Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 things to watch for in season opener
By Ben Beecken
What will the rotation look like?
Tom Thibodeau is notorious for his short rotations, but he finally has what appears to be a fairly deep roster.
With Tyus Jones, Derrick Rose, and first-round pick Josh Okogie in the backcourt and Anthony Tolliver, Gorgui Dieng, and second-round pick Keita Bates-Diop in the frountcourt, plus sharpshooter James Nunnally waiting in the wings, the Wolves have a superior bench to the league-worst unit that they fielded a year ago.
But a bench is only as effective as they’re allowed to be based on the rotation. Thibodeau has too often had a quick hook on his reserves, but if he finds a way to intermingle the starters with the backups on this year’s team he could find significant improvement over the course of each game and ultimately, the season.
It will be intriguing to see how much playing time the rookies will get; Okogie’s learning curve should be accelerated with the ongoing questions surrounding Butler.
The other thing to keep an eye on is the minutes divide between Jones and Rose; Rose didn’t play much point guard last year until the playoff game that Jones sat out due to injury, but we shouldn’t put it past Thibodeau to suddenly revert to relying on the former league MVP from his Chicago days.
Next. More Jimmy Butler trade ideas. dark
No matter what happens, basketball is back, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what is going to happen with the Timberwolves this year. Here’s to another entertaining season.