapped Potential

Photo Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ recent stretch of games without Karl-Anthony Towns has been an eventful roller coaster. They have had down moments, such as their showings against the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers last week, where Portland and LA outrebounded the Wolves, and Minnesota shot the ball inefficiently. But they have also had exciting moments like their blowout win over the Chicago Bulls, plus back-to-back wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks last week.

There have been several positives to take away from this recent stretch of winning basketball. Many fans are ecstatic about the combination of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards looking like the Western Conference version of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lately. Plus, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels have stepped up big in Minnesota’s injury-riddled starting lineup.

However, there is another under-the-radar element that fans should slowly but surely feel more encouraged about as the Wolves continue to click through this season. Minnesota’s bench has been productive and has the potential to be a consistently positive force that can help propel the Wolves to a winning record and a playoff spot.

For the most part, the Wolves bench has been average this season. More than a third of the way through this season, Minnesota’s bench has put up an average of 33.5 points per game, 16th in the league. The Timberwolves bench has also shot a 46.2% field goal efficiency this season and has a minus-0.1 plus-minus, 15th in the league.

However, Minnesota’s bench has struggled with three-point shooting and rebounding this year. They bring down 12.1 rebounds per game this season, which ranks them toward the bottom of the league at 27th. They also have shot a highly inefficient 30.4% from three, ranking them dead-last in the league at 30th.

The Wolves bench has not been anything special this season, but they have shown more promise recently. The anticipated return of Jordan McLaughlin and Taurean Prince in the not-too-distant future could help this bench unit become a key part of this team’s success midway through the season.

Austin Rivers and Nathan Knight provided a good 1-2 punch in wins over the Thunder and Bulls, showcasing their value to the team’s second unit.

Rivers started in place of D’Angelo Russell against OKC. However, he only played 31 minutes, less than sixth man Jaylen Nowell. Rivers put up 20 points in that game on a highly efficient 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. He also had five steals. Knight stepped into Reid’s backup center role for the game and had one of his best nights of this season against OKC. Knight put up 10 points in just 11 minutes on 3-of-3 from the field, to go along with five rebounds. The Gobert-less Wolves only won by two, but the play from these two proved to be largely valuable to the Wolves securing the win.

In their dominating win over the Bulls, these two put up another good showing off the bench to complement what was arguably the best game of the season for Minnesota’s bench unit. Rivers put up 14 points in that game on another efficient shooting night, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 4-6 from three. Knight had his best game of the season by far, putting up 16 points on 6-8 shooting from the field in 26 minutes of play.

But the additional contributions in the Bulls game from other bench players were even more promising. Nowell and Bryn Forbes put up nine and 10 points, respectively, on efficient shooting. Forbes shot 4-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three, while Nowell shot 4-of-5 from the field and 1-of-2 from three. There was also an always-exciting Luka Garza sighting, and he put up seven points in 10 minutes. As a whole, the bench put up a highly-impressive 58 points collectively and showed promising signs.

However, Rivers and Knight are the primary bench players who will have to continue to play at the level they are currently playing. If they can continue to provide some scoring off the bench on efficient shooting, Rivers and Knight can help turn this Wolves bench from mediocre to one of the better second units in the league.

Furthermore, McLaughlin has served as one of Minnesota’s key point guards off the bench for the last couple of years. His stats hardly jump off the page; he only averages about 4 points and 3 assists per game in the previous two seasons. However, J-Mac brings much-needed stability and efficiency to the offense for Minnesota when the starters sub out. He has been one of the better players in the league in assists-to-turnover efficiency.

Prince has been battling a shoulder injury for the last few weeks. However, in the 18 games he has played for the Wolves this season, Prince is averaging 7.9 points per game in 19.6 minutes. He has also been one of Minnesota’s better three-point shooters, shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc.

Last season, Minnesota’s bench served as one of their bright spots, with the likes of Malik Beasley, Nowell, and McDaniels helping to lead a second unit that was top-10 in the league.

Through the second half of the season and heading into the playoffs, depth is always an important factor in contributing to a team’s success because it allows them to load-manage their best players. The Wolves will likely have to rely a fair amount on the contribution from their bench in points production, but also in sustaining leads and bringing added energy when needed. As the team gets healthier and the minutes continue to be established on the rotation, their play off the bench will be an important factor and contributor that could help carry this team to the playoffs again.

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