The NBA 2017-18 season is less than a month away and there is plenty to anticipate after a summer of big-name free agents moving and blockbuster trades, along with a draft stacked with talent. With all the big moves and shifts of power in mind, here are the top-five things I will be most excited for in the league, and then my top-five specific to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The League Five 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSt3DAYOZE

1. Hoodie Melo. For those of you who have not seen it, one of the highlights of the summer has been New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony playing pick-up basketball in a hoodie. Anthony has had problems with teammates and playing in offenses that require passing,  and he’s also been accused of not caring about winning or playing himself out of shape. Hoodie Melo, however, is an assassin on the court. An un-guardable menace to opposing defenses that strikes from everywhere. I want to see Hoodie Melo play in the NBA and ruin people this season.
2. Houston Rockets minute management. Chris Paul and James Harden are at their best when they are handling the ball and are the primary playmaker, with the offense running through them. The means one is going to have to play more off ball, or minute staggering will be key.
3. The return. Kyrie Irving is going home to play the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time suiting up with the Boston Celtics team. After all the talk of needing to get away from LeBron James, he will be right back in Cleveland against his first team.
4. Baby Lakers. There are a lot of fascinating rookies in this class, from Jayson Tatum to Dennis Smith Jr., so Rookie of the Year will be hotly contested. However, there is no storyline more compelling than Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers as a young team trying to bring back the former glory to a franchise. With so many young players like Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Clarkson, this team will be fun to watch for all 82 games.
5. The race in the West. The Western Conference is packed with talent. The Golden State Warriors returned their base, the Rockets added Paul, Oklahoma City added Paul George, the Denver Nuggets added Paul Millsap, the Timberwolves brought in Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague and the San Antonio Spurs are, well, the Spurs. Not only are there plenty of great teams, but plenty of players came from East to West. The playoff race will be tight and should last until the last month of the season, making for maybe the season’s most compelling storyline.

The Timberwolves

1. Towns’ growth. The franchise is going to ride or die with how Karl-Anthony Towns develops over the next couple of years. He is already a prolific scorer; now he needs to become an elite defender to take his game to the next level. With Butler, Taj Gibson and head coach Tom Thibodeau around him, this is the time for him to grow leaps and bounds.
2. Lineup diversity. With plenty of players who can create shorts and play off the ball, the small ball lineups and wing lineups the Timberwolves can throw at teams and make variations on is going to grow the team’s versatility overnight.
3. The Butler effect. Lots of hype has built around Butler coming to Minnesota. Now it is time to see the rubber meet the road. It will be interesting to see his impact on and off the court for this Timberwolves team.
4. Wiggins’ growth. While the growth of Towns is essential to the team, Andrew Wiggins and his development is the closer goal to attain. Bumping down to guard the second-best player and learning under Butler should help him develop his raw talent, while the scoring he already seems to have a fantastic handle on.
5. Can this team handle success? Everyone has the fear of this team falling flat and dropping far below the hype. But what if they jump out off the charts? What if they play to the hype and are exceptional? How does that team handle the success with so much youth on the roster? That is one of the top things to watch for on the Timberwolves, especially if they make the playoffs.

Listen to Colton and Tom on Locked On Wolves!

Colton Molesky

Molesky is currently a student at Minnesota State University of Mankato. He loves writing and talking about basketball and football and how to bet on them. He's a former football stud as well as a current Madden and pickup basketball pro. Thankfully, he already married his better half.

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