Post#23 » by AbeVigodaLive » Tue May 18, 2021 5:11 pm
The team went 23 - 49. That's terrible any way we slice it.
Towns - B. Too many missed games (22). Lowest shooting FG percentage of career. 3fg dropped below 40% for the first time in 4 seasons. Still too foul prone... especially offensively. I think we saw in the recent Denver game that it's easy for the great players to get in Towns head. He doesn't have the all-league savvy part of the game yet. And that's a big part of things for the best players. He lashes out and does silly things. That being said... he's still one of the all-time best big man shooters. I thought he was respectable on defense (improved) most of the time and he's a damn good passer, too. Still the Wolves best player.
Edwards - B. He'd be team's lone A grade if went on a semester grading format. He was TERRIBLE early, mostly under Saunders. He was arguably the league's #1 least efficient rotation player for half the season. His defense was laughably bad, too. Then, he rebounded like no other rookie I can remember. 23/5/3 with respectable efficiency after the ASG. That is an A grade... but it's not like we can simply ignore that 1st half. And his defense is still bad. Still... I skewed Edwards overall grade slightly because what he did midseason was remarkable. He offers the fanbase legit hope.
Russell - C-. Too many missed games (30) and too many missed defensive assignments while standing around pointing at somebody/something for not doing their job... when it sure seemed like it was him. Per 36, his averages offensively were about on par with what he's done in the past. And that's "fine." But as a max guy, more is needed. His struggles early without Towns keeps him solidly in the C grade. Yes... we're grading a bit on contract/expectations.
Rubio - D. Career lows in several categories. After four seasons finally getting above 40% on FG... Rubio dropped back below. Such a dismal start to the season from Rubio... he never quite looked the part off the bench, shooting a ghastly 33% as a bench guy. If we're grading Rubio to ... well... Ricky Rubio... I don't see how this grade can be any higher than this. It was very probably his worst season as a pro.
McDaniels - B. I appear to be wrong about this guy. Great feet and length and a willingness to play defense. He's very raw offensively, but he gives hope defensively... and the team needs that (at his price point) desperately. I like him on the squad moving forward.
Beasley - C-. Missed half the season... and he gets docked even more because that wasn't all because of injury. Him being a knucklehead left him out of the lineup for 12 games. That's A LOT in a 72-game season. So in some ways, he's lucky to get that C grade. But he is a good to very good three point shooter. And he works out there... running hard... even if it's sorta aimless at times. Kudos for that. But when we look closely, there's nothing he does better than average (or even close to average) other than hit three point shots. So we give him credit for that... but we have to deduct for everything else. He's still worth that contract right now though. His fault or not... the Wolves were 8 - 29 when he played... 15 - 20 when he didn't.
Reid - B- What kind of grade do you give a backup C who sits behind the team's best player? He's a legit rotation guy. But he looked overwhelmed as a starter... and his stats suggest it. Looked like he had more hops than his rookie campaign. No real major complaints... especially with that contract.
Okogie - D+. Meh. You must be a threat offensively... at least a little. Or the very best on defense. He's neither.
Nowell - C- Meh. Even with a nice stretch... he ends up just being meh.
Hernangomez - D+ Meh. Had a few moments with Finch... but not enough.
Vanderbilt - C-. Tough one to grade. I think we all liked his hustle most of the time. He works hard. But does it really help win many games if he's used more than an energy guy in spot moments? For doing what he does... B... for doing what is needed for the Wolves... D.
McLaughlin - C- Serviceable 3rd string PG most of the time. Ok. Fine...
Culver - F. Arguably one of the lowest grades in the sordid history of the Timberwolves. It's unfortunate.
Layman - D. Too much meh... and it comes from his inconsistency.
Davis - F. Given away by the Jazz WITH 2 draft picks... the Wolves grabbed him immediately from NY while giving up a pick. And then... never really played him.
Saunders - D-. Wanted to see him succeed. And we could point out certain things that made it more difficult... but the improvement under Fitch hurts any real arguments for Saunders.
Fitch - B. Way too early. But the team looked better as the core pieces played together more. No real justifiable complaints about the guy yet... just a bit premature to give him better than a solid grade in a trainwreck of a season... and one where even at their best... the Wolves were only flirting with .500.
