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Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 Early Preseason Takeaways

By Aaron Mah

Oct 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dribbles the ball after making a steal in the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center. Oklahoma City Thunder won 122-99. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dribbles the ball after making a steal in the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center. Oklahoma City Thunder won 122-99. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 10, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (8) looks to layup the ball while Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) defends the net during the second quarter at MTS Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (8) looks to layup the ball while Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) defends the net during the second quarter at MTS Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

The Struggle Is Real For LaVine

Zach LaVine started his month of October with a bang. By all accounts, the 20-year-old human trampoline was the most impressive T’Wolf in training camp. Playing his “natural” shooting guard position, LaVine was supposedly prime for a breakout.

However, ever since coach Sam Mitchell named the former UCLA Bruin the starting 2-guard for your Minnesota Timberwolves, his game and psyche has undergone a downward spiral.

It’s not just that Zach is shooting a putrid 24.3 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc through four preseason games, it’s where he’s launching the said shots, the opportunity costs lost when he decides to jack up a long 2, and the wild, hesitant passes he’s been throwing all over the place that has most Wolves fans concerned and calling for a demotion back to the bench.

In many ways, LaVine looks to have regressed from last season, as despite playing off the ball, he is still making the same boneheaded, indecisive, telegraphed passes in a middle of an offensive set, and taking (and missing) the same shake-and-bake contested jumper a foot inside the 3-point line early in the shot clock.

He is still one of the most rigid and unimaginative finishers around the rim for someone of his athletic ilk, and while he’s a tad bit improved on the defensive end — driven in large to not having to defend the point of attack, and fighting through a gauntlet of on-ball screens as a consequence — he is still, many times, confused in deciphering which pick-and-roll coverage to deploy and relents middle penetration far too nonchalantly.

With veteran Tayshaun Prince starting on the wings during their final game of the Canada series, the Wolves looked distinctively better on both sides of the floor — their defensive rotations were crisp, the ball was whipping around judiciously, and the spacing on offense was refreshingly ideal.

I understand the desire to develop a tantalizing talent like LaVine, but at this point, Minnesota may be wise to let the Renton, WA, native earn it, and patiently allow him to come into his own.

Next: Tyus Turning Heads

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