Timberwolves are kings of the first quarter
Jan. 24—The Timberwolves remain the kings of the first quarter. They outscored Brooklyn 37-36 over the first 12 minutes on Sunday at Target Center, marking the 10th straight first quarter in which they've outscored their opponent.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said early in the season the team identified the value of getting off to strong starts in games. It's been a focus ever since.
That's why it made sense for Minnesota to put all of its eggs into the starting basket. That included pairing Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell — the team's two primary point guards — in the starting lineup to open contests. At times, finding a third point guard to fill the minutes where both guards are then off the floor has proven challenging, but the Wolves deemed that a problem worth having given the upside of the starters.
The five-man unit of Russell, Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns remains one of the best in basketball, statistically speaking. Yet the same group that starts the game so well has struggled at recent points to open third quarters. That suggests there's something about the way the group starts that leads to early success.
For the season, the Timberwolves owned the second-best first quarter net rating in the entire NBA entering Sunday's contest. They outscored opponents by 10.6 points per 100 possessions over the first 12 minutes.
Now the key is for Minnesota to sustain that success over 48 minutes.
BEVERLEY OUT
Beverley missed Sunday's contest with a right ankle sprain suffered in Thursday's loss to Atlanta. That marked the 14th game the veteran guard has missed this season due to a combination of injuries and illness.
VANTERPOOL RETURNS
Former Timberwolves assistant coach and defensive coordinator David Vanterpool returned to Target Center as a member of Brooklyn's bench Sunday after spending the previous two years in Minnesota.
That tenure included the end of last season, in which Vanterpool worked under Chris Finch, who was tabbed as Minnesota's new head coach over Vanterpool after the firing of Ryan Saunders.
Finch said he "enjoyed working with him very much." The two sides parted ways at the end of the season.
"Obviously I came in in rough circumstances for everybody," Finch said. "He was nothing but welcoming and very professional. ... I didn't have any prior relationship with DV, and through the remainder of that season, I really enjoyed working with him. We made some tweaks to our defense along the way, and he was instrumental helping implement those with an open mind."
Finch told Vanterpool he is going to be an NBA head coach at some point.
"When you have that type of acumen and that type of experience, it's only a matter of time," Finch said. "Getting your opportunity is the hardest thing."
WOLVES OWNER, PACKERS FAN?
Yes, that was new Timberwolves' owner Alex Rodriguez at Lambeau Field on Saturday for the Packers' divisional round loss to San Francisco. Rodriguez, who attends a number of big national events throughout the year as an avid sports fan, was sporting a Green Bay hat, which rubbed a few Minnesota sports fans the wrong way on social media.
Rodriguez was back on the Target Center sidelines Sunday, supporting the Timberwolves.
