James Harden made one field goal against Brooklyn on Saturday. I still want the Timberwolves to spend Monday night making him work. Minnesota should bring the player Harden is guarding into screening actions, force Cleveland to choose a response and keep moving until the defense gives up a shot worth taking.
That is my preferred starting point for the Wolves’ October 26 visit to Cleveland. A cold shooting night does not make Harden harmless, and attacking him need not mean calling for an isolation every trip. I want Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball using those screens to force decisions from the whole defense, especially when Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are waiting behind the play.
Harden’s misses don’t tell the whole story
The Basketball Reference box score from Cleveland’s 125-121 win over Brooklyn has Harden at one-for-eight from the field. It also has him at nine-for-11 from the foul line with seven assists. He finished with 12 points despite that single made shot.
Those free throws are the warning. I would hate to see Minnesota treat his first missed jumper as permission to reach on the next drive. Stay balanced, make him finish the possession and resist the swipe that sends him to the line. The Wolves should demand an actual shot before celebrating his shooting struggles.
At the other end, I would make his defensive assignment part of the action. If Harden is guarding a wing, have that wing screen for the ballhandler. If Cleveland switches, attack the resulting matchup with enough time left to pass. If it keeps the original assignments, make the defenders negotiate the screen and use the space that creates.
Minnesota should make the Cavaliers show which answer they intend to use, then punish that answer rather than decide the shot in advance.
Make the bigs choose before driving into them
Mobley scored 20 points and blocked three shots against Brooklyn; Allen scored 21 and blocked two, per Basketball Reference. Cleveland finished with 10 blocks as a team. I would respect that presence by making the first pass earlier, rather than asking Edwards to solve everything after he has already committed to the rim.
A useful possession might end with a drive. It might also end with the screener slipping into space, a pass to Rudy Gobert or a kick to a shooter after a big steps toward the ball. The point of involving Harden is to create a decision the next defender has to make. Stopping the ball to admire a switch would waste much of that opportunity.
I would also keep Gobert involved away from the immediate ball screen. Have him occupy a helper near the basket or move into a second screen as the defense resets. His role should give the ballhandler somewhere to go when the initial attack draws a crowd. Our look at Ball and Gobert’s potential lob partnership explains why that connection deserves attention, but a good pass here can be the simple one that keeps a possession alive.
The same demand applies to spacing across Minnesota’s roster and depth chart. A wing who has just screened cannot stand beside the ball waiting to watch. Clear space, cut or present a passing target. Make the helper account for another Wolf.
Sunday’s shooting is an invitation, not a requirement
Minnesota beat Toronto 117-94 on Sunday. In Basketball Reference’s box score, the Wolves made 15 of 31 threes, or 48.4%. Ball went four-for-five, Jonathan Kuminga three-for-four and Terrence Shannon Jr. three-for-three.
I want the confidence from that night carried into Cleveland. I would not build a plan that needs the same percentages to survive. A possession that produces an open catch for Kuminga can be worth repeating even if he misses it. A contested attempt taken before the defense has moved deserves scrutiny even if it goes in.
Edwards scored 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting against Toronto, per Basketball Reference. That gives Monday’s offense a straightforward place to begin: get him the ball with a screen coming and passing choices already arranged. Let him attack a moving defense rather than wait for everyone to settle into position.
Our case for playing Edwards and Ball together matters here. I would use the second guard as the next decision-maker if Cleveland crowds the first. Reverse the ball and attack the recovery. A possession should not be over just because the Cavaliers successfully defend its opening action.
Keep hunting without wasting the clock
There is a limit to matchup hunting, and Finch should enforce it. I would abandon a repeated attempt to force the same switch if it leaves Minnesota starting its real attack late in the clock. The screen has to serve the offense. It should not become an elaborate entrance fee to an ordinary contested jumper.
That is especially relevant on the second night of games on consecutive days. ESPN’s event feed lists Sunday’s home game against Toronto immediately before Monday’s Cleveland visit. I would prioritize actions players can get into promptly: an early screen, a clear outlet and a second action ready if the first one stalls.
My test would be the decision after Cleveland sends help. Does the ball move while that helper is still away from his assignment? Does the receiver attack the opening or allow the defense to recover? Those are better questions for this plan than whether Minnesota wins every individual matchup with Harden.
Harden’s Saturday line already showed why waiting for him to miss is insufficient. Make him defend, make Cleveland reveal its help and make the next pass before the opening disappears.