The Timberwolves had another disappointing night, losing 103-114 to the Grizzlies on the road, suffering a three-game losing streak. The Timberwolves have lost six of their last seven games. The Timberwolves' record went from 4-2 to 5-8, dropping to 13th place in the West at once, just better than the Rockets and Lakers.
The Timberwolves changed general managers in the offseason and made a big deal in exchange for Gobert, creating the most expensive 430 million two-tower lineup in league history. However, the Timberwolves now have a disappointing record. What happened to the timberwolves? The Timberwolves painstakingly poached the general manager Connery, but pitted the Timberwolves?
From the perspective of roster configuration, the Timberwolves are very luxurious, Gobert and Towns are both All-Star interior players, Russell is a former All-Star guard, and Edwards is a champion and is known as Wade Jr. McDaniels defensively toughened. Also on the bench are Torian Prince, Norville, Natsu Reed, Forbes, Kyle Anderson, Rivers Jr., McLaughlin and more.
On paper, this is the lineup that is expected to enter the top six in the West and even hit the top four in the West. However, the Timberwolves are not doing well right now.
Apparently, Gobert did not have the desired effect, and Gobert was used as a blue-collar worker in the Timberwolves. Downs' burden was lightened, and he looked more and more like a big man floating on the outside.
But if Gobert plays as a blue-collar center, it's not worth the price the Timberwolves. To get Gobert, the Timberwolves sent Beasley, Beverley, Kessler (pick No. 22 in 2022), Vanderbilt and Bormaro, as well as first-round picks for 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, as well as first-round swaps for 2026.
Many experts believe that the Timberwolves paid so much leverage for Gobert to suddenly raise the trading market in 2022. Teams trade stars for chips from trading Gobert with the Jazz.
Timberwolves general manager Connery explained why he spent so much leverage to bring in Gobert, explaining that not many stars are willing to come to the Timberwolves. In the same game, if you want to get a star through a trade, if you want him to stay on the team for a long time, it is better to get his approval. Historically, Minnesota Apolis is not a city that attracts superstars, but superstars have left the place, such as Garnett and Ruff, who have left the Timberwolves to form new combinations with other teams and win championships.
In order to get Gobert, the Timberwolves not only sent away a lot of future assets, but also sent away a number of powerful players, weakening the depth of the roster. The Timberwolves' new lineup didn't form good chemistry.
Edwards is averaging 21.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season, not much different from last season. He averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists last season. It was thought that Edwards would usher in another transformation in his third season, but unfortunately he did not seem to improve.
Many of the league's youngsters have undergone a dramatic evolution in their third season, the latest example being Morant, who suddenly became an MVP.
Edwards has great athletic talent and no bad shooting ability, and he is a star with great potential for development. Unfortunately, the 21-year-old has not shown improvement this season.
Edwards is the Timberwolves' scoring leader this season. Towns' numbers have declined, averaging 20.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season, compared to 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season. Towns has fewer and fewer rebounds, averaging double-doubles per game in the first six seasons, not rebounding last season and hitting a new low this season.
Towns became the All-Star three-point winner and considered himself the best three-point shooting center in league history. But he played too softly, and he made two career playoffs, leaving embarrassing memories, being restricted, and being out of the first round. Towns wasn't tough enough and lacked the temperament to be a leader, but the Timberwolves had him at their core. The team cap thus created was limited.
The Timberwolves' biggest decline is actually Russell, who is averaging just 13.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season while shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from three-point range. The former All-Star guard has also been miserable this season.
Today, the Timberwolves' offense and defense rank in the middle and lower reaches of the league, ranking 21st in offensive efficiency at 109.9 and 17th in defensive efficiency at 111.6. The Timberwolves have built a super twin towers, so the rebounds should be strong, right? But the Timberwolves are averaging 44.5 rebounds per game and rank 16th in the league.
It can be seen from the rebounding ranking that the Timberwolves are not playing hard enough at the moment, and they are fully capable of becoming the top three teams in the rebounding league, after all, the height of the starting lineup alone is very good.
Gobert at 2.16m, Towns at 2.11m, McDaniels at 2.08m, plus two defenders at 1.93m. Gobert averaged 12.9 rebounds per game this season and is the league's rebounding leader. But the other Timberwolves players didn't have strong rebounds. The Timberwolves are ranked 12th in 5.5 blocks per game, and the Twin Towers advantage is also not played.
Gobert is offensively proficient, and in his first game of the season, Gobert had 23 points and 16 rebounds, he shot 10-of-15 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line, and performed very well on the offensive end. Unfortunately, in the subsequent matches, Gobert did not get so many chances.
'We saw Gobert's blocking, we didn't always get the pass, but we consciously got him the ball,' said coach Chris Fincher. That said, the Timberwolves knew to tap Gobert's energy.
Gobert and Towns are, after all, the All-Star Twin Towers, which is where the Timberwolves have an advantage, and if they can't play to that advantage, then the Timberwolves' deal is a failure.
Today's Timberwolves lack a sense of urgency, and their body language on the field is not good. Edwards has been in inconsistent form lately, not scoring 20+ points in three of his last six games.
"I would be better. Things happen, slumps, days when I can't shoot. It won't last forever, I can assure you. Edwards said. Edwards wasn't the only one in the downturn.
"It takes patience and it takes time. But for us in the locker room, it's clear that I don't want us to think patiently, I want us to think desperately, I want us to think in every practice that this is Game Six, and in Minnesota, that's all. Downs said. However, Downs' assurances are no longer credible for fans. Towns has made a lot of guarantees, but is still the player who is soft in key games.
Towns is not tough enough, he is actually more of a small forward. Now his playing style is also like a small forward, like to attack with the ball in front, like to swim outside the three-point line, but he did this, the inside line did not do his job well, but robbed the forward of work.
Russell's slump this season has also been a big reason for the team's poor record. When Russell first debuted, his shooting was once compared to Curry, but his shooting was actually far from Curry, not in a grade at all. Russell is sinking more and more in the Timberwolves. His performance this season has been the worst of his career.
Russell averaged 8.0 three-pointers per game last season and 6.1 this season. He needs to make better decisions, put some effort into defense, cut down on his own turnovers and shoot three-pointers more carefully early in the game.
Timberwolves general manager Connery's big move has not yet produced an effect, Connery wants to fall behind? In the 2022 offseason, the Timberwolves offered Connery a five-year, $40 million contract to dig Connery out of the Nuggets. Connery built a Jokic core roster in the Nuggets, and Jokic was assisted by players including Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and others.
The Timberwolves want Connery to build a winning roster in Minneapolis as well. Connery hired Gobert, but the lineup still needs to be polished.
Chris Fincher has experience playing double towers, he used to be an assistant coach with the Pelicans, when the Pelicans used the double towers of Bushy Brother and Cousins. Fincher helped the Timberwolves make the playoffs last season, and management has more trust in Fincher. Fincher doesn't plan to make any changes to the starting lineup to address the team's woes. But he did say they would start scaling back some defensive tactics to focus more on what works on the other end of the court and drop some things that aren't. "We're trying to simplify things right now and do better at those things." Finch said.
Gobert's trade has raised expectations, and the team's performance is worrying. 'It's a good team, but we're in the future now, we're no longer the past, this team is a team that can go very far, as long as we try to play, lock in and do what we're supposed to do.' Substitute center Natsu Reid said.
How do the Timberwolves get out of trouble? The first thing to start with is defense, and Gobert is a three-time winner of the Best Defensive Player award. He is currently 30 years old, has no major injuries and is still in his prime as a basketball player. Gobert can be a cornerstone of the team's defense, but the key is for other teammates to work on the defensive end as well. It's a shame that Towns, Russell and Edwards don't have good defensive habits enough.
"Last season we didn't have good defense and backcourt rebounding, and now we have the best defenders and rebounders in the league." General manager Connery said this when he brought in Gobert. It is reported that before the Timberwolves introduced Gobert, the team's deputy general manager predicted through the data model, agreeing that in exchange for Gobert, he believed that Gobert could make the team complete a qualitative leap.
However, the current performance of the Timberwolves is far below expectations. Gobert's energy is also far from being fully utilized. The Timberwolves must start defensively, which is how they win, otherwise bring in a defensive cornerstone like Gobert, but other players are still at the level of the past few seasons, then the Timberwolves are equivalent to bringing in Gobert for nothing.