One thing that the Timberwolves have struggled with all season is size.
With the absence of Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota has relied on rookie Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng to be the bruisers in the paint.
Unfortunately for the young Wolves, it hasn’t quite worked out as planned. Minnesota currently ranks 24th in the league in points allowed per game, 105.5 and 27th in opponent field goal percentage, 46.9 percent.
Fortunately for Minnesota they came across forward Greg Smith who has played well in his brief stint so far with the team.
The Timberwolves recently signed Smith to a second 10-day contract.
The 25-year-old out of Fresno State played 16 games in the NBA Development League this season and average 12.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in 28 minutes of play.
So far this season with the Wolves, as any new player would, Smith has been a little hesitant offensively, but seems to be showing signs of improvement in each game.
Standing 6’10 and weighing in at 250 pounds, the fourth-year forward has provided a much-needed big body for the Wolves in the paint.
“If you watched the game against San Antonio, they just physically mauled us,” Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said. “Until we get some time to get a little bigger and stronger and let their bodies mature, there are nights where it doesn’t matter what the concept is, like Robin Lopez, he’s just too big. I give our guys credit, they fight, they scrap, they claw, but there are some nights that just the physicality of the game is just too much for us because we’re small. That’s something that will take time to address, it will just take time for them to grow into their bodies naturally as they mature.”
