The Minnesota Timberwolves’ system is broken, and here’s how to fix it

Minnesota needs to play to its player’s strengths

The best franchises don’t try to tailor the players to a system, they fit a system to the players. For instance, if you have three seven-footers on your team, it’s probably not smart to run a seven seconds or less style offense. But, a three-out, post-heavy style might just get you far.

It’s the same with Minnesota. For years, coaches and executives have been trying to use what worked in the past for them (Thibodeau and the Bulls, Rosas and the Rockets) and make the Timberwolves that next squad. But under the current system, with the current roster, that can’t be done. So let’s look at what they have.

At point guard, you have Ricky Rubio, Jarrett Culver, and D’Angelo Russell. Rubio is a tough perimeter defender who isn’t adept at shooting the deep ball, but knows how to move the basketball to find the open guy and can be fairly dangerous on a drive. Culver isn’t the best scorer, but he’s another hard-nosed guy with 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season.

Russell, on the other hand, is a really good 3-point shooter and is a dangerous offensive weapon. However, he really struggles with defense and moving the ball at times. However, Russell also has another secret weapon nobody really talks about: he’s a really good mid-range scorer. So far this season, Russell has shot 40.0 percent from 10-19 feet out, and 42.9 percent from 20-24 feet out. In the Timberwolves’ game against the LA Clippers, Russel struggled a little from 3, shooting 4-11 from downtown. However, he went 5-8 from inside the arc. If Russell can burst inside, he becomes a much better scorer.

Moving down in the rotation, at the two-guard, there’s Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards. Beasley is a streaky scorer who tries to shoot his way out of any rut, however, when he gets going he really catches fire. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Edwards is a natural scorer, though like Russell his productivity soars when he gets inside. His shot selection is questionable at times and it can lead to bad possessions. That’s to speak nothing to either of their defensive efforts, which range from average to atrocious depending on the day.

For forwards, there’s Josh Okogie, Jake Layman, Juan Hernangomez, and Naz Reid. Three stretch guys and one small forward, and none of them have shown a particular adeptness at shooting the long ball. However, Layman has shown promise as a mid-range/inside guy and Naz has shown flashes of being a decent post player. All three big men need to work on defense, to say the least. However, that’s actually where Okogie excels. His defense is exceptional and is the best part of his game by far. He also makes smart cuts without the ball but lacks the confidence (or the coaching staff’s approval) to shoot the looks he gets with them.

And then there’s Towns. Can score from all ranges, has a few good moves, and moves the ball well for a guy his size. However, his defense is again a weak point. If Towns wants to develop into the next tier of centers, that’s where it needs to happen.