Shea Serrano of The Ringer suggests that the Timberwolves might be a superteam. Plus, more thoughts on Karl-Anthony Towns‘ defense early this season.
Even following Wednesday night’s blowout loss at Golden State, the Timberwolves are one of just nine NBA teams with a record of 7-4 or better, including one of five with exactly that record.
With the road trip continuing in Phoenix on Saturday night and in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, losers of three in a row as of this writing, there’s a real possibility that the Wolves could return to Target Center next week to face San Antonio with a sparkling 9-4 record.
The fantastic Shea Serrano of The Ringer wrote an article earlier this week entitled “A Super-Series Superteam Check-in”. It teased the Timberwolves as a feature in the article with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler both pictured in the art created to accompany the feature, alongside Carmelo Anthony and Paul George of the Thunder and Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. But, alas, the Wolves weren’t technically included as one of the ‘superteams’.
The serious superteams, as listed by Serrano, are the Spurs, Rockets, Cavaliers, Celtics, Thunder, and Warriors. He also lists the Knicks and the Magic in the same large, bolded font signifying them as super teams, although the accompanying copy beneath Orlando’s mention reads as follows.
"They’re the same kind of superteam that the Knicks are right now, which is to say not one at all. But again: They’re fun, so it’s whatever.Sidebar: A team near the Knicks/Magic-level of superteamdom that has the potential to actually become a real superteam is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their last 11 games of the season are against teams that are either going to be out of the playoffs or somewhere near the bottom of the playoff hunt. So if Minny runs off, say, a 10-1 or 9-2 record through those games going into the postseason then the Super Wolves are going to be favorites against whomever they end up playing."
So, there ya go. There’s your Wolves mention. And while it’s odd to be considered in the same category as the Magic (sure, Orlando has been good to this point, but basically everyone would/should agree that the Timberwolves have a superior roster), Serrano’s point is interesting. We haven’t discussed what should be an easy down-the-stretch schedule yet at Dunking With Wolves. Why? Well, it’s undoubtedly because no Timberwolves fan has looked at the April schedule in the fall since 2003. Wolves fans simply aren’t conditioned that way.
But it’s a solid point. Minnesota has a pretty easy early schedule, and what should be a pretty easy late one, too. Everything in between will be tough, of course, but a hot start and a hot finish with something like .500-level ball in between should be enough for a decent playoff seed.
One other article that cropped up on The Ringer this week in advance of the Wolves’ ESPN appearance on Wednesday night was Kevin O’Connor’s piece on what is keeping Towns from entering any reasonable Most Valuable Player conversation. The answer? Defense, of course.
In case you’d forgotten a time in which Towns was almost universally considered to be a good defender (I had), O’Connor does an outstanding job citing all of the glowing quotes and scouting reports surrounding KAT The Prospect. Here’s a sampling:
"“We’re gonna become better defensively,” the late Flip Saunders said at Towns’s introductory press conference. “KAT, of course, is one of the better defensive perimeter post players that has come out maybe since [Joakim] Noah came out of Florida.”…It’s not as if we haven’t seen flashes from Towns. Everyone thought he could become a great defender. “Defensively is where Towns separates himself as a prospect,” Jonathan Givony wrote on DraftExpress. Andrew Sharp said on Grantland that Towns could “anchor a defense.” In my 2015 NBA Draft Guide, I said Towns will be an “excellent shot blocker” and a “terrific pick-and-roll defender.”"
O’Connor’s piece is outstanding and does a good job breaking down the many instances in which Towns has over-helped with an exaggerated block attempt. Here at DWW, I had detailed about a week and a half ago some instances in which Towns simply was late on a rotation or lacking in effort. O’Connor’s criticism could fall in the same category, and it’s certainly a bit puzzling that more hasn’t clicked with the third-year big man.
Of course, O’Connor also correctly notes that Towns just turned 22 years old, and has tons and tons of development remaining. But it also doesn’t absolve him from criticism, either.
Next: Brian's Breakdown: The art of Wiggins' spin move
It’s been a busy two-game week in Wolvesland. Here’s hoping that continues, and that the national interest in this team remains as high as it is right now.