Chris Finch wasn’t happy with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ effort performance in their 110-103 season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Just not a very good representation of ourselves,” said Finch. “I thought we were soft. I thought, at times, we were selfish. We didn’t execute a lot of the things that we had talked about doing.”
He agreed that Nickeil Alexander-Walker was a bright spot, though. The sixth-year guard had 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting, five rebounds, and a team-high three three-point shots. Alexander-Walker is always a sound defensive player and a smart passer. However, he has been an inconsistent scorer.
Alexander-Walker can provide valuable secondary scoring, but he can also go cold. Last year, Alexander-Walker scored 12.3 points in the Phoenix Suns series. However, he averaged 7.1 against the Denver Nuggets and 3.4 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Minnesota survived the Denver series, but Alexander-Walker’s lack of scoring was detrimental against the Mavs. The Wolves couldn’t contain Dallas’ backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and Alexander-Walker was Minnesota’s best defender on Irving. However, Alexander-Walker’s lack of scoring made it difficult for Finch to deploy him.
However, Alexander-Walker looked like the player he was against Phoenix in Minnesota’s opener against the Lakers. After the Mavericks eliminated Minnesota last year, Alexander-Walker vowed to add to his game and take the scoring burden off his teammates. He looks capable of doing that this season.
“Especially the way we lost last year, coming into this season, you want to hit the ground running,” he said. “For me, the mindset is to try to be as ready as we can as a team and doing my job so that come April, we’re where we need to be.”
Alexander-Walker says his success resulted from a productive offseason in which he played for Canada in the Olympics. He saw how other athletes compete in events they trained for four years to compete on the world stage and appreciated how they captured the moment.
“It taught me what it meant to represent your country, especially when you see people dedicate four years of their lives to one day, one moment,” he said. “Runners dedicate four years to run under 10 seconds. That’s how fast that one event can be for them.”
Alexander-Walker was at his best in the playoffs when he lived moment to moment. During Minnesota’s Game 7 comeback in Denver, Alexander-Walker said he was focused second to second throughout the game.
“Stuff like that just really showed me the value of each moment,” he said. “When you lose, you have to wait another four years. In the NBA, you can take that for granted because you’ve got 82 games. [After that experience], it’s like you understand the importance of the moment and the balance of time.”
Alexander-Walker is still focused on his defense. However, he feels that he’s returned to the Timberwolves a better offensive player after the offseason he had.
“As an offensive player, become a lot better. Patience, reading the game,” said Alexander-Walker. “It was just kind of taking a step back, trusting all that work.
“Me and James White talk about patience all the time, and there’s just like an eagerness to make something happen now. It’s kind of like letting the game come to me but playing with that confidence where I’m not shying away from the moment.”
White is one of Minnesota’s player development assistants. Before games, White and Alexander-Walker kick the basketball like a soccer ball, which brings Alexander-Walker back to his childhood, when he first fell in love with sports.
“What I’ve learned the most from [White] is how to find joy in the process,” said Alexander-Walker. “I’ve always been goal-oriented, so the process never really bothered me. But for me, it helps me keep a bigger picture. I’ve been able to learn so much from him.
“I trust him and the work that we put in every day. He’s committed just as much as I am, and that means everything.”
The Lakers game was one of 82. However, it’s also the first step in Minnesota’s journey to go a step further than they did last season. Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert will drive winning for the Wolves, but they need Alexander-Walker to be productive on both sides of the court to advance in the playoffs.
Alexander-Walker is working to recapture that moment, one second at a time.
