With the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offseason now in full swing, several Wolves players have been spotted enjoying themselves during their time away from NBA basketball. Karl-Anthony Towns sat down with Los Angeles Clippers star and close friend Paul George for his Podcast P With Paul George audio show. Rudy Gobert has kept fans up-to-date on his much-needed rest and relaxation alongside his cat Link via Instagram. Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid posed together for a picture in Miami while attending the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix this weekend. And while Edwards and Reid were likely occupied watching the racing spectacle in South Beach, Miami has recently offered Minnesota something else worth watching.
Similar to the Timberwolves, the Miami Heat entered the playoffs as an 8-seed. Matched against the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the regular season, the Heat looked to be yet another quick first-round exit – much like the Timberwolves. But with Giannis Antetokounmpo missing most of the series due to a back injury, Miami was able to defeat Milwaukee after five games.
With a 2-1 series lead over the New York Knicks in Round 2, the Heat – led by old friend Jimmy Butler – are looking to make their second Conference Finals in the last four seasons. Conversely, the Wolves are looking to get out of the first round for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
So what can the Minnesota Timberwolves take away from Butler and Co.’s postseason success?
Minnesota is not the same team as Miami on multiple levels. The Heat have had consistency at the top of the organization for over a decade now. They’re also one of the top free-agent destinations, have managed to make zone defense work, and have their own draft picks! Contrarily, consistency has long been a foreign concept for the Wolves. But while the two organizations couldn’t be more different in terms of their outside perception, they do share some similarities.
For starters, there’s their roster construction. The Timberwolves and Heat both have star perimeter players in Anthony Edwards and Jimmy Butler. Both teams have stretch bigs with defensive limitations in Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Love. They also have elite defensive centers in Rudy Gobert and Bam Adebayo. Lastly, the two teams both have veteran point guards past their primes in Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry.
Now of course, these comparisons aren’t perfect. Edwards isn’t an exact replica of Butler. Towns remains one of the league’s best bigs, while Love, seven years KAT’s senior, is a shell of the former All-NBA player he once was in the Twin Cities. And Gobert, who stands at a towering 7’1″, uses his combination of height and wingspan to stifle opponents’ shots at the rim, whereas Adebayo, whose listed at just 6’9″, provides Miami with elite switching and defensive versatility.
But look at Miami and Minnesota’s advanced numbers. During the regular season, Minnesota ranked 23rd in offensive rating (113.3) while Miami ranked 25th (112.3). The Heat finished 9th amongst teams in defensive rating (112.8); the Timberwolves 10th (113.1). Two top-10 defenses with bottom-10 offenses. So how is it that Miami is still competing for a championship while Minnesota received an early start to their summer vacation?
Point Guard Depth
In March, Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra began starting Gabe Vincent over Lowry, a future Hall-of-Fame point guard. Lowry, 37, had missed several games due to a knee injury. Vincent, 26, has been a floor-spacer for Miami. He can find his own shot, defend multiple positions, and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to contribute to winning.
By moving Lowry to the bench, Spoelstra has a floor general to help facilitate the second unit, which often lacked a legitimate floor general to help keep the ball moving. The Timberwolves could benefit tremendously by doing the same with Conely. At age 35, Conley remains an exceptional point guard who helps make the game easier for his teammates. But with every passing year, he continues to get closer to being unable to contribute for a winning franchise.
Whether it’s through a trade or using the MLE, the Wolves should be looking for their point guard of the future. And who knows? Vincent is set to enter UFA this off-season. However, he might have some animosity towards Ant.
Increasing PnR Frequency
After watching the Heat struggle offensively for much of the regular season, Spoelstra knew he had to make a change to help his team’s playoff chances. His solution? The pick-and-roll.
Miami ranked only 18th in pick-and-roll possessions (18.3) per contest in the regular season. But after Coach Spo increased his team’s PnR possessions up to 28.6 per game, Miami’s offense would skyrocket to the second-best offensive rating amongst playoff teams. Heat center Bam Adebayo is one of the best screen-and-rollers in today’s game. So, it only makes sense for Miami to use his offensive skill set more often. He’s a brick wall when setting screens for his teammates and has immense roll gravity when he runs toward the rim.
Now, imagine if a team had a center who could screen-and-roll comparable to Bam. Then imagine if that same team put him alongside arguably the greatest 3-point shooting big in NBA history. That is how good the Timberwolves could be. Given the endless amount of halfcourt sets Chris Finch could run with a scorer like Edwards alongside a pick-and-roller of Gobert’s caliber and pick-and-popper in KAT, Minnesota’s coaching staff should look to steal a few sets out of Spoelstra’s recent playbook.
3-Point Shooting
The Heat have done a remarkable job surrounding Butler and Adebayo, two players not particularly known for their 3-point shooting, with players who can provide the team with adequate floor spacing. Whether it’s Max Strus, Love, or someone off the bench, everyone on the court not named Butler or Bam has the ability to knock down shots from three. That gives Miami’s two stars plenty of space to operate – something Minnesota currently lacks.
In the playoffs alone, the Love-Strus-Vincent lineup knocked down an absurd 40.9% of their 11.6 attempts from beyond the arc. Sure, the Timberwolves have proven shooters on their roster. But with Jaden McDaniels sidelined with injury, the Towns-Conley-Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3-man lineup only managed to hit 28.1% of their 12.8 3-point attempts. That was a major factor in Minnesota’s limited floor-spacing seen in their series versus against the Denver Nuggets.
After an underwhelming season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are desperate to make it deeper into the playoffs than they have in the previous two seasons. Given that the Miami Heat built their roster similarly to Minnesota, it shouldn’t hurt to mirror what’s been working for the Heat this postseason. Now with a head start to the offseason, the Timberwolves organization will need to work diligently to give the team more depth at the one, pick-and-roll opportunities, and spacing on the floor.
