Now that one of the NBA's biggest divas, Jimmy Butler, has taken his act to Philadelphia, Tom Thibodeau is hoping his team can get back to playing winning basketball. Finally free of the Butler drama, Minnesota has gone 4-2 since the trade with a line-up built around young max-contract players Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, plus a rejuvenated Derrick Rose coming off the bench.
It's hard to say whether the Timberwolves can make a 2nd straight trip to the playoffs after their 4-9 start, but you can count on Thibodeau working 24/7 to give his team the best chance to get back to the postseason and maybe save his dual jobs of head coach and President of Basketball Operations in the process.
Thibodeau and General Manager Scott Layden were able to acquire 2 quality rotation players in the Butler trade, former Proviso West H.S. star Robert Covington and young power forward Dario Saric. Covington was plugged right into the starting line-up in Butler's spot and he's played well, averaging 13 points and shooting 47% from the 3 point line in his 5 games with Minnesota.
Saric is coming off the bench behind former Bull Taj Gibson and as you'd expect his numbers have dropped since his days as a starter in Philadelphia. The 24 year old Croatian is averaging 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 24 minutes a game.
Still, it's the holdover players that are probably happiest to be free of all the Butler drama. Remember, Towns delayed signing a max contract offer until after Jimmy made his trade demand, and he'll be the focal point of the offense going forward. The All-Star center is averaging 20 points and almost 12 rebounds a game, but his shooting percentage is well below his career average of .539. Towns figures to get more touches in the post now that he doesn't have to move outside to clear driving lanes for Butler, but he's also dangerous from the 3 point line, shooting .425 from beyond the arc.
Wiggins is the more puzzling case. Blessed with tremendous raw talent, Wiggins seems to have plateaued after signing his max deal in 2017. He averaged 23.6 points in the 2016-17 season, but after getting paid he's dropped off to 17.7 and his current 17.1 that includes a career-worst .404 shooting percentage from the field.
Thank goodness for Thibodeau that Rose is back playing at a high level. The former league MVP finally looks confident again after years of battling injuries. Rose is averaging 19 points a game, including a career-high of 50 against Utah on Halloween night, and he's shooting 47% from the field with a career-best .459 percentage from the 3 point line.
Thibodeau often goes with small line-ups featuring Rose and former All-Star Jeff Teague in the backcourt, with Wiggins at the small forward spot. As a result, the Timberwolves are able to push the ball upcourt with several players capable of leading the break, and Rose's greatly improved 3 point shooting makes a him a threat as a spot up shooter.
Whether or not the Timberwolves can sustain their strong early play without Butler is open to debate, and it figures to take at least 47 wins to make the Western Conference playoff field. But if Rose can stay healthy and productive, the addition of a long range shooting threat like Covington could make Minnesota a more balanced team in the long run.
Thibs certainly hopes so; after all his NBA future depends on the Butler trade working out since he gave up Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn to acquire Jimmy in the first place.
Both the Bulls and Timberwolves will be playing the 2nd leg of back to backs on Saturday, but Minnesota is coming off a Friday afternoon win in Brooklyn. So, what will it take for the Bulls to able to run with the Wolves?
1. MAKE ROSE A HALF-COURT PLAYER. It's no secret Rose is at his best when he's attacking a retreating defense at full speed. Even though Rose is a much more effective 3 point shooter this season, the Bulls are much better off taking their chances with Derrick shooting from long distance instead of attacking the basket.
2. HAPPY HOMECOMING FOR LAVINE. Zach won 2 slam dunk championships in a Timberwolves uniform, in the process making him one of the league's most well-known young players. Now that he's all the way back from the ACL injury he suffered with the Timberwolves back in February of 2017, LaVine will want to show Thibodeau he made a big mistake by including him in the multi-player package for Butler.
3. CONTROL THE BOARDS. The Bulls' success this season is built around controlling their defensive backboard. When they limit 2nd chance opportunities, they've got a good chance of hanging with most opponents. So, a big focus on Saturday will be keeping Towns, Gibson, Saric and Gorgui Dieng off the offensive glass. Wendell Carter Jr., Robin Lopez, Cris Felicio and Jabari Parker have to pay extra attention to boxing out the Timberwolves' aggressive big men.
Once again, Saturday's game will be broadcast on WGN, but as soon as the action goes final at the Target Center, flip over to NBC Sports Chicago for expanded post-game coverage with Kendall Gill, Will Perdue and me. Then, stay tuned after Bulls Postgame Live for the always-entertaining Bulls Outsiders.