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Welcome to the Den! Over the course of the season I want to take 10 game snap shots and ask and answer a few questions about the Wolves. Some of these questions are about serious hoop, some of them are the silly questions I think about riding the Green Line to the Target Center. So curl up with a beverage of your choice, get comfy, and stay awhile.
1. Are Ant and LaMelo better together?
If we can take anything from preseason (we shouldn’t), and if head coach Chris Finch is giving us any hints to his plan for the season in his quotes about lineups (he isn’t), then Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball will share the floor a lot. The reasons to keep them separated are obvious. Both players can handle the ball. Both players have tremendous gravity on offense creating opportunities for others. The Wolves have a dearth of ball handling and keeping someone on the court at all times who won’t get bullied in a full-court press is imperative.
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So why would Finch ever play a minute without one of his star guards on the court? Well…
Overwhelming Offense: With both guards on the court, they create a Sophie’s Choice for how to guard the Wolves that leads to easy mismatches easily exploitable with Ant’s athleticism or Ball’s passing. If both players are loaded up on, there are plenty of other players to kick the ball to for easy looks.
Bench Strengths: Fresh off Terrance Shannon Jr.’s impressive 2026 playoff performance, Finch noted the need to put the ball in his hands to get the most out of him. Ball or Edwards might play well alongside TJ by spotting up for threes as Shannon barrels to the hoop and collapses the defense. That said, both players are better when their usage is higher and the Wolves have other bench shooters that TJ can feed.
Establishing Roles: Melo knows his primary role. Its the one role he has always known. He is there to stir the drink on offense and get everyone involved. Ant is going back to his best role as a shooting guard. He will move off-ball and create advantages for his team. On the defensive side of things, Ant will need to establish himself on defense and that will be easier when he is…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/den-questions-start-antball-era-120000734.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-18 12:00:00
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