Tim Connelly and his staff had a relatively quiet off-season. The front office kept the Minnesota Timberwolves’ core intact after the team struggled to stay healthy last year. Prioritizing continuity felt necessary for a team still looking to build an identity.
The Timberwolves made low-risk, high-reward moves this summer. They moved off Taurean Prince and Jaylen Nowell and filled those voids with Troy Brown Jr. and Shake Milton. All of the moves Minnesota’s front office made were fine-tuning and rounding out the edges within the bench.
It was near consensus that the Wolves entered the 2023-24 season much deeper than the year before. That was a safe assumption, considering they needed to bolster the bench after last season. However, just over ten games into the year, we have seen some flaws within the bench mob. The issues are relatively minor, of course, considering the team’s 10-3 start, but it is still worth looking at the areas where Minnesota’s bench needs to improve.
Before we go any further, below is a look at Chris Finch’s most utilized four guys off the bench through the first 13 games of the season:
The Timberwolves wrapped up a five-game road trip Saturday night in New Orleans. The team went 4-1, beating the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors twice, and the New Orleans Pelicans. Of those four wins, three required heavy lifting from the starters late in the game.
Anthony Edwards didn’t have his usual MVP-caliber performance Saturday in the Big Easy; He shot 9-of-19 from the floor. That meant Karl-Anthony Towns had to pick up the slack, and he put together one of his best performances of the season.
Towns finished with 29 points, nine assists, and zero turnovers on 91% from the floor. He played almost perfect basketball all game long, and the Wolves barely squeaked by with a one-point win after they had two days off.
So far this season, the Timberwolves are reminiscent of last year’s Minnesota Vikings. They keep pulling off magical wins late in games. However, something has to give. It’s unrealistic to expect the Wolves to play like this all year. Like every team, they will face injuries, and the team will go through dry spells.
Minnesota needs their bench group to pick up some of the slack.
Minnesota’s bench group consists of Shake Milton, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kyle Anderson, and Naz Reid. They have a 2.1 net rating through the first 13 games, which was the 6th-best in all of the NBA. Considering how much Finch and his staff have relied on the starters this year, that ranking is palpable and slightly surprising. However, Minnesota’s bench has a 54.0 offensive rating this year, which is the 9th worst league-wide. Those may seem like numbers with little meaning, but those stats help paint a picture.
The non-starters have yet to be able to put the ball in the rim consistently.
Reid has been Minnesota’s saving grace early this year. Through the first six games, Reid averaged 15.7 points on 55.7% from the floor and 46.4% from deep when KAT struggled to find a rhythm. Big Jelly arguably was Minnesota’s most important part of the team’s hot start. However, all great things must come to an end (at least for now). We saw Reid’s offensive impact dip below the high bar he set for himself during the final two games of the road trip.
- Reid vs. Suns: 13 points on 4-of-7 from the floor, -5
- Reid vs. Pelicans: 8 points on 2-of-8 from the floor, -8
Against Phoenix and New Orleans, Minnesota’s bench outscored its opponent’s bench. However, the team is missing someone who can come off the bench and provide plug-and-play offense when Reid is having an off game. NAW started the year slowly. However, he has picked up his scoring and is back to the catch-and-shoot threat he was at last season’s end. As Britt stated in the post above, SlowMo has been doing SlowMo things. However, he’s shooting only 20% from three on the year. Despite his reliable offense, you can’t count on him to give you any large scoring numbers.
Minnesota’s lack of true scorers off the bench is precisely where Milton’s expected impact has been missed the most.
During his five seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Milton was a reliable isolation scorer who could effectively attack the paint and mid-range. Last season, Shake shot 52.2% from within the arc and 38.2% from beyond. Offensively, he was one of the league’s most consistent backup point guards. That’s why Connelly and his staff jumped at the opportunity to bring him on board, making his slow start to this season much more impactful.
“Shake is really interesting,” Connelly said during media day. “Shake has played for great Philadelphia teams that have won 50+ games in a season. His numbers as a starter have been really impressive. When he’s had a consistent role, he’s been a really, really good NBA player. His ability to get in the paint, make late finishes, and late passes will be really beneficial.”
Milton has had some short spurts where his offense looks connected. But overall, Milton’s start of the season could not have gone much worse. The 6’6” guard has yet to have a game in which he tallies over ten points or dish out more than four assists. However, Milton has been reliable defensively. When he is on the floor, the Timberwolves have a 106.3 defensive rating, compared to 108.7 when he is on the bench. That means that the Wolves, who owned the NBA’s best defense through the first two weeks of the season, were better on that side of the ball when Milton was out there shaking things up.
Monday night, the Wolves welcomed in the New York Knicks at Target Center following the team’s 5-game road trip. Jaden McDaniels sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Alexander-Walker stepped up in place of McDaniels and did an incredible job on both ends of the floor. NAW finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep. He was also the primary defender on Jalen Brunson and was able to hold the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week to 7-of-15 (46.6%) from the floor. Brunson did finish with a game-high 25 points, but as the post above says, he had to work for all of those buckets.
“I’m just grateful that they trust me,” responded Alexander-Walker when asked postgame about stepping up for his team. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I just want to make the most out of it. I came here, and everybody in the entire organization, this city has welcomed me. I just want to play hard and do my best.”
NAW’s hard play on both ends sparked what was one of the most complete bench performances of the season. Everyone, top to bottom, was able to positively impact the game. And on a night were the Wolves didn’t receive that incredible game from a star player, without the bench’s effort, Minnesota probably doesn’t come away with their tenth win of the season.
Monday night was a step in the right direction for the Timberwolves’ bench. Defense is something that the team has and should continue to hang their hat on. However, the sky is the limit for the team when all players in the rotation are holding their own on both ends.
