After 3 seasons without playoffs, the Wolves have finally found the joys of the final stages. For that, it was necessary to triumph over the Clippers during a play-in played at home and celebrated like a title, with Patrick Beverly still in restraint, standing on the scorer’s table! Assurment the image of this season 2021-2022 Minneapolis. Beyond that, the Wolves were able to rely on a Karl Anthony Towns who was finally able to chain the matches (74), sending shots from the parking lot all year (24 points on average 41% three points) and an impressive Anthony Edwards for a sophomore (20 points average). After a 7th place and therefore the victory once morest the Clippers, Minnesota returned to the playoffs once morest the Memphis sensation. A series where Wolves will lose 4-2, having won the first away game. In terms of individual performance, Anthony Edwards finished his team’s top scorer series, averaging 25 points, including 36 in Game 1 for his first playoff game and 30 in Game 6. The promises are there for Minnesota and the front office is not going to not hesitate to bet all of his future to find perhaps the missing piece in the person of the three-time best defender in the NBA.
- Offseason moves
Dparts : Malik Beasley, Patrick Berverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Josh Okogie, Jarred Vanderbilt
Arrives : Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Austin Rivers, Wendell Moore Jr (Draft), Eric Paschall, PJ Dozier, Josh Minott
Leaders : D’Angelo Russel, Jaylen Nowell, Jordan Mclaughlin
Back : Anthony Edwards, Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes, P.J Dozier
Wingers : Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels, Taurean Prince, Wendell Moore Jr, Josh Minott
Power forwards : Karl-Anthony Towns, Eric Paschall, Nathan Knight
Pivots : Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid
PG : D’Angelo Russel, SG : Anthony Edwards, SF : Jaden McDaniels, PF : Karl-Anthony Towns, C : Rudy Gobert
On paper, the starting five looked great and it shouldn’t be too difficult to predict the five players Chris Finch will put on the floor at the jump ball. at the same time, D’Angelo Russel will begin his last year of contract. The former Lakers comes out of a season 18 points, 7 average assists and 65 games played. A total more achieved since 2018-2019, when he had played 81 games with the Nets. His relationship on pick-and-roll with Rudy Gobert will be particularly watched. By his side, no surprise either with the phenomenon Anthony Edwards. The first choice of the 2020 Draft, impressed for his first playoffs, with a series once morest Memphis 25 points on average. Progress is expected on his 3-point shot (32% in the rookie season and 35% last year) and in defense where he will have to make efforts on a backcourt which is not his specialty (see elsewhere). On the wing, there may be a game between Kyle Anderson and Jaden McDaniels but the preference is the latter, who can defend in several positions and have three-point heat shots, evidenced by his last playoff game 24 points, 5 / 6 by far. A sector of play where he will have to gain in regularity.
Finally, the big attraction of this season at Wolves, the repositioning of Towns as a strong winger and the arrival of Gobert as a pivot. On paper this combination promises between the offensive qualities of Towns and the defensive qualities of the Frenchman, but the two men will have to adapt to each other’s game, especially when KAT will have to defend once morest smaller strong wingers. Chris Finch to make this duo work, and why not bring out one of the two when it is necessary to play more small-ball.
If the incumbents promise, the bench also has qualities to assert. On the backcourt, Austin Rivers will come on the offensive with the substitutes, a perfect role for him. Bryn Forbes will aim to return his shots from afar. Two arrivals who might waste playing time Jaylen Howell and Jordan McLaughlin. The latter, as the only pure leader behind Russel, will come and do the job cleanly, as he did last season for regarding fifteen minutes per game. see also, the use of PJ Dozier, who arrived in early September, who will fight for a place in the squad during training camp. On the wings, the arrival of Kyle Anderson is a very good pick, as the former Grizzlies will bring all his versatility and game intelligence.
Taurean Prince is always there to defend and return 3s. The rookie Wendell Moore Jr will fight to scratch a few minutes and finally Eric Paschall in difficulty at the Jazz last season (5 points, 1 rebound), will allow Finch to have a profile physical position 4. In pivot, soldier Naz Reid is still there and will answer present, he who played 77 games last year. His playing time should decrease, however, because Towns will slip into 5 when Gobert is on the bench, announced Chris Finch.
- Player to watch: Rudy Gobert
It was to afford the triple best defender in the NBA that Minnesota went all-in, sending five players and four first draft rounds to the Jazz. After 9 seasons spent in Utah, Rudy Gobert is coming to Wolves for a new, ultra-exciting challenge. With the presence in the racket of the French, Minnesota may have found the piece it needed to cross a threshold. The pivot arrives in a franchise that fueled offensively last season with 115.9 points per game, the best average in the league and in difficulty with defensive rebounding (5th worst team in this sector of play). Luckily, Gobert was the best rebounder in the league last year. The latter will of course bring his circle protection and defensive qualities, but also offer physical presence and verticality in attack. His relationship with D’Angelo Russel will be particularly followed, especially on pick-and-roll, and in the setting of screens, where the pivot can allow the point guard to feast in the mid-distance game, or the pass. Chris Finch has already warned that he intends to rely on this duo, leaving them on the floor together when Edwards and Towns are on the bench.
Despite everything, Gobert keeps his limits in attack, as we saw during the last Eurobasket, when he is called upon in this area, whether it is the pass or to play with his back to the basket. With so much offensive talent on the team, his role might not differ too much from what he was doing at Utah. In addition to having to integrate into a new franchise and a new collective, Gobert’s other big challenge will be to coexist in the racket with Karl-Anthony Towns. Never in his career has the native of Saint-Quentin played with such an interior dominating his side. Offensively, Towns will move to position 4. See how he adapts to this new position where he will have to face smaller and faster players. In defense and rebound, the presence of Gobert will clearly relieve the former number one in Draft. This adaptation between the two men will in any case be one of the keys to Wolves’ success this season.
Full and deep workforce : Talent, defense, shooting, size, the workforce of Wolves ticks almost all the boxes. It may be missing a veteran or two like Patrick Beverly last season, but otherwise it’s very solid, including a terrifying major five.
Anthony Edwards : The number one in the 2020 Draft is entering his 3rd season in the league. A formidable scorer and athlete, at the back, this ability to change a match on his own and showed during the last playoffs that pressure did not scare him. Like a Morant last season, Edwards might (should) turn a corner and quickly become one of the best guards in the league and franchise player in Minnesota.
Backcourt defense : With McDaniels on the wing, Wolves already have a strong all-round defender. The arrival of Gobert will obviously improve the overall defense of Minnesota but not everything. We saw Utah that when Conley and Mitchell did not make a minimum of effort in defense, the Frenchman might not solve everything. The duo Russel, Edwards, far from being specialties of the genre, will therefore have to take out the overalls. If the latter has the capacity, the leader has never been a great lover of defensive efforts.
The playoff experience : With Rudy Gobert or Kyle Anderson, the Wolves have recruited two players rods to the playoff campaigns. However, the majority of the group did not experience great pops until the final of the conference, for example. The experience gained once morest Memphis will necessarily serve Towns and Edwards, but all the other favorites in the West are more experienced with players used to hot moments (Curry, Leonard, Doncic, Jokic…) when the air is thin and the pressure gets stronger.
The arrival of Gobert must take Wolves to a new level. In the continuity of a promising season, with a young star (Edwards), a confirmed All star (Towns), a triple best defender in the NBA, and a leader with undeniable offensive talent (Russel), Minnesota has the weapons to go far. The group is strong, more experienced than last season and any result other than direct qualification for the playoffs would be a disappointment (or even home advantage for the most ambitious).
The integration of the French alongside Towns will be monitored and the success of the season will depend in part on the agreement between the two insiders. Once in the playoffs, the whole question will be whether the team will be able to raise their level of play once morest formations with more experienced players and collectives at this stage of the competition. One thing is certain, the potential of Minnesota is high and no one will want to cross them if they arrive at full strength. In addition to the teams already well established (Suns, Warriors, Mavs) and formations like Denver or the Clippers reinforced by the returns, the western conference has surely just found a new pretender.
