Gersson Rosas has wasted no time turning the Timberwolves into a modern day NBA team.
It’s taken just two preseason games to get a clue of what the Wolves are all about under their new president of basketball operations, and it’s clear that they’ll emulate, in a way, the Houston Rockets as a team that fires a ton of 3-points and high percentage shots close to the rim.
It also means Andrew Wiggins won’t be pulling up from 16-18 feet as often, as the mid-range shots aren’t efficient or valuable compared to 3s and close-range attempts.
Take a look at the shot charts from Minnesota’s preseason games against the Suns and Warriors. Just 10 shots weren’t from in the paint or beyond the 3-point line against the Suns, and they trimmed that number to six attempts against the Warriors.
Minnesota attempted 93 shots against the Suns and 39 were 3-pointers. They made just eight (20.5%), but simply being focused on playing the game the way the best teams in the league do is a good sign.
Against the Warriors, they took 108 shots and 49 were 3s. They hit 28.5% of them, including a 4-of-8 performance by rookie first-round pick Jarret Culver.
The Wolves attempted 28.7 shots from 3 last season, ranking 26th in the NBA. Houston, whom Rosas previously worked for, led the NBA by averaging 45.4 attempts from deep.
Minnesota finished last in 3-point attempts per game three of previous four seasons, coming in second worst in the lone season that they didn’t finish last.
The Wolves have three preseasons games to go before opening the regular season on the road Oct. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.
