Minnesota Timberwolves: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: How will Thibodeau manage the rotation?

Last offseason Tom Thibodeau was the hottest name on the coaching market, and it was a major coup when the Minnesota Timberwolves brought him in. A promising young core was going to take a major leap forward, remade in the image of Thibs.

Unfortunately for Timberwolves fans, that leap forward didn’t catch on. The defense, Thibs’ calling card, finished 27th in the league. In reaction, Thibodeau traded for Jimmy Butler and signed Taj Gibson, both former players and hard-nosed defenders.

While Butler is a shoo-in to start, it seems likely if not a given that Thibodeau will opt to start Gibson as well. The power forward is on the downswing of his career at 32, but still put up 2.5 defensive win shares last season in Chicago and Oklahoma City. Defensively he would prop up the starting lineup, able to defend the more fearsome of an opponent’s bigs.

But a Towns-Gibson frontcourt lacks the spacing of even a Dieng-Towns pairing, and there could be offensive repercussions. Butler is a spacing downgrade from Zach LaVine, who along with Tyus Jones, was the team’s best long range shooter last season. This team is talented, but could trot out cramped lineups.

With a thin bench, how many minutes will Thibodeau play his stars? His track record suggests he will play them as much as possible, which both maximizes the time his best players are on the court and wears them out more quickly. If the team wants to have the best chance come April and May, it may need Thibodeau to lean on the likes of Jones, Jamal Crawford, Shabazz Muhammad and Cole Aldrich.

Last season’s team was significantly better offensively than defensively, and it made strides to improve its greatest weakness. But Thibodeau and his coaching staff need to be careful to strike a balance, and not let the pendulum swing too far and leave the team treading water in its development.