After a loss early in the 2021-22 campaign, Anthony Edwards was asked about his lack of drives to the bucket early in the season.
“If I ain’t going, then all the coaches looking at me like, ‘Go to the rim!’ ” Edwards said after a blowout loss to the Clippers. “I’m like, ‘I’m the only one going to the rim.’ ”
That was particularly true that evening. Edwards had 10 drives in the loss, per the Second Spectrum data available on NBA.com. That was a low number him, yet it led the team.
Jordan McLaughlin and Patrick Beverley each had eight drives in that contest. But those weren’t players who are real threats to score even when they do penetrate the paint.
Karl-Anthony Towns had two drives that night, as did Jaden McDaniels. Minnesota scored 14 points off drives that evening.
Minnesota eventually found an offensive rhythm that season, leading the NBA in offensive rating over the back half of the campaign. But the lack of shot creation and ability to put pressure on an opponent’s defensive interior remained.
Monday’s historic comeback win in Oklahoma City showed just how far the Wolves have come in that respect.
Minnesota outscored the Thunder 16-0 over the final 4 minutes of regulation in Monday’s victory, and then outdueled Oklahoma City in overtime. It did all of that with just one made 3-point attempt.
Oklahoma City was without Chet Holmgren for all of the game, and Isaiah Hartenstein for much of it. That left Jaylin Williams as the team’s lone “big man,” and he’s effectively a non-shot blocking power forward. So, the hole in the Thunder defense was at the rim.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, left, works around Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly, center, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Minneapolis. McDaniels has developed into a legitimate driving threat for the Wolves. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
And Minnesota attacked it profusely. The aggressive approach led to layups and free throws.
The Wolves scored 41 points in the fourth quarter to erase Oklahoma City’s 22-point lead to open the frame. Thirty-six of those came in the paint or at the charity stripe. Eight of their 10 overtime points came at the free-throw line.
For the game, 73% of the Wolves’ points Monday came in the paint or at the free-throw line.
That simply wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, particularly not on a night when Edwards hardly played in the fourth quarter and overtime because of calf soreness, only hitting a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter.
But the roster has received an influx of players who can attack off the bounce, both via acquisitions and player development.
McDaniels is now one of Minnesota’s most aggressive players in terms of getting to his spots at or around the rim and is finishing those looks at a high rate. Naz Reid will fire from deep whenever the opportunity arises, but uses an increasingly adept handle to get wherever he wants on the floor. Terrence Shannon Jr. is a menace in transition, Rob Dillingham uses his quickness to break down defenses, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is increasing his number of rim attacks.
Edwards had 14 drives on Monday, but those other five guys combined for an additional 41, and scored 36 points off of them. That’s a lot of rim pressure from a team that was without Julius Randle, who also loves to attack the paint.
Minnesota has largely leaned on the 3-point shot this season. The Wolves average 38 triple tries a game — eighth-most in the NBA — and knock down a gaudy 37.5% of them, the league’s fourth-highest percentage.
But 3-point reliance will inevitably lead to up-and-down offensive performance as a result of shot variance. But as Monday proved — when the Wolves beat the best team in the West despite shooting 28% from beyond the arc — Minnesota now has the personnel to generate other ways to score.
It will be better for it moving forward.
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