I was honestly sick and tired of all the PG talk… until I recently stumbled upon this article:
https://thef5.substack.com/p/the-nba-has-entered-its-weak-linkHere’s the quote that really changed my perspective:
If you want to build a team for success, you need to look less at your strongest links and more at your weakest ones. It is there that a team’s destiny is determined, whether it will go down in history or be forever considered a failure.
I think this framework is key to understanding how the NBA works in 2025. Looking at basketball through the lens of a weak link sport helps explain why teams succeed and fail, especially in the playoffs.
In the postseason, poor defenders are mercilessly hunted on one end while reluctant shooters are blatantly ignored on the other end. It doesn’t matter how good a team’s best player is if their worst player is consistently forcing them to defend or attack 4-on-5. A team’s worst player can all but cancel out the impact of its best player.
Modern defensive schemes require five defenders to be on the same page, rotating on a string and covering for each others mistakes at a moment’s notice. One weak link in the chain renders all the previous defensive rotations null. It doesn’t matter how good of a one-on-one scorer they are on offense if they look like food to opposing ballhandlers when they’re on defense.
This “weak link” framework is extremely relevant for the 2025 NBA. And honestly, it helps explain a lot of what happened to the Wolves in the playoffs.
What really caught me off guard, though, was this:
Strong Link: LeBron James
Weak Link: Jaden McDaniels
Advantage: Los Angeles Lakers
Weaker players than Jaden McDaniels will get minutes in this series. But unlike those lesser players, Minnesota doesn’t have a clear and obvious McDaniels replacement to play when the going gets rough. The Wolves need McDaniels on the court as much as possible to defend the Lakers three-headed offensive monster of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves. As good as he is on defense, McDaniels’ lack of juice on offense will prove to be too much of a burden for the Wolves to overcome.
Not Gobert. Not Conley. Not DDV. But McDaniels — and I actually get it.
Despite being a top-tier defender, Jaden’s offensive limitations — especially his extremely poor catch-and-shoot numbers — turned him into a 4-on-5 liability in high-leverage moments. And the Wolves had no good replacement: NAW provided similar defensive value, but he’s also not a strong on-ball creator or rim attacker. So even though NAW is a better shooter, the overall offensive value didn’t shift much. Neither of them punish closeouts, break down defenses, or run effectively in transition.
Meanwhile, OKC was doing historic stuff on defense — isolating our ballhandlers with doubles, cutting off secondary actions with elite rotations, and making every possession a battle of attrition.
This is where someone like TJ Shannon makes a massive difference. Just look at how he attacks closeouts, pressures the rim, and runs the floor. He brings physicality, decisiveness, and a scoring mentality — three things we often lacked at the wing spot in that series.
I wonder if our coaching staff sees it the same way — by letting TJ take on more of a creator role in the offense.
This isn’t something you’d build your primary offense around, but as a secondary option, it’s a legitimate and feasible counter to stagnation. He’s decisive, physical, and attacks with purpose — and that opens up new layers in half-court sets.
Then you can add tertiary playmaking options like Rob, who has already flashed some intriguing reads:
This isn’t meant to be a full analysis of all the Wolves’ issues — just another lens through which to view our roster construction. And I found it pretty eye-opening.
P.S. More tidbits from the another article from F5 that caught my eye:
In terms of efficiency, the Gobert–Edwards pick-and-roll was actually more effective than Turner–Haliburton, even though Turner is a proven stretch five and Hali is considered an elite playmaker.
Gobert-Reid pairing is a winning combo.
