How well will Timberwolves compete against bad teams this year?

Here comes Timberwolves’ reinforcements

Did the Timberwolves front office address the problems in the offseason? Well, three of the Timberwolves’ worst offenders in terms of poor shooting from beyond the arc are no longer with the team. In their place, the Timberwolves drafted rookie forward Leonard Miller, who has a solid three-point shot and solid defense.

The team traded for shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who can not only shoot more effectively from the perimeter but can defend like Velcro. And finally, the team signed Shake Milton, who can run the team as a point guard, can shoot from three-point range, and is a pesky defender.

The team also traded for veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr., who is far more effective at defense and is more accurate and consistent with his perimeter shot. That will negate the high volume and low-accuracy occasions from D’Angelo Russell that spelled doom for the Timberwolves last season.

Look for Timberwolves rebounding to rebound

But the team did not stop there. The Timberwolves added forward Troy Brown Jr., who combined with rookie Leonard Floyd will give the Timberwolves a huge boost to both offensive and defensive rebounding. Finally, there is the anticipated healthy return of power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, who has such a spectrum of shots in his arsenal that he is one of the most difficult matchups in the NBA today.

If you remain skeptical, fair enough. But the Timberwolves front office appeared to have taken notes and acted both swiftly and decidedly this offseason to address the glaring weaknesses that plagued the team last season.

Will it be enough? While I am growing more and more confident as I research and learn more about the Timberwolves roster, nothing is a certainty. We had reasons for optimism last season too, but we had no way of predicting Karl-Anthony Town’s 53-game absence or the challenges posed by an unhappy D’Angelo Russell.

Perhaps after the stormy seas of last season, the Timberwolves will find smooth sailing this year?  I believe that the Timberwolves will do a much better job against bad NBA teams this season. Even by winning six more games against sub-.500 teams would make a huge difference to the Timberwolves’ final record, and playoff seeding. Let us know what you think in the comments section of our Facebook page.