The Timberwolves won 16 games last season and secured the 1st overall pick in the draft. There should be optimism in Minnesota this season as the young players are a year older and the team has some great veteran leadership. The Wolves have not had a winning season since 2004-05. Can they do it this season? Here are the things you need to know about the Timberwolves.
The Wolves had 2,424 points scored by rookies last season. That was 30.2% of Minnesota’s total points scored. The Wolves led the NBA in points scored by rookies and percentage of points scored by rookies.
While Minnesota is full of young players, there are veterans on the team. Kevin Garnett (39) and Andre Miller (39) are the second and third oldest players in the NBA. Garnett is a 15-time All-Star (only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant have more All-Star selections) and won the 2007-08 NBA title with the Celtics. Andre Miller is an iron man, as he has played in 82 games in 10 different seasons.
The Wolves allowed 48.0 points in the paint per game, most in the NBA. Opponents shot 60.3% in the paint, the worst interior defense in the league.
The Wolves selected Karl-Anthony Towns with the 1st overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Towns had a 31.4 PER last season with Kentucky, ranking 5th in the country. His win shares on a 48-minute basis were .311, best in the nation and more than 3 times that of the average player. Towns was a beast defensively, which will greatly help Minnesota better control the paint. Last season at Kentucky, opponents shot 4-25 from the field against Towns on post-ups (16%).
Karl-Anthony Towns
Last Season at Kentucky
NCAA Rank
Defensive Rating 78.1 1st
Defensive Win Shares 2.9 10th
Blocks Pct 11.5% 17th
Ricky Rubio was a stud when defending the pick-and-roll. He was among the top-10 defenders in the entire NBA (in points per play) and the best among point guards. He was the best pick-and-roll defender in the league (min. 100 pick-and-rolls defended). That was 12.3% more efficient than the next player – Tony Allen! Overall, the Timberwolves were 6.8% more efficient defensively with Rubio on the court.
Ricky Rubio Defensively
Last Season
Rank Among PGs
Points Per Play Allowed Overall .74 1st
PPP Defending Pick-and-Roll .51 1st
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.