Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 reasons keeping Derrick Rose is a good move
By Luke Askew
3. Bench production
It’s no secret the Wolves’ bench was atrocious last season. Part of that was due to Tom Thibodeau’s unwillingness to play anybody not in the starting five, and part of that was due to the roster makeup.
Minnesota’s primary bench scorer last season was Jamal Crawford. However, after becoming a free agent this summer, it’s unlikely that he will be returning. That means that one of the NBA’s worst bench units just got even worse… if that’s possible.
In the playoffs, Rose averaged 14.2 points, 2.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. Those aren’t numbers that will jump off the page, but they are the kind of bench numbers that make a huge difference.
In the Timberwolves’ lone win of the playoffs, Rose scored a season-high 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field.
https://twitter.com/wordofthesaint/status/987876544721891328
To put it simply, without that performance from Rose, the Wolves would’ve gotten swept.
Bench production needs to be an area of improvement for Minnesota in the 2018-19 season if it wants to make it past the first round of the playoffs. Re-signing Derrick Rose is a great start to meeting that goal.