New Rules, Poor Shooting, and Stilted Ball Movement: On the Devolution of the Wolves’ Offense

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty ImagesIt was a forgone conclusion entering the season that the Minnesota Timberwolves would possess one of the NBA’s most formidable offenses. Ushered by the three-headed monster of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell and featuring high-octane bench pieces in Malik Beasley and Naz Reid, many believed that the Wolves would slot easily into the league’s top-10 in offensive rating.

However, to this point, the Wolves have struggled mightily with tickling the twine — or rattling the rim, for that matter. But they aren’t alone.

Offense has reigned supreme for the better portion of the last decade as an ever-increasing reliance on speed,…