Beginning off-season, the Minnesota Timberwolves has been one of the busiest teams in the league, acquiring and disposing of a couple of players in their roster as part of their preparation for the upcoming NBA 2022-23 season.
Now sitting comfortably with an impressive 4-1 preseason run, the Timberwolves have been one of the heavy favorites to take home this year’s NBA crown.
After missing the playoffs for three seasons, the Minneapolis-based squad took a trip back to the stage last season before falling short in a head-to-head best-of-7 battle against the ever-mighty Memphis Grizzlies, 2-4.
On the brighter side, the series showed how tough the Timberwolves can be if they show consistency offensively and defensively, giving teams a run for their money despite parading a comparatively younger roster.
Now hungry for their long-awaited first-ever championship, can the Timberwolves’ NBA future odds increase based on their preseason momentum?
whole lotta handshakes 🤝 pic.twitter.com/yVKReGhiXk
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 16, 2022
Beefed-Up Roster
The Timberwolves will exhibit its best-ever roster in years this upcoming season, shaking and refurbishing its lineup with the acquisition of 3-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, hot-handed hotshot Bryn Forbes, Kyle “Slow Mo” Anderson, guard Austin Rivers, Wendell Moore Jr., and AJ Lawson, forwards Josh Minott, CJ Elleby, and Eric Paschall, and recently-signed 6’10” forward-center Luka Garza. Pretty beefed-up roster, isn’t it?
The Timberwolves ended the previous season with a 46-36 win-loss card. With such a stacked lineup, can the team surpass their usual 40-win mark?
Although the Timberwolves lost a significant part of its roster in the Gobert trade, including key guards Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt, all being instrumental in last season’s unexpected run, the addition of their new players was enough in filling in the holes left by the departees.
the air is different up there 🐜 pic.twitter.com/8lZgzFZFyQ
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 16, 2022
The Importance Of Gobert
Fresh from a second-place finish to Spain in the EuroBasket this summer, the 7’1″ Gobert will be the team’s main rim protector. Posting an average of 15.6 points per game along with a 71.3 percent shooting efficiency and 2.1 blocks in his last season with the Jazz, the French Baller’s defensive tactics will aid the T-Wolves’ need for a dependable center aside from asset Karl-Anthony Towns, who by the former’s acquisition, now moves to the power forward position.
Speaking of which, the center-turned-four KAT is also expected to deliver the goods for the Wolves this upcoming season, despite suffering from an undisclosed illness a couple of weeks ago. Towns’ move to his newly-embraced position will mean some good news for the Wolves, including an offensively-productive KAT.
With Gobert now taking care of the goods under the rim, Towns now has an opportunity to showcase his excellent long-range shooting, tallying an average of 41.0 success rate from beyond-the-arc last season.
iron sharpens iron. pic.twitter.com/J8v8v0RrqM
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 16, 2022
Main Stars Of Pre Season
Bryn Forbes’ inclusion in the Wolves’ lineup will also benefit the team in a number of ways. Despite being undersized and seemingly less athletic than his counterparts, Forbes has successfully cemented himself as one of the league’s most reliable point guards, generating an average of 9.6 points per game.
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 18, 2022
This was highlighted by a jaw-dropping 47.7 field goal percentage and 58.3 percent success rate from beyond the arc throughout his five preseason games with the Wolves. His strongest suit, 3-point shooting, has been immensely helpful in keeping the team’s impressive run in the exhibition games.
The newly-acquired NBA veteran Kyle Anderson has also been on and off in the team’s starting five, chipping in much-needed points for Minnesota.
The recently-signed Garza, on the other hand, surprised the Lakers with his unforeseen appearance, coming off the bench with 15 points and 4 rebounds in the Wolves’ 118-113 triumph over the Lakers. Rivers, Moore Jr., Lawson, Minott, Elleby, and Paschall have also been showing great potential for Minnesota so far.
Meanwhile, mainstays Russell, Nowell, Reid, McDaniels, McLaughlin, and Edwards, among others, have been tallying a couple of marks for the Timberwolves.
An Impressive Preseason
With the team ending their preseason campaign with a 4-1 slate, the T-Wolves have been gaining much potential and experience ahead of the upcoming season.
The preseason opening game against the Heat has been the team’s best game, offense-wise, tallying a total of 51.3 (41/80) shooting success rate and 39.4 (13/33) on 3-pointers. The Wolves have also been showing consistency in terms of assists and rebounds, garnering an average of 26.8 assists and 49 rebounds in the team’s recently-concluded preseason campaign.
As expected, Gobert and Towns paved the way for the team’s impressive preseason record. It is also interesting how the two haven’t played aside one another yet, except in their lone loss against the Nets.
Statistically speaking, the two have been efficient in their roles so far, with now-four Towns tallying 15 points along with 9 rebounds and Gobert with 16 points and 8 rebounds in their last exhibition game before opening the 2022-23 season.
The Wolves are on the hunt for their first-ever NBA title in franchise history. With such a well-stacked roster and morale-boosting preseason run, Minnesota is likely to be more than just a mediocre squad but one to watch out for this upcoming season.
year 8 😼 pic.twitter.com/W4XG11HjUU
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 15, 2022
A Few Rough Spots
Despite posting an impressive preseason, the Timberwolves still have a couple of rough spots to work on before officially opening the season. Based on their preseason statistics, the team’s offense is comparatively higher than their averages in the previous seasons, with the team now having the likes of Forbes and Gobert as additional contributors to the team’s offense.
However, on the defensive end, the team seems to still struggle a bit. The Wolves tallied a total of 23 blocks and 53 steals in their preseason run. However, we know the team can do better! The 74 turnovers they had just added to the team’s blues.
These are forgivable, however, considering the team hasn’t had a lot of opportunities yet to work on these holes. In connection with these, with the Minneapolis-based squad adding a couple of new names to their roster, chemistry has also been one of their lapses. A roster with an individually-excellent lineup but no chemistry is most likely to have a tough shot at bagging the elusive NBA title.
This has been proven through and through in the league for the past decades. This problem is also evident in the Wolves’ lone preseason loss handed by the Nets, an ongoing losing streak, which marked Gobert and Towns’ first official game together.
As the team’s main guns, the former’s defensive efficiency must complement the latter’s offense by and by. Good thing, the two, together with the Wolves, still have almost a week to work on these rough spots.
Should the T-Wolves bring their preseason momentum to the upcoming season, taking home the title to Minneapolis is definitely possible.
The Timberwolves exercise team options on Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. pic.twitter.com/0o32nf1gOB
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 15, 2022
Final Remarks
Showing a lot of potential with their star-studded roster, the T-Wolves are living up to the hype the team has been receiving from spectators. Say they are able to fix their lapses and maximize their lineup, the team’s 2022 odds are bound to increase and a shot at the finals stage can be expected.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will open their 2022-23 NBA campaign with a battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 20.
right place, right time✅ pic.twitter.com/ysQsFuWwCI
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 15, 2022
Credits on Featured Image: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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