LaMelo Ball gave the Timberwolves 34 points against Milwaukee on Monday. He gave them three assists. I like that combination more than I would like a demand that he turn every scoring night into a passing exhibition, because Ayo Dosunmu was there to do plenty of that work himself.
Minnesota’s 112-100 win offers a useful division of labor while Anthony Edwards is out: let Ball hunt shots, let Dosunmu organize possessions when the opening is his, and stop treating the point guard’s assist total as the measure of whether the offense is sharing. As of Tuesday, November 3, that’s the part of this win I’d want Chris Finch to keep.
Ball earned the right to finish possessions
According to ESPN’s box score, Ball made 12 of 21 shots, including six of 13 threes, and four of five free throws. The AP recap in the same feed credits him with 24 first-half points. Minnesota needed his scoring long before the fourth-quarter separation.
That is a good reason to keep putting the ball in his hands. It is also a good reason to let someone else deliver it to him when that produces the better chance. A scorer doesn’t have to dribble through the entire possession to own its most important decision.
My preference is for Ball to stay aggressive after he gives it up. Move into the next opening. Be ready for the return pass. If the defender stays attached, leave room for Dosunmu to attack. Those are choices I’d build into the offense, rather than asking Ball to alternate between conducting everything and standing outside the play.
I wanted Ball attacking Milwaukee’s paint before this game. His shooting line makes the case for flexibility: when the threes are falling, Minnesota should take them. Monday’s result doesn’t require turning a preference for penetration into a rule against a productive jump shot.
Dosunmu can handle the next decision
Dosunmu finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, per ESPN. Ball’s three assists were part of a team total of 23. That distribution is the strongest reason to resist assigning every creative responsibility to the player who scored the most.
I want Dosunmu bringing the ball forward when he has the cleanest route into the offense. I want him making the next pass after Ball draws attention. And I want Ball available as a scoring threat during those possessions, rather than having the entire attack wait for him to get the ball back at the top.
I’d give Dosunmu more chances to initiate alongside Ball. Both guards supplied scoring Monday, and Dosunmu led the pair in assists. Finch should be willing to pursue that arrangement again, with Ball ready to attack after a teammate gets the possession moving.
This fits the argument for keeping Dosunmu in the starting five while staggering his minutes. Sharing creation with Ball should make his starting shifts useful, too. His job can change with the other players on the floor without requiring a change in his place in the lineup.
The fourth quarter belonged to more than Ball
The AP recap says Jaden McDaniels scored six points during Minnesota’s 11-3 run to open the fourth quarter. That stretch put the Wolves ahead 91-79. Later, Ball’s sixth three pushed the margin to 96-81.
That sequence is the version of shared scoring I want. McDaniels helped create separation, then Ball added the shot that widened it. The Wolves should be looking for ways to make other players dangerous before asking their leading scorer to settle the possession.
McDaniels had 13 points and Trey Lyles added 12, according to ESPN’s box score. Both should remain involved when Ball has a big night. I’d rather see Minnesota use his scoring threat to keep teammates engaged than reduce everyone else to emergency outlets as soon as he gets hot.
The Wolves’ roster and depth chart puts the choices around those guards in context. For me, the offensive requirement is straightforward: every combination needs players willing to take the next available shot. Making Ball responsible for rescuing a possession after everyone else has declined it is a poor use of his talent.
Keep the shots, improve the support
There was plenty to clean up. Minnesota made 16 of 45 threes and 14 of 26 free throws, per ESPN. Ball’s six makes accounted for a large part of the outside scoring, and his four free throws came on only five attempts. The rest of the team needs to make its own opportunities count.
I wouldn’t answer the missed threes by automatically funneling more possessions back through Ball. A good pass still deserves a willing shooter. If Finch wants the guards to share creation, the players receiving those passes have to accept the responsibility that comes with them.
Nor would I turn Monday into a fixed scoring quota for Ball. The Wolves won with him taking the lead, but the repeatable part is the permission for someone else to make a decision. On another night, that could free Ball for a pass instead of a shot. The offense should have room for both outcomes.
Minnesota left the game 5-3, according to ESPN’s event record. I care more about keeping this division of responsibility than copying the exact scoring totals in the next win. Let Dosunmu start possessions. Let McDaniels finish an opening. Give Lyles the chance to shoot. Ball can remain the leading threat while sharing the work that gets him there.