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Minnesota Timberwolves: October player grades

By James Grieco

SHENZHEN, CHINA - OCTOBER 05: Jimmy Butler #23, Andrew Wiggins #22, Karl-Anthony Townsand and Taj Gibson #67 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrate during the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors as part of 2017 NBA Global Games China at Universidade Center on October 5, 2017 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA - OCTOBER 05: Jimmy Butler #23, Andrew Wiggins #22, Karl-Anthony Townsand and Taj Gibson #67 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrate during the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors as part of 2017 NBA Global Games China at Universidade Center on October 5, 2017 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Derrick Rose

8 GP, 30.0 MPG, 18.8 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.0 RPG

Derrick Rose took charge and led the short-handed Timberwolves to victory Wednesday night against a very good Jazz team; that alone gets him a good grade.

I recapped Rose’s tremendous start to the season last week, highlighting his renewed tenacity and playmaking on offense. He doubled down on those trends against Utah, even pushing his overall shooting up to 44.1 percent and his 3-point shooting up to a career-best 34.6 percent.

He became the talk of the NBA world for a day, and his performance deserved it:

His energy throughout the year has been infectious, even though 30 minutes a night is stretching it, especially when he plays the wing. His 27 percent usage rate leads the team, which also feels odd for both 2018 and this roster.

I have problems with his shot selection at times and although he tries hard on defense, he is a sieve who constantly loses his man to backdoor cuts or on screens. Derrick Rose is nowhere near as good today as Tom Thibodeau thinks he is, but I cannot deny that he has performed well this year.

Don’t expect Rose to continue turning water to wine, or for the good times to continue long-term, but his October was outstanding and his teammates like him, which is all that matters to the Timberwolves for now.

Grade: A-

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