Timberwolves

Timberwolves Stock Looks Good After Schedule Drop

Yes, it is only August. Players seem better, every rookie has higher upside than ever before and every team is headed straight for the conference finals. It is easy to over-hype and overreact to everything that happens to a team. So while August articles should mostly be taken with a grain of salt, the schedule drop should get Timberwolves fans excited.

The major headline before the schedule drop was the Christmas Day matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Timberwolves. The pair of young teams on the rise will get to showcase their claim to fame on one of the big regular season stages for the NBA. The 25 prime time games that showed up on the full season schedule, which dropped on Aug. 14, also share the same common thread on the Timberwolves:

The NBA, not just Timberwolves fans, are buying into the team.

A fan of the Timberwolves can easily be swayed by trades and signings to their favorite team, but when the NBA approves who gets prime time spots, huge amounts of money are at play and it comes down to who has actual talent and not just fan favorites. The NBA wants to highlight teams in those spots and the Timberwolves will get plenty of shine this year, which means the league thinks this team has value and will make a splash.

A big help for this team is their big-name talent. This team is recognizable with Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. They are also young, with talent that is growing up with the next wave of NBA fans. The season is right around the corner, and everyone is now on the edge of their seats for this Wolves team to make the leap to the next level. With that in mind, here are the Timberwolves season highlights:

Top Five Games This Season (Outside Of Christmas Day) – 

  1. Nov. 8 — at Golden State Warriors – If the Timberwolves want to be a playoff team, the best way to measure their talent early in the season is by playing the defending champs on the road. This will be a real test, not only to see what kind of team we are looking at, but also what kind of playoff team they can be. Can they go on the road and compete with a team the caliber of the Warriors? How will they respond to a punch in the mouth? Are they versatile enough to throw a wedge into the Golden State juggernaut of an offense? This is the learning curve game for a team that (hopefully) can make the next step up.
  2. Feb. 9 — at Chicago Bulls – The first game that Butler and Taj Gibson will play against the Bulls as Timberwolves is in February. It will also be the first time Butler has ever played his former team, and it will be on the road. This is a chance for Butler to really make the trade hurt by going into his former home and wiping the floor with them.
  3. Nov. 1 — at New Orleans Pelicans – One of the many reasons to get excited about this roster is the ability to go big or small, with various lineups because of the diverse personnel the Timberwolves possess. It looks great on paper, but the first time the Wolves face off against the Big Easy duo of Boogie Cousins and Anthony Davis will show if the Timberwolves can play with the bigs. Going big on Portland is easy; playing big with the twin towers is a challenge that will show if this Minnesota squad has grit in the paint.
  4. Oct. 20 — home versus Utah Jazz – Ricky Rubio is coming back after the trade that sent him to Salt Lake City, which does not bode well for an organization that has traditionally been stopped in revenge games. While the Jazz should be a win for the young Timberwolves after they lost Gordon Hayward in the offseason, the second goal should be keeping Rubio under wraps.
  5. Jan. 8 — home versus Cleveland Cavaliers – This is an under-the-radar smear game for the Wolves, with Jamal Crawford choosing Minnesota over the LeBron James sales pitch, along with Butler being placed in plenty of Cleveland trade rumors. Now the Cavaliers have to tangle with two players their front office could not manage to bring in.

Top Home And Away Stretches 

Home: Nov. 22, 24, 26 and 28 – Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards

This is a defining home stretch because, in the span of a week, this fresh team has to play three games they should win and get up for one really tough game against a good playoff team. This is the mark of a team that is a playoff-caliber unit — one that can play a long stretch with a challenging end and come out on top. The Wizards play fast with Bradley Beal and John Wall, working the entirety of the floor against what will be a tired Minnesota team. They need to show their toughness and lineup versatility with a solid home win on a long stretch early in the playoff hopeful season. This will also speak volumes about the depth of their bench and how dependable that unit can be.

Away: Jan. 22, 24 and 25 – Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors

This is a brutal four-day stretch, playing against at least two offenses that will look to put massive amounts of points up. The road trip also starts with a still solid Clippers squad and ends on a back-to-back that leaves the team in Oakland to face down the nasty Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green lineup. Winning two of these games would be big for the team, and give the young squad some swagger to ball with, knowing they can keep up with elite offenses.

Season Prediction  

Throwing out crazy numbers like 50 wins is a hot take, not a professional one. While this team has grown a lot in talent and depth and will take a major step forward from 31 wins, they probably do not break into the top three or four spots in the West. This is a 46-36 team, which is enough to grab them No. 5-6 in the playoffs. The ceiling is the roof for these guys as playoffs are the goal this year, with higher aspirations to come.


Listen to Colton on Locked On Wolves!

Timberwolves
Jordan McLaughlin’s Adaptability Remains Invaluable For the Wolves
By Jonah Maves - Mar 28, 2024
Timberwolves
Draymond Green’s Antics Are Beneath the Wolves
By Andrew Dukowitz - Mar 27, 2024
Timberwolves

The Wolves Unlocked Something By Starting Naz Reid

Naz Reid. Those two words were the only thing you could see or hear inside Target Center on Friday after in-arena host Jon Berry instructed the sold-out […]

Continue Reading