Kevin Garnett was building a Hall of Fame resume in Minnesota the last time the Timberwolves were making regular playoff appearances, but now it's two players whose combined age equals that of Garnett's that looked poised to vault the Wolves back into NBA relevancy much faster than anybody expected.
Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns are making the Timberwolves relevant faster than anyone expected
The young Timberwolves were supposed to struggle this year. Instead, their kiddie core of Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns is playing beyond its years.
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The Wolves stunned Philips Arena by running out to a 34-point lead over the red-hot Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, only to see the Hawks storm back and wipe out that lead late in the fourth quarter. But with the Wolves on the verge of a historic collapse, 20-year-old Andrew Wiggins and 19-year-old Karl-Anthony Towns saved the day and led Minnesota to a 117-107 victory.
Playing with the poise of savvy veterans, Wiggins and Towns delivered down the stretch in a hostile environment despite all the momentum going against them. The dynamic duo scored 14 of the Wolves' last 16 points over the back half of the fourth quarter, with Wiggins doing the heavy lifting offensively after Paul Millsap put Atlanta up one with 3:25 to go.
One of the knocks on Wiggins has been that he sometimes isn't assertive enough when the time calls for it. That certainly wasn't the case on Monday night. After Millsap gave the Hawks the lead, Wiggins took matters into his own hands on the very next possession, driving strong past Kent Bazemore and finishing a difficult and-one through contact:
Wiggins got free for a pull-up jumper over Bazemore on the following possession. Then, it was his fellow No. 1 pick’s turn to make an impact play, although this was on the other end of the floor.
Jeff Teague had been torching the Wolves in the second half, and the Hawks went to a Teague-Al Horford pick-and-roll down four. But it was to no avail, as Towns played perfect defense and blocked Teague's shot:
Wiggins then delivered a dagger with another circus and-one over Bazemore (he missed the free throw) before Towns twisted the blade with two more blocks of Teague:
These were all superb plays in their own right, but the context made them even more impressive. Two NBA babies in Wiggins and Towns flipped the script from epic choke to gutty win by making play after play down the stretch on the road against one of the NBA’s best teams. That should put the league on notice.
Wiggins tied a career high with 33 points on 15-of-22 shooting, and it seems his early-season struggles are behind him. He also scored 31 points in the Wolves' impressive road victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, making this the first time in his career he's gone over 30 in back-to-back outings.
Towns has been as good as anybody could expect to start his rookie campaign. He had 17 points, 12 rebounds and those three clutch blocks of Teague in Atlanta. The 19-year-old is currently averaging a double-double with 15.5 points and 10 rebounds a game.
Karl-Anthony Towns has 4 double-doubles through 6 career games pic.twitter.com/OPnjd5yGNw
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 10, 2015 More importantly, Towns and Wiggins have helped contribute to a massive turnaround on the defensive end. The Wolves had the worst defense in the NBA last season, giving up nearly 110 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. Through six games this year, Minnesota is fifth in the league with a defensive rating of 95 points per 100 possessions.
That sterling mark is buoyed by a starting unit that's given up just 77 points per 100 possessions in 74 minutes of action. Wiggins and Towns are a key part of that group, but Ricky Rubio is a strong defensive point guard, while cagey veterans Garnett and Tayshaun Prince are still solid on that end. When you replace Garnett with Nemanja Bjelica, that lineup's defensive rating is a minuscule 65 points per 100 possessions in 34 minutes.
We can draw some early parallels between the 4-2 Timberwolves and last year's 2014-15 Milwaukee Bucks. The 2013-14 Bucks and 2014-15 Wolves both finished with the NBA's worst record and employed defenses at or near the bottom of the league. Milwaukee turned things around quickly to make the postseason last year behind a talented young core and an elite defense. Minnesota is following the same blueprint right now.
Of course, the young Wolves will likely have to finish with much better than a 41-41 record to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, and that'll be a tall order. Like the Bucks, Minnesota's offense is mediocre and lacks shooting -- they're taking the fewest number of threes per game in the NBA. That could pose some problems if the spacing doesn't improve. The bench has also had its share of struggles, especially when Rubio is off the floor and Zach LaVine is running the show.
But considering where the Wolves were last season, they can live with those quibbles for now given the foundation in place. Even if Minnesota doesn’t make the playoffs this season, it’ll be an amazingly successful year if they keep doing what they’re doing and get to around the 40-win mark. That gives them plenty of opportunity to build on this strong foundation and quickly make a leap into the upper echelon of the West.
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