I decided to wait to comment on the "new look" Timberwolves. First, tonight's game vs. Portland was already my Game of the Day for today and, second, I got 2 "looks" at the new guys Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Besides, I can now report that the Wolves are 3-0 without the late, not-so-great Jimmy Butler against 3 teams with at least a respectable total record of 25-21. How did they do that?
Well, they've gone back to the basics, which is to say Karl Towns and Anthony Wiggins. Wiggins has moved back into Butler's 2-guard spot and last night he led the Wolves with 23 points on 6-of-13 2s, 3-of-8 3s and 2-for-2 from the line. He was quoted in the paper today saying that he felt that he could get to the rim a little more from the 2-spot than the 3, which is as good a reason as I can think of why he should be at the 2. Last night it worked out, not only with the 23 points but also with a team-best +17.
Towns didn't have a huge game, like he did on both Monday and Wednesday of this week, with 14 points on 6-of-15 and 9 boards. He are Gorgui Dieng combined for 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting with 12 boards. Portland's 3 7-footers combined for 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 24 boards.
Meanwhile, the new guys combined for 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting including 5-of-11 3s and 12 boards. They played 50 minutes though Covington split his time at the 3 with Wiggins and Saric split his time with Gibson at the 4. Both of the new guys space the floor, hit the 3 and hit the boards.
Meanwhile Jeff Teague was solid with 7 assists and +16 and Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-of-13 shots with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
In other words, the Wolves suddenly have a pretty competitive 7-deep NBA rotation that can score on anybody and has shown actual signs of life on the defensive end this week. They outshot Portland all the way around, had 28 assists to just 16 and minimized turnovers. They still gave up too many offensive boards yet the held the Blazers to under 100 points. Who'd a thought? If they keep shooting 50 percent and Wiggins can stay on the + sides of +/-, the Wolves have every chance of being competitive this year after all.
I guess the one question we'll never be able to answer is whether 2 11 mpg scorers (Covington and Saric) is better than one 20 (Josh Richardson, who it appears could have been had from Miami for Butler). Conventional wisdom would usually go for one star over 2 journeymen but, of course, it's possible that Covington and/or Saric is in fact more than just a journeyman.
Player of the Day: Andrew Wiggins
Team of the Day: Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach of the Day: Tom Thibodeau
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