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Watching the Wolves come out flat against the Blazers, giving up 68 points in the first half and turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, apparently was enough for Finch to go somewhere he rarely goes. Julius Randle did not argue with Finch’s assessment. “Just gotta go get the ball,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not tactical or all that stuff. We just gotta go get the ball out of the air. They are quicker to the ball than us right now. We shouldn’t lose games from rebounding.” But they do. The Wolves are 15th in the NBA in second-chance points allowed. Only five teams behind them have winning records. They are 17th in defensive rebound percentage, and 24th over the last 15 games.
“So that’s another good one in terms of: when do you know? You could go viral every day if you wanted. You can report something every day if you want, but if it has long-term ramifications for your credibility, your responsibility, how you treat people, and your relationships, then obviously you have to make a decision. If something you report is going to be unfair or irresponsible, or you’re not giving it the proper time to really marinate and play out, then you’re putting yourself in a tough spot.” Shams Charania: “So yeah, the Giannis one, specifically, is certainly one where I think a million times I could have probably reported exactly what I reported the week before the deadline, which was that he was prepared and ready to move on and the team was listening to offers. They literally were listening to the New York Knicks making offers in October. “So they had listened to offers, but the slight difference was that it had reached such a fever pitch at that point, and they were talking to and listening to Minnesota, Golden State, and Miami. And I’m going on TV. I’m having to report on this. He’s one of the biggest names in the NBA, one of the best players in the NBA. “It’s irresponsible for me not to report, not to do my job. What I think about more than anything is that I’m a servant for the audience. The audience is going to be let down if I’m not reporting what’s actually going on behind the scenes—not what someone might be telling you, or something you want to hear, or something that might be easier on the ears. I’m always going to try to keep it real when I can.”
[Charania] A lot of “chatter” about the Minnesota Timberwolves to be the team to be moved to the Eastern Conference in the event of a two-team expansion. Memphis and New Orleans will have “a case” as well.
Scott Agness: Pacers’ final scheduled national TV appearance of the season has been dropped. NBC/Peacock will now air Hornets at Celtics on April 7 instead of Timberwolves-Pacers (which will now tip at 7 ET)
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Shamit Dua: "I think Zion's going to get extended... When Joe Dumars got here, there were some tough conversations had with Zion about what the expectation is for professionalism. And to Dumars's credit, Zion really took that to heart... He really wants to be in New Orleans, and he really, really wants the narrative on him to flip... I would model it after Julius Randle's extension... around three years, $100 million or so. Around 30 to $35 million a year. I think it's a good sweet spot for Zion."
Peter Hooley: NBL clubs have contacted Joe Ingles and his representation in effort to bring him home next season. One of Australia’s all-time greats, his career started in the NBL, before heading to Europe and then NBA. Ingles is currently with the Timberwolves as they approach the Playoffs.
An understanding of Redick’s scheme means contextualizing Dončić’s defensive skill set, highlighting what he is good at and attempting to mask what he’s deficient in. Contesting shots, arguably the second-most important aspect of defense outside of positioning, is a strength of his, with Dončić in the 95th percentile in shots contested per 100 possessions and 87th percentile in rim contests. This particularly manifests itself as an isolation defender, when teams try to pick at him; Dončić is allowing just 0.844 points per possession in 109 isolations this year, a hairline below Amen Thompson, and a better mark than Jaden McDaniels and OG Anunoby.
Draymond Green: Man, can you imagine, though, for players in the Western Conference? You get Vegas and Seattle. Meanwhile, the East picks up Minnesota and Memphis. Man, that’s a drastic change. Guys in the West, you are ecstatic. Like, yo, you get trips to Vegas and Seattle now, as opposed to going to Minnesota more than once, or going to Memphis more than once. And just do Memphis—do everybody a favor—and move that team to Nashville. There are no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them. But just from an NBA standpoint, man, there’s not a sauna or a hot tub in sight. Nowhere. Not at the gym, not at a spa, not at a hotel—nothing. Not in sight. So the NBA either needs to send that team to Nashville so they can have proper facilities, or, even better, the NBA should make it mandatory that teams have at least a hot tub and cold tub, but probably also a sauna, in their visiting locker room.”
Dane Moore: Thought this was an informative answer when Chris Finch was asked about the possessions where Rudy Gobert drops catchable passes and how his players handle those possessions. "They know not to look to me for sympathy if Rudy drops one of their passes, because sometimes he's going to. I tell them to keep throwing em. We have to. It pays off more than not... I'll take some of those turnovers if we're trying to make the right play."
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Chris Hine: Kyle Anderson on the Wolves using Rudy Gobert on offense: "We got to be able to find him. Watching a lot of Timberwolves games these last few months, when I wasn't on the team, I'm like, ‘Oh, they missed Rudy. They missed Rudy.’ Like, get downhill and he's open at the rim a lot. So even if he's not getting the ball or scoring, like the gravity he has pulling that low man in, or us being able to find someone on the perimeter is big time."
Dane Moore: Here's Ayo Dosunmu talking about what he's reading in pick and roll coverage and why he's taking more midrange shots in Minnesota after those were prohibited in Chicago. "In Chicago, midrange shots was really prohibited. It was 3s and layups, no midrange shots unless it's the end of the shot clock. Here, we got Rudy, he's setting big screens. So if you can set up pick and roll, you come off Rudy, you open." Dosunmu took 4 "long" midrange shots in 45 games in Chicago this season before being traded to Minnesota. And he's taken 12 in 15 games for the Wolves. Dosunmu has also nearly doubled the frequency in which he's taking shots from floater range. Dosunmu took 86% of his shots in Chicago at the rim or from 3. In Minnesota, he's becoming a three-level scorer. And his eFG% has stayed almost exactly the same.
Here's Ayo Dosunmu talking about what he's reading in pick and roll coverage and why he's taking more midrange shots in Minnesota after those were prohibited in Chicago.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 18, 2026
"In Chicago, midrange shots was really prohibited. It was 3s and layups, no midrange shots unless it's the… pic.twitter.com/LtGKsRjVqN
Donovan was asked about Dosunmu’s comments – which he said didn’t see – and in a roundabout way said he was not anti-midrange, he was anti-midrange for players that weren’t efficient at it, which is basically the entire roster that his front office has given him. “To me, I think we let the guys play freely,” Donovan said. “I think when you look at some of the analytical stuff and I was on board with probably this a couple years ago; Zach (LaVine) played in the midrange, Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) played in the midrange, and obviously DeMar played in the midrange. And as great as all those guys are offensively we didn’t necessarily have an elite offense. Their shot making, all three of those guys, had the best shot making of their careers while they were together at different points and time. So I’m not opposed to the midrange. “I think you have to play to players’ strengths, so I’m a believer in the first part of the shot clock you certainly want to try and get something downhill to the basket, and generally what happens is when the ball gets into the paint and the ball gets sprayed out that’s when the threes are going to go up. Most of the time the midrange stuff is coming off iso situations. It’s late clock, a guy is stuck with the ball, and at that time you’ve got to manufacture and generate shots.”
Dane Moore: Naz Reid has been ruled out for tonight’s game against Utah with the right ankle sprain he suffered last night. Reid sat at his locker after the game last night longer than he normally does — feet in ice, shoulders wrapped up in ice like they were shoulder pads. Doesn’t seem like anything too serious, but he is definitely quite banged up.