Timberwolves struggle with the three-point game — on offense and defense

LOS ANGELES – Last season, the Timberwolves led the league in three-point attempts with 41.3 per game. That came to the dismay of some fans who wished the Wolves wouldn't be so reliant on the deep ball, especially on nights it wasn't falling.

But that volume of three-point shooting propelled the Wolves to the No. 1 most efficient offense from January until the end of the season.

This season, the Wolves are 16th and have taken 33 per game. Over the last six games with Karl-Anthony Towns out of the lineup, that number is down to 29.5, which is 26th over that span. That wouldn't be so bad for them if the Wolves didn't also allow the most three-point makes at 14 per game. They make 11 per game themselves.

Their deficit in three-point makes was most glaring in Monday's loss to Portland. Minnesota had 10 three-pointers while Damian Lillard hit 11 by himself for Portland. The Trail Blazers hit 21 as a team, and won by 21.

"A shootout from the three-point line? I don't know if that's going to be something we're going to win most nights, just because of our lower volume," coach Chris Finch said. "... We've just got to try to create more. The biggest thing we've got to try to do is limit the threes that we're giving up, given we're not a high-volume three-point shooting team ourselves."

The Wolves would like to get more three-point volume, but Finch doesn't want players to force the issue.

"As a player you're always thinking best shot available," guard Austin Rivers said. "When I'm out there I'm not thinking I should shoot more threes because we need to shoot more threes."

They are missing some significant volume in Towns (5.6 per game) and Taurean Prince (three attempts in 19 minutes per game), but they are getting to the rim more, also an analytically friendly area.

Their attempts in the restricted are up to 34.2 attempts per game from 27.9. Finch doesn't want to discourage his players from attacking the rim, which can also lead to a higher number of free throws.

"Obviously we want to take threes. We encourage taking good threes," Finch said. "But we also want to take good shots in the flow of our offense."

Their offensive efficiency has been 11th while Towns has been out the last six games.

The amount of threes they take wouldn't be an issue if they could limit the number of makes their opponents get. But when the Wolves are constantly playing catch-up to make up for a three-point deficit, it puts added pressure on the rest of the offense to operate at a high level.