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The Minnesota Timberwolves didn't really have the statement season opener that many expected. Losing to the Los Angeles Lakers with a final score of 110-103, the Timberwolves found themselves playing catch-up the entire game. Somewhere along the line, they were even down by as much as 19 points.
To make things more of a bummer for Minnesota fans watching on air, LeBron James and Bronny James made history as the first father-son duo to play together while the Timberwolves were being blown out. A late-game run did cut the deficit to four points early in the final quarter, but Minnesota had no answer for Anthony Davis, whose 24-point second half propelled the Lakers to victory.
Falling to last season's seventh seed is somehow concerning, considering how LA hadn't undergone any major roster tweaks in the summer. The Lakers are still led by James and Davis while their supporting cast retains many familiar faces. Does this mean that the Timberwolves should press the panic button already? Not quite yet. While there were a couple of issues on Tuesday night, each has either a silver lining or a possible solution.
Julius Randle's chemistry with the team will grow over time
Tuesday showed a first glimpse of the Julius Randle-Rudy Gobert pairing. Offensively, things didn't look too bad on the stat sheet. Randle went 5-of-10 to finish with 16 points while hauling down nine boards. Gobert, on the other hand, secured a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds. However, the predicted spacing concerns were quite visible. Randle continuously attacked the rim, and it looked clogged in there at times when he was trying to create while Gobert was waiting for a drop pass. It didn't help that Randle looked a bit rusty. A number of his shot attempts were way off the mark, making it obvious that the forward — who just recovered from a shoulder injury — hasn't fully gotten his groove back yet.
Overall, the offense looks different. With Karl-Anthony Towns last season, the Timberwolves stretched the floor more as KAT embraced playing off the ball as a shooting big. Randle's game, on the other hand, purely revolves around creating his own shot. It's either he's driving from the outside or taking on defenders 1-on-1 in the mid-post area. It was visible how the rest of the team was still adjusting to his play style.
Defensively, the frontcourt has to be better. They allowed Anthony Davis to finish with 36 points and 16 boards. Whether he was catching lobs, crashing the offensive glass for putbacks, or hitting that mid-range jumper, Davis was automatic against Minnesota's bigs. Overall, the Timberwolves allowed the Lakers to score 72 points in the paint, which isn't supposed to happen with a four-time DPOY in the middle. The interior defense was so lax that LA was able to use inside scoring to make up for a 5-of-30 three-point performance. Yes, the Lakers shot 16.7% from deep and still won, per stats from NBA.com.
The silver lining here? It's only Randle's first regular season game since January. In other words, as he gets more reps in, chemistry with Gobert and the rest of the team will grow as the season moves along. While it remains to be seen how Chris Finch will address the spacing problems, the Timberwolves will most likely adapt a system that caters to the strengths of both Anthony Edwards and Randle. This might result in a more isolation-focused offense alternating between the two, but what needs to be done needs to be done. They'll have to find a way to maximize their stars or else a return to the Western Conference Finals is bleak.
The answer to Tuesday's lack of point guard presence
One Timberwolves player who had a quiet outing on Tuesday was Mike Conley. The veteran floor general shot just 1-of-7 (14.3%) from the field, missing all his attempts from downtown to finish with five points. He only dished out two assists as well. Of course, Conley won't always play like this. As proven last season, the 37-year-old is still capable of setting the tone at point. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that Finch has a potential weapon that can be utilized whenever Conley isn't clicking. Ladies and gentlemen, enter Rob Dillingham.
A rookie from Kentucky, Dillingham didn't see the floor on Tuesday. That's expected from a first-year developing piece, but it wouldn't hurt to see him get backup minutes from time to time. Dillingham first showcased his wares during the Summer League, putting up 13.6 points and 7.6 assists in five games. He continued where he left off during the preseason, revealing glimpses of upside when given a good amount of time on the court. Against the Philadelphia 76ers nearly two weeks ago, he dished out nine assists. In the Timberwolves' final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, the 6-foot-3 guard had 15 points and seven dimes.
Dillingham can be a rotational playmaker. He doesn't need to score a lot alongside Antman and the others, but his ability to get teammates going will benefit the Timberwolves, especially on nights when the offense looks stagnant (just like on Tuesday). Finch will most certainly give the guard reps as the season goes along, so that's something to look forward to.
Final thoughts
It's never easy when one star gets replaced by another. Moving forward, Minnesota will probably show growing pains as they work to build chemistry with their new acquisitions. It might take a bit of time, but to end on a high note, the team still has the talent to compete for a championship. So as stated earlier, there's no need to press the panic button yet because when the Timberwolves finally find the right formula — one that brings out the best from both Edwards and Randle — the West will once more know what trouble looks like.
