The Minnesota Timberwolves went all in on going big the second Tim Connelly went all-in trading for Rudy Gobert last summer. After mixed results led to 42 wins and a first-round exit last season, the front office tripled down on the big is beautiful strategy when they re-signed Naz Reid to be Minnesota’s third-best big man, and they’ve never looked back.
Behind the outstanding frontcourt play (and Anthony Edwards becoming young Michael Jordan), the Timberwolves blasted their way to the top of the Western Conference standings for most of the season and currently sit in third place and 1.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed. Gobert is having a resurgent season and is the odds-on favorite to claim his fourth DPOY trophy. Karl-Anthony Towns made his fourth All-Star appearance and re-emerged as one of the best second options in the league. And Reid is pushing Malik Monk for Sixth Man of the Year honors while becoming one of the most dangerous shooters in the NBA.
But what happens to a team that went all-in on size when all the big guys are hurt? News broke a few weeks ago with a surprise meniscus injury that will likely keep Towns out for the rest of the regular season. Gobert suffered a rib injury in Minnesota’s comeback win against the Los Angeles Clippers that kept him out of his Utah homecoming and the showdown with the Denver Nuggets. Reid suffered a head injury that kept him out of the second half of Monday’s win in Utah and sidelined him for the Denver game.
Luka Garza stepped in admirably for the depleted Timberwolves and did his best against Nikola Jokic. Still, an opponent outmuscled the Wolves for the first time all season with Kyle Anderson as Minnesota’s de facto starting center. Going from three bigs to zero is a losing strategy for the final 13 games of the season. If Gobert and Naz Reid miss any more time with their injuries, it might be time for Chris Finch to unleash Leonard Miller upon the world down the stretch.
The Wolves snagged Miller with the 33rd pick in last year’s draft to quite a bit of fanfare from the draft sickos out there, way more than you’d usually see for a second-round pick. The 6’10” 20-year-old averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds per game in 24 appearances last year for G League Ignite. The man with the body of a young Kevin Garnett is taking things slow during his first foray into the NBA, but the time might be right to unleash his powers upon the civilized world.
Miller saw only 30 minutes of action across nine appearances for the Timberwolves during his rookie season, spending most of it dominating the G League again for the Iowa Wolves. His advanced numbers show there’s something there, but half an hour is such a small sample size that it’s nearly impossible to glean anything from his garbage time minutes.
He’s not ready to be a regular on a team with deep playoff aspirations, but sometimes you just need to throw a big body on the floor and see what happens. Without Towns, Gobert, and Reid, the reigning champs pummeled Minnesota’s frontline of Anderson, Jaden McDaniels, and Garza. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Timberwolves 49-37, and Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. bullied their way into any shot they wanted. 6’4” Anthony Edwards was deputized into service and found himself sliding up two slots and banging around with the power forwards for a portion of the game.
Edwards is strong, but he’s not big enough to battle with the 6’8”, 235-pound Aaron Gordon all night. With his 7’2” wingspan, Miller could offer a little more resistance at the basket. He shouldn’t be asked to start or carry any burden too heavy for a rookie with 30 minutes under his belt. But Miller could hold his own for 4-6 minutes each half when Kyle Anderson needs a breather or gets into foul trouble.
Hopefully, the zero big theory has already come and gone for the Wolves. Gobert and Naz Reid are both questionable to return to the lineup for Friday’s tilt against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even if they don’t suit up for another game or two, they seem poised to return sooner than later. Towns seems poised to rejoin his teammates sometime during the playoffs, which could mean the first game of the first round. Or he might need his teammates to do some heavy lifting to get out of the first round for the second time in franchise history without him. In all likelihood, Leonard Miller will only see the court with the Wolves ahead or behind by an insurmountable amount of points. But if Chris Finch ever needs anyone taller than 6’9”, he should unleash Leonard Miller.
