2018-2019 NBA Previews – Timberwolves Odds
Looking for 2018 Minnesota Timberwolves Predictions? We’ve got your back. Minnesota finished last season 47-35, finishing eighth in the NBA’s Western Conference. The postseason didn’t go according to plan, falling in overall blowout fashion to the Houston Rockets, but neither did the regular season with Butler losing significant time to injury.
Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview
Head Coach: Tom Thibodeau
2017-18 Record: 42-40
Timberwolves Odds to NBA Title: +15000
Timberwolves Odds to Win Conference: +8000
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Unfortunately for the ‘Wolves, the offseason has been less than ideal as well. This team has had to deal with trade rumors surrounding Jimmy Butler, contract rumors surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns and, unfortunately, media types ragging on the contract that Andrew Wiggins signed this time last year. (Yes, it’s a bit unfair this time of the offseason.
But yes, it also looks very bad as far as that contract is concerned.)
Minnesota Timberwolves Strengths:
The ‘Wolves have a huge strength in Karl-Anthony Towns, so long as the team is able to get him that extension. He’s a player who’s going to come out an make a difference even if he’s not locked up on a big money deal, but a good faith offer can do wonders for a young franchise cornerstone.
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The same thing goes for Jimmy Butler, but instead of an extension, it’s simply about making good on the relationship. When engaged, Butler is one of the best two-way, three-and-D players in the league. His ability to shoot from beyond the arc is a bit inconsistent and has never been on full display, but he takes smart shots and isn’t someone you necessarily want to back off of when he has the ball in his hands.
As far as the team at large goes, this squad was very good at forcing turnovers a year ago and converting them into points. They were a top-10 team in terms of points scored off of turnovers.
This group also has youth on its side. Towns and Andrew Wiggins are 22 and 23, respectively, which isn’t something you always see: A team in win-now mode with two of its three best players still in their early 20s.
The Timberwolves do have their weaknesses, as evidenced by their first-round exit this past postseason, but the potential is there to put it all together sooner rather than later.
Minnesota Timberwolves Weaknesses:
You won’t hear many people say Tom Thibodeau is a bad coach. He has winning experience and he knows how to put groups together on the court that are going to maximize their time together.
Here’s the catch, though: He needs to give those guys time to rest.
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Last season, Butler was second in the league (tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo) in minutes per game. He eventually fell to injury (meniscus) and was only able to play in 59 regular-season games.
Towns and Wiggins were 13th and ninth, respectively, in minutes player per contest, but they were seventh and third when it came to total minutes logged over the course of the season.
In 2016-17, they were the top two players in the NBA in that category.
The question, of course, is whether This is doing this because he has no choice (a lack of depth) or if it’s misguided. And the answer is that it has to be the latter.
Thibodeau is taking a very NBA2K-like approach, playing his stars more minutes than the opposing stars, hoping that having the best players on the court for more time will automatically equal more wins.
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But this team has the pieces behind the stars to put together a nice rotation that actually gets guys rest ahead of the playoffs.
Thibodeau needs to embrace that for this team to reach its potential.
Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Prediction: 47-35
Minnesota’s over/under for the season has been set at 44.5. That has to be low if this team avoids trading (or losing to health) a major piece throughout the year.
Forty-seven or 48 wins feels right for this team. The question then becomes, where does that land them in the postseason race? The West is as wild as ever, meaning 47 wins will likely be the minimum number of wins (if not too low) to qualify for a top-eight seed.
2018 NBA Gambling
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