Coach Spins' Clipboard: NembhardMania, Minnesota's Non-Towns Play, and the Scottie Barnes Problem
Plus Terry Rozier's flopping, Bones Hyland Scoring, and more
When we started Coach Spins’ Clipboard back in 2016, the idea was to highlight areas that many wouldn’t see when watching film. I’ve got to give the collective explosion of basketball Twitter a great deal of credit — they’re making that task incredibly difficult. Fans-turned-analysts tweet out clips all the time and notice some of the smaller details. The availability and technological growth that has occurred over the last few seasons leaves very few crumbs unvacuumed.
Instead of trying to unearth every gem that doesn’t get discussed, now we’re looking for those points that are more consequential: lineup changes, impactful players in seldom-discussed ways, concerns for contenders… the stuff that’s both slightly hidden and that matters. This week, the clipboard includes notes from Minnesota, Denver, Toronto, and Indiana — four teams currently slotted in the playoff race.
An Ant Edwards Surge
Three games is the definition of a small sample size. Yet for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team searching for offensive identity as they jam a new roster together, the last three games have been incredibly meaningful. They’ve played them without Karl-Anthony Towns, out due to a right calf strain, an injury that will cost him 4-6 weeks. With the news that Towns could be out until mid-January, the Wolves have to win games in the West in order to keep pace with their rivals.
We’d argue that Anthony Edwards has taken the biggest hit since the Rudy Gobert acquisition in terms of production. He’s seemed disengaged at times, rarely attacking the basket due to the presence of a rim-bound 5-man, and seemed to have some beef with KAT for preseason comments about his weight and conditioning.
In the three games since Towns’ absence, Edwards is starting to play a little more like the old Ant we are used to. 27.0 points, 5.7 assists, and 14.3 two-point attempts per game. Contrast that with his performance up to that point: 22.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 10.3 two-point attempts.
The two-point attempts actually come most when Gobert is off the floor. Plugging in Naz Reid at the 5, or going with much smaller lineups, seems to have unlocked something in Edwards. He’s still euro-stepping more than going strong through a chest, but it’s been really notable how he’s attacking the rim.
With Rudy on the floor, there seems to be a slightly-developing chemistry between the two in the pick-and-roll. Chris Finch has dialed up a couple nice plays designed to involve Rudy a bit, and Edwards has been a willing passer in those moments. It’s easier for Finch to focus on involving Gobert and working on the pick-and-roll chemistry when he isn’t juggling KAT’s role and figuring out how to feed him as well.
My favorite set play from the week: this scissor action around Gobert at the elbow, getting Edwards downhill momentum and the ability to draw two.
Many of Edwards’ assists are coming in transition off of steals and easy transition hit-aheads. Over the last three games, Minnesota has been holding opponents to an average of 107.9 points per 100 possessions, well below their season average of 116.1. With Towns out of the lineup, the defense is fueling the offense in ways it hasn’t in years.
Towns isn’t going to be the latest victim of the Ewing Theory truthers, though it is notable how much more energy Edwards plays with when KAT is out. The Wolves’ schedule isn’t overwhelmingly daunting between now and early January. It’s quite possible we see this be a stretch where they play their best ball of the season, buoyed by a confident and aggressive Edwards — and a more-involved Gobert.
Terry Rozier, Dying on Contact
It feels like Terry Rozier draws an offensive foul on a screener about once a game. He’s sneakily light on his feet and flails through contact, either dropping to the floor like he was knocked out by Mike Tyson or got hip tossed by Hulk Hogan.
It’s a tricky play that referees seem to fall for, as they tend to see the reaction more than the violation itself. These are all plays that have happened in the last week:
Are some of these offensive fouls? Probably. But it’s no coincidence that Rozier finds himself drawing these calls so frequently. He isn’t the most adequate perimeter defender, and the Hornets are starving for any source of defensive playmaking. It’s a smart attempt by Scary Terry, but the referees have to start cracking down on this level of tomfoolery.
Scottie Barnes’ On-Ball Woes
Look, I get it. The Boston Celtics are a torture chamber of offensive production. But on Monday against the Toronto Raptors, the experienced C’s were able to pick on one player in particular to get paint touches. It was Scottie Barnes, the second-year pro many believe to be a high-caliber defender due to his length and athleticism.
Barnes has been struggling on-ball for a while, but the matchup against the Celtics really highlighted the concerns. Jayson Tatum is an MVP-caliber player, and his emphasis on getting to the rim this year is notable. But Tatum doesn’t have a length, stride, or speed advantage over Barnes. The ease with which Barnes let Jayson get past him — and the fairly easy looks that came as a result — are disappointing.
One major issue for Barnes is how jumpy he is. The kid bites on so many pump fakes; while he blocks just under one shot per game, the residual damage of chasing stuffs on jump shots is notable. Jaylen Brown got him on a step-through pretty early in that game as well:
When both his jumpy tendencies and blow-by patterns happen on the same play, it’s easy to spot Scottie as the weak link in an otherwise impressive Raptors defense. Biting on a Blake Griffin pump fake, getting beat middle, and not being able to recover against a guy whose knees are shot?
Not great, Bob.
It’s far too early to write off Scottie as a poor defender. He has the tools, and we’ve seen him play solid defense in spurts, particularly at Florida State. Right now, on a team with real playoff aspirations, it’s disappointing to see someone with all the tools be one of the weak links in their lineup.
NembhardMania
As we saw last year with the New Orleans Pelicans, hitting on two rookies instantly can drastically change the trajectory and depth within an organization. The Indiana Pacers may be this year’s example, with potential Rookie of the Year Bennedict Mathurin and 31st pick Andrew Nembhard both making large impacts from day one.