With the Timberwolves' current roster and coach Tom Thibodeau's determination to keep the rotations tight while developing his young starters, the bench is rarely going to be a high-scoring bunch.
Entering Saturday's game with Brooklyn at Target Center, the Wolves were at the bottom of the league in minutes played by reserves and in bench scoring per game (21.6). But there are certain things Thibodeau wants to see from his bench, whether or not the shots are falling. Especially on offense.
"The ball movement, that's important," Thibodeau said. "Kris [Dunn] can get pressure on the rim with his penetration."
To Thibodeau, getting the ball into the paint is important, whether it is with a post-up or with dribble penetration.
"I think the utilization of the pick-and-roll is important, particularly with [Nemanja] Bjelica because he can shoot and put it on the floor and make the play," he said. "But we want to be balanced. With the second unit, Zach [LaVine] gets in there and gives us a nice catch-and-shoot game.''
Long-range struggles
But to get that balance the Wolves reserves have to hit the open three-pointer. LaVine, who often plays with that group, has showed signs of breaking out of a short shooting slump. But Bjelica has struggled of late with three-pointers. Bjelica is 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) on threes in January.
"He has to keep shooting them,'' Thibodeau said. "He's a good shooter. As long as he's open, we want him to shoot. That's what keeps a defense honest. We have the belief he's going to make them."
Bjelica stayed on the court taking extra shots long after the team's morning shoot-around.