Pass-first Timberwolves Point Guard: D’Angelo Russell

The 2021-22 playoffs were not kind to Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell (Dlo). During the best of seven series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Russell averaged a pedestrian 12 points per game (PPG). He put out an underwhelming performance in those six games, shooting 33 percent from the field overall and an abysmal 29 percent on two-point attempts.

It was the Timberwolves’ first playoff series since trading away Jimmy Butler, a first-round matchup of the seventh-seeded Timberwolves versus the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.  Russell was one of several players who wilted in the heat of that NBA Playoff competition (he did knock down the three-ball at a respectable rate).

Obviously, Timberwolves fans were expecting a lot more from the seven-year Ohio State vet, but don’t let the playoffs cloud your opinion on Russell so much that his great regular season gets swept under the rug.

He’s always been a brilliant passer. That was his calling card coming out of Ohio State. But was he a “real point guard?” After all, passing is just ball movement. Can he lure the defense in one direction, and then get the ball into the hands of an open shooter? Is he a true floor general? Scouts raised that question during his one-year college tenure (even in high school honestly).

He’s continued to address that question of his court leadership so far in the NBA. He’s made strides as a floor general virtually every season of his career. He still has room to grow as a pass-first point guard but the improvements he’s made so far are admirable.