A tale of two games
Change is never easy.
Less so when it has to be done on the fly, with no warning it’s going to happen and no grace period to come to terms with it. Such is the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves just finished playing a back-to-back set against the Phoenix Suns - a bad team that nonetheless has routinely beaten them as of late - which put in stark contrast the difference between where the Wolves have been and where they’re trying to get to.
On Sunday, the Timberwolves looked like the team the Suns were running out of the building in 2017. Not only did they come out with a listless level of energy, but they played the antiquated brand of basketball that let bad teams compete and even best them routinely last season. The pace was slow (just 91 total shots). They didn’t cut off the floor on defense (Phoenix shot 46% with 12 made 3s). They abandoned their own 3-point line (24 3pt attempts, only 6 makes). They didn’t move the ball well (22 assists to 15 turnovers). It took them 40 free throws and a buzzer beater to get a two point victory over a team that had half the wins as themselves. In short, it felt like a game from last season.
And, well, that’s not surprising. Ryan’s been on the job for just two weeks. Depending on who you’re referring to, Wolves players have anywhere from one to six years of Thibs-ball instincts drilled into them. Old habits die hard (Especially when you have a coach who hauls you over the scrap heap for every mistake no matter how small)
The difficulty in leaving that behind isn’t lost on Saunders. Between games one and two against the Suns, Ryan touched on the process he is taking the team through as he attempts to reformat their identity:
“Minnesota’s two max-contract players are pulling up the rear [in transition], Wiggins at 1.9 and Karl-Anthony Towns 0.8. Running doesn’t seem to be their first instinct.
“It isn’t,” Saunders said. “A lot of times that happens when you are so talented in terms of creating your own shot … that you can be used to having the ball in the half court and basically going into isolation basketball.””
Saunders has implemented some strong techniques to ingrain a new set of habits in his players. He even reportedly held scrimmages where long 2-point shots were worth negative points. And no doubt, he stressed the need to play modern basketball before game two against Phoenix.
And it worked.
In their second contest, the Wolves obliterated the Suns 118-91, on their own home floor, by being the team Ryan wants them to be. Their pace was way up (103 FGAs). They moved the ball quickly and with purpose (30 assists, 14 turnovers). They closed out the lanes and corners on defense.
And they let it absolutely fly from the 3-point line…42 total attempts, the 3rd most for a single game in franchise history.
The twenty-one 3-point attempts in each half were more attempts than they had in 31 entire games last season (Yes, the Wolves played 31 games where they shot fewer than twenty-one 3s)
In total, from game one to two, the Wolves increased their pace and assist rates by more than 10%, scored 27 more points from the 3-point line, and posted almost a 30 point differential in defensive rating. In perspective - in aggregate - that’s roughly the difference between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s how differently the Wolves played in these two games. That’s the chasm they are trying to cross.
It won’t be an easy process. The Wolves are dealing with a major roster change and a major coaching change at the same time in the middle of the season. No training camp or preseason or unofficial workouts to study and adapt and learn by trial and error.
But if these two games are any indication, the lessons are starting take hold. Progress is being made. In game one, the Wolves confronted who they were. In game two, they saw who they want to be. The trick now is making sure game two simply becomes who they are.
