Wolves Press Clippings

Wolves Press Clippings

Yes, the Minnesota Timberwolves are struggling. But why?

The youth-filled squad has yet to win in 2016 and lost their eighth straight game last night in a competitive contest against the Houston Rockets. 

Like any problem in life, the first thing to do is identify the issue(s).

After taking an in-depth look at the eight losses, five of which were at home, we were able to highlight what some may deem as ‘issues’ or ‘red flags.’

Here are some basic yet noteworthy facts about the losing streak:

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  Minnesota played three teams with a losing record. The combined wins/losses for the Wolves’ opponents added up to 154-160.
  
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  The Timberwolves scored more than 100 points once. In their most recent loss against the Rockets, Minnesota scored 104 points by outshooting Harden’s squad from 3-point range, going 8-for-17.
  
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  The Wolves outshot their opponent from the field once. In an overall sloppy game and 78-74 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota managed to make 38.4 percent of their shots compared the Denver’s mark of 35.8 percent.
  
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  Minnesota outscored their opponents in the paint once. The Wolves rank 17th in the league with 41 points in the paint per game. They have averaged 38.75 throughout the losing streak.
  
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  The Timberwolves scored more than 10 fast break points once, a statistic interim head coach Sam Mitchell has been looking to improve since the beginning of the season.
  

But let’s really go inside the numbers.

From Downtown

Minnesota ranks 21st in the league in points per game with 98.7, and ranks dead last in 3-point attempts with 15.4.

The Wolves’ opponents took 190 shots from beyond the arc, which ended up being 79 more attempts in eight games than Minnesota took. With their opponents taking 24 threes a game, right at the league average, the Timberwolves attempted 14 shots from deep per game - even lower than their league-worst average.

But here’s the interesting thing. In those eight games, Minnesota shot 35.1 percent from 3-point range, which is two percentage points better than their season average.

Mitchell has warmed up to Shabazz Muhammad and Nemanja Bjelica shooting more threes recently and has always said that he isn't against the 3-point shot if the look is there. Lately, the looks have been there. Hopefully the Wolves can take advantage of that.

The Battle Down Low

Besides 3-point shots, the battle among the big men over the past eight games is also something thatstands out

When comparing the performance of Minnesota’s frontcourt to their opponents’, it is clear that Minnesota’s size and lack of experience in the paint is hurting them.

Calculating the play of the Wolves’ two big men and their opponents’ two forwards/centers who played the most minutes in each game, Minnesota was clearly out produced.

The Timberwolves main big men averaged 19 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, while their opponents’ scored 27 points and gathered 16.1 rebounds per contest.

Minnesota’s next eight games will not be any easier. They will play on the road five times and only face three teams with the losing records.  

The longest winless drought last season was 15 games, which ended thanks to Mo Williams’ 52-point performance.

The difficult task is up to Mitchell, his staff and the players. But one thing is for sure - they want it more than anyone else. They are the ones putting work in day-in and day-out, trying to turn things around.

“It’s frustrating not being able to win, just losing,” Andrew Wiggins said. “Especially on this losing streak we got, we just need to break it. We just need to focus in. Every game we play good, but it’s just something that we’re not doing, a mistake we made, we just have to fix it.”

Wolves Press Clippings

New Year, New Bazz

Season averages for Shabazz Muhammad: 18.9 minutes per game, 9.3 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 0.5 assists per game, 48.9 FG%, 34.4 3P%

Since Jan. 1 for Muhammad: 25.8 minutes per game, 14.1 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game, 50.7 FG%, 37.5 3P%

Why the improvement for the man they call ‘Bazz?

Ball movement. That sounds silly considering that he’s only averaging 1.1 assists per game, but interim head coach Sam Mitchell attributed to Muhammad getting more playing time because he’s moving the ball better, something that was a major knock on him coming out of UCLA.

Muhammad is also one of the only players on the team that consistently runs the court and gets transition buckets. Does he run too hard sometimes and lose control of the ball, like he did on Wednesday night at Houston? Yes. But he plays hard. That’s going to happen. And if you’re a fan, you take the good with the bad with 'Bazz, and there’s been plenty more good than bad of late.

He still needs to fix a few things defensively. But he’s only 23. We probably forget that given how young everyone else is on this team. Muhammad is only his third season and after not playing under Rick Adelman in his rookie season and missing last season, he’s only played 115 career games – a little more than a season.

Muhammad was a bit frustrated earlier in the season when it came to playing time and that’s understandable considering he was playing less than 18 minutes per game in October, November and December. But you also have to consider Mitchell was trying to figure out whether or not Zach LaVine was a point or shooting guard, find more time for Andrew Wiggins at the shooting guard and still get veteran Kevin Martin minutes.

That’s a cluster of wings to find minutes for. Everything works out, though, and eventually the rotations will come together – we hope. The Wolves are riding an eight-game losing streak and positives are becoming hard to find, but Muhammad’s performance in the month of January is a big one.

The Standings Are Deceiving

The eighth seed in the Western Conference might have a losing record. The thought of that has Jeff Hornacek and the 2013-14 Phoenix Suns crying. But it’s true. Right now, Utah holds that spot with a 17-21 record.

Teams with losing records was a thing reserved for Eastern Conference teams. And right now, Boston has a 20-19 record and the Celtics are in ninth place.

But the West is still superior to the East.

Why?

Just look at the top of the standings. Golden State and San Antonio are a combined 70-9 right now. The Thunder and 16 games above .500 and the Clippers have won 10-straight games, most coming without All-Star Blake Griffin.

You look at the East and there’s Cleveland at 27-9, but after that, who do you like? Toronto is the second seed at 24-15. Chicago is in third and has dealt with some issues with Joakim Noah and Fred Hoiberg, reports say.

The bottom of the West is weak right now, but that certainly doesn’t speak for the whole conference. If you’re picking the top-five teams in the league, four are probably coming out of the West.