Last year, the eight-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves crawled into the playoffs after a Play-In Tournament victory over the tenth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It was Minnesota’s second time making the playoffs in as many seasons. But they had to play the first-seeded Denver Nuggets, equipped with the lethal dyad of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić, in the first round.
The Wolves weathered Karl-Anthony Towns’ 52-game absence, had a banged-up Rudy Gobert, and made a mid-season swap of point guards with the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline a year ago. As they approached a fully healthy Nuggets team in the first round, Chris Finch’s squad was without Naz Reid (broken wrist) and Jaden McDaniels (broken hand), two critical components to success. Being down a starter and a sixth man off the bench opened up opportunities for others.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker stepped up in their absence. After arriving in the Twin Cities at the trade deadline, Finch asked Alexander-Walker to start and defend Murray, who averages 25 points per game in the playoffs. To many people’s surprise, NAW held his own against the dynamic scorer. According to the NBA’s matchup data, Alexander-Walker defended Murray for 182.4 partial possessions over the five-game series. In that span, Jamal scored 32 points on 13-of-36 (36%) from the floor and 4-of-12 (33.3%) from deep with six turnovers.
The new Timberwolf proved he is a playoff performer, and that’s true again this year. However, there is more pressure on the team this time around. Tim Connelly set a goal of advancing to the second round for the second time in franchise history at media day last summer. If Minnesota is going to make that dream a reality, Alexander-Walker will be at the forefront of its success.
“It’s definitely a blessing each and every game that I can come out and play, especially in the opportunity to play in a playoff game,” NAW said after Sunday’s win. “We knew coming in that it was going to be important for us to really present ourselves. The narrative coming into the game wasn’t in our favor, so the main thing, and the focus, was to do just that. My mindset really wasn’t about anything else than providing for the team. Through the grace of God, my work and preparing for this moment allowed me to do what I did today.”
After going 56-26 in the regular season, the Wolves finished as the third seed in the Western Conference. This year is only the second time in franchise history that the Wolves obtained a top-three seed. However, there was a weird vibe amongst fans as they left Target Center after Game 82 on April 14.
Minnesota lost its final game of the regular season 125-108 against the Phoenix Suns. That loss broke the three-way tie between the Wolves, Nuggets, and Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the West. More importantly, it meant that Minnesota would play the Suns in the first round, and Phoenix had swept them in three regular-season games.
Many fans became pessimistic about Minnesota’s chances in the first round. After a week off, Game 1 between the Wolves and Suns tipped off on Saturday. It felt like a must-win for Minnesota. Target Center sold out for the 42nd straight game. It was a whiteout, and fans viciously waved their complimentary Howl Towels.
The Wolves needed to feed off the frenetic energy from the crowd, start the game strong, and not create an unmanageable early deficit. Alexander-Walker was well aware of that when he subbed into the game for the first time with 4:05 left in the first quarter.
After NAW checked in, Minnesota went on a 12-10 run to close the first. He rattled off five of those points through his first two possessions while also playing physical, hard-nosed defense on Devin Booker – holding him to 0 of 1 from the floor with one turnover.
True to form, Alexander-Walker was an immediate spark plug on both ends. That productive end to the first allowed him to settle in and produce an even better second, recording seven points, three rebounds, and two steals on 3 of 5 from the floor and 1 of 3 from deep in 9:39 minutes. That solo three-point make was a pull-up off a Rudy Gobert screen, which isn’t something we’ve seen too often this season. Usually, NAW is spotted up patiently off the ball. However, his defense is stifling, which he says benefits his confidence from deep.
“Definitely on defense,” responded Alexander-Walker when asked what it takes for him to get the eternal green light from three-point range. “Being able to guard defensively and provide something to the team. And knowing myself, knowing my abilities, what I do well, and trying to sharpen that and heighten that so it can buy me more time on the court.… My defense has allowed me to add value to where I can just be out here shooting. We’ve got guys like Ant; we have so much talent on this team. I can’t just be out here jacking shots like crazy, and that’s not what’s worked for me.”
NAW can complement Edwards’ play by offering some secondary scoring while playing off the ball. However, he has a different role when Edwards leaves the court.
Alexander-Walker played 28:45 minutes on Sunday, 9:34 with Edwards on the bench. During that time, Minnesota outscored Phoenix by three, totaling 25 points. Nickeil accounted for seven of those points, all coming when he shared the floor with Monte Morris and/or Mike Conley. Despite frequently playing next to point guards, NAW typically had the ball in his hands and initiated the offense by turning defense into offense.
NAW’s four steals are the most notable figure from his stat line, which set the record for most by a Wolves player off the bench in the playoffs. However, counting standard stats cannot fully quantify Nickeil’s defensive impact.
According to NBA.com, Alexander-Walker primarily matched up against Booker. NAW defended him for 19.4 partial possessions. Booker averages 28.8 points per game in the playoffs, but Alexander-Walker held him to six points on 1 of 3 from the floor with one turnover. DBook went 4 for 4 from the free throw line, but NAW was in front of him or tailing close behind in his rearview mirror all game long, making it incredibly difficult to take easy or uncontested shots.
“Play after play, just being there. Understanding that [Booker is] talented, he’s going to make some tough shots, but try to make it difficult,” Nickeil told the media postgame regarding his defense on Booker. “Watching a lot of film, studying his game, trying to adjust to what he’s comfortable in and the spots he likes to get to.
“With guys like that, you’ve just got to be up for every possession and accept the challenge. He’s made a name for himself as a scorer, as a complete player, and an All-Star. For me, just having the mentality that if he scores, technically, he’s supposed to because of who he is. So, I just approach it as if I have nothing to lose. Give it my all.”
Alexander-Walker appears to pride himself on having nothing to lose and giving his all. He’s been on three teams through his first five seasons, trying to build his game along the winding road that a role player typically finds themselves on in the NBA. However, NAW is quickly proving to his teammates, the front office, and fans that he is more than just a role player. He holds the key to getting the Wolves out of the first round.
