Timberwolves Trying to Measure Up
Nov 5, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) reacts against the Brooklyn Nets during the fourth quarter at the Barclays Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Nets 98-91. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Most children I know, including myself, had his or her parents line them up by a certain door jamb in the house to measure and see how tall they were becoming. Some people ended up growing to be very tall. Other unfortunate souls, such as myself, never did. The Timberwolves are a growing team. Road trips such as the one they just embarked on Wednesday in Brooklyn will give the Wolves an early chance to see how they measure up against the rest of the league.
In the first stages of a season seen almost universally as a rebuilding one, the Wolves have been competitive and have had a chance to win all four contests. Three of the four opponents were playoff contenders and the Grizzlies and Bulls are among the very best teams in the NBA. For a team who has so many new pieces and a new (old) coach, it has been a very impressive start.
That being said, the Sixers whose front office built to lose as much as possible beat LeBron’s Heat in last year’s season opener. In fact, the Sixers who were built to lose started 3-0 last season before absolutely cratering. They lost 26 games in a row at one point en route to finishing 19-63. The point? Small sample sizes can be tricky and often misleading.
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Whether the Wolves wind up maintaining this .500 pace for the season, there are definite strengths to build on. For one, Ricky Rubio’s mid-range game has been excellent. The mid-range jump shot is one that has fallen out of favor in today’s 3 and D NBA. It is clearly a shot Rubio is currently comfortable with though, so as long as he is being left open and making those shots, it is a good way for the team to accumulate points and open driving and passing lanes for him. Andrew Wiggins is obviously a work in progress, as are many of his teammates, but there are many reasons to be excited about what he brings to the table, as Nick went into detail on here. I also like the one-two punch at center with Nikola Pekovic and Gorgui Dieng. At this point it is easy to see that certain match ups favor one of our centers over the other. Pek does much better against bigger foes while Dieng is athletic enough to hang with the slimmer leapers.
It is far too early to have a reasonable idea of how this Timberwolves season will wind up. The good news is that, so far, they are providing entertaining, encouraging basketball. Time will tell how tall they eventually become.