Sporting a fancy new pair of Rec Specs, Kyle Anderson was one of the few positive takeaways from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 97-94 season-opening loss against the Toronto Raptors. While much of Minnesota’s roster struggled offensively, Anderson provided the stable hand that Finch had relied on much of last season.
Although the Wolves lost the game, we should not overlook Anderson’s impact. His stat line of seven points, five assists, and eight total rebounds may seem lackluster. However, Anderson brought a sense of control to the offense, solid defense, and intangibles that will make him a linchpin to Minnesota’s success this season.
Anderson will come off the bench this season because the Wolves will start the season at full strength. Last season, Anderson started 46 out of the 69 games he played, mostly because of Karl-Anthony Towns’ injury. Despite coming off the bench, Anderson’s offensive game was the same slow, methodical, and deliberate type of play that fans have come to love. Anderson finished the game with 30 minutes of play which is in line with his average of 28.4 minutes a game from last season. He also closed the game with the starting unit and was trusted in crucial spots, such as this last-second shot clock inbound to Anthony Edwards below.
The Wolves lost by three points, but Anderson had a +15 plus/minus. Single-game plus/minus is not a perfect way to measure a player’s performance. Anderson’s number meets the eye test, especially considering no other Wolves player was more than +3. Toronto also outscored Minnesota by 18 when Anderson was not on the court. That suggests that Anderson impacted the game in a positive manner with his offense and defense.
Finch’s trust in Anderson’s ability to run the offense could be why his plus/minus is so high. When the ball would get “sticky” on multiple possessions, Finch’s way of saying lack of flow and ball movement, he would look to Anderson. The possession would then slow down, and Anderson would not only initiate the offense but also run the play.
Anderson would bring the ball up and use the initial pick-and-roll. Then he’d wait for the play to develop before passing the ball to a player for a shot or moving the ball to a secondary player who was coming off an off-ball screen. That’s an important contrast, especially in Tuesday night’s game when Edwards and others were often shooting or calling their own number off of that initial pick-and-roll. Below is an example of Edwards driving off of that first action before Toronto forces him to pass to Anderson, who hot potatoes the ball to the corner for an assist.
Anderson was not perfect offensively. His shooting performance was lackluster, going 3 for 9 from the floor, including a tough 3-point miss in which the defender waved off Anderson’s attempt. He also shot just 1 for 2 from the free-throw line. On three of those attempts, Anderson drove into traffic using his own brand of herky-jerky dribbling and wound up missing the floater. On another occasion, a defender blocked him in transition. Anderson often finishes with around 9 points, but he’s usually much more efficient in how he gets there. Anderson has a 55% true shooting percentage average, so Wednesday night’s 35% should be an outlier.
Outside of shooting, Anderson’s only other slip-up may have been a turnover he created by slipping and losing the ball while dribbling upcourt. Below, Anderson laughs off the rare miscue. He finished the night with 5 assists and only 1 turnover, and with 0 bad passes, as measured by NBA.com. With Anderson’s usage rate at 13.1%, the lack of turnovers or bad decisions is definitely a big reason why Finch will trust him to control the offense.
Anderson also performed well defensively. Anderson held up surprisingly well with concerns that he’d have to move to small forward to play around Minnesota’s trio of centers. For reference, Anderson played 86% of his minutes at small forward on Wednesday compared to only 8% last season. During that time, he committed 0 fouls and had 2 steals. Anderson also had a remarkable 77.3 defensive net rating. For context, the Wolves had the third-highest team defensive net rating (96.0) in Toronto.
The stats meet the eye test. Finch trusted Anderson to often guard smaller wing players, and he did a great job of keeping in front of them, while also funneling them to Rudy Gobert on drives. Anderson also was very effective in playing off-ball defense, playing excellent help defense, and leaking into passing lanes to gather steals or tip passes. Although the Wolves didn’t expect Anderson to defend the lead ball-handler, he displayed that he is capable of an off-ball playing small forward in the modern NBA. Below is a clip of Kyle Anderson recognizing Gobert is mismatched on a Raptors guard and sliding over to get a steal in help defense.
It’s crucial that Anderson can play small forward. While it’s just one game, he showed promise in being able to stick with smaller and faster players. As mentioned above, that’s due in large part to his fantastic positioning and ability to understand where his teammates are on the court.
It was very interesting watching Anderson switch from a drop scheme to a more aggressive on ball scheme. In the drop coverage scheme it’s Andersons role to either funnel the ball-handler into a dropping Gobert or provide weak-side help by swiping for the ball or cutting off passing lanes. Then when the time called for it, he was able to switch seemingly effortlessly into a more aggressive up-tight man defensive scheme without making mistakes. This meant switching on pick and rolls as well as staying closer to his man while guarding him in the corner and during off ball screens.
Despite the new look and new role, Kyle Anderson displayed the same veteran presence the Wolves have grown accustomed to. Anderson was a lone bright spot in an otherwise dreary game against the Raptors. His ability to run the offense and his ability to play exceptional defense should lead to him taking a similar role as last season. Wolves fans should expect to see a lot of Anderson in crucial moments all season. Below is a final clip of the Kyle Anderson arm windmill ushering people to run in transition.
