Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season
1. The offense needs to run through Karl-Anthony Towns
Too often in the playoffs, fans (mostly, me) were left asking themselves: “Where is Karl-Anthony Towns?” which is where Tom Thibodeau gets himself in trouble. Thibs was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2010-15, compiling a record of 255-139 in five seasons with the team. Through all of that, the highest his team ever finished in points per game was 15th in 2014-15.
When it comes to 2017-18, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished eighth in the league in points per game (109.5), the best finish offensively by a Thibodeau-coached team. In terms of offensive rating, the Timberwolves were fourth (110.8) in the NBA. A lot of it had to do with having so many offensive weapons. One weapon they need to lean on more is Karl-Anthony Towns.
Doris Burke hitting the issue right on the nose, as usual. Great point here pic.twitter.com/Mz0b7QghVO
— Kevin Brand (@KBranded) April 22, 2018
Thibodeau has never been an offensive guru and it’s always come back to bite him, particularly in the postseason, where every possession counts.
On the offensive end, it’s paramount that they get their big man touches. He’s shown he can fill it up by setting a new franchise-record for most points in a game (63) back on March 28 against the Atlanta Hawks. It was also a career-high for him. KAT was 19-of-32 (59.4 percent) from the field and 6-for-8 (75 percent) from 3-point range in the game while recording 15 rebounds and four assists as well.
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He can fill it up inside and out and is an underutilized cog in Minnesota’s offense. He’s got assets around him that can score too, Thibodeau just needs the right strategy in place.