Luka Garza is the last guy on the bench. But don’t worry, Chris Finch says he’s got it pretty good. “We need him to score,” Finch said matter-of-factly Tuesday night before the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 115-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets. “Everybody should want to be Luka. You’re the 15th guy, and you need to come in and score. That doesn’t happen much.”
Finch’s response drew some laughter from the media surrounding him, but he was being serious. Garza is a capable scorer, but the former Iowa Hawkeye has some defensive shortcomings. Still, the Wolves needed everything Garza could give them when Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid were out against the defending champs.
Anthony Edwards buoyed the Wolves with 30 points, and Jaden McDaniels scored 26 by relentlessly attacking the rim. But Edwards needed help. Denver blitzed Edwards in the fourth, holding him scoreless. Still, the Timberwolves stayed in the game because of their balanced scoring. Mike Conley had 13 points, and Kyle Anderson had 12. But Garza led Minnesota’s bench scorers with 11 points on 4 of 11 shooting.
“It’s unlike any other season I’ve ever had,” said Garza. “I knew it was my role again to be ready for those moments…. At some point in the season, 1-17, everyone’s needed.”
Edwards drives winning for the Wolves, and they need him to carry the team with everyone out. But Tim Connelly has carefully crafted a team around him. Unlike the Kevin Garnett era, where he acted as player-GM, the Timberwolves already had Towns when they drafted Edwards. Connelly has overhauled the roster, but it feels like a product of his vision rather than something Edwards created.
Most of Connelly’s moves have been subtle and savvy. He unloaded D’Angelo Russell and added Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He signed Kyle Anderson away from the Memphis Grizzlies and traded Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr., who had fallen out of the rotation, for Monte Morris. But his lone blockbuster move, trading for Gobert, looked like an abject disaster.
It also didn’t initially help Edwards out. Edwards didn’t have a dunk in the first eight games last season. “Everybody,” he said, “is in the paint.”
Connelly blew up a roster everybody loved to trade for Gobert. He sent Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley to Utah as part of the Gobert trade. People still wear “I Love Pat Bev” shirts to games. They loved Vanderbilt’s hustle and Beasley’s outside shooting. The 2021-22 team won 46 games, reinvigorating a dormant fanbase.
Edwards was happy on that team. He and Beverley jumped on the scorer’s table after the Wolves beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, and Beverley sipped on a Bud Light next to the 20-year-old Edwards in the post-game press conference. It was Connelly’s idea to go big in a small league to compete with Denver, where he was previously the general manager. Connelly felt he could create the league’s best defense, allowing Minnesota to compete for a title.
Everyone who watches the Wolves regularly knew Edwards would be good after the second half of his rookie season. Any good organization goes all-in once they realize they have a superstar. But in a league where players can leave on a moment’s notice and carry a lot of power, upper management often kowtows to their demands. Instead, the Timberwolves have quickly built a contender around Edwards to keep him in Minnesota. But they’ve done so on their terms and with their expertise.
Doing so has allowed Edwards to focus on his evolution as a player. He continues to improve defensively and find new ways to score. Edwards has also developed as a playmaker. “It’s understanding you don’t have to hit a home run every time down. Certainly be aggressive, draw a crowd, make the right play,” Finch said after the Denver game. “We had some other decent looks, and guys will normally step up and make those things.”
On Tuesday night, Denver held Edwards scoreless in the fourth quarter. But Conley and McDaniels hit late threes to keep Minnesota in the game. Edwards missed a buzzer-beater at the end that would have tied it. “Those guys been doing that the whole year,” he said. “So it’s not a surprise for me. I trust them.”
“He’s growing, and that’s something we need,” said Conley. “We can’t just rely on him to go score 60 every night. He’s capable of doing that. But if we’re gonna win, we need all of us. We need me, we need Nickeil, we need JMac, Monte, Jaden, and all the guys to be able to have a rhythm and be able to knock down shots in the fourth and relieve him some of that pressure.”
Edwards is the face of the Timberwolves, and he may eventually be the face of the league. But he’s a central cog of Minnesota’s roster, not the entire machine. He can lock down opposing guards with McDaniels and kick the ball out to Conley for a three. Gobert anchors the defense, and Towns complements Edwards’ scoring. And when they’re out, Garza steps in puts up a few points.
