laitimes

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

author:Yichen said the ball
16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

When the Minnesota Timberwolves lost another crushing loss to the Memphis Grizzlies this Saturday, there was a very interesting news, that Kyle Anderson may become the team's new starting point guard. In terms of timing, the news is by no means unfounded, as De Angelo Russell was again underperforming in this game, while Anderson had a good performance when he was the team's master, sending out a couple of beautiful passes. Still, there are some issues to make this decision, after all, Anderson is not really a point guard, but even so, the Timberwolves, who were only 5-8 in the opening period, still need to consider making some changes.

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

On paper, there's definitely reason to believe that Anderson's entry into the starting lineup will benefit the Timberwolves, that Anderson can pass for others and that the desire to shoot is not strong, which means that he may not need as many shots, and will also allow Anthony Edwards and Carl Anthony Towns to get the ball more often, and make the offensive core of the starting lineup more defined.

If Anderson proves to be a capable point guard, it will also help the Timberwolves maintain some flexibility in determining Russell's future. They could have Russell play as a substitute or simply have him watch over the water cooler waiting for a trade, and if they don't need to get a point guard in the trade in return, it will go a long way toward finding more and more suitable trade options, and they can focus on filling other needs of the lineup, such as acquiring a 3D winger.

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

Whether Anderson is really up to the role is a mystery, after all, Anderson and the other four Timberwolves starters have only played a total of two minutes together, so there is no indicative data. The key for the Timberwolves is to find players who can work well with three of the team's most important players — Edwards, Towns and Rudy Gobert.

Here's how Anderson did when he worked with the trio:

Anderson, Edwards and Towns: 88 minutes played, 119.1 offensive, 127 defensive, -7.9 net

Anderson, Edwards and Gobert: 35 minutes played, 93.1 offensive, 94.6 defensive, -1.5 net

Anderson, Towns Town and Gobert: Played 16 minutes, 82.1 offensive, 86.7 defensive, -4.6 net

While the sample size is small, the negative net rating for all three lineups is not a good sign, with a lineup of Anderson and Gobert struggling to score and a lineup consisting of Anderson and Towns unable to defend.

According to official NBA statistics, Anderson's four best-performing two-man lineups are all with substitutes, so the data does not support his entry into the starting lineup. His best partner with the starters is Jaden McDaniels, who played 75 minutes together with a net rating of +8.1, and while they were still poor defensively, with a defensive rating of only 120.7, the offense was surprisingly good, with an offensive rating of 128.8.

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

Let's analyze how Anderson's personal skills match the starting lineup, we know that Anderson can rely on his own pace to score and can also pass good balls for interior players, but the editor still doubts him as a starting level ball handler. According to the official NBA statistics, his assist pass percentage is 11.1%, ranking 7th on the team, which is obviously not enough to support the role of master for a long time. And what the Timberwolves need is still a player who can consistently create scoring opportunities for teammates and complete offense by holding the ball, and Anderson is more of a second offensive initiator on the court. While Anderson's 16.4 percent error rate is lower than Russell's 18.4 percent, it's not enough to cause a qualitative change, and Anderson's score could easily get worse as responsibility increases. Anderson's presence can also cause problems with the team's offensive pace, and Anderson is nicknamed "human squirming essence" and is notoriously a slow-paced player, so he doesn't seem like the right person to breathe life into the team's attack.

The Timberwolves need to improve their space in addition to the passing ability of their starting lineup, and they need to provide better offensive space for Edwards, Towns and Gobert, which is another area where Russell has not done well. According to official NBA statistics, Anderson only shoots 36.4% from three-point range, including 37.5% from three-point range, but the problem is that he is still not a reliable shooter, this is only the third time in his career that he has shot more than 33.5% from three-point range in a single season, and he has never shot more than 34% from three-point range in a single season since 2017-18.

Anderson's slow-moving shooting is indeed entertaining, but it inhibits his ability as a fixed-point shooter, and if opponents put enough defensive attention into him, they have enough time to interfere with Anderson's shooting, and having such a shooter who is unlikely to even shoot at the same time as Gobert only makes it more difficult for the Timberwolves to offense, especially when the playoffs are more defensively intense.

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

Anderson does have a significant defensive improvement compared to Russell, and Anderson will have four players with an arm span of more than 2.13 meters in the Timberwolves' starting lineup, making the team's ability to block and destroy passes quickly improved, while Anderson is more reliable in both ball and off-ball. Anderson can cover his opponents well with his height of 2.06 meters and 2.18 meters of reach, and according to official NBA statistics, although he only ranks 7th on the team in playing time, he is 3rd on the team in the number of passes he destroys opponents per game.

The only concern here is that the Timberwolves may not have much flexibility to defend those small guards who are fast, which is not Anderson's strong point, so all the blame will fall on Edwards and McDaniels, but this is good compared to Russell, who can basically ignore the defense of these types of players.

16-18! That's the difference between Anderson and Russell, and the Timberwolves' starting point guard has the answer

All in all, it's still a wise choice to put Russell on top of the starting point guard position in the short term if the Timberwolves decide they can't play, but this roster may have too many holes to help them get to where they are going, so if the Timberwolves want to upgrade as quickly as possible, then a trade may be the only way out. #头条创作挑战赛 #

Read on