Are the Minnesota Timberwolves a Legit Contender?
It’s safe to say that the Minnesota Timberwolves have made a jump for the better this season. So far, the T-Wolves are 11-3 and hold the best record in the Western Conference. Minnesota This team is held down by two defensive anchors in Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, while their young star Anthony Edwards leads the team in scoring. Last season, the Timberwolves clinched the eighth seed in the West, before being eliminated by the future champion Denver Nuggets. They're currently undefeated in Minnesota at 7-0. As much as they are a success story thus far and had good fortunes the first month of the season, they still need to show the rest of the league and their fans that they're a squad not to mess around with.
Anthony Edwards currently leads the team in scoring averaging 26 points a game, this is a jump from last season where he averaged close to 25 points a game. Rudy Gobert is the T-Wolves leading rebounder averaging close to 12 a game. The Timberwolves collect 20 rebounds with just Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor alone. They currently rank 10th in rebounding and third in defensive rebounds. As a team, they rank sixth in field goal shooting close to 49 percent from the floor. They’re ninth in free-throw attempts, rank tenth in free throws made, and sixth in blocks averaging about six blocks a game. Minnesota fans have been desperate for this team to be successful. They’ve made the playoffs three times in the last six years, but before that, their last appearance was back in 2004. This team has the hopes and desires to be like that 04 team and make the Western Conference Finals, if not their first NBA Finals appearance.
The T-Wolves won their third game in a row last night in a 112-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Edwards dropped 31 points, while Towns finished with 23 points. Their only losses this season were their season-opener against the Toronto Raptors, a 127-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, and a 133-115 loss against the Phoenix Suns. All three of these teams Minnesota lost to currently qualify for the play-in tournament if the season were to end today. On Friday, they’ll play the Sacramento Kings in an in-season tournament matchup. Both the T-Wolves and the Kings are 2-0 within their group. After Friday night, one will still be undefeated while the other will obtain their first loss within the in-season tournament. How far can the Minnesota Timberwolves go this year?
