The Minnesota Timberwolves have been showing out in preseason so far, posting a perfect 3-0 record. After their opening two games in Abu Dhabi where they smothered the Mavericks twice in a row, the Wolves traveled to New York and proceeded to do the same to the Knicks.
This preseason has been Timberwolves fans’ dream come to life. During the offseason, the team added several new pieces to bolster the rotation, and the roster appeared to level up a significant amount.
All this happened after a 42-win season last year that came in spite of a bevy of terrible injury luck. Minnesota is already living up to what we thought they could be. And one new player in particular has been making an impact: Shake Milton.
hold that pose, Shake. 👌 pic.twitter.com/HPu7Y4ZAkF
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 15, 2023
Shake Milton has made a big impact for the Wolves in preseason
Since arriving in Minnesota via free agency from the 76ers in June, fans have been rightfully excited about what Shake Milton can bring to the table for the Wolves. In the first three games of preseason, he has shown off his expertise in scoring efficiency.
Shake has shot 83%, 66%, and 62% from the field in the three contests against the Mavs and Knicks. Of course, it is not reasonable to assume he can keep up this red-hot efficiency for an entire 82-game season. But it does bode well for his ability to be an offensive spark plug for this team off the bench.
Coming in, we were already aware that Milton had the ability to be an efficient scorer for this team. Last season, he shot just below 48% from the floor for Philadelphia. If he can come in and drop a quick 10 to 12 points per night for Minnesota on efficient shooting splits, he will already be giving the Wolves a big upgrade over what they were getting out of Jaylen Nowell last season.
In the big picture, Shake Milton is just one cog in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ depth machine. But the more he can continue replicating what he has done in preseason so far, the better the Wolves’ chances will be at securing a top six seed in the West.