Minnesota Timberwolves · 13 notes
Anthony Edwards is "playing off ball even more now," Minnesota's Bones Hyland said at practice, with LaMelo Ball taking "a lot of pressure off of him." Chris Finch wants Edwards and Jaden McDaniels rebounding better after the team "got crushed on the glass" playing small.
Rudy Gobert wants Minnesota's offense to run through him "as much as we can": "by playing through me... it relieves a lot of pressure on our guards." He had 8 assists in Game 6, and says he tells LaMelo Ball to slow down and use the advantage his screens create.
Whether to stagger Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball is undecided, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said "My gut tells me we'll play them mostly together," pointing to Ball's playmaking creating easy shots for Edwards in their most recent game.
LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards together, not staggered: "My gut tells me I want them out there together," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, trusting the bench for ball-handling. Ball sees plays way in advance, he said, which lets the team get Edwards off the ball.
Anthony Edwards on pairing with LaMelo Ball: his focus has shifted from scoring to winning. "Some games they gonna trap me, some games they may trap him and I may be the decoy." Ball expects "a lot of running and gunning," with lobs to Rudy Gobert a big part of it.
Anthony Edwards named his defensive core as himself, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga, with LaMelo Ball "super good off the ball." Edwards also said he slept through three or four calls from Ball before learning of the trade: "I was asleep."
Ayo Dosunmu (Minnesota media availability) is teaching LaMelo Ball to defend pick-and-rolls next to Rudy Gobert: "I promise you his defensive is going to rise." He says the roster is built for a faster pace, though close games still need half-court execution.
Ayo Dosunmu said he's told Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball to turn the defensive attention they draw into lobs and pocket passes for Rudy Gobert: "that boosts his confidence." On his new deal: "I wanna look back in 3 years and they say, oh, that was a steal of a contract."
Bones Hyland on the clip of Anthony Edwards trash-talking Jaylen Clark: "They had the wrong words what he said. He didn't say that." He declined to give the real ones. Hyland, Ayo Dosunmu and LaMelo Ball are the "core guys" who have hard talks with Edwards, plus Rudy Gobert.
Chris Finch says Minnesota will put the ball in LaMelo Ball's hands to play out of early offense, and lean into a Ball–Rudy Gobert pick and roll that could be "one of the hardest things in the league to guard." After years of playing slow, they'll play faster.
Finch also credited LaMelo Ball with changing how Anthony Edwards plays in the open floor: "Ant's getting ahead of the ball better than he has been." Finch said Ball pushes the ball up the floor and encourages Edwards to run.
Chris Finch says Minnesota is adding cutting with cleaner spacing, but must "hold your spacing" for Anthony Edwards isolations and Rudy Gobert pick-and-roll. LaMelo Ball is "near top of the league at finding cutters." Finch on flopping: "We don't teach flopping here."
On Sept. 30, LaMelo Ball on his Minnesota role: "I can play on ball, off ball, just whatever team needs," even in the corner. Says the staff "chopped it back to like the beginning so everybody's knowing the same thing." Team wants to run, like Charlotte did: "a great fit."