The MinnesotaTimberwolves have a new big three in Minneapolis and it looks like it’ll stay that way for a long time. Jimmy Butler is locked up for another three years, Andrew Wiggins is negotiating a five-year max-contract and Karl-Anthony Towns is due for a max-contract next off-season. These three will be representing the Wolves in the All-Star game this season and many more to come.
Jimmy Butler is already expected to make the team barring any sort of injury or somehow the basketball Gods don’t want to see Minnesota succeed. It’s almost a lock that he will be representing the team in Los Angeles. It’s the other two players that must prove to everyone that they are All-Stars.
The one big reason that ties both Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins for not making the team last season was winning. It’s one thing to play at a high level, but it’s a game changer if you can get your team wins. Wins are the most important thing to any team, not stats. If the Wolves can, and they should get wins, then we can expect an all-star appearance from all three players.
One thing that makes this harder than usual is the talent in the Western Conference. The West has been better for the better part of the last few years. But, they have added a lot more talent this off-season. Some of these players include Paul George, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Paul Millsap, and of course our very own Butler, and many more. Luckily, Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics to help balance the two conferences… sort of.
The big three has the talent to make the All-Star team. It’s not a stretch as to whether they get in or a complete upset. Towns almost made it in last season if it wasn’t for his defensive play and team wins. His stats were certainly one of the best for any position – at 25.1 points per game and 12.3 rebounds a game. Same goes for Wiggins.
One Key Area that gets this Player in the All-Star:
Andrew Wiggins: Defense
We all know that he can score with ease. He averaged 23.6 points a game this past season – and it only continues to rise. He went from 16 points a game his rookie season to 20 points a game his sophomore year. At the same time, he increased his 3-point percentage by 5 percent to 35 percent this past season. He said his primary focus this off-season is his ball handling and 3-point shooting. So, we already expect him to continue to amaze us on that side of the ball.
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Jimmy Butler should help improve his defense and show him what Tom Thibodeau expects on that side of the ball. It’ll be very beneficial for Wiggins to learn defensive schemes from a player on the court instead of from the sidelines. With his size and potential, it should almost be a guaranteed thing that he becomes a two-way star. That’s the hope anyway.
He can play good on-ball defense as it is, it’s just the off-ball situations that bite him in the butt. That’s with any young player though, to lose focus. Once he starts seeing the team win and has all this talent on the team that really shows drive and passion, it’ll light a fire inside him. So, we expect great things on this side of things.
Karl-Anthony Towns: Under the Rim Protection
Just like Wiggins, we know that he too can destroy you on the offensive side of things. He can shoot it from deep, or bulldoze his way in for a poster. The man is an absolute beast that will continue to become a force to reckon with.
It’s his defense under the rim that’s too hard to ignore. Because he’s so big and mobile, Towns is one of the worst defenders underneath the rim. For center’s in the league, he has one of the worst defensive field goal percentage when 6 feet or less from the basket in the NBA. At 59.3 percent, Towns struggles mightily underneath the rim. This just means that his opponents field goal percentage within six feet of the basket is 59.3 percent. Gorgui Dieng is just a little bit worse at 60.9.
He blocked a good amount of shots this past season as he averaged 1.3 Blocks a game. Just because you average a block or two a game doesn’t mean you’re a great defender. For example, if a player blocks one shot of ten attempts, and the player makes the rest of the other shots, the player makes still 90 percent of them. Even if you block half, it’s still 50 percent.
This is what we need to see more of – blocked shots and great help defense!
If he can play better defense under the rim, it will help the team out greatly. He’ll continue to add muscle, and that’ll help mightily with all those strong centers pushing him around underneath the rim.
Jimmy Butler: Winning
We know that Butler can play great basketball. He’s a three-time All-Star just hitting his prime in his career. He’s a two-way superstar in this league, that changes the way a game is played on both sides of the floor.
For Butler, it’s not anything necessarily that he needs to fix to make it this year. It’s all about how he gets his team wins. Since the addition of Butler, many expect the team to be an almost guaranteed lock to make the playoffs. As a hypothetical, imagine if the Wolves stood pat after getting Butler. Let’s say they don’t make the playoffs – who gets a lot of the blame besides the coach? Butler. It’s a team sport, why does it reflect the play of jimmy? Because he’s brought his team to the playoffs, he’s Thib’s guy, and he’s an all-star player.
If he can continue his play and get the team to the playoffs, he’s almost a lock to make it.
Prediction:
Andrew Wiggins:
Wiggins continues to become an offensive beast, shooting the three ball with ease this season, and scoring more points than he did last year. To add onto that, he averages 1.3 steals a game, becomes a lock-down defender, and corrects his off-ball issues. We will see him cut down his off-ball troubles and limit his opponents from scoring on him by 20 percent. It shouldn’t be too hard of a fix for him. It’s just a matter of staying focused and seeing where your opponent goes at all times. He’s a professional, I think he can manage.
Karl-Anthony Towns:
Just like Wiggins, he continues his offensive surge. Towns will cut his defensive field goal percentage from 59.3 percent to 54 percent. If he wants to win and become one of the greatest, then you can bet your sure bets that he will deliver this. It won’t be too hard either – he’s too talented and mobile for a big man to let other players push him around.
Jimmy Butler:
Jimmy Butler helps end the Timberwolves playoff drought, and delivers the Wolves a 51-win season – good enough for 4th seed in the Western Conference. He continues to stay one of the best two-way studs in the game and shows the Bulls they made a mistake trading him away.
This game alone shows you how hard he works just to win games. He basically took over the game to give the Chicago Bulls the win.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves: Ranking the roster
Will they Make the All-Star Game this Season?
Andrew Wiggins: YES!
Karl-Anthony Towns: YES!!
Jimmy Butler: YES!!!
Expect to see all the big three in this year’s All-Star game and a complete turnaround season.