The Wolves took down the Clippers 130-120 on Monday night at Target Center,
snapping a four-game losing streak.
There were plenty of storylines. These are the three-most intriguing. Maybe not
to you, I guess. But to me and I’m the one writing this, so I get to make those
decisions.
After missing six of the last seven games, Derrick Rose played and played
extremely well. In 24 minutes off the bench, Rose finished with 22 points and
six assists, shooting 9-for-18 from the field.
Minnesota’s offense is so much better with Rose, a player who can create his
shot, than when its without him – especially with all the injuries the team has
endured. Plus, the Wolves kind of really, really needed a win.
“It felt good,” Rose said after the game. “But I was just trying to read the
situation, take my time. Be patient while I was out there.”
Rose was hitting shots, and I’ve known we’ve said this all season, that were
vintage D-Rose. Pull up jumpers, reverse layups. Monday night’s performance had
it all.
If the Wolves, now 26-30 and four games back from a playoff spot, want to make
the playoffs, they’ll need a healthy Rose for the final 26 games.
Julian Andrews had an instant analysis of Rose’s game. You can read that here.
Timberwolves interim head coach Ryan Saunders inserted Dario Saric into the
starting lineup, something that we thought might have been coming at some point.
That’s not a knock on Taj Gibson at all. But with Saric’s ability to stretch the
floor, he’s a good fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns in a lineup. Plus, you have
the fact that Gibson is an absolute professional and he doesn’t care if he’s
starting or coming off the bench, as long as he’s helping the team.
It was a slow start for Saric. He missed a wide-open layup and had two very
quick fouls. But he was great the rest of the game, finishing with 19 points and
eight rebounds, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from the 3-point
line. In Philadelphia, Saric was at his best when playing off of Joel Embiid.
Hopefully we can see more of this between Towns and Saric.
As for Gibson, he played 21 minutes off the bench and finished with 14 points,
shooting a perfect 5-for-5 form the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Pros gonna be pros.
“It’s really not a big deal,” Gibson said. “I’ve come off the bench my whole
career, I’ve started. I know how to maneuver and play off the bench. It’s no
pressure. I’m just doing whatever it takes to help my team win games.”
Saunders is quite pleased to have a guy like Gibson on his team. Some players
would have slighted the young coach for the move. Not Gibson.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Saunders said. “When I brought him the idea, it
was actually yesterday, he was all for it. It just shows his professionalism,
the fact that he has 14 points off the bench playing both the four and the five.
You can’t say enough about him.”
Andrew Wiggins (illness) was held out of the game. Starting in his place was
veteran Luol Deng.
It was Deng’s first start since the first game of last season with the Lakers.
Talk about getting throw into the fire. Deng played 37 minutes and 50 seconds
(more than anyone in the game) and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. He
was a team-best +28 in the game.
“I didn’t see that coming two weeks ago. Lou stays ready,” Saunders said after
the game. “I kept asking him, ‘Are you OK?’… He was the guy who was doing a
pretty good job on keeping up with some of their catch-and-shoot guys. He’s
smart. Him not coming off the body was a big thing for us, especially when you
get a little lead, three-point shooters are going to get you back in the game if
they’re coming back. So not only what he did offensively, but defensively he was
really good.”
The NBA season is a long one, full of opportunity for many players. And we’ve
seen under Saunders that while sometimes it’s out of necessity, he isn’t afraid
to trust players with bigger roles and switch things up if need be.
The Wolves have just one game left before the All-Star game, and that will be on
Wednesday at Target Center against James Harden and the Houston Rockets. You can
get tickets here.
Player: Luol Deng
Player: Taj Gibson
Player: Derrick Rose
Player: Dario Saric
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/3-takeaways-wolves-win-over-clippers
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson,
Derrick Rose, Dario Saric, Ryan Saunders, LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/sites/timberwolves/files/saric-2-12-2019.jpg
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/3-takeaways-wolves-win-over-clippers
