Preseason Madness

The Preseason has started here, and Minnesota sports is in a tizzy. The Vikings are 5-0, the Timberwolves won their first preseason game, and the most dominant sports franchise in the history of Minnesota The Lynx are in the WNBA finals for the 5th time in its short franchise history. I remember the time when I was a T-wolves season ticket holder and the Lynx drafted Maya Moore by proclaiming her the "LeBron James" of the WNBA.

But beyond Sam Bradford and his 3/4 sleeve Fran Tarkenton throwback look, my most exciting sports happening is the 7 assists in 24 minutes that Kris Dunn put up in his first preseason game. I know that preseason defense is lacking and 2nd unit defense is even worse, but that is a 14 assist per 48 min stat that should get your blood going even if it came with 4 turnovers. The backup point gaurd position is in my opinion one of the most overlooked keys to success. The "he's a backup" phrase to relegate players as lesser talents doesn't recognize the difficulty an eighty-two game season presents.

In an era of data aggregation and slobbering at the throne of analytics, where the NBA promotes HACK-a-thon (DeAndre & Shaq were absent) events, every second on the floor counts. Sure some teams have better starters, and some starters can play more minutes then others, but there comes a time in every regular season (playoffs are different) where a majority of the players on the floor are reserves. If Kris Dunn can put out those kind of numbers on regular basis, it could be stunning.

When we look at the numbers Rubio averaged 8.6 assists last year, followed by LaVine at 3.1 and then Tyus at 2.9, Miller at 2.2 and rounding out the top five with Wiggins and Towns both at 2. The Timberwolves finished 8th in the NBA in assists per game, probably one of the highest ranking of a positive stat they accomplished while compiling 29 wins and 53 losses.

They then ranked 13th in Assist to Turnover ratio at 1.63, for comparison the only teams to get above 1.84 were San Antonio at 1.94 and Golden State at 1.93, ranking 1 & 2.

If there is an increase in this it might just come from the second unit. I am guessing much of the second unit assists came from Tyus and Miller, with some sprinkled in from LaVine and Dieng. But 2nd unit production can be huge and Thibodeau has a history of 2nd unit guards performing at their career bests (see Aaron Brooks & John Lucas III).

Excitement is brewing despite listening to the 2nd preseason game on the radio (more on that later) with Alan Horton. Lynx have evened their series up 1-1.

Go Minnesota!