Wolves vs. Rockets Final result: Wolves almost breakthrough

This was about to become the blog post to squash and inject into your veins as pure, unmitigated Rob Dillingham propaganda after a flawless performance that helped the Minnesota Timberwolves complete a massive comeback over the Houston Rockets victory helped.

Maybe you’ll get something from it. But man, we were so, so close.

For the rookie, it was a +24 game with 12 points and seven assists, the highest of his career. That’s two consecutive breakthrough performances from Dillingham, all of which were for naught. However, it was a product that showed that a team so desperate to have a true point guard in the lineup to run a decent offense needs to be satisfied.

The need was demonstrably recognized a little too late, at a time when the margin for error was too small to overcome late.

The opposite results were apparent early on. Donte DiVincenzo started in place of Mike Conley, who missed his third straight game. Disorganization ensued from the start, resulting in Houston taking an 11-point lead in the first quarter.

“I didn’t really like our effort and energy in the first half,” head coach Chris Finch said afterward. “(We) kept giving it back and trying to do too much.”

Jabari Smith started fast for Houston and took advantage of soft closeouts. He’s shot 32 percent from three points so far this season and scored 13 points on 3-4 shooting from long range in the first half. He was one of the main reasons Houston was able to overtake the Wolves early.

At the Wolves’ other end there was general ignorance. Aside from perhaps one of Anthony Edwards’ best plays so far this year, ball movement was little to non-existent, turnovers were plentiful, and DiVincenzo struggled to inject the ball into open shooters and maintain possession on drives.

The Wolves rounded out the half with nine turnovers and continued their poor play into the second, to the point where a happy and loud Target Center finally snapped and expressed that they had finally had enough.

It was reminiscent of the 2022/23 season, in which the boos so often found their wings when a team with such high expectations played poorly, aimlessly and selfishly at times. A team that lacked a great point guard in the pre-Conley days and was at odds with itself over something as fixable as the ability to direct its own traffic and, as Finch put it, the offense as well letting the defense influence a lot.

Just as I had Rob Dillingham’s propaganda in stock, I also had the beginning of a doomsday article ready.

Then a point guard came and punched them in the face.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Point Guard Problem (and the Solution)

It’s time we stop using the “Donte DiVincenzo is a point guard” idea.

It hasn’t worked all season. It still doesn’t work. He does certain things well (moving and shooting) and at this point the team is at, he needs to focus on those things before adding more tasks to his remit (being a full-fledged NBA point guard); And yes, the ability to get open was evident when he saw the field next to Dillingham.

He needs to do less to help the offense more.

The first-round rookie’s recent breakthrough, especially after Conley’s absence, has shown how badly this team needs a point guard presence on the court. This is reflected in an 0-4 record without Conley and Dillingham’s +24 on Tuesday.

“I think it’s obvious that our rhythm is being affected,” Finch said when asked about giving point guard duties in the lineup to an unconventional point guard like DiVincenzo or Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

“Ant and Julius feel like they have to do too much too soon… Rob’s early game showed us that.”

Finch added that he tried to get play calls in overtime and tried to slow the offense down to get organized, but the lack of that reared its ugly head again in a period where Dillingham didn’t see a run until it was late.

Selfless organization of where the ball goes protects the team from immaturity and haste on offense. The Wolves went on a 16-0 run as soon as Dillingham entered the game in the second half and ended up just short of overtime.

They simply ran out of time and leash.

Emptying the notebook

• Jaden McDaniels had another rough outing. He missed several timely, wide-open 3-pointers in both the fourth quarter and overtime. He finished the game 1-8 through three games and 0-4 in the fourth quarter and overtime. While he was active on the glass and was responsible for some important second-chance points, teams protected him significantly less behind the arc.
• Speaking of tough track, Anthony Edwards The score was 0-8 in the fourth quarter and overtime. His shot selection late in the fourth quarter was mostly poor. It goes back to what Finch said after the game; Instead of going for an instant kill shot, it felt at times that the offense had a healthy enough rhythm to line up and attack the hoop.
• Rudy Gobert played for almost 20 minutes straight in dire trouble. He checked in late in the third quarter, played the entire fourth quarter and most of overtime. He was also the only starter to finish with a positive plus-minus.

Next

The Wolves will remain at Target Center to play a consecutive home game against a team they haven’t lost to in two attempts this season: the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have lost four straight and will be without DeMar DeRozan.

In the last game between the two teams, De’Aaron Fox scored 60 points at home.

It’s a golden opportunity for Wolves to get back on track and find their footing during a three-game losing streak.

Highlights