D’Angelo Russell is rapidly losing his status as the unquestioned starting point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and after getting benched for the final four-plus minutes in Friday’s nationally-televised loss to the Grizzlies, it might be time for head coach Chris Finch to flex his muscle and adjust the lineup.
Here’s an idea. Insert Kyle Anderson into the starting five and have him play a point-forward role and have Russell come off the bench. A $31.3 million player off the bench? Russell Westbrook is being paid $47 million this season and he’s coming off the bench in L.A. because he doesn’t fit with the Lakers’ starting five.
The same issue is happening with Russell, failing to play the pick-n-roll game with Rudy Gobert and routinely getting caught sleeping on defense and making lazy or telegraphed passes that lead to turnovers.
Anderson played a point-forward role at UCLA when he averaged 14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists before the Spurs drafted him as a 20-year-old. Anderson was routinely in the point-forward role in the second half against Memphis and he flashed with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes.
“It’s something we were able to get to tonight, something we’ve been trying and wanting to do more of,” Finch said. “Thought he looked pretty good out there.”
He’s never been asked to play the point much as an NBA player but that’s largely due to the fact that he’s played on teams that didn’t have issues like Russell. In San Antonio he played with Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray. He was with Mike Conley and Ja Morant in Memphis.
Anderson is 6’9” and plays defense and rebounds. Russell doesn’t neither, and that’s been a huge headache for the 5-8 Timberwolves. Finch said Friday night that guards on the team need to start rebounding to help eliminate second-chance points, of which they allowed 32 on 15 offensive boards to the Grizzlies.
The Kyle Anderson lineup:
- Kyle Anderson, 6’9” point-forward
- Anthony Edwards, 6’4” combo guard
- Jaden McDaniels, 6’10” small forward
- Karl-Anthony Towns, 7′ power forward
- Rudy Gobert, 7’1” center
Anderson and Edwards could be interchangeable at the point, both capable of bringing the ball up the floor and running the offense.
Russell was at his best last season when he was off ball, allowing Patrick Beverley to run the point. He played 45% of his minutes as the shooting guard. This year he’s played 97% of minutes as the point and it’s not working.
There are a lot of pros to consider with the Anderson lineup.
- Better rebounder than Russell
- Better and more versatile defender than Russell
- Knows how to play the point
- Isn’t looking for his shot, meaning more looks for Edwards and Towns
And Russell’s career 35.5% 3-point shooting isn’t that much better than Anderson’s 33.5%, and Anderson is shooting 36.4% from deep compared to 29.9% for Russell this season.
Anderson also has the ability to attack in the midrange and get to the rim, which is precisely what Finch was looking for when he benched Russell Friday night.
“Just was looking for defense, somebody who could get into the paint,” Finch said. “Just trying things at this point in time.”
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