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Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 bold predictions for 2018-19 NBA season

By Daniel Lubofsky

DENVER, CO - APRIL 5: Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves look on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 5, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 5: Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves look on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 5, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

1. Tom Thibodeau will be fired during the season

The hiring of Tom Thibodeau back in 2016 was met with rave reviews around the league. A head coach for five seasons in Chicago, Thibs had amassed a .647 winning percentage despite a host of injuries crippling his roster year after year.

Now splitting time between the head coach and president, the former Coach of the Year hasn’t progressed these Wolves in the way many had thought he would.

Minnesota has ranked 18th and 17th in points allowed per game during Thibs’ two seasons at the helm, a shocking number given the reputation he’s earned as a defensive wizard. It seems as though he’s desperate to create the Bulls of years past, and to top it all off, he doesn’t understand the trends of today’s league, with Minnesota ranking in the bottom third in both 3-pointers made and pace.

It was a smart idea for owner Glen Taylor to pursue a coach with as much cache as Thibodeau, but it appears as though the game has passed him by. The Wolves need a coach capable of implementing modern tactics, someone who can get the best out of their talented youngsters.

Next. 30 reasons to be excited for the 2018-19 NBA season. dark

Maybe Thibs is given one more full go-round with this team, but the likely scenario is the Wolves underperform, Butler is traded, and Taylor, wanting to start anew, gets rid of Thibodeau as quickly as possible once the deal is done.

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