Timberwolves Takeaways: Preseason

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2145 days ago

The NBA season is upon us again with the first regular season games tipping off last night. The preseason games for each team allows the fans to get their first look at the starters and a preview of the younger players on the roster. It can be a time for a rotation player to show his skills and earn more minutes before the regular season tips off. With that being said, let’s look at some things we can take away from the Timberwolves’ preseason performance before their season gets underway tonight.

Towns Continues to Improve

Karl-Anthony Towns shoots a free throw against the Milwaukee Bucks — Photo Courtesy of St. Cloud Times

After coming off of another great year averaging 24.4 PPG, 12.4 RPG and 3.4 APG, Karl-Anthony Towns led the team during the preseason in PPG and BPG while also being top-3 in RPG and APG. His best game came against the Pacers on October 15th where Towns had 33 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in 26 minutes.

This season, I look for Towns to improve his stats to around 25/13/4 after continuously improving every season. Hopefully, the Wolves can figure out how to best build the team around Towns and they can sneak into the playoffs this season.

Jarrett Culver Shows Promise

Jarrett Culver goes up for a layup against the Phoenix Suns — Photo Courtesy of Star Tribune

The Timberwolves’ first-round draft pick Jarrett Culver has performed solidly in his 5 preseason games. The shooting guard from Texas Tech averaged 12.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2 APG in an average of 24 minutes per game during the preseason. While he may not have been shooting the highest percentages (41% FG, 28% 3FG), Culver will look to build on his confidence and look towards his teammates for support as he goes through his rookie campaign.

This season, I look for Culver to average about 10/3/2 while hopefully raising his shooting percentages. If Culver can find a consistent 3-point shot and improve his passing, he will have a solid foundation to work on in his bright future.

Wiggins and Teague Lacking During the Preseason

Andrew Wiggins surveys the floor — Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

Although it is just the preseason, Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague under-performed in their 5 games. Teague, who averaged 12.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 8.2 APG last season, averaged a measly 5.8/1.4/3.4 during the preseason and shot a team-low 30.3% from the field. Wiggins, with last season averages of 18.1/4.8/2.5, was not much better. The first-overall pick from the 2014 draft averaged 9.8/1.2/1.4 during the preseason and shot the second-lowest for the Wolves at 33.3% from the field. This especially does not bode well for the two, because they were in trade talks last season.

However, because this is just preseason, we expect Wiggins and Teague to brush off the slow start and get back to their expected numbers starting with tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. This season, I expect Wiggins to average about 19/5/3 while Teague should be putting up about 12/2/8. Can the two step up their games and help Towns secure a playoff spot in a Western Conference that is more stacked than ever? Let’s hope for both of their sakes that it can happen.

The Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup: Jeff Teague, Jarrett Culver, Karl-Anthony Towns, Robert Covington, Andrew Wiggins — Photo Courtesy of Canis Hoopus

I expect this season to be extremely competitive for the Wolves and I would love to see them in the playoffs again after breaking a 13-season drought in 2017-18. Hopefully, Ryan Saunders, who is preparing for his first full season as head coach of the Wolves, can prepare his guys for a long season that doesn’t end in the regular season.

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