Wolves Effort Lacking in Season-Opening Loss to Lakers, 103-110
On a night when many Wolves fans gathered excitedly in front of their TVs, eager to see the team build on the success of last season, much of the Wolves roster was missing that same excitement and intensity. The game was decided by what the Wolves didn’t do—get back in transition, box out on defense—rather than by anything the Lakers did do. That being said, Anthony Davis’s monster night (36 points, 18 rebounds) was tough to overcome.
Any team can expect to have some sloppiness out of the gate. The Wolves certainly had plenty, tallying five careless turnovers in the first quarter. Particularly concerning, the ever-steady veteran Mike Conley was responsible for multiple turnovers, throwing passes that were telegraphed and lacked any zip. Conley looked completely out of sorts in the first half, not even attempting a single shot.
Turnovers may be an expected side-effect of the first real game in months, but poor fundamentals and effort should not be. The Wolves gave up five offensive rebounds in the first quarter. Then, though one might expect Coach Chris Finch to get on the team about their poor effort on the glass in between the first and second quarters, the Wolves managed to give up four straight extra possessions to start the second quarter. The most alarming offensive rebound came when Randle did not even consider attempting a box-out following a Lakers free-throw, leading to an easy offensive rebound by the much-smaller Austin Reaves.
The Wolves defense, tops in the NBA last season by a wide margin, was effective when they had the chance to get set up. Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were flying around on the perimeter, switching and pestering the Lakers guards all game. Gobert was solid, though not outstanding. Davis was able to get numerous easy shots inside, exposing Randle and the smaller Wolves defenders. But the defense was not bad for the most part, as they forced an incredibly low 17% Laker three-point shooting percentage and held the Lakers to 44% from the field. Where the defense inexplicably struggled was in transition. The Lakers had 72 points in the paint, and many of those occured in semi-transition as the Wolves failed to locate a Laker player standing right by the hoop. In my opinion, if these points were taken off the board, the Wolves would have had a comfortable win.
This poor effort, culminating in turnovers and extra possessions, led to a 17-2 Laker run in the second quarter. Although Edwards was reasonably effective on offense (27 points, 10-25 shooting) and vocal throughout the game, the Wolves lacked energy early and the Lakers pounced on that, building up a margin that was too large for the Wolves to come back from.
A few observations:
DiVincenzo looked incredibly fast off the dribble and decisive with his floater or drop-off passing. He also fit right in with the Wolves other top perimeter defenders. He won’t shoot this badly (2-8 from three, 3-11 overall) often.
Jaden McDaniels looked aggressive early, with a nice pump-fake and strong drive to the hoop. Unfortunately, his night was—stop me if you’ve heard this story before—cut short due to foul trouble. In hid defense, two of his fouls were exceptionally tough calls.
Edwards looked locked in, which was relieving.
Joe Ingles appeared hesitant to shoot the three in his limited minutes, which is very surprising seeing as that is the main reason the Wolves brought him in. Although this can likely be chalked up to getting comfortable in the offense, it was unexpected from a veteran sharpshooter such as him.
Randle struggled to find his role on offense. This is to be expected, and might continue for a few weeks as he learns how he fits in. Additionally, it should not be overlooked that he found himself going up against Davis, one of the top interior defenders, in the paint. His effort was incredibly disappointing, though.
Some fans might be surprised to see that Rob Dillingham, the highly touted rookie guard, did not check into the game. It seems that Coach Finch is planning on bringing him along slow, and look for DiVincenzo to run the point a lot early on this season while Conley is on the bench.
Looking ahead:
The Timberwolves next game is Thursday, October 24, at 9pm at the Sacramento Kings. Look for Randle to have an easier time on offense against Domantas Sabonis than he did not against Davis.