Answering 3 burning questions about the just-released Timberwolves schedule
By Bret Stuter
The Minnesota Timberwolves have the 2024 NBA Playoffs in their sights this season. Now the question is, what can we glean from their 2023-24 NBA schedule to understand how well this team can achieve that goal?
For starters, we know that the Timberwolves began the 2022-23 NBA season began in an awkward fashion. In fact, it was that oscillation between winning and losing games in regular intervals that set the tempo for the Timberwolves’ entire season.
The hope for the 2023-24 NBA season is that the Timberwolves roster is well-past the awkward introduction phase, and can jump into the Timberwolves schedule far more confident in this team’s ability to hit the ground running. To that end, the Timberwolves not only return their starting five from the 2022-23 season, but many of the key players off the bench are back as well.
Timberwolves subject to the ebb and flow of the NBA
Will it be enough? Or have the Timberwolves lost ground to the young improving teams that have been rebuilding their own rosters via the NBA Draft? It seems that each season, there are a handful of teams that surprise everyone by outperforming expectations.
Whether that’s due to significant contributions by one or two key players, or simply the availability of once-injured players showcased more durability than the previous season, some NBA teams improve and compete in the NBA Playoffs.
But injuries, poorly fitted players on new NBA team rosters, and even Father Time can have the opposite effect on NBA teams as well. When that happens, NBA teams that were projected to compete in the postseason can tumble out of NBA Playoff seeding and climb the ladder of the next NBA Draft Lottery chances of landing a top pick.
So what should Timberwolves fans ask of this season? Is this a year of vast improvement by the Timberwolves roster? Or have the Timberwolves tempted fate too much with two consecutive appearances in the NBA Playoffs, and the team must prepare for a disappointing setback? Well, now that the Timberwolves schedule is out, we may have some instant answers to these 3 burning questions about the Minnesota Timberwolves schedule: