Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from win at Detroit
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons in one of the most consequential games of the season, for better or worse.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves never looked bad in a game against one of the worst teams in the NBA. The remainder of their schedule is against playoff-level competition – and Minnesota is unlikely to win any of those games.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Takeaway #1 – The next season with Chris Finch is going to be really, really fun.
Chris Finch has instituted a downright fun offense – and with fully healthy talent up and down the roster next season, things should be much better from all perspectives. The NBA is likely to make the play-in tournament permanent, and it would increase the likelihood the Timberwolves make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.
The new offense (since the All-Star break has been among the best in the NBA, largely because of the KAT-hub plays that see Towns touch the ball along the elbow.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Takeaway #2 – The Timberwolves don’t care about lottery odds – but they aren’t going to drop any further in the reverse-standings.
The Timberwolves, despite being the worst team in the league for the majority of the season, are going to finish the season with lottery odds that rank from 3-6 after beating the Pistons on Tuesday. At worst, with the 6th-best lottery odds, the Timberwolves will have a 29.5-percent chance to retain their pick. At best, they’ll have about a 40-percent chance – although again, that scenario is unlikely. They are 2.5 games behind the Cavaliers, who hold the third-best odds currently.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Takeaway #3 – The Jarred Vanderbilt decision is going to be an interesting one.
Jarred Vanderbilt is one of the few pending free agents this coming offseason for the Timberwolves. Tonight his impact was present, despite only scoring seven points and tallying eight rebounds.
The Timberwolves are going to have limited salary cap space this coming offseason, and Vanderbilt might be on the way out if Minnesota does not see an avenue to both sign him and stay in the luxury tax.
Next. Timberwolves: 3 teams that could trade for Malik Beasley. dark
The Timberwolves next game is Denver Nuggets on Thursday. Their final two games will be against the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.