As the ball was tipped off between Ivica Zubac and Rudy Gobert on March 12, there was a notable buzz inside Crypto.com arena. The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers were coming losses in their prior games, seeking a victory against the team they were jockeying with for top playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
Gobert won the jump, and Mike Conley brought the ball across the timeline. From there, Conley initiated a pick-and-roll with his starting center and flung the ball out to Jaden McDaniels in the corner. McDaniels missed that attempt. Gobert got the offensive rebound and missed his first shot attempt. After that miss, McDaniels tipped the ball out, and it eventually found its way to Edwards, who missed a quick pull-up from the right corner.
The Timberwolves opened the game with three straight misses on their first offensive possession. Quickly, they found themselves in a large hole. Eight minutes into the first quarter, the Clippers built a 15-point advantage and led by 22 points before halftime. Minnesota was directionless on offense, and Los Angeles made most of its shots. It was a nightmare start for Chris Finch’s squad, who was playing their fourth straight game without Karl-Anthony Towns after he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee, which will keep him out for at least four weeks.
Most of the first half against L.A. was a microcosm of what could go wrong without Towns in the fold and brought to light all of the issues displayed by the Wolves in the wake of Karl’s absence. Minnesota is 4-2 over its last six games but has missed the former Kentucky Wildcat standout. It has been a small sample size, but the Wolves have already learned lessons and seen what they must develop as they gear up to finish the regular season and maybe even part of the postseason without their second-leading scorer.
After Towns’ injury, Charles Barkley claimed Anthony Edwards should win MVP if the Wolves finish with the No. 1 seed in the West on Inside the NBA.
When that quote hit social media, many people scoffed at Chuck. To be fair, the idea of Edwards winning MVP with guys like Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic dominating every night is far-fetched. However, for the Wolves – who sit at third in the West right now – to remain at the top of the standings and retake their first-place throne, Ant must play at an MVP level. Therefore, I get where Barkley is coming from with that statement and, in a way, agree with him. But a balance must be struck with anything, and all of the weight can’t be placed on Ant’s shoulders.
Edwards dislocated his finger during his epic dunk against the Utah Jazz. Every time he leaves the court to treat an injury, it is another reminder of his importance to the team. Ant’s teammates need to step up and alleviate the pressure that comes with KAT’s loss after he poured in 22 points per game. It’s fair to expect Edwards to step up in Towns’ absence, but the Wolves can’t rely on Ant alone.
He has averaged 31.2 points in the first five games since Towns’ injury (only behind Luka Dončić in that span), 7.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 blocks on 46.3% from the floor and 31.6% from three. He has put together two jaw-dropping, mega-star performances in that time, featuring a 44-point effort and game-saving block against the Indiana Pacers and a 37-point second-half takeover against the Clippers. While both games were incredibly fun to watch, the Timberwolves are 3-2 since KAT’s injury, and Edwards was not the only player with impressive final-line scores in all three of those wins.
A few of Minnesota’s most recent games exemplify the importance of a collective team effort.
“We have a very deep team,” Chris Finch explained after the Wolves’ 118-100 win over the Clippers last week. “That depth helps you in a lot of ways. It can help you when you have injuries or foul trouble, but it also needs to help you spread the production. You are never going to replace KAT’s skill and on-demand scoring, but the ball is really moving right now. We are getting a lot of stuff in transition, and we are driving it multiple times. [The opponent] is putting two or three guys on Anthony at times; he is making the right play, and that is unlocking a lot of great offense for his teammates.”
Edwards had his fingerprints all over the Wolves’ 44-point swing and eventual win over the Clippers. He attacked into the paint, got out in transition, and punished LA’s lackluster on-ball defense. The Wolves would not have won without his efforts. However, he was far from the only reason they pulled out the comeback victory.
As Finch mentions above, the Wolves will not be able to replicate Towns’ “on-demand scoring,” but they have to find a way to get 22 more points per game. There isn’t a linear path to doing that, though. No one player on Minnesota’s roster is going to tack on 10-15 more points per game. Aside from Edwards stepping up offensively, a combination of focused defense and at least two other players should account for the 22 points that Towns leaves behind.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker registered his most points in a Wolves uniform (28) against the Clippers on 9 of 10 from the floor and 5 of 6 from three-point range. The Wolves outscored LA by 14 points during his 28 minutes on the floor. He primarily played off the ball, spacing from the corners. The ball was flowing and frequently found Alexander-Walker spotted up from the wings or corners.
Since KAT’s injury, the Wolves have emphasized ball movement. But when the ball stops moving, the offense goes dormant, which allows their opponent to get out and run in transition like we saw the Clippers do in the first half. Broken floor situations will happen, and they still need isolation scoring from someone other than Edwards.
That’s where Conley and Naz Reid come into the mix.
Conley has been Minnesota’s most reliable three-point shooter this season. He’s effective in catch-and-shoot situations and can thrive with the ball in his hands, pulling up from three with a defender in his face.
“It’s super impressive,” Edwards responded when asked about Conley’s back-to-back season-high scoring performances after Minnesota’s 119-100 win over the Utah Jazz. “We’ve been trying to get him going for a minute, and he’s found his rhythm. We are going to stay behind him and keep giving him the ball, which has energy and finds Mike all of the time and he knocks it down, so we trust him.”
Conley went 5 of 8 from three against the Jazz on Saturday, identical to his three-point splits against the Clippers. He notched a season-high 23 points in Los Angeles and immediately broke that number with his 25 points against Utah. The veteran guard scored in multiple ways, primarily from beyond the arc. His three-point shooting kept his former team at arm’s length all night and was the eventual dagger in the win.
Of course, expecting the 36-year-old to average north of 62% three on eight attempts is far-fetched, but an overall uptick in attempts from deep is necessary for the Wolves to continue to compete for the 1-seed. Also, most of the plays Conley is engaged in are pick-and-rolls or pick-and-pops. In those situations, Mike is rarely the planned scorer – it is usually the guy rolling or popping with him.
Against the Jazz on Saturday, Reid, who filled in for the injured Gobert, was involved in a slew of PnPs. Even though he went 3 of 10 from deep, those plays need to be a prominent fixture of Minnesota’s playbook as long as KAT is out. However, Reid suffered a head injury in the Jazz game after scoring 17 points and securing four rebounds before his exit. Reid was playing a vital role with Towns and Gobert out, and now the Wolves will also have to cover for his scoring.
Those set plays, improved ball movement, and a team-wide effort to score the ball will almost always end positively for the Timberwolves. They will produce better shots and, most importantly, take some pressure off Ant’s shoulders. It will allow Edwards to slip into an off-ball role during stretches, which Finch highlighted as a point of emphasis. If the Wolves can replicate their efforts of late consistently down the homestretch of the regular season, they will position themselves to earn a high seed when Towns returns to the lineup.
