After all that changed for the Timberwolves this offseason, and after all the chatter of other changes that might have happened, they settled into the start of this season with the same plan at point guard: D'Angelo Russell, for better or worse.
Timberwolves still have a D'Angelo Russell problem to solve
He's been a conundrum for years, and that hasn't changed.
November 1, 2022 at 4:43PM
He finished last season on the bench, with Jordan McLaughlin playing crunch time minutes in a tight playoff elimination game against Memphis. Russell also willed the Wolves into that series with a dynamic play-in game against the Clippers.
Russell takes a maddening amount of contested jumpers and looks to be the hero late in games. Then again, he is one of the best in the league at making those crunch time shots.
As the Wolves have started 4-3 this season against what seemed to be a soft schedule — decent, expectedly clunky or ugly depending on how generous you feel — there is plenty of room for improvement in a lot of areas.
In a reversal from last season, when the Wolves' fortunes rose and fell with Russell's performance, they enter Tuesday's game at Phoenix with Russell having played significantly worse in wins than losses.
If we can acknowledge that Russell has his moments, seems to have some chemistry with new big man Rudy Gobert and at the very least is not the only concern for the Wolves to work through, it still leaves us with this:
How patient should the Wolves be with their current plan, and what are some options if they run out of patience?
Here are some things to ponder, as discussed on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast:
- It's too early to panic, and in fact most years in Wolves history a 4-3 start would be cause for celebration. Building chemistry takes some time, and a fair point to really assess what we are seeing would be after 20 games.
- The schedule lines up in a way that we should know a lot more at that benchmark. The Wolves play the Suns (twice), Bucks, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, 76ers, Heat and Warriors in their next 13 games.
- If things are on an upward arc by then, great. The plan is working, and it can continue to be fine-tuned in hopes of a playoff run.
- If things aren't working by then, Russell seems like a logical choice as the odd man out of the starting lineup. He's a free agent after this season, whereas the rest of the starting five (Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels) all figure to have long-term futures here. Would head coach Chris Finch consider trying McLaughlin in the starting five? Or perhaps Jaylen Nowell sharing ballhandling duties with Edwards in a quick, attack-based offense?
These are questions for a month from now, but they are pertinent to think about now. The Wolves' starting five goes into Tuesday with a minus-0.8 net rating in 112 minutes together on the court. No other lineup has played more than 14 minutes together.
As the sample sizes grow in both directions, we'll get more information about what works and what doesn't work. And the Wolves might have some interesting decisions to make in a season of great expectations.
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