Now what? - Minnesota Timberwolves | Basketball initiates
Now what? – Minnesota Timberwolves | Basketball initiates
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What’s new basketball addicted friends? Did you enjoy these NBA playoffs? Well, so do we! Now that there will be fewer playoff games, it’s time for another episode of Basketball Insiders’ Now what? series. Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at what the future holds for teams like Chicago and New Orleans. Today we turn our attention to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Heading into this season, the Timberwolves still hadn’t recovered from a previous era of hype but little progress. When it was all over, their present was mostly helpless. Miraculously, their future looked bright. Again. And this time, we cannot be left at the altar. With that, let’s get started.
Strengths
At the start, when you see that, according to Basketball-Reference, Minnesota had the sixth lowest offensive rating in the league this year – scoring 109.5 points per 100 possessions – you’d think that’s a bad thing. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that the offense has gone well throughout the season.
As of March, the Timberwolves upped that rating to 112.9 points per 100 possessions, good for 13th overall in the league during that span. So what has changed during this time? D’Angelo Russell’s return certainly helped, but it didn’t happen until April 5. No, at the center of it was both the rise of Anthony Edwards and the hiring of Chris Finch.
Edwards exploded from March. From there until the end of the season, he averaged 23.6 points on 45/34/77 splits. These are electrifying numbers for any player. The fact that he’s a rookie should give the Timberwolves a lot of hope. Minnesota goes 16-21 in this time is not good. Seeing that they only had 23 wins in total, it shows an unexpected promise.
And hey, speaking of Russell, once he got back Minnesota’s offense soared even higher. They scored 114.8 points per 100 possessions once D-Lo came back. It didn’t push them higher than 13th among NBA teams, but going 11-11 around this time showed even more progress.
The fact that this all happened around the time Edwards started warning the league makes it seem like it wasn’t a coincidence. And do not dare to believe that we are forgetting a Karl-Anthony Towns. We could talk about his numbers, but the ones he posted are what we expect from him at this point.
The best way to talk about his impact is to bring one final fun fact to the table: Towns, Russell and Edwards have only played 24 games together. The three-man line-up posted a net score of plus-4.9. That’s a solid net odds. Not a big one. Of the other three-man formations that played at least 300 minutes together, they didn’t even have the best. What should grab your attention is that when they played together, Minnesota won 13 of those 24 games.
The development was subtle, but the Timberwolves’ offense has progressed enough that fans are thrilled with what will come next season.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately, Minnesota’s offensive development did not make up for its shoddy defense. According to Basketball-Reference, the Timberwolves allowed 115 points per 100 possessions last season. That made for the third lowest defensive rating in the league.
Before you ask, no, it hasn’t improved over time. While the Timberwolves’ new and improved offense was enticing, their horrific defense stuck. They were held up because of it. It started pretty much at the top. It’s not a good sign when your three most prolific players – Towns, Russell and Edwards – all make you worse defensively when they’re on the pitch.
Minnesota’s defensive note with Towns:
Ground: 114.7
Ground: 112.8
With Russell:
Ground: 116.8
Above ground: 111.9
With Edwards:
Ground: 115.6
Ground: 109.5
In their defense (no pun intended), no one in Minnesota’s rotation has improved their defense. Even players generally considered apt defenders on this team like Ricky Rubio and Josh Okogie have failed to make it. Jarred Vanderbilt was their only player who benefited their defense (who played at least 1000 minutes). Their defense allowed 6.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the ground.
The Timberwolves have a lot of work to do to get him up defensively. Since they are mostly made up of defensive liabilities, there will be no quick fixes. Hypothetically, maybe a head coach like Tom Thibodeau could use his defensive magic to solve their defensive shortcomings.
Oh ok…
Opportunities
At this point, we already know what to expect from the Towns and Russell duo. Cities are a precious commodity. Russell, not so much. However, both are certified bucket getters. While this is all well and good, their teams are not doing very well with them at the helm for the most part. We knew around this time last year that in order for Minnesota to become relevant again, they needed a player like the Cornerstone. Early feedback says they have this player in Anthony Edwards
Edwards looks like the answer Minnesota has been looking for for more than a decade. His vast improvement as a player over time should make everyone giddy as to what his potential could do for him and the team. He’s already paid dividends on one side of the ball. Maybe the defense will do the same. Only at a slower pace.
While the defense will need time, the attacking potential doesn’t just come from Edwards. When the Timberwolves continued their late-season scoring push, Malik Beasley suffered a hamstring injury in early April. The same Beasley who posted career-high scores (19.6) on 44/40/85 split was not present when the team were in their prime.
When you factor in his return, Edwards ‘development, and Towns and Russell’s health, the Timberwolves’ offense could be lethal for years to come.
Threats
Six years after the start of his career, Karl-Anthony Towns is already one of the most offensive players in the league. Unfortunately, all he has to show to win is a playoff appearance. Since 2015, we already have the impression that he has seen it all. The Tom Thibodeau era has failed. Jimmy Butler’s business backfired. Towns’ twinning with Andrew Wiggins was next to nothing. Six years after being drafted, we should have seen some progress from the Timberwolves. The hard truth is, we didn’t.
Towns must have taken a lot of punches since entering the league. It’s got to the point where you honestly wonder how much more he can take as a Timberwolf. Even though Anthony Edwards thrives in the superstar everyone believes he can be, if the team’s positive results take their time to do the same, how long before Towns rightly decides he Tired of losing them all?
Let’s be real though. Minnesota did what they could to make him happy. No matter what you think of D’Angelo Russell as a player, trading for him was smart for Minnesota. It was also worrying. Pairing Towns with his best friend was a successful strategy to appease him for the time being. However, that meant Minnesota were already worried about Towns’ longevity with the team. Maybe it is for him to play with Russell, but if nothing improves, how long before he asks, “I can’t play with a winner and my best friend at the same time?” “
Edwards ‘rapid progress and scintillating highlights are what Minnesota desperately needs, but time is running out when it comes to Towns’ future and, by extension, Russell’s if progress is slow or stalled. completely.
It’s not perfect, but there is a lot more optimism (albeit cautious optimism) for Minnesota’s future. It begins and ends with their new golden boy. With Anthony Edwards’ potential, their future could be bright enough to convince Towns and Russell to stick around for the long haul. It would be safer if they took another step forward, which will not be child’s play in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves can rest easy knowing that Edwards could be the franchise player they hoped Andrew Wiggins would be. Even though Towns and Russell leave anyway, Edwards alone looks like a solid base. After what the Timberwolves went through, they couldn’t have asked for more.
The headline from Minneapolis is There Is Hope Again For These Timberwolves. The same could not be said last year.
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