Wolves’ Bright Spots and Apertures as NBA Playoffs Near

Ayo and His Impact

In addition to the energy and swagger Bones brings, the Ayo Dosunmu trade-deadline acquisition is starting to look like a classic highway robbery. Minnesota traded Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks for Dosunmu and two-way forward Julian Phillips. 

Since the insertion of Dosunmu into the Wolves’ everyday rotation, Minnesota has needed the newly frenetic pace and physical presence on the perimeter. Not only has this improved the pace, but it has also improved the ball movement. Despite a limited sample size on how the ball movement is affected with Anthony Edwards on court, it is evident that he has no problem finding his teammates. This burst of pace has the Wolves affectionately nicknaming the duo of him and Hyland as the “Twin Turbos.”

Ayo knows how to attack the rim and get his own shot. This is another variable missing from Minnesota’s guards— sans Anthony Edwards. In the last five contests, Ayo has averaged 32.8 minutes. In the same span, he has posted an average +10.6 plus/minus net rating. He has also shown a flamethrowing ability to shoot from beyond the arc. This will serve crucial for the Wolves as they head into the postseason. 

Positive Footnotes

Another positive is the recent re-acclimation of Jaylen Clark. Most expect him to see ramped-up minutes as the regular season winds down. His physicality on the defensive end is undeniable. Despite not scoring against Boston on Sunday, he effectively shut down Jaylen Brown and posted a +/- net rating of +6. 

Obligatorily, it’s worth mentioning how Wolves big man Rudy Gobert has seemingly found his second wind. He recently found his defensive prowess again, and Minnesota has looked like an entirely different team since. If head coach Chris Finch can integrate him more efficiently on offense, the sky is the limit for these Wolves.

The General Weaknesses

Admittedly, fans who watch the Wolves know that this team does have its apertures.

Glaringly, the lack of scoring punch and effort when Anthony Edwards is sidelined is an issue. Their tendency to be careless with the ball and commit turnovers is a major issue and has been for some time. To make matters worse, they are guilty of playing selective defense at times. Ironically, this hasn’t been their worst trait lately.

The Rebounding Issue

Minnesota’s lack of timely rebounding raised flags for Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic following the Wolves’ recent loss to Portland. “They were killed on the offensive glass and had some untimely turnovers against an under-.500 team on their home floor,” Krawczynski writes. “Portland grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 22 second-chance points.” 

As he also points out, Julius Randle specifically has been less than stellar on the glass: “Randle, who is averaging a career-low 6.8 rebounds per game, grabbed only five of them against the Blazers. Just three of those were on defense.”

This prompted rare criticism of Julius Randle from Finch postgame. “All’s we gotta do, we’re up 104-103, and all we have to do is get a rebound and we can’t,” Finch lamented. “Julius has three defensive rebounds (versus POR). That’s not good enough. It’s just not good enough.”

This is notable because, as Krawczynski points out, he has seldom failed to defend Randle. “In their two years together, Finch has never been critical of Randle in public,” he writes.

Ascending From Mediocrity

In order for Minnesota to find its way through the gauntlet that is the Western Conference playoff bracket, they will have to improve in some areas. As Kirk Goldsberry‘s weekly efficiency chart shows, over their last ten games, the Wolves are sitting in the middle of the road:

If they are somehow able to course-correct and find a renewed energy on the glass, who knows how far they could go. Minnesota’s ceiling is very high. Especially when everyone is clicking. It will take that and then some to make the Western Conference Finals this season. When they find their stride, they are absolutely capable of doing just that. After all, they’ve been to the WCF in consecutive seasons and are now looking for more.