As the start of the 2022-23 NBA season grows nearer, I'm taking a closer look at some of the most interesting teams in the NBA (to me, if not necessarily to anyone else). After stops in Denver and New Orleans, the journey continues to the Twin Cities, home of the offseason's biggest swing — and, maybe, the league's biggest bet.
for a 20-year-old. Reaching the next level, though, will require continued advancements across the board: a smoother stroke on pull-up 3s, a higher free-throw rate to get opponents in the penalty earlier , sharper reads and more accurate deliveries coming off screens, more attentive off-ball defense, etc. The fact that Connelly and Co.
Even if Ant’s ready for that kind of explosion, Minnesota will have questions to answer.
On the other side of the ball: How effectively will Towns guard opposing power forwards? Can he serve as a weak-side helper off Gobert? With Beverley and Vanderbilt gone, who takes on the toughest point-of-attack challenges against top ball-handlers and big wings? When opponents jettison their centers, play five-out, and try to force Gobert out of the paint — and after what the Clippers and Mavericks did to Utah in the postseason, youthey will — does Minnesota have enough stopping power on the...
We'll find out soon enough. It's worth taking a moment, though, to remember that concerns over whether a team has answers for the playoffs are only relevant— which, to put it mildly, hasn't always been the case for a franchise that has the league's worst winning percentage , has made the postseason just twice in the last 18 years, and has won two series in 34 NBA seasons., but teams in markets like Minnesota don't get their pick of the All-NBA litter. The Wolves found a legit difference-maker, and they spent what it took to get him because they'd spent enough time being a punchline. It costs a lot to make a real run at winning big. But sticker shock doesn't last nearly as long as banners do.