Physical Address
15453 Hampshire Ln
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History Repeats Itself
When the Minnesota Timberwolves faced off against the Memphis Grizzlies a few games ago, they seemed to do everything in their power to stay in the game in all 48 minutes. It wasn’t until the final 2 minutes of that game where the wheels started to fall off in rapid and familiar fashion. Julius Randle started holding onto the ball, Gobert missed some free throws, and the issue of turning the ball over reared its ugly head once again.
It feels like every game the Timberwolves play follows the same game script. The Wolves will start out either hot or cold in first quarter, depending on how much energy the starting five looks to give at tip off. The second and third quarters play out as score constrictors, either the Wolves comeback in miraculous fashion or they begin to show casual disregard towards the other team, letting them come back into the game and carry momentum into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter tends to be where the actual game starts, opposing sides lock in and play their hardest in an attempt to forget the mediocre play of the first three quarters. This would be an awesome game script to follow if the Wolves had one very important characteristic: the clutch.
Some teams have it, others not so much. A lackadaisical and chemistry-less Brooklyn Nets team could be the worst team in the league. but lets say they had a D’angelo Russell or a Dennis Schroeder that always rose to the occasion and never feared the bright lights (these two players aren’t the best examples but lets role with them anyways). This hypothetical Nets team would have the “clutch” gene and even the best teams in the league would fear the score being tied with less than 2 minutes remaining. Even if a team is bad for much of the games timeline, the ability to enhance your play the later the game goes on is inherently important to winning games in a league overloaded with talent.
The Wolves to me land somewhere in the middle, or no mans land. They aren’t an objectively bad team in terms of scoring and passing the basketball, but they also seem to always struggle in drawing up plays down the stretch that require them to score or get a stop to win the game. Part of the reason for this is the advent of Julius Randle on the roster. The other reason? Rebounding the basketball in crucial situations.
Boards that actually matter
Rebounds, rebounds, rebounds. They are the most boring statistic in the game of basketball but also quite literally the most important. Rebounds are the stat of opportunity and control. The team who dominates the boards gives themselves a better opportunity to win the game. Part of the reason why Tim Connelly, the president of the Timberwolves, traded for Rudy Gobert is because he saw how weak the team was in rebounding during the 2022 playoff series against Memphis. In that series, the Timberwolves were actually pretty efficient in generating stops on defense, frequently forcing contested threes and mid range shots while trying to eliminate points in the paint. What they weren’t good at, at all, was rebounding the missed shots that they forced, making many defensive stands null.
Tonights game was much of the same. Jaden McDaniels would chase Curry around the court, dodging and weaving between player screens and his teammates, until he eventually caught up with the two-time mvp and attempted a strong contest at the three point line. 7 of those contests led to made threes, the other 5 attempts were misses. Where did the ball go on those misses? Right into the hands of Gui Santos or Trayce Jackson-Davis, the ladder of whom racked up 15 boards, NINE of them being offensive rebounds. To grab 9 offensive rebounds in a game is to be as efficient and dominant as a Tim Duncan or Dwight Howard of old. To allow someone like Trayce Jackson-Davis to snag 9 out of the air from you is just inexcusable.
Which is why the downfall of Rudy Gobert and his rebounding abilities need to be studied. He is supposed to be the solution, the player the team can fall back on to take care of the dirty rebounding work, he is seven feet tall after all. Now that’s not to say he doesn’t get any rebounds, he does, just not the ones that are game winning. He had 10 rebounds tonight, 8 of them defensive. 8 one dollar bills, the ones expected of him as a 3-time defensive player of the year. But when Gary Payton II lines up for free throws with under a minute to go in the game, you have to snag the rebound if he misses. Well he did miss, and Andrew Wiggins, a player historically known for giving minimal effort, soared up high and early to secure the offensive board and effectively end the game. If Gobert was able to snag that board, the team would’ve had a chance to prove that they had the “clutch” gene I mentioned earlier. When you don’t rebound, you lose those opportunities every single time.
A Bright Spot
Luckily there were some bright spots in the game that make me excited in the direction of the teams development. If you followed the Timberwolves earlier in the season, then you would know how truly disappointing Donte Divincenzo was. In the first 10 games of the season, Divincenzo averaged 10.8/3.7/3.6 on around 40% from the field. Those stats aren’t bad for a role player on a contender, but Donte was supposed to be so much more. When he was on the Knicks last year, his stats sky rocketed after Julius Randle suffered a shoulder injury. He was the clear second option in a Knicks offense that showed no signs of slowing down, almost making the eastern conference finals in a year where expectations fell apart.
We expected him to be great, to be a 15-20 ppg three point shooter that could fill the void that Towns departure caused. Hell, Randle hasn’t shown he can fill that void, so a lot of things naturally fall on Donte. He hasn’t been consistent this year, but he was clearly one of the best players on the court tonight for either team. Ignore that he scored 28 points, dished out 9 assists, and snagged 6 rebounds as a 6’4” point guard, those stats are amazing don’t get me wrong, but it was his pure determination and hustle on defense that outshined everyone on the court. That’s who the Timberwolves were last year, a young and gritty team with veteran leaders that prided themselves on their lock down defense and willingness to out-hustle the other team. They’ve lost a lot of that self identity, but it truly felt like Donte took some of that 2024 season magic and injected it into his play tonight.
If anything can come out of this loss, it’s that Donte has what the Wolves desperately need: a confident self identity that prides itself on the defensive skills of one another. A grand collective, an impenatrable wall that opposing teams across the league fear to battle against. I’m glad that Donte’s figured what brand of basketball the team needs, the question is can other players like Rudy and Julius follow the same game plan.
