Despite size advantage, Minnesota Timberwolves still playing small

There is no doubt about it: the Minnesota Timberwolves have been a tough watch this year. Owning a 10-11 record through the first six weeks of the season, there is much work to be done if this group is to live up to its potential.

The Wolves’ struggles are all the more disappointing when considering what they have to work with. Roster-wise, this is one of the more talented teams in the Western Conference, if not the entire NBA.

Minnesota’s starting frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert is arguably the most unique in basketball. With one of the best shooting big men ever in Towns and a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Gobert, the sky should be the limit for what they can achieve together.

So far, that has not been the case. In fact, the results have been so questionable that many have suggested splitting the two up and getting a big return back in a trade. While the Timberwolves are probably still a ways away from pulling the trigger on a move like that, the rumblings are only becoming louder.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been getting outrebounded by smaller lineups

One of the most glaring shortcomings of the Towns-Gobert pairing has been their inability to lock down the paint and dominate teams on the boards. It has been one of the main reasons they have consistently taken losses to such inferior teams.

Gobert and Towns stand at 7’1″ and 7′ respectively, but have not figured out how to effectively position themselves to gain a significant rebounding advantage. If this continues, there is an extremely low chance this pair can ever be successful together.

Several of the Timberwolves’ recent contests have been a good illustration of just how little they have taken advantage of their significant upper hand in size. In their loss to the Charlotte Hornets last Friday, Minnesota was outrebounded 55-45. The Hornets clearly played a big rotation to combat the Wolves’ strengths, but Minnesota’s clear talent advantage should have still given them the advantage. That was not the case.

Then on Sunday, the Golden State Warriors finished the game with a +16 rebounding margin in their blowout of the Timberwolves. In these two games, Karl-Anthony Towns collected just four rebounds each, letting the likes of Jalen McDaniels and Draymond Green have his number.

The Minnesota Timberwolves must change their strategy if results continue

Before the season began, opinions of the Timberwolves’ two-big lineup were mixed. Some likened it to the title-winning Los Angeles Lakers that took home the bubble championship in 2020 while giving big minutes in the frontcourt to Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and JaVale McGee.

But others were skeptical, claiming that starting two traditional bigs in today’s NBA is too precise of a science for it work over the course of a full season. So far, it is looking like the latter is the more correct outlook on the situation.

The Timberwolves’ pairing of Towns with Gobert should at the very least be giving them a solid edge in the rebounding department, and not even that is panning out at the moment. If Minnesota continues to turn out results like they have over the first 21 games of the season, the possibility of a big personnel shakeup will have to be considered.