With their win over the Spurs in Austin on Saturday, the Minnesota Timberwolves will officially finish the 2022-23 regular season at or above .500 for the second straight year. It will be just their third time finishing at .500 or better in the last 18 seasons.
Having secured a spot in the play-in, the Wolves are simply awaiting their opponent. Minnesota will be squaring off against the Lakers, Warriors, or Thunder when the play-in tips off this coming week.
When they do take the floor, the Timberwolves will have to play their best basketball of the season to have a shot at advancing to the playoffs. Thankfully, they have a few secret weapons up their sleeve that may be able to help them accomplish their goal.
3 secret weapons the Minnesota Timberwolves have for the NBA Playoffs:
Kyle Anderson
When opposing teams prepare to face the Timberwolves, they are primarily thinking about the scoring power and offensive gravity of Anthony Edwards, the rim protection of Rudy Gobert, and the versatility of Karl-Anthony Towns. But one more overlooked player who has been a major piece in Minnesota this season is Kyle Anderson.
The player affectionately known as Slo-Mo has been a huge factor in keeping the Timberwolves aloft in 2022-23, especially while Towns was sidelined with a calf injury. Anderson’s high IQ and methodical play style lead to smart and focused basketball, and he has more than flourished in his first season in Minnesota.
Anderson has fit in seamlessly with his talented teammates, and he has helped raise the ceiling of this group in a big way. He is enjoying a career year with the Wolves, averaging career-bests in assists per game and three-point percentage, while acting as Minnesota’s best statistical three-point shooter this season.
It is perfectly reasonable to say Kyle Anderson currently looks like the best free agent acquisition in Minnesota Timberwolves history. Most NBA teams are aware of his talent at this point, but his presence may still prove to be huge over the course of a potential seven-game series.