That approach appears to have hit a ceiling to Wolves leadership. As a result, they have gone in a new direction, with a new vision on how they should win games.

And, I think I see what they’re doing.

An excess of on-ball creation

That’s a weird term, but the concept is simple. I’m talking about players who can generate a bucket for themselves or others when they have the ball.

If there’s one commonality I can draw on the recent roster overhaul, it is that there are so many players who can do this.

Ayo Dosunmu, acquired in 2026’s trade deadline, showed us he can self-create at a high level in his playoff run with the Wolves, scoring a whopping 43 points in game 4.

Ayo also has a feel for making the simple play, generating good shots for others.

Terrence Shannon Jr. had a similar experience in this series, closing out game 6 with 24 points after several injuries to the Wolves back-court. He has a powerful first step that can consistently penetrate a defense.

Anthony Edwards had this to say at media day about Jonathan Kuminga:

We’ve been playin’ him for 3 or 4 years and we never could stop him

The Wolves also invested in Jaden McDaniels’s ability to create with the ball, giving him ample opportunities last year. And it’s paid off, in big moments.

And we all know what Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball can do with the ball. Though, if you’d like a reminder, you can check out my recent articles on them:

Is it too much?

This roster has so much on-ball creation that it can be considered a problem. There’s only so many minutes to go around, and even fewer that you can touch the ball. Can these players be maximized in an environment that is over-saturated with on-ball creators?

It is a fair criticism. Players tend to be evaluated on their production, such as the points or assists that they collect. It is a zero-sum game, a player like Kuminga will naturally have less opportunities with the ball when Ant and LaMelo are higher in the pecking order.

I think the Wolves are asking a different question. How often can they partner on-ball creators in offensive actions?

Ant’s defender, Scottie Barnes initially helps Randle’s defender, Jakob Poeltl, contain Randle’s drive. That initial help sets up a handoff, which generates an easy bucket for Randle.

These advantages were created because both players are able to draw help defenders with the ball in their hands. Let’s look at another example.

Using on-ball creators as screeners on the perimeter creates switching situations, and often confusion. Here, Kon Knueppel screens for LaMelo Ball. LaNelo’s defender fights through the screen, while Kon’s defender switches onto LaMelo. That gives Kon a shifted defense to attack, and an easy layup.

This isn’t a foreign concept to the Timberwolves, as they’ve been adding and investing in on-ball creation over the past couple of years. Still, it was common to sense a lack of it on the roster, especially when Julius or Ant went to the bench.

I love the idea of Rudy Gobert, Jaylen Clark and Jaden McDaniels terrorizing offenses with their defensive prowess. But there is a burden on Ant here to carry the offensive load. And it is a tough road to travel when a defense can send extra help due to having multiple non-creators on the floor (Clark and Gobert).

What these young bloods have to understand is this game has always been and always will be about buckets.

• Bill Russell

The game gravitates towards players who can create buckets. The Wolves are betting on a surplus of creators creating a surplus of advantages. I like that bet.

Eager to help

The Rudy & KAT era

Rudy Gobert joined the Timberwolves in 2022, giving birth to a new era in Minnesota. Pairing him with Karl Anthony-Towns and Jaden McDaniels created a plethora of size for opponents to deal with.

In this example, the Grizzlies are running a double-drag look for Ja Morant. His defender (Conley) is screened, and is in chase mode. KAT’s assignment, Jackson Jr. (JJJ), ghosts the screen, diving to the rim. KAT goes into a drop, deterring Morant’s drive. JJJ gets a lob, and here comes Rudy Gobert.

Here’s another example.

Jaden McDaniels fights through a screen and recovers to sharpshooter (and former Wolf) Malik Beasley, deterring his shot. Beasley drives past, and sees Rudy Gobert in place to prevent a lob. He puts up a floater, which is rejected by McDaniels, as is the following putback attempt.

Another note - If we look at the off-ball assignments, we can see that the Wolves have the luxury to have KAT on the perimeter for any pass to Giannis. They don’t need KAT to help off of him for a drive, as they have Gobert at the hoop.

One more example. This time, without Gobert on the court.

In these bench units, KAT would often shift into Rudy’s role as the primary drop defender, while Naz Reid would slide into KAT’s role as the primary helper. That combo was not as potent as Rudy/KAT, but it still packed a punch, especially with capable defenders like Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kyle Anderson also sharing the court.

Transitioning to Julius Randle

Unlike KAT, Randle was more of a traditional 4. He was still a large player, at 6’9 and 250 lbs, and the defense was still a good one with him on the roster, finishing 6th and 8th respectively. But it lacked some punch, particularly with Rudy off of the floor, where they asked Naz Reid to be the 5.

Naz was a center when he was drafted, but has since transformed his body into a wing archetype. That works when defending as the 4 next to KAT or Rudy, as he can contest and recover. But as a 5, he lacks the positional size to compete with the bigger bodies.

Still, there were some interesting wrinkles added to the Wolves defense as they attempted to navigate Julius’s arrival. For example, they invested in switching, which has shown improvements, such as this example where Naz bothers the speedy De’Aaron Fox.

Another interesting wrinkle was a zone look, centered around Jaden McDaniels in the middle as a conductor.

These wrinkles are good additions, and a deep bag of defensive schemes that you can use in a playoff setting is important. Still, these additions represent the fact that the Wolves were no longer able to rely on size as a unique advantage.

The new vision

The departures of Naz Reid and Julius Randle in the offseason has left the Wolves even smaller in the front court. This begs the question, can the Wolves construct a championship defense without that size advantage?

To answer that, I think the Wolves have looked to the Spurs for inspiration.

Who is Victor Wembanyama’s assignment on this play? That would be Dort, who is in the corner. And Victor ends up on the opposite side of the court to get the block.

Are the Spurs ignoring Dort? Not quite. Look at how Champagnie is positioned behind Victor. His responsibility on this play has grown, as he is now covering a kick-out to Dort or Williams. This allows Victor to roam off of his assignment, and contest any drive that comes his way.

Let’s check out another example of this.

Victor is still roaming off of the corner here, and Harper is in position to protect the skip pass. A difference here - look at Champagnie. He has also acted as a helper. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) sees this and swings the ball around to rotate. Watch Harper rotate back to the top of the key, leaving Champagnie to rotate all the way back to the left slot. He gets there, allowing Victor to recover to the other corner and contest.

There are a couple of themes here. First - the Spurs have coined this as a “one man zone” for Victor. The goal is to allow him to protect the rim more often.

Second - the Spurs often double-down on the additional help, sending additional perimeter players as deterrents towards creators.

Look at how eager Champagnie is to deter this drive from Shai, with Victor in a drop behind him. They have thrown 3 bodies at SGA on this drive, and happily recover back when SGA offloads the ball.

This scheme has a considerable cost. It requires a defense willing to “fly around”, living in a rotation. It also demands the world of the rim protector, who must deter drives from every direction while also recovering back to his own assignment.

Few teams are constructed with these components. I believe the Wolves are now one of those teams.

They have Rudy Gobert, who has spent an entire career as a one-man show at the rim.

Ant and Jaden have experience with a heavy-rotation scheme, from their time in the “high-wall” defense in the 21-22 season.

Kuminga may not have the size that Randle or KAT had, but he is one of the league’s best athletes, and can cover a lot of space quickly in tough spots.

I suspect that the Timberwolves will be asking their defenders to lean into a heavy-rotation scheme. There are risks to that, such as exertion of your defenders, and manipulation by good offensive strategies.

In this example, the Spurs attempt to trap SGA near halfcourt. SGA swings the ball, which forces Castle to sprint from halfcourt to the corner. Chet has a wide open 3 as a result.

Even so, Wembanyama and the Spurs were able to post the league’s 3rd best defense. And I think it is a model that adapts well to the Wolves, considering their personnel.

Final thoughts

I’m excited to see this new iteration of the Timberwolves. Chris Finch and his staff will be able to experiment with a lot of concepts that involve multiple creators, and invest in a defense that can fly around in front of one of the league’s best rim protectors.

It remains to be seen if this team can soar to new heights. But there’s a buzz that is hard to ignore. And it has me craving for more.

Film Salad supporters

As a card-carrying member the die-hard Minnesota sports community, I find that my wardrobe needs to match my enthusiasm. That’s why I am partnering with SixOneTwoTees for this upcoming Wolves season. You can use the promo code SALAD for 15% off of your first order.

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The 2026 NBA season marked Ant’s most productive scoring season yet, at 28.8 points per game (3rd in the NBA). His newest weapon? An efficient mid-range jumper.

Why The Mid-Range?

Adding a mid-range jumper in the the modern NBA may seem backwards. We have seen a significant drop in its usage over the past 2 decades, in favor of the more efficient 3 point shot.

Ant himself is one of the NBA’s best 3 point shooters.

His efficiency as a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter has received a lot of attention as of late, and for good reason. He converts them at a ridiculous 47.8%.

Still, it isn’t his most impactful weapon. That remains his pull-up 3.

Look at Luke Kornet here for the Spurs. He is playing drop coverage, meaning his goal is to protect the rim from drivers who received a screen. Vassell is screened, so Kornet shuffles back to prevent a layup for both Ant and Rudy. Ant sees this, immediately pulls up for a 3, and converts.

This can be difficult to guard. Watch Barnes attempt to anticipate and trap Ant off Rudy’s screen below, and how Ant attacks it.

Ant rejects the screen and gets downhill. Two helpers show, and Ant finesses his way through traffic with a well-timed euro-step.

Ant’s driving bag is deep, which gives him multiple counters to these defensive strategies.

Olynyk attempts to hedge a screen here, which can be an effective way to let the defender (Bryant) back into a play after a screen. Ant races the hedge and beats Olynyk to the spot. Bryant is left out of position, and Ant crosses him up to drive in for a layup.

So why does he need a mid-range? Isn’t this enough? He can fire from 3 and beat you to the hole. He has a recipe for one of the most efficient attacks in the NBA.

Exertion

Ant is one of the most athletic players in the NBA, and there are few that can stay with him when he has the ball.

That is showcased here, as he works to get a step on one of the league’s best perimeter defenders - Alex Caruso.

Ant wins this battle, but it demanded a lot from him to execute. And there are costs to those demands.

A famous example of this came in the 2024 Western Conference Finals. Ant attributed exhaustion to his game 1 performance, in which the Wolves lost a close battle to the Mavericks.

I think Ant is being a little hard on himself after this loss. But he did register his 2nd lowest Usage % of this playoff run, at 21.5% (his lowest would come in game 3 of this series).

What that effectively means is less plays are finished by Ant than a typical game. That is not ideal for a team who is so dependent on Ant's scoring output.

The Wolves get some good actions going here, and it looks like Rudy is going to get a lob dunk. A sound approach, albeit stifled by a clutch defensive play by Luka.

It is hard to be too critical of this approach. Even so, you have to wonder what they would have done if Ant had more in the tank.

Ant’s Mid-Range Through The Years

Ant has exhibited a confidence and willingness to shoot mid-range shots, going as far back as his rookie year. He particularly enjoyed to pull-up against drop coverage, much like his 3-point pull-up.

As he’s developed, he’s attempted to add variations to increase his efficiency. For example, he introduced a bank-shot in his 2023-2024 season.

That efficiency never seemed to rise enough to justify the shot though, and it remained a criticism of his game.

This shot-map visual over his first 6 years is pretty telling here. In many cases, his mid-range efficiency was worse than his 3-point efficiency.

The other interesting data-point is how often he used the mid-range. Through 6 years, Ant only took 19% of his shots in the mid-range.

Let’s check out his most recent season.

Well this is a much stronger graphic! Ant is taking more mid-range jumpers (27.5% frequency), at a much more efficient clip.

But what changed?

The Post-Up

Ant has frequently used the offseason to refine his game, so I was not surprised to hear Ant advertise that he worked on a post-up over the summer. That work seems to have paid off.

Let’s check out an example.

The post-up game is a big change for Ant’s opponents. On top of his shifty drives, opponents now have to worry about Ant using his size and strength to establish position against smaller opponents.

This was a fruitful shot for Ant, who hit a whopping 61.5% of his turnaround fadeaway jumpers in 2026 (via NBA.com).

Why is that so profitable? That goes into my next theme.

Balance

Let’s watch a few examples of Ant’s mid-range pull-up jumpers.

The main thing I take away from these misses is that every shot looks different. Which makes a lot of sense, as mid-range shots tend to be shots in traffic. Ant has to alter his speeds and launch angle depending on what he’s doing in these moments. And that will lead to a less efficient shot profile.

Conversely, Ant’s turnaround fadeaway in the post is one that looks consistently balanced. Here are a couple examples.

Generating these shots doesn't require Ant to change speeds or direction to create space for a shot. Instead, he can create that space with his upper body, which keeps his lower body balanced.

On the topic of balance, there was another trend that became more common with Ant’s mid-range this year.

The Step-Back 2

Ant is well known to be one of the best step-back 3 point shooters in the league.

I will again point to how balanced Ant is on these shots, and how easy they are to generate. Such little effort for a lethal shot.

Ant has taken that mentality to the mid-range at an increased volume.

Two buckets against the best defense in the NBA. Most importantly, they are easy buckets.

The threat of the step-back in the mid-range has benefits. Check out this example.

Here, Ant gets into a step-back, which has drawn some help at the nail. Julius calmly cuts behind him, and Ant drops it off for the easy bucket.

Here’s another benefit.

Brook Lopez is in drop here, but instead of dropping deep to the rim, Brook meets Ant in the middle of the paint. That gives Ant enough room to sneak around for the layup.

What I’m Looking For This Season

Ant still leverages off-balance mid-range pull-up jumpers, which do not convert at high efficiency. Even so, he's become a credible threat here with his new additions.

In the upcoming season, I am looking to see if Ant can use these new additions to manipulate the court for playmaking opportunities more often. Finding ways to create for others via his gravity in the mid-range would do wonders for the Timberwolves prospects.

Another thing I’m looking for is how this could influence newcomers LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga. Like Ant, LaMelo and Kuminga have had inefficiencies from the mid-range in their careers.

And looking at their film, we see a similar pattern of off-balance pull-ups.

If LaMelo and Kuminga are looking to take the next leap in their mid-range game, they should take a lesson from Edwards - find balance more often.

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The Timberwolves looked to build a contending team without a traditional point guard. The strategy? Give the ball to your best scorer as much as possible, and good things will come.

That is known as heliocentric, in that your best scorer is the sun. Like the sun, the player has a gravity well, and they can use it to manipulate those around him.

Heliocentric boons

Here is an example of that gravity in use.

On this play, the Cavaliers are pressuring Ant near mid-court, as it is late in the shot clock. Randle, watched by Mobley, comes up for a late pick-and-roll. The Cavaliers go to trap, peeling off of Randle. So an easy toss-back gives Randle a shifted defense, and a lane to attack.

The gravity of a player like Ant can create in a number of ways. Here is another example:

Paul George picks up Ant near half-court. Ayo comes off a Rudy screen, and has an enormous amount of room to operate. If the pickup point was closer to the 3 point line, George could disrupt the drive. Instead, it’s a layup for Ayo.

That gravity is earned, because of plays like this.

Any amount of runway into the paint, and good luck dealing with his combination of handle, strength and finishing skill. Not to mention the pull up 3.

Heliocentric pitfalls

The theory is sound: use a player’s gravity to create advantages on the court for the entire team. Still, what good is an advantage if it isn’t used?

Plays like this have become a familiar one for Wolves fans.

Who is guarding Rudy? That is supposed to be Claxton, but he’s in the paint to deter a drive from Ant. Rudy sees this, and generates a screen for Donte, who is now wide open for a 3 point shot. Ant sees none of that, and drives into a midrange pull-up, which doesn’t fall.

Ant is an absurd shot maker, and can absolutely make this shot, regardless of the disadvantage he is personally in. Making hard shots is valuable. But the goal is not to make hard shots! The goal is to create easy shots.

Some great scorers learn to perform in this role. Giannis, for example, has transformed into one of the league’s best playmakers. That said, it is a difficult ask. Your best scorer naturally wants to score. If they are unable to adapt as a playmaker, the gravity becomes a burden rather than a weapon, as many shots become more difficult.

What can LaMelo provide the Wolves?

LaMelo’s game sparks energy and excitement with the highlights he can produce. You’ll see the ridiculous shots he can make plastered on Sports Center, and I will be showing you some of those.

First though, let’s take a look at how he makes use of his gravity and his surrounding teammates.

Diabaté, like Rudy, is a non-shooter and is often ignored in pursuit of bigger fish. Charlotte makes excellent use of that here (a theme of their offense).

The point of this play is to put the corner help defender in conflict. That would be Brandon Ingram in this case. Do you tag the roller or stick to the shooter?

Ingram does a great job of deferring this decision while waiting for LaMelo to act. LaMelo throws what looks to be a lob, and Ingram reacts in kind. Except it’s not a lob, it is a skip-pass to a waiting 3 point shooter.

It is really hard to defend a player with a deceptive passing game like LaMelo has. When your skip passes look like lobs, like the play below, it can leave defenders guessing.

LaMelo is particularly good at making passes at any point in his process. And that’s his superpower as a playmaker. Watch here as he adjusts mid-air to drop a soft pass to Diabaté after he’s engaged a rim protector.

Or this one, where he adjusts mid-air after seeing that the help defender left the corner to contest a shot, and finds Josh Green for a 3.

That playmaking is available because LaMelo, like Ant, has a gravity to him. He draws help defenders where he goes, and forces defenders to fight over screens. He has that gravity because he can also score at a high level.

LaMelo pairs with Ant as one of the best pull-up 3 point shooters in the NBA. This is a particularly attractive skill set for a league who’s painted area is now protected by aliens as well as giants.

LaMelo has also been an effective catch-and-shoot player. He creates opportunities through movement, which will be a welcome sight for Wolves fans.

That may be his most iconic scoring ability, but I don’t think it is his most important one. That would be the floater.

Most point guards in the NBA develop some sort of floater. Mike Conley’s famous right handed floater, for example. Being a floater-threat draws rim protectors out of the paint to contest you. And leveraging that same form for lobs or skip passes will lead to success.

One more example, because I can’t get enough of Charlotte’s offense.

Kalkbrenner, who’s resume includes 5 attempted 3s last season, is spaced in the corner (yes, really). Carter doesn’t care about him, he’s far more worried about LaMelo’s floater. Kalkbrenner cuts behind for a lob.

What he isn’t providing (yet)

LaMelo Ball is clearly a talented player and has a high feel for the game. There’s a lot that he can bring to the Timberwolves. But LaMelo is far from perfect, and has his share of shortcomings.

Let’s talk about the most glaring one.

Physicality

LaMelo struggles dealing with contact from bigger players. Sometimes, it can lead to taking himself entirely out of the play, like the one below.

Beyond that, LaMelo has been an easy defender to screen, and that is problematic in a defense that demands screen navigation at the point-of-attack.

In the instances where he is able to navigate the screen, he lacks the technique and timing to stay in front.

How does he do without a screen? Well, there’s some concerns there too. Bigger handlers can move him off his space with ease.

Take Cade Cunningham, for example. He is listed 1 inch shorter than LaMelo at 6’6, but he seems like an ogre when the two clash, like in the play below.

Off-ball, LaMelo does find ways to contribute. He enjoys playing in the passing lanes, and finding opportunities to get to his transition game.

That said, he has some concerns off-ball.

Heavy movement players will challenge his awareness, and LaMelo’s response is reactionary rather than anticipatory. For all of the feel that LaMelo has on offense, he lacks the same on defense.

To me, this will be the defining factor of LaMelo’s era as a Timberwolf. Can LaMelo Ball contribute to a championship defense?

There are some offensive issues, too

LaMelo, like Ant, has some extraordinary shot making to his game. He can create his own shot, and does, often.

With that shot making comes a long leash. And I mean a long leash. He has left many scratching their head, wondering why he chooses the shots he takes.

LaMelo’s physicality concerns defensively also show on offense at times, like on this drive below:

What about his rebounding?

Much has been said how LaMelo is a great rebounder for his position, which is true. He is an adept offensive rebounder, especially off of his own misses:

He is also a good playmaker off of his own misses:

What LaMelo isn’t adept at is defensive rebounding. Though, most guards aren’t.

It would be unfair to call him a bad defensive rebounder. He is average for his position. But - if you’re expecting LaMelo to be part of the answer for the Wolves lack of defensive rebounding this year, I think you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

How I’m feeling about it

I’m feeling pretty good about it. LaMelo injects something into the Wolves that I haven’t seen since Sam Cassell, and I am extremely excited to see what he can do next to Ant.

He is a flawed player, absolutely. He’s also 25 years old, and there are more leaps to come with him.

I cannot wait to see what he has in store for his time as a Wolf.

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