In a league dominated by guards and do-it-all wings who possess prototypical guard skills, the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to pursue another avenue to title contention, doubling down on “big ball” after acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz this past offseason to pair up with Karl-Anthony Towns in a supersized frontcourt.
However, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly knows that before he swung for the fences, he and head coach Chris Finch should be on the same page and that Finch would continue to stick with their size advantage even as other teams go small in an attempt to lure the bigs out to defend on the perimeter.
And to Finch's credit, he is all-in with the Timberwolves' attempt to zig while every other team zags, which is a testament to his belief in Towns' ability to adjust to a new challenge.
“Tim said to me, ‘Are you going to stick with it?, when the other teams go small against us?' [But] when you have Karl Towns, you don't play small,” Finch said, per ESPN. “We talked about some of the blind spots. We studied it. The concept didn't scare me at all, especially with KAT's versatility.”
An opponent that could become a defining litmus test for the Timberwolves is the Los Angeles Clippers, a team equipped with pieces ideal for a small-ball brand of basketball. During the 2021 postseason, the Clippers memorably stretched out Rudy Gobert and the Jazz during their second-round matchup, and they ended up defeating the Jazz despite the injury to Kawhi Leonard.
Nevertheless, the Timberwolves are not the Jazz, and Jaden McDaniels immediately becomes the best perimeter defender Gobert has teamed up with in his career. And with Chris Finch working tirelessly with the 7'1 Frenchman to make sure he is utilized to the best of his abilities, perhaps the Towns and Gobert pairing could work more seamlessly than even most optimists think.
“I love the way coach wants to use me and I'm excited about that, I love his approach to the game. He's going to find ways to make it work,” Gobert said. “When you look at the roster and the talent we have with this group, it's incredible.”
Rudy Gobert is right: the Timberwolves, indeed, are stacked with talent, and with the continued excellence of Karl-Anthony Towns and the development of Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves may finally make it out of the first round for the first time since 2004.
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