The Timberwolves were eliminated 2-4 by the Grizzlies, stopping the first round of the playoffs. G6 life-and-death battle, Russell only played 27 minutes, the key moment was abandoned. He shot 3-of-7 and 1-of-3 from three-point range, scoring 7 points, 1 board, 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers. Towns also had a poor hand, with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 turnovers on 6-of-19 shooting, and 1-of-5 in the final quarter.
Today we talk about Russell, who averaged 32.8 minutes per game in this series, scoring 12 points, 2.5 boards, 6.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.8 turnovers. Shooting 33.3 percent from the field, 38.7 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free throws. Beverly averaged 11 points, 3.2 boards, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting from three ranges: 42.9%, 34.6% and 68.2%.
In the regular season, Russell played against the Grizzlies four times, averaging 31 points and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 56% from the field and 46% from three-point range. By the playoffs, his average score per game had dropped from 31 to 12, and Russell was pulling his crotch again! Speaking about the G6's last-minute deprecation, Russell said: "I don't want to make this a big deal, but I'm really frustrated! ”
In the Battle of Tenno Mountain between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves, Russell played 39 minutes, shooting 4-of-10, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-3 from the free throw line, with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers. At critical moments, Russell repeatedly failed to single, resulting in the Timberwolves being killed by Morantra. If the Timberwolves can win the Battle of Mt. Tenno, the outcome of the series is really hard to say.
At present, Russell has become the biggest shortcoming of the Timberwolves' starting lineup. Russell's current contract is $117 million for four years, which expires in the summer of 2023 and will be the year of the contract next season. At the age of 26 + contract years, Russell still has a certain deal value, and this offseason Timberwolves may really have to shoot.
In the regular season, Russell played in 65 games, averaging 18.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1 steal per game, shooting 41.1%, 34% and 82.5% of the three shots. He averaged 17.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his career, which is definitely not a "parallel cargo list", but it is obviously worse than the team's expectations.
You may forget that Russell's big contract was given by the Warriors. In the summer of 2019, the Warriors sent Iguodala and the 2024 first-round protected draft picks to the Grizzlies to make room for Russell. In the 2018-19 season, Russell averaged 21.1 points, 3.9 boards and 7 assists per game at the Nets, shooting 43.4% from the field and 36.9% from three-point range.
In the 2019-20 season, Russell played 33 games for the Warriors before being traded. Russell averaged 23.6 points, 3 rebounds, 6.2 assists in 0.9 steals per game for the Warriors, shooting 43% from the field and 37.4% from three-point range, and averaging the highest score per game, enhancing his trading value. On Feb. 7, 2020, the Warriors sent Russell to the Timberwolves.
The Warriors packed Russell, Jacob Evans and Spelman to trade from the Timberwolves to Wiggins, the 2021 first-round pick (protection with the first 3 picks) and the 2021 second-round pick. In the end, the Warriors selected Cuminga with this first-round pick, and now looking back at the deal, who do you think made and who lost?