The Minnesota Timberwolves struggled to win games last season despite being one of the best first-half teams in the NBA.
When a NBA team has a losing record, it is typically ugly all the way around. That was not the case for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2016-17 season. The Wolves started most of their games off well and in control.
In fact they were the sixth-best team in the NBA … in the first half.
The Wolves had a point differential of plus-2.0 over their opponents for the first half all season long. The five teams ahead of them were the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs, in that order.
Every one of those teams is a high seed in the playoffs and a potential title contender.
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The five teams after Minnesota were the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. All of these teams made the playoffs except Denver.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing that well in the first half all season and not even being in playoff contention in the final weeks is unacceptable for Minnesota.
The Wolves had a good enough roster to make the playoffs. They showed that during the first half of most of their games. They even out performed their opponents plus-0.1 on the road last season. That is not a typical trait of a losing team.
Their first-half dominance was new this season. During the 2015-16 season, the Wolves’ first-half margin was minus-1.8. Because of that, starting the game strong became of priority for the Wolves under new head coach Tom Thibedeau in the 2016-17 campaign.
They accomplished that and completely failed to close out games after giving themselves comfortable lead after lead.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were the fourth-worst second half team in the NBA this season. They finished 27th in the NBA with a second-half margin of minus-3.0. The three teams below them were the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets.
The three teams just above them were the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. None of those teams made the playoffs. Those six teams look more like the Wolves’ level of basketball last season.
Why Did The Timberwolves Play So Badly In The Second Half?
The main reason for the Wolves’ second-half struggles was their lack of depth. The starters were forced to play a lot of minutes and exhausted themselves by the second half.
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The Wolves’ two best players, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, led the NBA in total minutes played with 3,048 and 3,030 respectively. Even power forward Gorgui Dieng was 20th in the NBA in total minutes played with 2,653.
The Wolves ranked dead last in the NBA for bench minutes per game. Similarly, they ranked last in bench points, rebounds and blocks. Depth is very important to close out games and more important for keeping your players fresh all season.
Furthermore, the Wolves bench really took a hit when starter Zach LaVine injured his knee and forced the Wolves to dig deep.
The Minnesota Timberwolves must improve their bench this offseason. They have enough talent to make the playoffs even in the West. This is not a time to rebuild for the franchise. They can build on to what they have going. The Wolves were the sixth-best team in the first two quarters.
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They just need a bench that will allow them to sustain that all game.