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In the first four years of Karl-Anthony Towns’ career, the Minnesota Timberwolves were an above-average offensive team every season, peaking as high as No. 4 in 2017-18. Defensively, the Wolves were in the bottom 10 of the league all four of those years, bottoming out in KAT’s rookie season at No. 27.
This past season was a different story. For the first time in KAT’s career, the Timberwolves actually had a better defense (No. 21) than offense (No. 24). That, of course, doesn’t tell the whole story. KAT missed nearly half of the season and the roster was overhauled midstream. Interestingly enough, though, when KAT was on the floor last season, the trend continued. With KAT on, the Wolves had what would have been the equivalent of the No. 2 offense and the No. 30 defense.
So, I believe those guidelines remain a fair estimation of what the Wolves’ offense and defense will be this coming season. But where exactly will they fit amongst the league’s top offenses and how low will they drop amongst the league’s worst defenses?
On today’s show, Jack Borman joins me to parse through those questions, considering not only the level of offensive and defensive talent on the roster but also what Ryan Saunders’ schemes might enable.