Recently, we have been discussing the topic of Timberwolves and Downs, and have even begun to use Russell as a research object, why is the Timberwolves so hot now? There are two main reasons. One is the comparison between the previous Timberwolves record and the current results, which can be seen that these are almost two completely different teams. Whether it's chemistry, player configuration, or even chemistry between players and players, that's not a level. The second reason is downs' performance this season, after reducing mistakes on the defensive end, Towns has gained a large number of fans by relying on strong offensive performances. Therefore, the heat will naturally rise.
How much praise the Timberwolves have received this season, how much criticism the Timberwolves have received before that. Many people have not understood why the Timberwolves, who have countless talents in their hands, can't play the results? It's actually quite simple, the early Timberwolves, chemistry and atmosphere are really the lowest in the league. For this, many fans are looking in the eyes and hurting in their hearts. They even thought of playing the emotional card in order to keep Downs. Fortunately, Russell matured later in the season, otherwise the Timberwolves would have to be confused about their development and future for a long time to come.
The previous team did not produce results, which has a lot to do with the performance of Downs himself. Of course, in the Wiggins period, this kind of problem can not only blame Downes alone, after all, the two-element, to carry the pot must also be carried together. Wiggins himself has a low desire to attack, and he is not a good leader player. So under the influence of Wiggins, the overall offensive desire of the team is not very high. Offense doesn't work, defense can't keep up, and it's normal to be beaten through.
After Russell joined, the team has obviously changed differently. First, Russell's organization has made the Timberwolves look like a whole again, a reaction that last occurred back to Garnett's time. Second, the team's offensive atmosphere began to get better, and more blossoms allowed the Timberwolves to start seeing hope. However, at this stage, Downs has not fully evolved and cannot become a qualified leader of a team.
The first is the lineup problem, the early Timberwolves have not found a suitable offensive system. They knew Downs was very skilled on the offensive end, but they didn't know what kind of partner to match him with. In season 19, Towns had part of his offense relying on blocking cover. It's a conventional offensive weapon for center forwards, but for Downs, the offense limits his efficiency. He played a total of 94 offensive rounds, but only averaged 1.03 points per round, behind 58% of the league's players, which is a relatively low gear in the center position. But at this stage, Towns is shooting more than 40 percent from three-point range, and he's shooting 72 percent from the basket. Combined with these offensive values, you can probably think that this kind of blocking and dismantling cover is most likely not to create a suitable offensive space for Downs, so there will be such an embarrassing situation. It's like you now have a very powerful sniper rifle, but because you can't load, this gun can only be used as a hammer, and it is not difficult for you to be uncomfortable. Both the management and Towns at the time had this mentality. The ability to block and dismantle the partner is not good, which directly leads to Downs being very uncomfortable at the end of the attack, which leads to inefficiency, which is not a problem that should appear in mature teams! It's worth mentioning that 60 percent of Downs' passing guidance after blocking offense this season came from Wiggins, which may also be a major reason why he's on the shelf. (The assist opportunities created by his teammates led by Wiggins are not even more than the opportunities that Downs gave them after tearing up the defense, which has to be said to be ironic.)
The second is the problem of Downs' defensive ability, as a center player, Towns' defensive data has not been very good. Even this season, Towns' defensive efficiency is only 110.3, ranking 195th in the league. That's not what a center forward should have, and in previous seasons, that number has been a little more outrageous. Under Downs' defense, the opponent's shooting rate will even increase by 6% compared to before, the assist rate will also increase, and the score per 100 rounds will increase by ten points. In other words, Towns even limited the co-defense of his teammates, giving the team's defense the opposite effect.
Towns' lack of defensive skills is also reflected in the defensive after the loss of position, and many players actually rely on defensive enthusiasm to get into position. So even if they are pulled apart by their opponents, they will find a way to make up for it. The defensive efficiency of many players is raised in this way, such as Caruso, Beverley and so on. But Towns can't do that, and after losing his position, Towns will even watch his opponent score directly. Statistics show that after Downs loses his original defensive position, the opponent's score per round will increase to 1.4 points. In other words, the opponent's shooting percentage has risen to an incredible level, and this is all thanks to Downs' defense. Although Downs has averaged good blocks per game in his career, he still has a lot of improvement in limiting his opponents.
Management naturally knows what Downs is up to, so the best way to develop more of his skills is to let Downs focus only on offense. The first point is to find a suitable organizer, and the management was willing to trade Wiggins for Russell, which was actually based on this consideration. Players must first have the right organizational skills to keep Towns undistracted, and can organize tactics that are appropriate for Towns on the offensive end in order to play a greater role in the Timberwolves system. Russell, as one of Downs's young haircuts, is also the eye of the draft in the same year, and naturally the best role.
The second is to increase role players who are good at defense and make up for the shortcomings of the team. It is worth mentioning that the Timberwolves have not found a good way to do this aspect of things, and none of the top 100 people in the league's defensive list this season belong to the Timberwolves, but their overall defensive efficiency can reach the 11th place in the league, in other words, they do not have players who are too crotch-pulling, nor do they directly raise the arrow of the system. As you can guess, the Timberwolves' next reinforcement plan is to find a player who can improve the team's defensive system. The current Timberwolves have passed through the confusion period, and all that remains is to fill in the gaps.