Wolves vs. Blazers: 3 Big Things I Want to See
The 2–5 Timberwolves take on the 3–4 Trailblazers in Portland this evening. While the Wolves are the team in the midst of a losing streak, Portland is feeling pressure as well after an underwhelming start. Both teams will try to right their ship tonight, and could use this game as a springboard moving forward. Here are 3 things I want to see from the Wolves tonight.
Do not automatically matchup Jarrett Culver against Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum on defense
You may be surprised to learn, I am not an NBA coach. In fact, the highest level of coaching I have achieved is the 9 & 10 year old co-ed basketball team at the YMCA (we had a suffocating defense!). However I have watched more than my fair share of NBA basketball, and specifically Wolves basketball this season. Right now, the Wolves have one active perimeter defender that would be considered an “above-average” defender in Jarrett Culver. Tonight the Wolves will compete against two of the best perimeter scorers in the league in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. For most of the game, one of the two will be on the court, and they will share the court for a fair amount of minutes as well. I would advocate for Jarrett Culver matching up against neither one of those players for the majority of the game. While Culver is a solid point-of-attack defender, he is certainly not at the level where he routinely shuts down elite perimeter players. He defended admirably against Paul George, but smaller players such as Bradley Beal and Jamal Murray were able to get the better of him. Along with their ability to score against Culver they were able to draw fouls on him limiting his minutes. Players like Lillard and McCollum are able to generate shots against nearly any perimeter defender. The Wolves may be better off using Culver as an off-ball defender, where he is able to use his defensive IQ and length to cover more ground. He is an excellent help defender who excels at getting into passing lanes for steals. When Lillard and McCollum try to create their own shot, Culver will be valuable as a second defender for double-teams, or as a weak side helper who can clog the lane and recover to the three-point line. Of course, he will occasionally be the best option to matchup against them in certain situations such as end of quarter or crunch time possessions. I would like to see Culver not attached to the two perimeter stars, and instead allowed to be a defensive menace off the ball.
Plenty of Jarred Vanderbilt minutes, but not exclusively at the center position
Most, if not all Timberwolves fans would agree that Jarred Vanderbilt needs to be a fixture in the rotation until KAT returns, and likely even after that. He was the most obvious catalyst in the comeback against the Nuggets, and provided exactly the qualities that this version of the Wolves needs. He exclusively played the center position against Denver. Many of those minutes were against Nikola Jokic, who proved late in the game that Vanderbilt did not quite have the size to stop him. Jokic was able to do whatever he wanted offensively throughout the 4th quarter. During the minutes when Jokic sat, they used Jamychal Green as their center who is similarly sized to Vanderbilt, so Jarred was not overmatched physically. The Blazers sport another behemoth center in Jusuf Nurkic. While Nurkic has nowhere near the offensive skill of Jokic, he has an incredible size advantage over the Wolves centers. Their backup center, Enes Kanter, is another giant who thrives in the post on offense. Playing Vanderbilt 26–28 minutes against those two monsters could lead to foul trouble and an easy domination of the paint by the Blazers. I would like to see Jarred play power forward minutes next to Naz Reid. Reid has shown to be threatening enough from the perimeter as a shooter and distributor to make the pairing work offensively, and Vanderbilt can be a valuable help defender in the paint with Naz matching up against Nurkic or Kanter. Vanderbilt can likely steal a few minutes at the center position, with Ed Davis soaking up some minutes there as well (note: Vanderbilt and Davis should NOT play together). It will need to be a “committee” approach to the big man minutes in KAT’s absence, and tonight should be the night to try out the Vanderbilt/Reid front court.
Put the ball in the hands of Anthony Edwards
It will happen at some point, and maybe we are rushing it, but Edwards has shown he can jumpstart the bench unit’s offense with powerful attacks to the rim for buckets or assists. This early in his career, it is unlikely that opponents will stick their best perimeter defender on Edwards. He will find himself being guarded by one of McCollum or Lillard, and the team needs to find him when those matchups occur, especially when Portland backup center Enes Kanter is in the game. Find Edwards, get him the ball, and let him attack the rim. He showed against Denver that he has no problem getting to the rim for a shot attempt, although he does need to finish better when he arrives there. Ant also displayed some advanced playmaking out of the pick and roll. Getting him going early could open up a wealth of opportunities for the rest of the team. A few early buckets may lead Portland to a change of strategy where they shift Gary Trent Jr. or Robert Covington (two solid defenders) on to Edwards, freeing up opportunities for players like D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley to score against lesser defenders. More than almost any other ball handler on the team, Anthony Edwards getting off to a good start creates a positive domino effect to simplify the game for his teammates. This Wolves team cannot afford their bench unit’s offense to stall and allow Portland to take over, so Edwards will need to be featured and at his best to help the Wolves to a win.
-Jerry W.
