Minnesota Timberwolves: 6 bold predictions for the regular season

4. The defense will be ranked in bottom-third.

Minnesota finished the 2016-17 season with a 109.1 defensive rating, bad for 26th in the NBA. Even if they take a substantial leap forward they’ll still be in the bottom-third of the league, as the Washington Wizards ranked 20th with a defensive rating of 106.9.

Thibodeau gets a lot of credit for his turnaround in Chicago, however, the Bulls already had a top 10 defensive team based on rating that season. They did take a huge 4.8 point improvement the year he took over, but actually fell in his second season as the head coach.

I don’t expect the Timberwolves to get worse defensively, as that would be nearly impossible for them to do.

An improvement is likely since players like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins will enter the season with an understanding of what Thibs is asking for and what the system’s rules are. They’re also going to be under the tutelage of the same coach for consecutive seasons for the first time since they were in high school. That can’t be understated.

At the end of the day, the defense will depend on Towns’ ability to protect the paint. Given that he has yet to demonstrate he can be a legit rim-protector, I have my doubts the team can take a substantial leap. Until he proves he’s a 7-footer to be feared down low, this defense will have a difficult time stopping most anyone.