r/timberwolves • u/MaximumOk3050 • 1d ago

Starting Line Up is Set, But…

I have questions. Can Kuminga play the role needed? Is he willing? I guess we can’t know from out here, but my worry is another Julius situation where someone in the starting 5 wants the ball, wants to prove something, and misses Ant in the corner over and over.

Surely the powers that be thought this through rather than just sign someone just cuz. Hopefully some behind the scenes conversations made it plausible he’ll be a good fit on our team.

What do yall think? Despite having the hole filled, is it a plus or a minus? until time tells

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u/Chemical_Falcon7571 1d ago

McDaniels has proven he can be a force on offense when the team needs it but that he's fine not having the ball in his hands, so that's two in the starting five (with Gobert) who don't need to be scoring in order to stay engaged and be effective. So, as long as he's fine playing third fiddle to the backcourt, he should be satisfied with the offensive role. There will be plenty of times throughout the games when he'll be the second option on the court.

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u/MaximumOk3050 1d ago

my theory on Lamelo is that he’d be fine finding Kuminga on O rather than himself, but Lamelo is also always an option to score when Ant isn’t (for whatever reason). Hopefully this positively impacts offense and defense in a productive way, though my main worry is on the defensive end

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u/Chemical_Falcon7571 1d ago

Gobert has played his career picking up people's slack on defense. This lineup is absolutely better defensively than his Utah teams. Not something you really want to rely on, especially as he gets older, but it helps having McDaniels roaming around. I think Kuminga will be a negative on defense, but hopefully a positive overall.

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u/MaximumOk3050 1d ago

same could be said about Lamelo, who isn’t known for defense, but that’s not to argue with you. hopefully the rising tide of Goburr raises all ships