Minnesota Timberwolves: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 20 Games Into Season
By Aaron Mah
The Good: Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns
It’s hard not to be giddy about the Wolves’ future considering just how good both Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns have been thus far this year.
As Wolves fans discovered last year, there’s a radical difference between being selected with the No. 1 overall pick (ahem, Anthony Bennett) and actually being a No. 1 overall pick.
In the case of Wiggs and KAT, the duo clearly belongs in the latter.
Wiggins have improved dramatically since this time last year. I would have never anticipated the leaps and bounds the 20-year old Canadian has made on the offensive end of the floor in such a short span of time.
The former Jayhawk still possess a throng of flaws — most notably, his frustrating penchant of settling for long 2s, his passiveness and sedentary nature as an off-ball and transition defender, as well as his inconsistent effort on the boards — but Andrew has clearly worked tirelessly this offseason on his ballhandling and pull-up game.
When aggressive, Wiggins has been electrifying — slashing and getting to the line at will, despite being predominantly right-hand oriented.
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His knee-buckling first-step, in conjunction with his newfound ability to slither through tight quarters, allows Wiggins to get all the way to the front of the rim in spite of the opposing D’s efforts of sitting on his strong hand.
In addition, he is slowly developing his advance moves. The window-wiper turn-around J, the hesitation pull-up, and his hallmark unstoppable spin move, have become staples of his unfurling repertoire.
Watching the breakout of superstar Paul George this season, and his debut of an advanced handle and unlimited range, gives credence to just have much more room Wiggins can potentially improve.
Andrew is not only ahead of PG’s curve at the same age, he is also on a completely other tier in terms of pure athleticism when compared to the willowy 6’9″ swingman. If Wiggs can continue to work and acquire a skill-set of similar ilk, the league could be in serious trouble.
As for KAT, he has continued to prove that he is the most skilled and gifted 7-foot rookie big man to grace the league since Tim Duncan in 1997.
Towns has had his fair share of troubles staying on the court, however. Most prominently, he is often too aggressive on his hard hedges and uses too much of his body when trapping an opposition when the play is essentially dead.
It also certainly does not help Towns’ cause that Mitchell benches the former Kentucky Wildcat in every other fourth quarter this season.
On offense, KAT has a concerning tendency of making life a lot more difficult than it has to be. He is often indecisive when catching the ball at the nail and holds onto the rock for far too long. The pumpfakes, jab-steps, and no-look passes are pretty in application, but when Towns just catches and attacks, he is too long, too skilled and too athletic to be stopped.
The moves he showcases on a nightly basis — the footwork, the counters, the ambidextrousness, and the touch are uncommon for any center, let alone a 20-year old prodigy.
Defensively, when he is not overcommitting, he’s been absolutely terrific. He is a natural rim protector with the nimbleness to defend out in space — a rare concoction of contemporary skills.
Perhaps, most importantly, KAT is an absolute sponge according to KG.
“The dope thing about him is that when I do teach him something, he’s able to apply it right away and he gets what I’m teaching,” Kevin Garnett told Timberwolves.com . “It’s kind of refreshing to be honest, because sometimes you have to go slow, you have to show it three or four times with guys, which is fine because you have to be patient. But he gets it right away and he is able to apply it.”
The future is bright ‘Sota.
Next: The Good: The KG Effect