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Minnesota Timberwolves: 2016-17 Season Outlook

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) celebrates with center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) against the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center. The Clippers defeated the Timberwolves 110-106. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) celebrates with center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) against the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center. The Clippers defeated the Timberwolves 110-106. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minnesota Timberwolves
Apr 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center. The Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 88-78. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Three Key Storylines: 2. Is This A Dark Horse Playoff Team?

Last season, the Timberwolves won a grand total of 23 games, but they also started the season 8-8 before the wheels fell off. If Minnesota can find a way to sustain that success over a full 82-game season, do they have an outside shot at making the playoffs?

The answer to that question depends on a variety of factors, starting with Towns, who will need to have a second-year coming-out party much like Anthony Davis did.

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    • For a 20-year-old who averaged 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game on .542/.341/.811 shooting splits as a rookie, it’s both totally unreasonable and perfectly logical to assume Towns can take another gargantuan leap in 2016-17.

    But KAT can’t do it by himself, which is why he’ll need his co-star Andrew Wiggins to tap into that elite two-way potential in just his third season. Wiggins displayed a knack for knocking down big buckets and rising to the call against other star shooting guards last year; now it’s a matter of building on the other areas of his game like rebounding, perimeter shooting and playmaking.

    LaVine will also need to take a step up after proving how effective he can be when he’s actually playing his proper position at shooting guard. The “Zach LaVine, point guard” experiment should be dead and buried by now, especially after LaVine drilled 42.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-pointers last year.

    Guys like Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad will need to improve as well. Minnesota might also enjoy seeing Tyus Jones build upon his impressive NBA Summer League performance. Veteran additions like Cole Aldrich and Brandon Rush need to play their roles, and a career year from Rubio — coupled with a Rookie of the Year-esque campaign from Dunn — wouldn’t hurt either.

    At this point, it’s tough to pencil the Wolves in as a top-eight team in the West, but if it only takes 40 wins to reach the postseason like last year, it’s certainly not off the table.

    Next: Storyline 3: Minnesota Thib-erwolves

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