Drilling down a little more on the Wolves' back-to-back road wins at Atlanta and San Antonio, we see one key area in which the Wolves were markedly improved — thanks in part to the contributions of suddenly key forward Keita Bates-Diop.
In the victories, the Wolves went 8-for-13 (62%) on corner three-point attempts, including 3-for-6 by Bates-Diop — one of them by KBD coming with 3:24 left against Atlanta on Monday to extend the Wolves' lead to 10 points in an eventual 125-113 victory.
The Wolves are still shooting only 31.2% on corner threes, worst in the league. That's significant because corner threes are the shortest shots worth that much — 22 feet as opposed to 23 feet, 9 inches above the break, that spot on the court where the line changes from straight to an arc.
But Bates-Diop is 7-for-11 on those shots and could be a valuable asset going forward.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
