One single statistic makes it pretty obvious that the Minnesota Timberwolves need to address the glaring hole on their otherwise-excellent roster. The Wolves simply don’t have a true starting point guard, and that’s shown up in their immense struggles to take care of the ball when the game is on the line.
Below, via Basketball University, is every team ranked by turnover percentage in clutch time, which is defined as games within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining. The list starts with the team with the lowest percentage and goes from there.
1. OKC—2.1%
2. BKN—3.3%
3. ORL—6.3%
4. ATL
5. NYK
6. TOR
7 SAC
8. IND
9. PHI
10. LAL
11. MEM
12. DET
13. NOP
14. MIA
15. SAS
16. POR
17. PHX
18. CHI
19. HOU
20. BOS
21. MIL
22. DAL
23. CLE
24. DEN
25. UTA
26. GSW
27. CHA
28. LAC—18.3%
29. WAS—19.0%
30. MIN—26.5%
That’s a real stat. 18 games into this season, the Wolves have turned the ball over on more than a quarter of their clutch-time offensive possessions.
They had four turnovers in the final five minutes against the Suns last Friday, including three in the final 50 seconds. They had a bad turnover with 30 seconds left in regulation against the Kings on Monday, then four more in overtime. And they had three turnovers in the final five minutes of Wednesday night’s narrow loss against the Thunder. It’s been a consistent issue for the Timberwolves, who are 10-8 this season but 0-7 against teams with winning records.
Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Right now, Anthony Edwards is essentially having to serve as the Wolves’ point guard. After the loss to the Thunder, he talked about adjusting to that role and trying to get into the habit of going to get the ball in order to bring it up the floor. With three minutes left in that game and the score tied at 101, there was a key play where Donte DiVincenzo had the ball in his hands and had it poked away for a layup on the other end.
DiVincenzo is not a point guard. Neither is Edwards, but he’s at least a bit more suited for the role. The Wolves’ leader in assists by a decent margin is power forward Julius Randle with 5.7 per game. Randle, Edwards, and Jaden McDaniels are averaging a combined 7.4 turnovers a night. Minnesota’s two true point guards are 38-year-old Mike Conley — who is averaging just over 20 minutes per game — and 20-year-old Rob Dillingham, who is playing about 11 minutes a night. Neither one is in the starting lineup or typically on the floor in clutch time.
Everything points to the Wolves needing to add a reliable point guard who they can trust to play in their closing lineups. There are reports out there suggesting that such a move is at least on Tim Connelly’s radar, two months ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Could that theoretically mean swinging a blockbuster deal for a star like Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, or Trae Young? Such a deal would have to include either Randle or Rudy Gobert to make the salaries work with the Wolves over the first apron (assuming McDaniels is untouchable).
Maybe there’s a move out there for a less-expensive point guard that wouldn’t require breaking up the Wolves’ current roster core. Either way, it’s something Connelly has to strongly consider over the next couple months. Adding the right point guard to this Timberwolves roster could be what gives them a fighting chance to beat the juggernaut Thunder in a playoff series.
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