Player Ratings: Preseason Game Two | Dallas Mavericks
Wolves complete the Abu Dhabi sweep to remain undefeated in preseason action.
This was preseason purity. A half of intense action that filled the boots of every Timberwolves fan looking to delve deeper into the waters of excitement, followed by a second half of utter slop. It was everything preseason basketball is cracked up to be, everything we love and hate about it, all taking place in a futuristic desert.
The game ends 111-99. The quintessential game of two halves. While the second, third and fourth-string Wolves managed to claw a victory away from their Dallas Mavericks counterparts, it was the first half crew that will wriggle its way into the warm spaces of Timberwolves zeitgeist.
The Mavs didn’t have Kyrie Irving to bolster their stocks, as the Wolves were without Jaden McDaniels to help smother said stocks, but both teams played that first 24 minutes like snarling dogs that had finally been released from their cages. That’s what made it so satisfying to see Minnesota brush past a Western Conference foe for the second consecutive time. Preseason or not, this was another hearty and encouraging performance before the halftime buzzer.
It’s probably worth beginning and ending the thoughts around that half with Minnesota’s defense. The offense was energetic, it was structured tenfold compared to last season’s disaster, and the spacing with the oversized lineups was a marked improvement. The defense is what this team will hang their hat on, though. The defense is what will separate them. It was that defense that once again wrapped its hands around the throat of Dallas’ offense and choked them into submission.
The Mavericks ended that opening half with just 43 points on 15-of-48 shooting, accompanied by nine turnovers. There is too much length, lateral speed, unadulterated size and brainpower for the Wolves not to succeed on that end. Even without McDaniels in the vanguard. If you take nothing else from a preseason outing, take Minnesota’s defensive potential. Take it and hold it and cherish it.
Mike Conley: 7/10
Only graced the hardwood with his perspicacious glory for seven minutes and there was nothing within that short stint that made us question what he is about. He strolled into his second crisp transition triple in as many games, plucked a few boards when the Wolves were struggling to assert their dominance on the defensive glass, and just made everything tick along in the way he always does.
He doesn’t need more than seven minutes to win our hearts.
Finished with 4 points (138.9% TS) and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes — +41.9 net rating.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 8/10
Makes you feel like the depth of this team is something to admire. Or shed a tear of joy about. Or run through a fucking wall for. When Anthony Edwards sat out of the first preseason game, he waltzed into his place admirably. When Jaden McDaniels sat out of this one, he did the same thing again.
He isn’t trying to be Edwards or McDaniels or anybody but Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The guy who scuttles around defensively like an unhinged cockroach. The guy whose offensive game is growing from spotty contributor to knockdown shooter in front of our very eyes. The guy who can be relied on to stitch himself into the fabric of a game without ever commandeering the tapestry.
We got all of that in this one. A pair of long-range jumpers, some scraggy defense on the magical stylings of Luka Doncic, and some fun possessions as a lead ball-handler.
Finished with 6 points (50% TS) and 2 rebounds in 12 minutes — -6.0 net rating.
Anthony Edwards: 9/10
It’s like slipping on your favorite pair of pajamas after a long day. Like eating a hearty homecooked meal. Like falling back in love all over again.
This was the kind of effortless brilliance we’ve grown scarily accustomed to. A bead of sweat barely broke his fucking skin, but Anthony Edwards was still a show unto himself.
The whirling, dancing, swiveling move to end the first quarter was the highlight of his 17 minutes — a snapshot into the unstoppable nature he currently possesses — but it cushioned that with a pair of treys, a trademark chasedown swat and some smart possessions as a playmaker or cog within the machine of the offense.
It’s good to have him back. It’s good to love again.
Finished with 13 points (60.4% TS), 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 17 minutes — +8.8 net rating.
Karl-Anthony Towns: 9/10
Feels like he’s been shot out of a fucking cannon. Literally and physically. There is nothing about his minutes so far this preseason that makes it seem like he is easing his way into things. The foot is to the floor and the vortex of wonder is swirling around him again.
If he is even a smidge open, he is launching from deep without hesitation. That’s a great sign. When the defense tries to take his jumper away, he is dusting them off the bounce and finishing with aplomb at the rim. On the odd chance that those avenues are blocked off, he is making plays for others.
When he is off the ball, he is cutting with verve and wit. He is flying down the court like a runaway train in transition. He is making sharp weakside rotations on defense and blocking shots to cap them off. He is guarding the post well and chasing shooters respectfully.
That’ll do. That’ll do just nicely.
Finished with 14 points (62.5% TS), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 18 minutes — +5.3 net rating.
Rudy Gobert: 10/10
Encouraging. More than encouraging. Engaging and empowering and emotive. This was the Rudy Gobert we craved to see last season, mingling with the Rudy Gobert this Timberwolves system demands from him. The bouncy blocks at the rim were back, but his offensive game included far fewer ball screens and much more movement around the dunker’s spot and on the wings. Most importantly, the team felt unstoppable while he was on the floor.
When he wasn’t smashing chasing defenders to smithereens with his wide pindown screens, he was lurking outside of the paint with a willingness to finish heavy-ball-movement plays. Last season he was a polar bear in the Amazon. This season he feels like he is embracing his new habitat and beginning to thrive in it.
This needs to be more than a flash in the pan. He can’t slip back into the same cumbersome paint-clogger he was last season. As of now, we have no evidence that he will.
Finished with 7 points (90.2% TS) and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes — +49.2 net rating.
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