Minnesota hasn’t seen this in 20 years. Edwards, Towns and Gobert put Wolves at the top of the West
Nikita Biryukov March 30, 2024, 14:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The team repeated the achievement of the Kevin Garnett era and is racing towards the NBA playoffs.
For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the current regular season is going better than ever. The team, coached by Chris Finch, has made a significant leap in the quality of play compared to last season. But one of the main achievements is that Anthony Edwards literally blossomed in it, who is already perceived as the future face of the National Basketball Association.
Last season, the Wolves won 42 games and finished in eighth place in the Western Conference. Now Minnesota has already achieved at least 50 wins, surpassing this milestone for the first time in the last 20 years, and the club still has nine games left to play in the regular season. The last time the Timberwolves achieved this achievement was in the 2003-2004 season, when Wolves legend Kevin Garnett became the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). The team that season won 58 games with 24 losses.
The Wolves’ first problems:
Minnesota, we’re in trouble! The leader of the West faces great difficulties before the NBA playoffs
In turn, Edwards stands out in Minnesota’s current lineup, averaging 26.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists during the season. The 22-year-old does not forget about defense and plows on both sides of the court. The team’s defensive rating is the best in the NBA. The Wolves score the fewest points in the entire league: 106.2. At the same time, they have one of the best point differentials in the association, “+6.8”, only surpassed by “Oklahoma” – “+7.5” and “Boston” – “+11.4”.
Edwards is already being compared to the greatest Michael Jordan. This is what one of the famous journalists, Chris Broussard, said: “Today I turned to the greatest of the greatest: Michael Jordan. And Jordan said there are similarities between him and Edwards. He agreed with this opinion. “If Jordan says there are similarities, then there really are.”
In turn, Garnett himself points out the young leader of Minnesota and also compares him to the legend of the Chicago Bulls. “He’s like a young Michael Jordan from 1984. “I watch him play… If Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t on his team, Edwards would average about 30 points per game.”
Anthony Edwards (left) and Ja Morant (right)
Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
If people as great as KG and MJ say these things about a young talent, then he really has a very bright future in the NBA. But we can’t forget about other important Minnesota players who play a huge role in the Wolves’ victories.
First of all, we’re talking about Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. The former is the cornerstone of the team’s defense and is a leading candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Gobert could get his fourth DPOY and his first after leaving the Utah Jazz.
Is Gobert a bad defender?
Shaq doesn’t think Rudy Gobert is a good defender. But his arguments mean absolutely nothing.
Towns completely complements Edwards, giving the shooting guard space on the perimeter due to the fact that he has a decent three-point shot, thus being able to draw big men out of the paint, giving Anthony room to operate. In turn, Karl-Anthony began to show himself better in defense. While these are not indicators of Gobert’s elite and level of influence, he doesn’t stand out from Finch’s system, which is a good thing.
Minnesota has been playing without Towns in the lineup lately. Karl-Anthony suffered a meniscus injury and was out before the start of the playoffs. However, the “wolves” perform brilliantly even without one of their leaders: 10 wins and three losses. There is nothing left until the main event of the season, the playoffs, and Minnesota, even without an important basketball player for the team, is fighting for first place in the Western Conference, trying to maintain its leading position after the victory today over Denver. Nuggets. This already says a lot! Can Finch and his team repeat their run to the Western finals, which occurred in that same 2003/2004 season with Garnett at the helm? We’ll see in the playoffs.
It seems that a scandal is brewing:
Minnesota is no longer for sale! The deal, which had been planned for three years, fell through at the last minute.
