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The NBA’s Western Conference is brutal, with quality teams at every turn.
Most judges gave up to 10 teams a chance to make playoffs, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were not one of those teams. Eight games is a small sample size and they are just 4-4, but there are a number of compelling reasons why Minnesota could be headed back to the post-season for the first time in a decade.
The talent is everywhere on this roster with no fewer than nine first-round draft picks, including five who were selected in the lottery. Some of those players are nearing the end of chequered careers but Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl Anthony-Towns form one of the most talented young cores in the league.
The offense is far ahead of the defence early on the in piece (more on that later) but elder statesman like Kevin Garnett and Tayshawn Prince will continue to play a critical role in balancing the two ends of the floor.
Wiggins was a part of the Kevin Love trade, drafted as the #1 pick by Cleveland and then traded to Minnesota. In just his second year, he started slowly shooting under 30 per cent from the field and averaging 14 points through four games. In back-to-back wins against the Bulls and Hawks, he tallied 31 and 33 points. Other areas of his game need plenty of work but the 20-year old franchise player is a scorer first and foremost, and that’s what Minnesota need him to be.
A good scorer needs a good point guard, and Rubio looks like he has gone some way to becoming that player. A historically poor shooter as far as guards go, he is shooting a ‘career-high’ 39.3 per cent which is dreadful, but he is averaging 13.0 points, 9.0 assists per game and just 2.0 turnovers a game. This is a great result for a player who averages 2.9 career turnovers.
As a pure point guard, Rubio figures to get better and better as his team improves and the likes of Wiggins continue to develop. His career shooting percentage (and assist and steal numbers, for what it’s worth) are comparable to future Hall-of-Famer and NBA champion Jason Kidd, Kidd may well be the player Rubio should strive to replicate as a defensively elite, pass-first point guard who controlled the tempo while on the floor.
Anthony-Towns was the first selection in the draft and expectations are always high, often unfairly so when you are selected in that position. He is only eight games into his career but Anthony-Towns has been outstanding averaging 16.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per night while ranking 20th in the NBA in player efficiency rating.
He could hardly have been more impressive, announcing himself as a defensive presence but offering more than good service at the offensive end of the floor. The sky seems the limit for KAT and his two running mates.
The Wolves have the nucleus of a team that will be successful for many in year in those three young guns, but their current squad has as much depth as most teams in the NBA.
Despite missing Rubio, Wiggins, Kevin Martin, Garnett and Andre Miller at times in the first few weeks of the season, the Wolves have largely covered those losses. I say largely, because Steph Curry torched Zach LaVine for 46 points in Thursday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors as Rubio watched on with an ankle injury.. Then again, Curry dominating you is hardly cause for concern as that is just what he does.
Going two deep at every position and with versatile players able to move through positions, they seem well placed to handle the gruelling nature of the NBA season. Rubio and Wiggins look to be the two they can least afford to lose long-term, but the same can be said for any team – stars need to be on the floor for them to be successful.
The Wolves rank sixth in both defensive rebounds per game and rebounding percentage and 10th in overall rebounds, as well as ranking 10th in fast break points per game and fourth in fast break efficiency. They are using these impressive statistics to rank ninth in possessions per game, as well as being in the top 10 in pace and player impact estimate. This is in the main part an athletic, young team and they are performing well against quality opposition (again, more on that later) early in the season by playing the way they want to play.
The teams the Wolves have played this season are a combined 42-28. They have defeated the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls on the road and pushed the Warriors and Heat before eventually losing to both.
For all the early season excitement and the attacking flair with which the team plays, the defence needs work but the improvement is apparent. After ranking last in both defensive efficiency and points conceded per game last season, they are 13th and 15th respectively in those categories.
They have played three of the top six teams in offensive efficiency and four of the top ten in points scored per game, an indication that those numbers may well be sustainable. Rubio, Anthony-Towns and Wiggins all rank among the league leaders in defensive rating, as does the veteran Prince.
An NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, Prince joins Garnett in the starting line-up and despite only playing 23 minutes a game he will be relied upon to continue his tough defensive play. Garnett is the heart and soul of the Wolves, and despite being 39 years old will provide leadership and experience that will invaluable if the Wolves stay in playoff contention.
The usual suspects in the West look likely to take most of the playoff spots, and it would be a shock if Golden State, San Antonio, the Clippers or Oklahoma City missed the playoffs and Houston are likely to do enough to make the playoffs.
Outside of those five, any three of the remaining teams (well, expect the Lakers) could make the playoffs and Minnesota look to have as good a claim as any of them to one of those spots. While they are in the early stages of what promises to be an exciting and successful decade, the signs are there that their playoff drought may well be broken ahead of schedule at the Target Centre.
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