Timberwolves win in debut of the new era, Gobert, 3 stars is greater than 2 and a Rasho Record Breaks
The Minnesota Timberwolves kicked off their season on Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a victory and Derek is excited.
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One big reason I did not want to join another staff was because I did not want to write single-game recaps. Readers, typically, do not want to read them either. There are certainly ways to make them more interesting than “This thing happened and then the next thing and then—” but I have long felt that trends, themes and big-picture context were more useful ways to discuss these games.
Let’s be honest, there were a lot of years I wrote about the Timberwolves where the games did not matter very much. However, a lot of that changes when a team is good. The Timberwolves’ paltry record against the lower rungs of the East pitted them in a win-or-go-home Game 82 in 2018.
Every game the Timberwolves will play against their Northwest Division rivals will matter. One of the NBA’s tiebreakers is record against the division. It may not matter that Minnesota beat Oklahoma City or Utah beat Denver on opening night, but it could.
With that being said, I’m still not going to write single-game recaps but, in case you haven’t heard, Wednesday began the most intriguing season since I was a Junior in high school (2005-’06). Even if the Thunder don’t project to be a great team this season, getting that first look at this Timberwolves team was a must.
So, yes, I wanted to write about this specific game.
So, Uh, That Rudy Gobert Is Pretty Good
I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of watching Gobert when he was on the Jazz. There was no question he was good — great, even — but his game didn’t grab me as one of my favorites to watch. Yet, watching Gobert on Wednesday in his first regular season Timberwolves game was fun.
Do you see this? We will get used to this eventually, but this is like something you would see in an All-Star game. You don’t usually see two seven-footers throwing each other lobs like this in an NBA game.
You also saw how Gobert impacts players like D’Angelo Russell when Gobert rolls to the basket. Watching confused defenses unsure whether to help off Gobert and risk the lob or stay home and allow the ball handler a less-contested shot is amusing.
Gobert looked just as you would expect. He shot 10-for-15 from the field for 23 points and 16 rebounds. His production was important because…
Should We Care About Poor Scoring From Towns And Edwards?
One talking point that seemed to come from last night was that Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards shot a combined 6-of-27 from the field for 23 points. While not great, the Timberwolves survived. There are a few reasons why I am not focusing too much on it.
There are going to be nights like this where two of Towns, Edwards, Gobert and even Russell are going to struggle. Yet, when they have this many guys who can get shots in different ways, they may be able to better withstand these types of games. In past years, a bad Towns and Edwards game may have meant Russell hoisting hero shot after hero shot. Now, there should be a good option on the floor somewhere.
Having three stars is helpful. Who would have thought!
Getting contributions from the bench and secondary options will help these kinds of games too. Jaden McDaniels chipped in 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with six rebounds and three assists. The ball moved very well on Wednesday, with all but one Timberwolf who played more than 10 minutes registering at least one assist.
Besides, when you see these primary options struggle scoring, you want to see them do other things.
Edwards grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists. Seeing if Edwards and Jordan McLaughlin will split the lead ball handler duties when Russell goes to the bench going forward will be a trend to watch.
Towns added six rebounds and seven assists, including those sweet lobs to Gobert. If it weren’t for Gobert and his seven offensive rebounds, this type of rebounding night from Towns would be frustrating. I hadn’t thought about how Gobert’s presence means Towns no longer needs to grab 12 boards every night, but it is a nice benefit.
Why Was This Game So Close?
I don’t think many people would be surprised if it took the Timberwolves a few games to get their act together while acclimating a piece like Gobert. Oklahoma City at home is a game they should win but won by seven points.
The Timberwolves did lead by as much as 16 points but it’s hard to sustain that when you have a third quarter like the one Minnesota did. Coming out of the half, the Wolves shot 6-for-21 combined, were outscored 7-0 on the break and committed twice as many turnovers as the Thunder in the quarter.
Their play that quarter, more so than Towns and Edwards’ struggles, seemed to me like the bigger reason the game was so close. With the Jazz on the docket for Friday, the Timberwolves will have to try to keep their focus to avoid another scare, especially after giving Denver the business on Wednesday.
Rasho’s Record Falls
In a fun stat fun Timberwolves PR, Gobert’s seven offensive rebounds is the most by a Timberwolves player on opening night, surpassing legend Rasho Nesterovic who did it on Halloween Night 2000 with six. I should add Nesterovic was the third and most recent Timberwolf to grab six offensive boards on opening night. I don’t know who the other two are but I assume they are Kevin Garnett.
Something For Your Ears
The season may have already began but you can still listen to my appearance on On The NBA Beat podcast with Aaron Fischman and Loren Chen.