Preseason Record: 3-1
The Minnesota Timberwolves caught lightning in a bottle late last season. Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards were all healthy and played above .500 down the stretch. All three enter this season healthy, and with new head coach Chris Finch able to install his system over a full offseason the optimism is growing in Minnesota and around the league that this team could get back into the playoff mix.
Towns was balling in the preseason, dropping 15 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in just 22.7 minutes per night. For the first time in a while, this team has legitimate depth. They go 11 or 12 deep with reliable rotation players, and they can mix-and-match for offense (Malik Beasley) or defense (Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie).
The question handing over the franchise’s head is whether a trade will be pulled off for Ben Simmons. He would make a great fit with Karl-Anthony Towns in the frontcourt, but the question becomes what the team has to give up to bring him in.
Bold Prediction: They will make the final playoff field. Chris Finch is a legitimate NBA head coach, and he has a lot of offensive pieces to work with. Towns is in line for a strong season, and Jaden McDaniels looks like a steal from last year’s draft. The long-term ceiling of Russell and Edwards as a pairing is still a problem, but they will help elevate the floor enough to make the final eight-team playoff field.1