LaMelo Ball Minnesota Timberwolves aggressive scoring without Anthony Edwards, Digi Mart USA News: The Minnesota Timberwolves have been rolling without Anthony Edwards. They are 5-2 in the seven games since Edwards’ injury and are riding a four-game win streak into Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
A big reason behind their success has been LaMelo Ball’s play.
During the Wolves’ four-game win streak, Ball is averaging 25 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds on 52.2/44.7/86.7 shooting splits. He has been scaling up and handling first-option duties nicely.
This was not the case for the entire stretch without Edwards. In the first three games of Ant’s absence, Ball struggled with the adjustment, averaging 14 points, 6.3 assists, and 5 rebounds on 35/30.8/100 shooting splits.
The version of Ball in the past four games is clearly more effective.
The results support this. LaMelo’s aggression has been the biggest story.
Alongside the stat shifts, he has increased his field goal attempts from 13.3 to 16.8. Earlier, Ball was too focused on playmaking and was not taking over games with his shotmaking. His increased aggression has paid off.
LaMelo’s play correlates closely with the Timberwolves’ success. In wins, Ball is averaging 21.5 points with 48.4/43.6/81.8 shooting splits.
In losses, he is averaging just 9.7 points with 31.3/16.7/75 shooting splits.
Being aggressive and looking for his own shots is a key factor. The Wolves traded for him because of his playmaking, but his ability to create shots and provide All-Star-level scoring matters too.
He is one of the league’s best difficult shotmakers, and without Ant, Minnesota needs that skill set more than ever. Given this and the strong correlation between Ball’s good games and the team’s success, the blueprint for Minnesota without Edwards appears to be an aggressive LaMelo.
Another factor has been staying out of foul trouble and being cleaner on defensive rotations. In losses, Ball is averaging five fouls.
When he gets into foul trouble, he cannot find offensive rhythm, as the San Antonio Spurs game shows.
Teams will constantly test Ball’s physicality, since he is slight of frame, and Edwards’ injury makes that easier to do. The Spurs and Golden State Warriors had success with this strategy.
Ball has shown more success against this style of defense. Part of it is his ability to hit contested 3-pointers.
Just as importantly, he has done a much better job handling ball pressure, consistently beating it and getting to the rim more often.
In the first three games without Ant, Ball averaged just 2.3 shots within five feet of the hoop and converted 42.9 percent of those looks. Those numbers are now up to 3.8 attempts and 80 percent.
This has helped Ball diversify his offensive attack. He has also had success against good defenses, most notably the Houston Rockets last week.
If Ball keeps up his aggression and scoring, the Timberwolves will likely continue to have success without Edwards.
