Was it pretty on Monday night for the Minnesota Timberwolves? Absolutely not.
But at the end of the day, another notch in the left column against a hapless Milwaukee Bucks lineup is a reality. The Wolves flirted with a close game for much of the contest , but were able to close it out efficiently in the fourth quarter on the back of some bounceback offensive performances.
Which ones should be bought into, and which ones should we pump the brakes on?
As the Kyle Anderson comparison continues, Trey Lyles has become head coach Chris Finch's security blanket.
"He's just such a steady, smart player," he said after the game. "I feel really confident putting the ball in his hands and getting him involved in the action, and you know if you're not going to get a good shot, you're going to get a good decision."
He posted 12 points and was a +4 off the bench, one of the better performances from the group that struggled to get going with Bones Hyland off the mark and Jaylen Clark struggling to make shots. What finch hits on is important; the faith that with Lyles on the floor, the right play gets made -a Toyota Camry of the rotation.
"I love Trey...he know how to play basketball," LaMelo Ball said after the game. "I tell him everyday...you one of them ones that know how to play basketball."
An inherent knowing of where to be on the court. Paired with someone like Ball? You have someone who could creep their way into closing lineups with Rudy Gobert struggling to produce at the free throw line.
It's been a rough stretch of games for LaMelo Ball without his backcourt running mate over the last handful of games.
Over the last three contests heading into Monday, Ball was averaging 15 points on 35% shooting, with 19 assists to 15 turnovers. Suffice to say, he needed to see a few go through the hoop to not only get his mojo back, but provide some gravity for an offense that desperately needed it for others to play off of him.
"He was the only guy connecting for us early on offense," Finch said. "What I liked about it most is that it came in the flow...it was through a lot of good actions."
Ball went off against Milwaukee, notching 34 points in his first big blow-up performance scoring-wise for the Wolves. He did exactly what Minnesota needs from him with Anthony Edwards out.
Moving forward, it would be shocking to see Ball consistently have the type of night he did on Monday with the sheer amount of shots that dropped for him, but the creation will have to stay at a relatively consistent rate for the Wolves to continue to whether the Edwards-less storm.
In what was a promising preseason for the Wolves' late-summer roster add, Cody Williams was lined up to get a nice chunk of minutes with the absence of Terrence Shannon Jr. from the lineup. Against an opponent that could be favorable to have a decent night against as well, Williams struggled to find any sort of rhythm.
He finished the evening a staggering -15 in just six minutes of play, struggled defensively and was unable to get his lone shot to fall. Specifically for Williams, it feels as though he's the player that needs to play a lot to find any sort of belonging conducive to playing at your best. As of now, it does not seems like either he or the Wolves are heading that way.
Typically an arena known for being loud and turning out great crowds, Target Center has shown its share of open seats so far this season. On Monday, the upper bowl was probably 70% full. The Lower bowl hovering around 85%.
About 20 minutes before tipoff, lower bowl seats were still three figures, with only upper bowl on either basket side being under $30. Similar crowd numbers turned out last week when Stephen Curry scored 44 points for the Golden State Warriors, typically a good counter draw for games in Minnesota. It's early in the season, and attendance typically picks up. No Anthony Edwards is also sure to impact things.
But right now, tickets are going unsold in the secondhand market. Whether it's due to issues with the app or the inability to set your own price on the tickets you want to sell remains to be seen, but it's something that will need to rebound in order for an exciting season to live out its full potential.
The good news is it likely won't get any worse.
The Wolves sit dead last in the league in free throw percentage, and Monday night proved to be no anomaly to that. They posted a dastardly 53% from the charity stripe, with Jaden McDaniels missing two of them.
Many of the issues stemmed from Rudy Gobert, who was getting hacked with four minutes left in the fourth quarter by Milwaukee in an effort to crawl back into the game. It would go on to work, with Finch subbing Gobert out in favor of a smaller lineup with Trey Lyles.
Now something that will make its way onto scouting reports, Gobert must figure out his free throw woes, or the Wolves will continue to not be able to play their best defensive player in the most important moments of the game.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/onsi as Timberwolves Stock Up, Stock Down After 5th Win of the Season .
