After a thrilling offseason, not everyone was sold on the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, they are off to a fantastic 8-3 start and have quickly silenced many of the concerns people had about them before the season. What's more impressive is that the Wolves have had success despite Anthony Edwards being injured for the past seven games.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some concerns that the Timberwolves have quickly disproved this season.
The Timberwolves' frontcourt is proving to be up to the task
The most well-discussed flaw about the Timberwolves heading into this season was their lack of frontcourt size outside of Rudy Gobert. This concern persisted even after they signed Jonathan Kuminga. Gobert, Kuminga, Joan Beringer, and Trey Lyles don't have the same talent or physical strength as the trio of Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid.
For a team that was already middle of the pack in the rebounding department, it was fair to have some concerns about this new identity. Many top-end teams in the West having frontcourt size further made this worry relevant.
Encouragingly, though, the Wolves rank second in rebounds per game entering Tuesday's slate. Gobert has been the main source of success on the boards for Minnesota, but the other three frontcourt players have helped out, as have the guards and wings. It's truly been a team effort. Moreover, they've held their own against physical forwards largely thanks to Kuminga.
By all accounts, the Timberwolves' new-look frontcourt has been everything you could've hoped for.
Jonathan Kuminga has fit like a glove
Kuminga's fit with the Timberwolves was highly polarizing. While I always believed it was a worthy gamble, I understood some of the concerns about Kuminga's ability to adjust to a scaled-down offensive role. Other people argued he was downright a bad fit for this reason. Thankfully, Kuminga has silenced these concerns, and then some.
Kuminga's defense has jumped off the screen. He's been a downright fantastic defender against forwards while remaining super engaged off the ball. As noted, he's also been stout on the class. Offensively, Kuminga has handled a lower-usage role well. He's hit his spot-up 3-pointers, moved off the ball more, set screens, and served as an athletic interior scorer.
Frankly, he looks a lot like Aaron Gordon. Getting this version of Kuminga certainly changes the Wolves' championship outlook, and he gives them an element they've never quite had.
The Wolves are showing they can succeed without Anthony Edwards
In fairness, this concern wasn't discussed in the offseason. Rather, it was discussed after the first four games of the season, following Edwards' injury. Nevertheless, it was unclear whether the Wolves could stay afloat without Ant-Man. Posting a 5-2 record with a quality win over the Houston Rockets, this concern has quickly disappeared.
LaMelo Ball has generally thrived as the leader of Minnesota's offense due to his playmaking and perimeter scoring. Ayo Dosunmu has stepped up and is producing like an All-Star. Jaden McDaniels and Kuminga have been quality scoring wings. Bones Hyland has provided a spark off the bench. You get the point—it's been a team effort.
The Timberwolves' plethora of scoring threats outside of Ant makes them a dangerous team, and this recent stretch without him is proving it.
The Timberwolves' bench has proven to be a strength
Nobody could argue that the Timberwolves' bench had no upside or talent heading into the season. Still, outside of Dosunmu, they didn't have any proven quality players. And following Ant's injury, these concerns re-emerged. Fortunately, all of the Timberwolves' unproven players have proven themselves.
Terrence Shannon Jr. has played well alongside the Wolves' established talent while also providing a scoring spark off the bench. Beringer has taken strides on offense while cleaning up his defense. Lyles has been an ideal role player off the bench, providing spacing and connectivity. Hyland has been a tremendous microwave scorer, averaging 12.1 points since Ant's injury. Likewise, Jaylen Clark has emerged as a defensive ace. As a whole, the Wolves rank ninth in bench net rating.
The Wolves have legitimately had five good bench players even without Edwards. With Donte DiVincenzo also slated to return at some point, the Timberwolves' bench will be truly elite. Figuring out rotations will be tricky for Chris Finch. Regardless, the Timberwolves have completely rewritten the script about their bench.
LaMelo Ball is showing that he's a winning player
Honestly, this narrative was always silly to me. Sure, you could criticize LaMelo's ability to handle physicality (that's still a concern in my book), but the idea that he isn't a winning player has long been false, especially after last season. In any event, Ball has been driving winning at a high level this season. He immediately fit in alongside Ant and has generally done a nice job of picking up the slack after his injury.
Ball's playmaking has opened up more opportunities for his teammates, which, paired with his 3-point shooting, makes the Timberwolves' offense much more dynamic. His defense has also been sharper than in past years.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Wolves are 16.5 points per 100 possessions better with Ball on the court. Furthermore, he ranks in the 98th percentile for estimated offensive plus-minus. While it's still early in the season, LaMelo posted similarly excellent numbers with the Charlotte Hornets last season.
Ball's stellar start to the season shows that he can drive winning basketball, and it's even more impressive considering that Edwards has been injured.
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