Timberwolves Mid-season Report card

[Bob Wiley]

I rarely hand out A’s but this team gets one. They got the second best record in the NBA. They are playing better basketball than I thought they were capable of.

Several players get A’s as well. Ant gets an A. Towns gets an A-, Gobert gets an A-, and so does Naz.
Conley gets a B, Jayden McDumbass gets a B, the rest of the rotation gets a C, and the end of the bench guys all get incompletes

[Moses Scurry]

Naz's offense has won us a number of games and bailed out the starters who didn't score enough.

[weimy froob]

Defensive Player of the First Half: Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves

What a difference a year makes. After spending the first season following the ginormous trade that landed Gobert in the Twin Cities wondering if it would go down as one of the biggest disasters in recent league history, Minnesota has spent most of the first half of Year 2 atop the Western Conference. Fueling that ascent: a league-best defense that, according to Dunks and Threes, which adjusts its offensive and defensive ratings for the strength of opponents that teams have faced, has been nearly two points per 100 stingier than second-place Boston.

And fueling that, as you might expect: the league’s best interior defender.

The Wolves have allowed a microscopic 106.3 points per 100 with Gobert on the floor this season, head and shoulders above even their own league-leading mark. He has looked light on his feet when defending in space, holding opponents to 0.8 points per possession against him in isolation, according to Synergy Sports Technology, shooting 21-for-51 against him on those plays.

Gobert is seventh in the league in blocks, but even that short-changes the degree to which he’s blotting out the sun on the interior. Opponents take way fewer shots at the rim with him on the court and shoot way worse on the ones they do attempt. Trying Rudy at the rim has been, at best, a coin-flip proposition: Opponents are shooting just 50.8% against him at point-blank range, according to Second Spectrum, seventh lowest out of 181 dudes to defend at least 75 shots at the rim.

To Gobert’s credit, he’s quick to point out that Minnesota’s defense isn’t a one-man operation. With Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker bringing length and physicality on the perimeter, Karl-Anthony Towns getting more and more comfortable guarding at the 4 spot in the dual-big alignment, Kyle Anderson capable of pulling shifts on scorers of all shapes and sizes and a team-wide commitment to making opponents feel them at the point of attack, the Wolves defend as, well, a pack.

“We got people that can guard,” Gobert recently told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We got people that can move their feet and take the challenge.”

They can feel emboldened to take those challenges, though, because they know they’ve got Gobert lurking behind them, a menace in the middle capable of cleaning up any mess. Their success starts where so many opponents’ possessions end — with him.

Spoiler:

Honorable mentions: Bam Adebayo, who’s been even more suffocating in isolation than Rudy and in whose minutes Miami has clamped down like the league’s No. 2 defense; Embiid; Anthony Davis; SGA, who leads the NBA in steals and deflections and has a case as perhaps the league’s most disruptive perimeter defender this season; Herb Jones, an absolute menace for the Pelicans’ eighth-ranked defense; and I know it’s early, but I don't think it's too crazy to mention Wembanyama and Holmgren here. We live in an age of monsters.

[somuchyummy]

Defensive Player of the First Half: Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves

What a difference a year makes. After spending the first season following the ginormous trade that landed Gobert in the Twin Cities wondering if it would go down as one of the biggest disasters in recent league history, Minnesota has spent most of the first half of Year 2 atop the Western Conference. Fueling that ascent: a league-best defense that, according to Dunks and Threes, which adjusts its offensive and defensive ratings for the strength of opponents that teams have faced, has been nearly two points per 100 stingier than second-place Boston.

And fueling that, as you might expect: the league’s best interior defender.

The Wolves have allowed a microscopic 106.3 points per 100 with Gobert on the floor this season, head and shoulders above even their own league-leading mark. He has looked light on his feet when defending in space, holding opponents to 0.8 points per possession against him in isolation, according to Synergy Sports Technology, shooting 21-for-51 against him on those plays.

Gobert is seventh in the league in blocks, but even that short-changes the degree to which he’s blotting out the sun on the interior. Opponents take way fewer shots at the rim with him on the court and shoot way worse on the ones they do attempt. Trying Rudy at the rim has been, at best, a coin-flip proposition: Opponents are shooting just 50.8% against him at point-blank range, according to Second Spectrum, seventh lowest out of 181 dudes to defend at least 75 shots at the rim.

To Gobert’s credit, he’s quick to point out that Minnesota’s defense isn’t a one-man operation. With Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker bringing length and physicality on the perimeter, Karl-Anthony Towns getting more and more comfortable guarding at the 4 spot in the dual-big alignment, Kyle Anderson capable of pulling shifts on scorers of all shapes and sizes and a team-wide commitment to making opponents feel them at the point of attack, the Wolves defend as, well, a pack.

“We got people that can guard,” Gobert recently told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We got people that can move their feet and take the challenge.”

They can feel emboldened to take those challenges, though, because they know they’ve got Gobert lurking behind them, a menace in the middle capable of cleaning up any mess. Their success starts where so many opponents’ possessions end — with him.

Spoiler:

Honorable mentions: Bam Adebayo, who’s been even more suffocating in isolation than Rudy and in whose minutes Miami has clamped down like the league’s No. 2 defense; Embiid; Anthony Davis; SGA, who leads the NBA in steals and deflections and has a case as perhaps the league’s most disruptive perimeter defender this season; Herb Jones, an absolute menace for the Pelicans’ eighth-ranked defense; and I know it’s early, but I don't think it's too crazy to mention Wembanyama and Holmgren here. We live in an age of monsters.

Nice write up. Good to remember - as fans and froobs - patience isn't perhaps our best virtue. Rudy got roasted and toasted here nearly to death last season. And thru it all, he maintained that getting it right takes time and reps. And he was right.

[Jack Soo 5]

Minnesota Timberwolves Midseason Grade: A+ !!

Stephen A Smith just compared ANT to Jordan and Bryant.
Stephen A is not my favorite person in the world but the guy knows Basketball and Boxing.

"I want the NBA to put the Minnesota Timberwolves on national TV more. Yes. Yes. Yes." -Stephen A Smith

This team is going to Miami the NBA FInals.

"You know I hate the cold, but I'd fly to MN to watch that brother!"

- also Stephen A (haha.....)

[weimy froob]

i'll put these last two horton factoids in this thread. a bit of positivity in what has been a bumpy stretch of basketball.

Alan Horton
@WolvesRadio
Over the last 2 weeks the Wolves have gone from 19th to 8th in DRB% according to @cleantheglass. They're allowing just 8 offensive rebounds for 9 2nd chance points per game during this stretch.

[HeHateMe]

Long term, if Jaden develops, that keeps a good for a long time and helps offset a Gobert decline or retirement. KAT is in his prime for 3-4 more years. ANT keep progressing, Jaden makes a leap. Find a PG.

Guess how much Jaden, KAT and ANY cost as the only three players signed for 27-28...

Spoiler:

$133,090,698

Naz and Gobert can both walk summer 2025... seems a little soon for Naz but I still think a lot of people would move KAT to keep Naz longterm...

Do you think Gobert would opt out of his 2025-26 player option of $46.655 million? I don't.

Right now I would say no... a year from now it might look enticing to walk away and get a longer contract based on what teams have cap space, who knows.

[mlhouse]

Naz and Gobert can both walk summer 2025... seems a little soon for Naz but I still think a lot of people would move KAT to keep Naz longterm...

Do you think Gobert would opt out of his 2025-26 player option of $46.655 million? I don't.

Right now I would say no... a year from now it might look enticing to walk away and get a longer contract based on what teams have cap space, who knows.

About the only team that can sign him would be the Wolves. Most of the teams in the NBA that have cap space are losing teams with young rosters. Is that a prime spot for Rudy at this stage of his career? If he opts out it is just to extend his Wolves contract.

[A$$MAN]

Now that the regular season is officially over, and with where we finished defensively as a team, how many Wolves make an all-defensive team? What are your thoughts?

[Beef Supreme]

Now that the regular season is officially over, and with where we finished defensively as a team, how many Wolves make an all-defensive team? What are your thoughts?

Should be Rudy first team and DPOY

I’m not sure we get any other first-teamers, though some of our other guys can be great at times.

[boxter432]

Problem is probably that Ant Kat Naz Jaden Slomo Naw and Mike are all high on plenty of def rankings/def win share etc.. that they’ll all filter into like a pile op top twenty. Ant might have the best chance but I doubt it.

Wemby probably should make it. Bam. Not exactly sure who else. Someone from the Cs.

[weimy froob]

Naz is the favorite for sixth man of the year.

[YBBR]

Aside from Rudy on the first team. I think Nickeil could be a second team guy. I'd take him over Jaden this year. That's likely it. I'm not sure anyone else deserves to make it. Conley probably deserves a bit of consideration. Maybe he could sneak in.

[YBBR]

Naz is the favorite for sixth man of the year.

Is he now? Good for him. That would be neat.

[bubu dubu.]

Naz is the favorite for sixth man of the year.

Malik Monk is the betting favorite.
DraftKings has it pretty close with Monk -125 and Naz -105.
Most places its around Monk -200 and Naz +150. So still kind of close there, but Monk still clear favorite.

[weimy froob]

Naz is the favorite for sixth man of the year.

Malik Monk is the betting favorite.
DraftKings has it pretty close with Monk -125 and Naz -105.
Most places its around Monk -200 and Naz +150. So still kind of close there, but Monk still clear favorite.

i got my information from the chris hine article on Naz. he said that he was "the favorite". if the bettors have it different than chris could be wrong.