The Timberwolves' matchup against the Clippers Friday night at Target Center felt like as much of a must-win game as an NBA team can realistically have in October.
Minnesota entered Friday following a 119-114 loss to the Warriors two days prior. The Wolves' reserves battled in the second half, but Minnesota dug itself a 24-point hole in the first half because its overall attention to detail and aggression levels were low. The Wolves were playing in their first game since an MRI revealed that Anthony Edwards needed an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee that will sideline him for around two months.
They looked dejected in the first against Golden State, like a team shell-shocked without their superstar. But against the Clippers Friday, Minnesota played like a team now fully aware of how it must collectively replace its leader.
The Wolves beat the Clippers 127-101. Minnesota shot 53% from the floor, 42% from deep, with 32 assists to just 11 turnovers. Here are the players who trended up and who trended down.
Last season, the Wolves lacked a traditional point guard and scoring off the bench, both of which Hyland was a consistent positive contributor in. Hyland helped keep Minnesota's season afloat last year by realizing what his team needed and excelling in that role.
He has an opportunity to do the same thing this year.
Hyland scored 19 points in 18 minutes against LA. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor and 3 of 8 from deep while dishing out eight assists and only committing one turnover. Hyland gave Minnesota the brand of electric shot-making and crowd-hyping sequences that Edwards typically does.
The Wolves know they will need to replace Edwards' 33.3-point average by committee moving forward. Hyland believes Minnesota has enough weapons to succeed in that mission.
"We're loaded, bro," Hyland said at practice Wednesday. "We've got a lot of talent on the team, a lot of guys who can step in. Last year when we played the Nuggets, guys sat out from injuries, and we stepped up."
Hyland will be a consistent feature in Chris Finch's rotation without Edwards. The Wolves will need Hyland to score aggressively and play fast, both of which he did against the Clippers. Hyland doesn't need to score in bunches every night. But if he can play with the same intent and execution he showed Friday, Hyland can help save Minnesota's season once again.
McDaniels, who entered the NBA the same year as Edwards, is not going to change the way he plays because his superstar teammate is out.
"I've played like this my whole career," McDaniels said at practice Friday. "Just be aggressive when I need to and try to win the game."
Minnesota will need McDaniels to be aggressive far more often moving forward than it usually does. He scored 19 points against the Warriors, and Friday against LA, McDaniels poured in 23 points on 11 of 15 shooting. He also dished out seven assists, tying his career high.
The Wolves don't need McDaniels to be a different player. Instead, they need him to do more of the things he is already skilled at, such as scoring in bunches with great efficiency and completing passes around the rim.
Doing both of those things allows McDaniels to fit seamlessly alongside LaMelo Ball with his snappy passing and Rudy Gobert with his rim presence.
Clark, buried behind Minnesota's bevy of guard depth, has seen sporadic first-half minutes so far this season. Even without Edwards against the Warriors Wednesday with Steph Curry blazing his way to 44 points, Clark didn't see the court until the third quarter.
But Finch played Clark seven minutes in the first half against LA, during which he locked down Darius Garland, who was in a groove, and began wreaking havoc on the Clippers' game plan all night long.
"He was really, really good," Finch said postgame. "We've seen him do this before, so it was kind of the perfect time for him."
Clark played 17 minutes against LA. He only scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting, but the former UCLA Bruin is never on the court for his offense. We all know that by now. He is out there because of his unrelenting defense. The Clippers scored 26 points in the minutes with Clark on the floor and committed more turnovers (10) than made shots (7 of 25).
The Wolves need players who can flip a game's momentum. Clark can't do it the same way that Edwards can, with heroic shot-making and a string of unguardable shots. But when Clark plays as he did against LA, he can still take over a game in his own way by sucking the wind out of an opponent with his lockdown defense.
On a night when much went right for the Wolves, they didn't have many poor individual performances. Kuminga's is the only one that stands out.
He played 22 minutes total and only five in the second half. Kuminga scored five points on 2 of 6 from the floor and 1 of 3 from deep. Finch benched Kuminga in the second half in favor of Trey Lyles, who was doing a solid job spacing the floor and being a connector on defense, and Clark, who was wrecking LA's game plan by locking down Darius Garland.
Kuminga's biggest blunder was passing up a wide-open three to try and make a pass to Rudy Gobert. Kuminga was smiling after the fact, and the play was a relative non-factor en route to Minnesota's blowout win.
Kuminga being the only player who had a "down" night is a good thing. The Wolves collectively played well. They had pretty much no glaringly bad individual performances.
It will be vital that happens as often as possible moving forward.
Get Timberwolves On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/onsi as 4 Timberwolves Whose Stocks Are Up, Down After Blowout Win Over Clippers .
