Jordan McLaughlin skied much higher than someone his size should be able to elevate a rebound in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win over Cleveland to snag a defensive rebound. He quickly turned around, looked up the field and saw a wide open Kyle Anderson on the floor.
McLaughlin whipped the ball in and hit Anderson in stride, and Anderson capitalized with an authoritative dunk to put Minnesota up 13 with seven minutes left.
These are the pieces that McLaughlin has always brought to Minnesota. The combination of effort, skill and intelligence allows the small point guard to have a huge impact on the competition. It dictates the rhythm and generates the movement. McLaughlin is the definition of a spark plug.
In this way, he was always valuable regardless of the minutes he received. It’s an asset that Timberwolves coach Chris Finch knew he could plug and play for a needed boost.
Now it is necessary to have McLaughlin on the field every game, no matter the opponent or the situation.
Because you can’t leave someone that good on the pine for 48 minutes.
“J-Mac is playing on another world right now. He just came in and was a game changer for us. Shooting with so much confidence,” Finch said. “Play all normal J-Mac games. Get 50 to 50 balls. Competing for the ball in the air. Fly around. Get your hands on stuff.
The latter has always been there for McLaughlin. But it’s the shooting that has clearly made the difference this season. The 27-year-old general’s Achilles heel has always been his outside shooting. But he’s shooting 45 percent from deep this year.
Over his last 19 games, McLaughlin is 22-of-37 from beyond the arc. That includes his 4-for-4 from deep against the Cavaliers.
“J-Mac was amazing. It’s great to see the ball go in the hole the way it is, because he works harder than anyone. “He always gets to the gym early, stays late, and he proves a lot of people wrong in the sense that he probably came in not being known as a shooter and he might be our best 3-point shooter right now,” said Mike Conley. “We trust him. He’s done his thing and he’s earning his time on this field.
Finch has had to get creative to find that time, but he’s making every effort to get minutes out of McLaughlin, even though Minnesota has solid veteran point guards in Conley and Monte Morris. On Friday, that meant deploying a three-point guard lineup, which was also effective for the Wolves.
Good basketball players find a way to make any situation work. And McLaughlin is a good player. Over the past month, Minnesota has outscored opponents by 18 points per 100 possessions when McLaughlin is on the floor, easily giving him the team’s best net rating over that span.
Everything McLaughlin is doing right now looks a lot like the basketball he played in the latter part of the 2021-22 campaign, which culminated with shutting down the guard in Minnesota’s Game 6 loss to Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.
That year, McLaughlin was a net-scoring king with a 40 percent success rate from three over the final two and a half months of the season. This performance led to heightened expectations last year. Unfortunately for McLaughlin, a calf strain derailed his campaign. Even when he returned, he clearly wasn’t himself. There was no explosion or speed. The jump shot fell off the map. He looked like a shell of himself.
But those memories fade quickly. McLaughlin’s play this season suggests last year was an anomaly related solely to injury. Because he once again looks like an essential leader capable of triggering an attack.
“I feel good right now. The body feels good, it’s developing a good rhythm at the moment,” he said. “Everyone on this team is playing well, so I’m just happy to be able to contribute to the win.”
Indeed, Minnesota’s offense is finally starting to generate a steady flow in which everyone is moving and thriving. This is the kind of basketball Finch wants. This is the type of basketball that McLaughlin’s mere presence on the court engenders.
“He’s a guy who is like a natural player to move the ball. He’s a natural with his high IQ, making plays and recovering loose balls, all while keeping plays alive. When you’re out in the field with someone like that, you can be live at any time,” Conley said. “So he definitely affects the game every time he comes in, no matter how long he plays. So it’s been a blessing, obviously, to be on the same field with him at the same time and be able to throw all our matches.
The last week-plus has represented one of Minnesota’s best offenses all season.
“It’s good. You know where the guys are going to be, you know what they’re going to do,” McLaughlin said. “You start to find a rhythm. You know you’re going to get the ball on offense, you move around freely when everyone is turning and flying, so we’re in a good position right now.
Think of it as the Jordan McLaughlin effect.
“I think he’s an energetic guy and that’s something we need,” Naz Reid said. “So I mean, I definitely, absolutely need him on the floor.”
