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Timberwolves’ confident, composed Nickeil Alexander-Walker is developing into one of NBA’s top three-and-D wings

jace frederick, pioneer press
·4 min read

It was not a dream start to the fourth quarter for Timberwolves reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker on Tuesday in Portland.

He guard fouled the Trail Blazers’ Scoot Henderson on a 3-point attempt, which resulted in the rookie hitting all three free throws to put Portland on top by two points. And then on offense on the very next play, Alexander-Walker turned the ball over.

Whoops.

In the past, that might have wrecked Alexander-Walker, a frequent over-analyzer who was endlessly critical of his own play. Instead, on Tuesday, what ensued was another example of just how far he’s come.

Alexander-Walker knocked down four 3-point shots in the final quarter while essentially eliminating Portland star guard Anfernee Simons on the other end to key Minnesota’s final-period surge that resulted in a 121-109 victory.

“He’s got confidence like me, so I respect him a lot,” Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said in his postgame, on-court television interview.

“He’s probably grown the most with his composure. He doesn’t seemingly get rattled,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “He’s always had a habit to kind of get down on himself when he has made some tough plays. But he played through that now, bounces back.”

That, Alexander-Walker said, has not been an easy trait to develop. He cares a lot, likely more than most. So failures and mistakes have stuck with him and proved to be nearly debilitating. It was a drain.

“I had to realize that basketball is not only my identity but the game was everything for me, and so there’s times where I can lose myself in the game, good and bad,” Alexander-Walker told reporters. “But I think it’s just been a focus for me to grow as a player that the only way for me to improve now is to separate that self and just be able to enjoy the moment and be in the moments, good and bad.”

Enjoy, and move on. So he made a turnover. Those happen many times throughout the game. As do bad fouls. Such blunders can’t tell the story of your evening. It shouldn’t have anything to do with the next play.

The Wolves will not lose trust in Alexander-Walker, nor with Finch. The two-way standout has built up far too much cache for that to happen.

“And I appreciated that,” Alexander-Walker said. “My mindset was to win, and everyone’s mindset that was playing was to win.”

Sitting atop the Western Conference, the Timberwolves obviously have done plenty of that. Alexander-Walker has been a major contributor to the cause.

Part of that is due to the outside shooting he once again flashed against Portland. That was no aberration. Alexander-Walker has become a legitimate perimeter shooting asset for the Timberwolves. He’s hitting 38 percent of his 3-point attempts on the season. Remove his 3-for-15 start this season from deep, and that number balloons to 40 percent. He’s hit at least one triple in 16 consecutive games.

“It felt really good just to trust it and just let go,” Alexander-Walker said of Tuesday’s shooting performance. “I think the mindset, all the work that I put in and letting my body do the work, the muscle memory taking over and just being in the moment of like just trying to win the game, turning into that felt great.”

Still, Finch said everything for Alexander-Walker starts on the defensive end. That’s where his bread is buttered. Alexander-Walker rivals Jaden McDaniels as Minnesota’s top perimeter defender. He’s 10th in estimated defensive plus-minus this season, according to the analytics site DunksAndThrees.com. “Three-and-D” players are some of the most coveted contributors in the NBA, and Alexander-Walker may legitimately be one of the best in the league.

“He puts in so much work. Watching him have that type of game and have fun and having that type of impact, not just on offense, but on defense for us, was huge,” teammate Rudy Gobert told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s why we love him. We know what he can bring to the table.”

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