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The Timberwolves’ first 10 games have had a few lackluster nights.
Even with most of their success, the Wolves have had uncomfortable moments, especially on the offensive end, where they try to include Rudy Gobert in everything they do.
Saturday was one of those stress-free nights as the Wolves did what they needed to do against the rebuilding Rockets with a 129-117 win despite Gobert’s absence due to covid health and safety protocols.
Without Gobert, the Wolves (5-5) had one of their smoothest nights, shooting 61%. With Gobert not on the floor, the Wolves were able to play basketball for most of the season, but they were also playing the Rockets, going 1-9. .
Coach Chris Finch also threw water on the idea that Gobert’s absence was tied to an improved offense. For him, the Wolves were already moving in a positive direction after Friday’s loss against Milwaukee.
“Rudy’s absence has nothing to do with our performance here,” Finch said. “Offensively we started moving the ball better [Friday]. We have to do that more times and then I think Rudy will be the beneficiary of that ball movement.
Karl-Anthony Towns played most of the night at center and had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Seven players scored in double figures for the Wolves, with Anthony Edwards adding 19 and Kyle Anderson, who started for Gobert, adding 16.
Jordan McLaughlin once again led the Wolves off the bench with six points and 11 assists.
The night led to a happy Wolves locker room, and Edwards in particular is usually a happy man fighting back to back.
As McLaughlin addressed the media, Edwards got behind McLaughlin’s right ear and whispered, “I beat you J-Mac. Plus-20 plus minus.” McLaughlin leads the Wolves in plus-minus on the season.
The Wolves broke the game open in the second half with a small lineup of McLaughlin, Jaden McDaniels, Taurean Prince, Anderson and Edwards and pushed the lead to 19 at the half. McLaughlin had seven assists at halftime. They led by as many as 24 in the second half before crossing the finish line.
“It’s great that we won. But obviously we lost a big guy,” Towns said. “We’ve got a lot to work on as a team. We need him to fix those little things. But it’s good that we build that confidence and we know what Rudy is going to give us offensively.”
Saturday also represented a step in the right direction for D’Angelo Russell, who went 5-for-9 and scored 13 points.
Despite shooting over 50 percent, Russell said he felt like he was still in a shooting slump.
“I am trying to recover from it,” he said.
Finch said he sensed Russell’s confidence was slipping after Tuesday’s game. Russell said he learned from Lakers legend Kobe Bryant during his rookie season not to lose faith in his shot.
When Bryant went through some struggles during Russell’s rookie season with Los Angeles, Russell encouraged him to keep shooting.
“He laughed at me and said, ‘It’s my last year. Don’t you think I’ll keep shooting?’ So, I learned that from him,” Russell said. “Just keep going, it’s going to go its way, just keep playing the right way.”
That’s the mantra the Wolves adopted early in the season, despite outside noises that the Gobert experiment with Towns might not work out.
“It takes time. If anybody knows it takes time to be successful, it’s me. I’ve been in Minnesota for eight years and I’ve seen it take a long time to see some success happen,” Towns said. “Things don’t happen overnight.”
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