The Wolves before LaMelo
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.
If you liked this, you’ll like these
The Chris Finch Interview, Part 2: Can the Wolves change a tiger’s stripes? - Britt Robson, MinnPost
Questions We Have Entering Timberwolves Training Camp w/ Kyle Theige - Dane Moore, The Dane Moore NBA Podcast
Can LaMelo Ball And Jonathan Kuminga Actually Work? - Jake Paynting, Howls and Growls
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