Mastodon
@Minnesota Timberwolves

The Athletic Power Rankings: Wolves 11th; behind Kings, Clippers; ahead of Grizzlies, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavs



The Athletic Power Rankings: Wolves 11th; behind Kings, Clippers; ahead of Grizzlies, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavs

by le_sweden

4 Comments

  1. le_sweden

    Tier 3 – Playoff Teams

    11: Minnesota Timberwolves

    **What do we like?** I know there are a lot of jokes about this team, and many of them are deserved. But do people realize how dominant their defense was when Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels were on the floor together? It would’ve led the NBA in defensive rating extrapolated out for the entire season. They have a lot to figure out with the offense, but their defense should be a regular-season strength.

    **What do we question?** Is this actually the right fit around Edwards? If Towns is able to consistently stretch the floor and open up space for Ant to operate, they should be passable enough on offense to keep winning games. The Wolves can’t clog up driving lanes and must take much better care of the ball.

    **One random prediction:** Anthony Edwards wins All-Star MVP.

  2. DetrimentalContent

    > It would’ve led the NBA in defensive rating extrapolated out for the entire season.

    Limited to > 250 minutes played, there were 10 different 5-man lineups under 109.9 DEFRTG ([link here](https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced?CF=MIN*GE*250&Season=2022-23&dir=A&slug=advanced&sort=DEF_RATING)). Timberwolves twice, Bulls twice, Raptors, 6ers, Nets, Heat, Hawks and Warriors. A Nuggets 5-man tied the Cavs’ season average at 109.9 for 11th.

    The Timberwolves lineup with DLO and Anderson was second best at 101.7, and the Wolves lineup mentioned here was third.

Write A Comment