With D’Angelo Russell absent and Anthony Edwards entangled in one of his worst offensive nights of the year, Karl-Anthony Towns may have wondered where the support was going to come from against the Nuggets. The answer came from Wolves substitutes with a total of… 68 points scored. For the third time in a row, the bench, however far from being the most productive in the league, brought 50 points.
Alongside Naz Reid (12 points), Malik Beasley (12) or Jaylen Nowell (10), Taurean Prince was the most productive with his 23 points (8/12 on shots including 6/9 from afar) and 9 rebounds.
” I think this group has a lot of confidence, judge the latter. We come into play being certain of being among the best players on the field. We have the feeling of being potential starters in this league. It’s having guys who are confident in their game and who work every day.“
This confidence was visible in this match, especially in the ball circulation of the substitutes. A simple game, movement, altruism… The main men on the bench finished with a significant positive impact on the score. The top performer in this sector was Taurean Prince with +22 points while on the court.
Author of his best game this season, the former Hawks, Nets and Cavs player has just had a third game in a row with ten points or more. This series would be nothing remarkable if, so far this season, he had not exceeded this symbolic bar four times.
His career worst season
With only 5.5 points on average over the whole exercise, and his shortest playing time on average (barely 16 minutes), the winger has never been so weak in his career, statistically speaking.
The explanation? ” Maybe he was trying to fit in, overthinking, wanting to do too well for what he was being asked to do.”, tried Chris Finch a few days ago for the Star Tribune. “We may have confused him. He was trying to fit in too many things and he got into trouble. Now he plays with much more conviction in everything he does.“
First expected for his defense, the winger, recovered this summer in the exchange around Ricky Rubio, has lost value in recent years. After three years of stability with the Hawks, he had a discreet last season between the Nets and the Cavaliers (9.5 points). The Wolves coach also intended to make him find ” his basketball “.
That may be what is happening. ” I’m feeling good “confirmed Taurean Prince, who also experienced health problems in December. “It’s just about taking advantage of the opportunity I’m given. I fell short in some areas at the start of the season, but that comes with adjustment. New team, new staff. I believe this is the first head coaching position for Finch too (note: over a full season), so it’s new for him. I am a big boy who adapts quite quickly to the environment.“
| Taurean Prince | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | ATL | 59 | 17 | 40.0 | 32.4 | 78.7 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 5.7 |
| 2017-18 | ATL | 82 | 30 | 42.6 | 38.5 | 84.4 | 0.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 14.1 |
| 2018-19 | ATL | 55 | 28 | 44.1 | 39.0 | 81.9 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 13.5 |
| 2019-20 | BRK | 64 | 29 | 37.6 | 33.9 | 79.8 | 0.8 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 12.1 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 41 | 22 | 40.1 | 40.0 | 85.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 9.5 |
| 2020-21 * | KEY | 29 | 24 | 39.9 | 41.5 | 83.7 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 10.1 |
| 2020-21 * | BRK | 12 | 18 | 40.5 | 35.1 | 88.9 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 8.1 |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 39 | 15 | 42.9 | 34.0 | 75.8 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 5.1 |
| Total | 340 | 25 | 41.2 | 36.8 | 82.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 10.6 | |
