The Minnesota Timberwolves have looked better than expected following Karl-Anthony Towns’ calf injury that will sideline him for three to five more weeks. Everybody has been picking up the slack left by the absence of Towns. Whether that’s D’Angelo Russell averaging 25 points per since KAT went down or Rudy Gobert looking much more comfortable with the paint all to himself – Minnesota’s offense is flowing.
Ball movement, or lack thereof, has been a point of emphasis for the Wolves. With multiple natural scorers on the roster, the ball has been sticky at times. However, we’ve seen an improved ball movement since Chris Finch moved Kyle Anderson into the starting lineup. That shouldn’t change with KAT returns, even if that means sending Jaden McDaniels to the bench.
SloMo started the year out very slow (no pun intended), averaging only 2.2 points through his first five games with the Timberwolves. However, he’s started to round the corner (slowly) in recent games, highlighting why Tim Connelly signed him to a two-year, $18 million deal.
“He’s a point guard,” said Russell when speaking about Anderson’s game. “I’ve been knowin’ SLo for a little bit now, not knowin’ him personally but knowin’ his game, and been a fan of his game. It’s super effective, things you don’t see on the scout sheet, so just high praise for him. He’s a tall point guard; it may get misunderstood, but he can play point guard in this league any day, and it’s a huge weapon for us.”
Anderson had his best game in a Wolves uniform Friday night against the Utah Jazz. SloMo finished with 15 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds on 4 of 5 (80%) from the floor and 7 of 9 (77%) from the foul stripe.
The 6’9” forward sees the floor incredibly well, and while he may not push the ball downhill at a frenetic pace, he’s one of if not the best facilitators on the team.
Learning how to play alongside Rudy Gobert has been a tough task for pretty much everyone on the Wolves. However, Gobert’s fit next to Anderson seems very natural.
“Kyle makes it easy for everyone around him,” Gobert said regarding Anderson’s floor vision. “He’s just such a smart player, and, like I said, I just gotta be at the right spot, and with Kyle the ball is gonna come to you. There’s no magic in it.”
“It’s pretty dope. I watched a lot of Joe Ingles highlights,” said Anderson on his growing chemistry with Gobert. How he was effective with him. Just his playmaking ability with Rudy the last few years, and just try to find Rudy on the roll or me on the float.”
Through the last three games, Gobert is averaging 19 points and 17 rebounds on 60% from the floor – not surprisingly, Anderson was starting for all three of those games.
Chris Finch has had a tough time trying to find lineup combinations that work with Gobert on the floor, so why go away from what’s working?
There’s no denying it, McDaniels is the Wolves’ best perimeter defender and is part of their foundation. However, he hasn’t looked the same after an illness that kept him out for three games. Therefore, sending him to the bench when Towns comes back may not be the wrong decision as Anderson can control more avenues of the offensive game than Big Mac can.
I’m not saying McDaniels should be stuck on the bench just because he’s been gathering his footing after contracting the flu. Rather, Anderson’s all-around impact makes me want to see him start alongside Russell, Edwards, Towns, and Gobert – unlocking what has been an overall dormant offense.
Finchy ran Big Mac off the bench for 39 of his 70 games played last season, and he flourished in a backup role. He was a capable shooter off the bench who was able to put the clamps down on whomever and whenever – two things that would remain the same if he rejoined the bench mob.
Ultimately, starting in the NBA really doesn’t mean all too much. If Anderson starts and has a less-than-ideal start to a game and McDaniels looks locked in, then Jaden would replace Kyle for the rest of the game as he’d most likely run with the starters.
Having more talent than minutes available is a problem Chris Finch loves to have. While starting may not be as big of a deal as some make it seem, letting the “old-man” playstyle that Kyle Anderson runs with Gobert and Towns when the team is fully healthy might be the right call.
