Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Rockets

2. Rose performance masks growing issue

Derrick Rose enjoyed one of his best nights with the Timberwolves, scoring 17 points and adding two steals, while finishing +13 in Game 3.

While his performance helped Minnesota win, it was still indicative of a problematic trend. Rose scored his 17 points on 16 shots, which is a two-fold issue. First, it’s not all that efficient (53.1 true shooting percentage), and it’s hard to imagine him doing better given his inability to draw fouls or shoot 3s.

More troublingly, his 16 shots ranked No. 2 on the team, behind Butler’s 19. Through three games, Rose’s 39 shots place him one behind Wiggins for the team lead. He’s taken more shots than Butler, Towns or Teague.

Tom Thibodeau does not seem to have a problem with this, because he keeps sending Rose out there. He played 21 minutes in Game 3, while Nemanja Bjelica, Tyus Jones and Gorgui Dieng played 19 — combined. Those three happen to be the Wolves’ three best shooters and three best defenders off the bench, and thus the three best options to play alongside two or three of the team’s ball-dominant starters in a shortened rotation.

Instead, Thibodeau continues to go to Rose, a player whose shooting, court vision, passing and defense are all shaky at best. That his minutes aligned with team success in Game 3 will likely encourage the coach further — proving the earlier point about why single-game on/off data is dangerous.