What’s up with the Timberwolves?
Exploring why Minnesota is falling short of expectations so far this season
Andrew Wiggins is averaging 27.4 points per game and leading the league in 3-point percentage (!) at 53.5%.
Karl-Anthony Towns is already showing a marked uptick in his outstanding numbers from last year’s rookie-of-the-year season, putting up 22 and 9 with 2.5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.
Zach LaVine is proving that he’s not just a dunker, averaging 18.8 points while showcasing an improved percentage from long range (43.3 %) and looking more and more like a solid third piece in what the Timberwolves hope will be an eventual championship-contending roster.
Minnesota has the 2nd best offense in the league by offensive rating, behind only the Superteam Warriors.
So, what gives? Why are the Timberwolves only 4–7?
1. The defense isn’t there yet.
First of all, they rank 25th in the league in defensive rating, a figure that is pretty shocking when you think about Tom Thibodeau’s history and track record. With a young team and a new coach, defense is usually the first thing that falls into place, and offense comes along in time. These young Timberwolves, however, have proved thus far that they just have too many talented offensive players to form a subpar offense.
It still seems rather odd that a Thibodeau-coached team, especially one this young and athletic, could be even average, much less in the bottom third of the league, on the defensive end, but that’s where they stand 11 games into the season. If Thibs is able to round Minnesota into something that m0re resembles a trademark Thibodeau D and the Timberwolves can keep from falling off too much on the offensive end, the T-Wolves can turn this season around and make it back into the playoff picture despite the slow start.
2. They’ve lost some close games.
In the Timberwolves’ four wins, their margin of victory is 25.5 points. In the seven losses, their margin of defeat is 8.6 points.Minnesota has lost three games by four or less, and five of their seven losses have been within single digits. Basketball Reference has their expected win-loss record at 7–4.
Losing close games is something to be expected with an inexperienced young teams, and as the season goes on, the young Wolves, who really haven’t had to worry about winning in their NBA careers, will likely improve in the pressure situations at the end of close games and some more of those those close, swing games will go Minnesota’s way.
3. They are catastrophically bad in the 3rd quarter
SBNation explored the T-Wolves 3rd quarter woes here, but, essentially, Minnesota is above average to near the top of the league in scoring differential in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters, but dead last in the 3rd quarter.
I don’t know why the Wolves just fall apart specifically only in the third quarter. That’s a weird and rather unexplainable position to be in, but that’s where the Timberwolves find themselves thus far.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have fallen short of their lofty expectations for this year so far, but, when looking beyond the win-loss record, T-Wolves fans have some reason for optimism for the rest of the season. If Minnesota can correct a few of the flaws that seem to be holding them back, they can climb back into playoff contention even after the slow start. The Timberwolves are already showing signs that this might happen, as they have gone 3–2 in their last five games after a 1–5 start.
