Minnesota Timberwolves: Finding Joy In A Lost Season
By John Hugar
Injury problems for Kevin Love prevented the Minnesota Timberwolves from contending for a playoff spot. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
It hasn’t been a fun time to be a Minnesota Timberwolves fan lately.
The Timberwolves were considered a strong candidate to make the playoffs this season, as it looked like Kevin Love was about to lead them to glory. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Love struggled with injury problems all year, and when he was in the lineup, problems with his hand prevented him from shooting at his true ability. Ricky Rubio‘s own injury problems only served to compound the matter and now, the Wolves are on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff race.
But while this has been a trying season, Timberwolves fans should not despair too much; this team will be going places sooner rather than later. Obviously, the team that showed up this season was not the true Minnesota Timberwolves team. That team involves Love at the peak of his game, spreading the floor by draining 3s while Rubio makes brilliant passes. For now, this team has existed as a pale imitation of its true self. Next year’s group looks to be far better and it probably will be able to make that long-awaited playoff surge.
What Timberwolves fans should really be happy about, though, is that even with the team struggling, several players have had solid seasons and proven themselves to be legitimate contributors. Take Andrei Kirilenko, for instance. Yes, Kirilenko had a solid career before this season, but he was also 12 years removed from his rookie season and he had spent the previous season playing in Russia. It was possible that Kirilenko would either see his abilities decline, or have trouble re-adjusting to the superior talent level of the NBA. Neither has been the case, as Kirilenko has had an excellent season, contributing consistently on offense, while also being the team’s best defensive player by far. Kirilenko will be a free agent this summer, but if the Timberwolves are willing to bring him back, they will have a strong two-way player for years to come.
Minnesota has also gotten a boost from rookie Alexey Shved, who was teammates with Kirilenko on Team Russia in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Shved is something of a combo guard and he has brought life to the offense at times this season. While he is not the best shooter in the league, he knows how to get to the hoop and he is an excellent ball distributor. As Shved continues to adjust to NBA life, his poor shooting will likely improve and his solid instincts will remain. Don’t be fooled by his unspectacular numbers–Shved has the potential to become a much better player and a key component of the Timberwolves backcourt going forward.
Finally, with Love out, second-year forward Derrick Williams has been thrust into starting lineup, where he has looked like a much better player now that he is finally getting some minutes. Since taking Williams, the Timberwolves have struggled to find a place for him. He was a power forward in college, but with Love occupying that spot, he’s mostly come off the bench. He’s athletic enough that he could work as a 3, but the team has been reluctant to go that route. It’s possible that the Timberwolves could decide that with Love around, there’s no consistent spot for Williams and eventually trade him. Even if that does wind up being the case, however, it’s still great to see him playing so well. If nothing else, it would thoroughly increase his trade value.
This will be a lost season for the Timberwolves, but they still have a bright future. When Love returns next year, they will once again be one of more frightening young teams in the league. The return of Chase Budinger from a knee injury will be a big help as well. Timberwolves fans will have to ride this rough year out and hope it leads to a valuable lottery pick, but that won’t be the case next season. By this time next year, there’s a strong chance they’ll finally be headed back to the playoffs and this long-suffering fan base will finally have something to cheer about.