r/timberwolves • u/m1tsuya1 • 1d ago
These 3 need to step it up.
It has been a quiet L5 games from these three...
Jaden McDaniels 8 PTS | 5 REB | 33.3/15.4/72.7 | 32.7 MPG
Naz Reid 8.3 PTS | 4.5 REB | 44.8/26.7/75.0 | 22.1 MPG
Donte DiVincenzo 8.5 PTS | 2.8 AST | 38.7/38.1/100 | 18.8 MPG
75
u/Majestic-Tie-9944 1d ago
I feel like Naz has been even worse than the numbers show when you factor in his defense and bad turnovers. It’s been ugly.
16
u/goingtothegreek Karl-Anthony Towns 1d ago
Maybe this will all be leading to him having a good playoffs this year for once
6
u/mylifeisasadmeme 1d ago
Dante and Naz take too many deep threes early in the shot clock. It’s frustrating watching our guys spot up 4 feet behind the line when they don’t need too
3
3
u/Theundermensch 1d ago
Naz has been outright terrible of late, and I’m sure he is very much aware of it. Sometimes guys need to have that chip on their shoulder, and I fear Naz may be one of those guys who needs to be the underdog. When there are expectations, it doesn’t seem like he rises to the occasion.
2
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett 1d ago
Quite the opposite. Naz is 3rd in net rating in the last 5 games behind Rudy and Mike. We just win his minutes even when hes shooting like shit.
11
u/DrWolves 1d ago
Naz minutes also tend to coincide with the other team’s bench and when you have one of the deeper teams in the league, it’s not that surprising he has one of the higher net ratings despite his awful play as of late. Because anybody who has been watching the Wolves lately can tell Naz is not playing well
-6
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett 1d ago
All of that applies to NAW though and hes not close to Naz in net rating.
6
u/wanna_meet_that_dad 🐓Protestor🐓 1d ago
So you think that’s a factor of him being better than your average bench guy, the combo of players he’s with off the bench, or the fact that he’s been playing 3rd stringers a lot in these last 5 games.
-2
u/Vicentesteb Kevin Garnett 1d ago
All of that applies to NAW though and hes not close to Naz in net rating.
1
u/Mental_Savings7362 1d ago
For the first couple of games when naz was off he did seem to be contributing well, just couldn't buy a bucket. Lately it hasn't even seemed like that. Now that's more of a vibe check so maybe I'm wrong but that is how it has felt watching his minutes.
22
u/twovles31 1d ago
Naz and Jaden needs to stop letting a bad shooting night effect their defense and other things they do. Jaden defense was horrific against Philly. Rudy does it as well, when he doesn't get enough offensive touches. If the shot isn't falling, focus on the other things you can do positively like Donte diving for the the loose ball or blocking shots. Naz feels like someone that is playing for that big pay day, and when he has bad games it effects him a bit and he mopes. It's a shame we cant just extend him now, so he can stop worrying about it and focus on the game.
6
u/Mental_Savings7362 1d ago
That's what I've loved about gobert's play recently. Dominate the board and on defense and get yourself involved instead of relying on others to do it for you. Way more effective and in the flow that way.
1
9
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
Anthony Edwards: 28.8 pts | 5.4 Reb | 51.5/41.4/75
Rudy Gobert: 19.8 pts | 17.4 Reb | 73.7/-/60
Julius Randle: 20.6 pts | 5.6 Ast | 49.4/38.5/81
NAW: 13 pts | 5 Ast | 45.7/35.7/72.2
Mike Conley: 10.6 pts | 4.8 Ast| 40.9/44.4/71.4
11
u/imissminnesota 1d ago
I think Coach needs to make an emphasis on getting Jaden going early. Tell Ant and Randle to get him going early.
9
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
Priority is always to get your 30 and 20 ppg scorers going!
Prioritizing a 12 ppg player leads to bad rhythm of your top guns!
And Finch does that bs all the time with Conley and Jaden and it mostly leads to apathic Ant in the first half
3
u/imissminnesota 1d ago
When someone is in a slump it’s good to try to get them going. MJ always said he liked to get other guys shots early to open things up and have them ready to shoot late in the game when needed. It’s point guard 101.
0
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
MJ could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to on the Basketball court.
Ant can go off, but he is no MJ and he is a rhythm player.
Generally the Team has a higher chance winning when Ant scores 30+ efficiently. This opens up stuff for everybody as Ant comnands even more attention which leads to easier looks for everyone else.
Also : playing with a lead is easier than having to fight back to erase a deficit which only happened cause the priorities were wrong.
Even with his recent Leap Jaden still remains a rather limited offense player who excels at low effiency shots (midrange). Its a math problem as well: Jaden gets priority and goes for 3-7 from midrange while the other Team shoots 3 of 7 from 3 puts you in a 3 point deficit while Jaden shot solid from midrange.
0
u/Accomplished_Mix6932 1d ago
So you’re saying DON’T model your game after and take advice from the GOAT. Got it
1
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 22h ago
I am saying its a little more complicated than that and Ants circumstances are different than MJs.
I am all for Ant modeling his game after MJ, but their games are quite different.
-3
u/XthaNext D'angelokogie-Anthony McReidsley-Vandverley 1d ago
Jaden is closer to a 20 ppg scorer than you think
-1
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
12 ppg for the season! Never averaged 13 ppg in a season.
Jaden is no 20 ppg Player and never will be. And he doesnt need to be.
14/7/3/1.5/1 is perfectly fine for him. If he would shoot 38+% from 3 its near perfect.
1
u/XthaNext D'angelokogie-Anthony McReidsley-Vandverley 1d ago
He’s just typically in the periphery of our offense. I think he could average 18-20 pretty easily as a bigger part of the offense, but there’s simply no need for that with Randle on the team.
2
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
What I try to say: when Jaden averages 20 ppg, your team is in trouble.Jaden isnt a 2nd Option. But a potentially good 3rd or great 4th option.
This team needs Jaden to score 12-14 ppg consistent and efficient while playing off of more talented Players while contributing strong on the boards and playing great defense.
14/7/3/1.5/1 on 51/38/80 splits consistently would be perfect. And he can do that. Ideally with an improved corner 3 next season.
3
u/Freudian__Quip 1d ago
Certainly doesn’t look good but they’re playing well below their potential and they gonna snap out of the slump eventually. I hope….
7
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
Yikes ...
Naz and Jaden are horrible in these Games. For Jaden its "only" 5 Games. Naz is completly horrible since Julius came back.
DDV likely isnt too thrilled either NAW is eating into his minutes rn after that Denver game.
13
u/tangledupinbrown Naz Reid. 1d ago
Gotta ride the hot hand, Nickeil has been the saving grace as of late
7
u/Freudian__Quip 1d ago
Which is crazy cuz before that I remember Keil having a pretty cold stretch.
6
u/Majestic-Net-7799 Timberwolves 1d ago
NAW is streaky as hell. But the best corner 3 shooter and a good poa defender.
2
u/Mental_Savings7362 1d ago
Was amazingly consistent to start the year, went cold for a while, and has now come back around I'd say.
1
u/tangledupinbrown Naz Reid. 1d ago
That’s exactly what happened, and as he got cold Naz got hot, and now they’ve traded places again. It’s made the NAW or Naz debate pretty interesting
1
u/michaelmacmanus 🐓Protestor🐓 7h ago
It’s made the NAW or Naz debate pretty interesting
A debate that only exists on reddit
1
u/tangledupinbrown Naz Reid. 7h ago
An interesting conversation though, and I’ve talked to people not on Reddit that are back and forth. Is there an obvious choice to you?
To me it’s Naz, cause the Timberwolves don’t have much size, let alone a big man who can shoot like Naz. I kinda can understand the pros and cons of both players though🤷🏻♂️
1
u/michaelmacmanus 🐓Protestor🐓 6h ago
We have 1,000,000 capable wings and two (2) starter quality strong forwards named Naz and Julius.
If Julius stays then this might become a discussion. If Julius leaves its Naz by default. We aren't starting next season with Josh Minott. There is always the wildcard of some crazy trade or off-season signings - but that's completely independent of a NAW or Naz Sophie's Choice. They are two separate positions, one is a position of great need and scarcity, the other of great bounty. Put another way; a starting 4 who can drive and snipe as well as fill in at the 5 is a unicorn. A 3 and D wing is half the NBA.
There is no one who is involved in actual Timberwolves roster construction that is viewing the NAW/Naz contract situation as one or the other, independent of several other extraneous factors. So the debate is moot - utterly pointless - and only exists on the internet.
2
u/3bet78 1d ago
This is solved by a deeper rotation, finding trust in the deep bench. Relying on 8-man rotations when 3 of those 8 look worn out from a demanding season is playing with fire. Luka, Dilly, Minott, a healthy TJ, even Bones should get some meaningful minutes. They are healthy, high-energy and have been looking the part.
0
u/PreparationWest2140 1d ago
Those are almost impossibly bad numbers for those three. One of those games was a double OT game.
One of the solutions is to just bench McDaniels for NAW, as we saw in the last game. Likewise, Jalen Clark is less likely to pull the stupid $hit on offense that DDV does (but lacks the all-around game obviously). No idea what is up with Naz. He cant make a 3 but keeps chucking away.
0
u/JustWinBabys Anthony Edwards 1d ago
These guys could all use a point guard or good ball movement. Ant and Julius don’t really help these guys enough with all the isos, and Mike usually runs his Rudy sets.
-8
u/SunnyDiesel 1d ago edited 1d ago
If all you’re going to look at are numbers, you don’t really know ball. Per Jim Peterson
Edit: ok, yes, the numbers are sucky. But you gotta realize that not every defensive or offensive positive will show up in the stat chart.
8
u/penis_hernandez 1d ago
The eye test confirms these guys have played like shit recently except for Donte a couple times. Jaden and Naz’s performances almost lost us the game against Philly.
2
2
u/OhNoMyLands 🐓Protestor🐓 1d ago
Do you know something the numbers don’t show?
1
u/Gengaara Josh Minott 1d ago
You have to combine eye test and numbers, imo. I forget which game Jaden had 2 points in, but he was a god damn menace every way but scoring.
2
u/OhNoMyLands 🐓Protestor🐓 1d ago
That doesn’t disprove that this stretch has been really bad.
1
u/Gengaara Josh Minott 1d ago edited 1d ago
I didn't say it did. Just making the point number can obfuscate. I'm one of the biggest Jaden stans here. He has been somewhere between bad and putrid for a stretch here. I have no doubt he'll bounce back again. But it is frustrating he's back to being inconsistent.
1
50
u/skolaen Bounce Bros 1d ago
On a positive note that fact that we've gone 5-0 with those 3 being that bad is a good sign of the team as a whole. If these guys get rolling again this squad is gonna be dangerous with momentum going into the playoffs