Takeaways from the Timberwolves

Lauri Markkanen was back for game 2 against the Wolves. (Rick Egan, The Salt Lake Tribune)

The Jazz held back-to-back battles against the Timberwolves in Salt Lake over the last few days. On Saturday, the T-Wolves beat the home team 119-110, and the Jazz’s fate was similar in a 104-94 loss on Monday. After 96 hours of basketball in this mini-series, here are four takeaways. 

Takeaway 1: Return of Conley

The main storyline heading into this Northwest Division matchup was the return of point guard Mike Conley Jr. to the Beehive State after being traded to Minnesota last year. Conley spent nearly four years in the Jazz jersey, doing a lot of good on and off the basketball court. On the court, Conley was a near-perfect floor general and leader to spark that explosive offense that led the league just a few short years ago. He could feed Donovan Mitchell, he could unlock the potential of Rudy Gobert at the rim, and he could always pop off for open threes. Additionally, he was a light in the community to bring awareness of inequality in the state or to bring hope to the troubled communities that he’d constantly visit. 

My cute family fell into that latter category while he was here. I had a daughter have an extended stay at Primary Children’s Hospital in 2020. The Utah Jazz routinely visit the hospital and we were fortunate to get to know a few guys and hang out in a few situations. A lasting memory will be meeting Conley for the first time, introducing him to my wife, my son, and then telling him about my daughter. He was interested, he asked questions, he maintained eye contact, had a sympathetic and kind smile, and shook our hands with genuine interest. As we were about to leave our first interaction, he looked at me, put a hand on my shoulder, and said, “Steve, you have a beautiful family.” It was such a simple compliment, but it still means a lot to me.

After receiving a tribute video and standing ovation, Conley ripped the Jazz apart with careful precision as he scored a season-high 25 points on five threes in Saturday’s game. Each shot seemed to be back-breaking, with groans of respect from the home crowd. Game two he was less explosive, with four points and two assists in 27 minutes, but still managed the third-best +/- from the team with a +15. 

Takeaway 2: Sexton off the bench

The point guard on the other side, Collin Sexton, was freed up after the Jazz traded away Conley. It was Conley’s exit that paved the way for Sexton to become the combo guard of the future. Year one was rocky in that role, but Sexton in year two has been on a tear. Yet, for these two matchups with Minnesota, Sexton, surprisingly, was brought in off the bench. It was the first time since Dec. 11 that Sexton wasn’t in line for opening tip with the starting unit. 

Why? 

Idea #1: Jordan Clarkson was out, maybe the Jazz wanted a scoring punch off the bench?

That was the end result as Sexton led all Jazz scorers in both games, going for nearly identical lines. In game one, Sexton finished with 22 points on 9/16 shooting while Monday’s game was 24 points on 9/17 shooting. Additionally, he was -11 on Saturday and then -10 on Monday. Sexton did a great job distributing the ball in game one, finding a double-double with 10 assists off the bench, while game two had his shooting touch in five shots from deep. 

Idea #2 Lauri Markkanen played in game two, maybe the Jazz wanted to see the dynamics solely between he and point guard of the future Keyonte George?

This was the 24th different starting lineup combination the Jazz used this season, with the rookies getting minutes and spots of late. Markkanen and George have played together a few times this season, now being 4-9 in games started together, and are the 6th best two-man combination with a positive net rating on the season. However, they have played the 10th most minutes of any two-man combination, so more of a sample size is needed. If these two guys are the future, a relationship and synergy needs to be created on the basketball court that contributes to winning. It was clear in game two that George looked for the big guy, but a few forced passes resulted in dumb turnovers as well. For what it’s worth, a Markkanen-George-Sexton combination isn’t recorded as a top-20 Jazz unit according to basketball-reference. 

Takeaway 3: Turnovers

Looking closer at that George-Markkanen dynamic, the Jazz lost the two games for, maybe, a simple reason: turnovers. With the two dudes just mentioned, the turnover game-within-the-game was relevant to the outcome. 

Interesting parallels between the two games in regards to turnovers can be seen a layer deep. In game one, the turnover margin was 16-9; in game two it was 17-9. The Jazz rank dead last when it comes to turnovers, averaging 15 a game. I’m no mathematician, but the Jazz exceeded their average in both games with the Wolves. Conversely, the Wolves are a middle-of-the-pack team when it comes to these averages, at about 14 a game, which they nearly cut in half both times against Utah. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the Jazz, either, as they haven’t been great at forcing turnovers this year. They rank 26th, only forcing around 12 a night. 

Game two felt worse. Specifically, the Jazz had 12 turnovers in the second half, which allowed the Wolves to claw back into the game after the Jazz had taken a big first-half lead (the Jazz led by as many as 16).  As the Jazz coughed up the ball, the T-Wolves were perfect in that second half, giving up 0 turnovers. Making it worse, the Wolves scored off those turnovers time and time again. By the end of the game, the Wolves had scored 27 points off turnovers, compared to 17 the game before, which were all the more impactful given the second-half comeback.

Making it worse, Markkanen and George were the biggest culprits in that game two as each finished with six, and were the only two members of the starting unit to have any at all. If a goal for the rest of the season is to get Markkanen and George better aligned, this could be an interesting stat to monitor, particularly from George. Albeit a rookie, George is being asked to do a lot. For a good chunk of the recent season, he has been one of the primary offensive options. It hasn’t been uncommon to see him dribble out a shot clock, attack the hoop, and finish in his special ways at the rim or as a pull-up. Now, however, he needs to relearn the art of distribution, especially to the #1 option and running mate Markkanen. Against the Wolves on Monday, George had a few turnovers early in the game where he misdribbled, maybe as he hunted to feed the ball, and there were those one or two possessions of forced passes to his big guy that got intercepted, too. 

Takeaway 4: Ant is special

The other simple reason the Jazz lost these two games: Anthony Edwards. 

Sometimes basketball is just that simple. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves are a great basketball team. On most days, they have talent all over the place with Conley, Rudy Gobert, and Karl-Anthony Towns along with quality role players and legitimate depth. They are among the best teams, record-wise, in the Western Conference for a reason. 

They also happen to have the best player on the court most nights, sometimes by a large margin like it was in Utah, with Edwards. A common talking point among NBA circles is who might be the next face of the NBA when legends Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James fade into retirement; Edwards’ name is a common suggestion. He proved it multiple times at the Delta Center. 

On Saturday night, he finished with 31 points on 12/20 shooting, while registering a double-double without his starting bigs, in securing 10 rebounds. If that wasn’t good enough, his intensity on defense was noticeable as he affected whoever he guarded: George, Sexton, Taylor Hendricks. He was all over the place, disrupting everything with three steals and three blocks (as a team, the Jazz had four steals and five blocks). 

Monday night was even better. Just like his team, he started slowly to get into a groove offensively. He shot 3/10 and had seven points at the half. What followed was an amazing display of just good basketball: 10/13 shooting, 25 points, and one dunk-of-the-year candidate that sent shockwaves in the arena. Ant is a smooth shooter, one who makes basketball – the dribble, the flow, the footwork, the rise, the shot, the swish – look like true art. Anytime the Wolves needed a big bucket, he delivered. 

And, sometimes, that’s all the story that needs to be told.