It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
It’s Oscars Week, which looks like nearly as good a time as any to attract up the NBA storylines and characters which may double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ misleading season has been one in every of the hottest matters in the West so let’s begin there.
Every dialog pertaining to the Minnesota Timberwolves circles again round to a single query: Are they for real or a figment of our common season imaginations? The Stagg R. Leigh pseudonym utilized by American Fiction’s Thelonius “Monk” Ellison to current a trope-filled autobiography to the public is instructive concerning the Timberwolves season. The fatalism hooked up to the Minnesota Timberwolfes is the NBA’s 2024 Pafology.
Outside of Minnesota, the Wolves’ pacing the Western Conference standings has been thought of to be as deceptive as Alex Rodriguez’s pigment throughout Black History Month or Karl-Anthony Towns’ generational code-switching. They’re the NBA’s largest conundrum and its best redemption story.
I’ll depart it to the X streets to make a ruling on A-Rod’s short-term invite to the cookout or Towns’ real voice, however that’s solely a part of what makes this T-Wolves staff so compelling. They surrendered extra 15-point fourth-quarter leads than any staff in The Association, however led the West from November via March. On Thursday, they misplaced Towns for the remainder of the common season. If they’re fortunate, he’ll return throughout the postseason on a minutes restriction. On Friday evening, they surrendered first place in the West to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every few seasons a staff emerges after years of futility, however the reception in direction of Minnesota feels completely different by some means.
Their genre-bending lineup is constructed on the bones of a contrarian offensive basis that’s antithetical to the trendy standing, whereas being carried out by an offensive-minded head coach who’s orchestrating a defensive juggernaut.
Tim Connelly and Chris Finch’s experiment is missing in ground spacers past Towns and Rudy Gobert’s repute precedes him. He’s one in every of the 4 gamers to ever declare a trio of Defensive Players of the Year awards, and is on observe to assert a fourth. Minnesota is the NBA’s greatest at defending the paint and at forcing groups into off taking pictures nights. However, the fast evolution of the sport has created a notion of their defensive anchor as an antiquated determine. Unlike up to date leviathans, he can’t stretch the ground and he’s not getting any youthful.
The NBA’s prime protection props up a scoring offense that makes an attempt fewer triples per evening than all however 5 groups and ranks 18th in offensive ranking. Behind Anthony Edwards’ the backcourt is lackluster. Instead, they’re reliant on contributions from new age bigs Naz Reid and KAT, plus an anachronistic rim rolling 7-footer in Gobert whose goofball antics 4 years in the past this week made him the NBA’s Patient Zero of the pandemic.
Towns is the solely remnant of the squad Jimmy Butler as soon as shredded with backups in a legendary follow amid his commerce standoff. Even earlier than Towns’ meniscus tear, he was liable to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the playoffs. His 42 % three-shooting proportion this season was a notch above his 39 % profession common. In three postseason appearances although, his numbers past the arc dipped by 9 proportion factors to .333, and his profession efficient subject purpose % of 57.7 % dipped six factors in the postseason.
Finch shrinking Towns’ position to make room for Anthony Edwards as the alpha altered this staff’s trajectory, however doubts stay. The immaturity Finch referred to as out on Towns’ 60-point evening in January encapsulated the issues of operating the offense via KAT. On one hand, what number of second choices can attain the boiling level it takes to generate 60 factors in an evening? Dame, perhaps Harden?
On the different, the tunnel imaginative and prescient Towns displays when he goes on the assault contributes to the notion of him as a low basketball IQ stat-chaser. Prior to his knee damage, Towns led the league in turnover fee on drives to the cup and was en path to main the league in offensive fouls dedicated for the third time. He completed second to Demarcus Cousins in offensive fouls in two different seasons, which tracks given how Finch as soon as designed the scheme round Boogie and Anthony Davis in New Orleans in 2016.
Those causes have factored into T-Wolves skepticism, resulting in Finch opining last week, “I’m not sure anyone in the league fears us… I don’t think we really fear anyone, either.”
Minnesota’s fourth quarter offense has been their Achilles heel, however Town’s left knee’s meniscus might spoil their season. His sudden meniscus surgical procedure and prolonged restoration interval means we may by no means know what heights this iteration may attain. Naz Reid, the solely JellyFam alum to achieve the NBA, has been thrust again right into a beginning position, the place he’ll get to showcase a few of the silliest off the dribble strikes you’ll see this facet of Wembanyama from an enormous. A yr in the past, he led the league in factors per minute final season after the 2023 All-Star Break.
Whittling the Timberwolves’ prospects right down to tropes primarily based on previous playoff outcomes could also be a mistake, although, if Anthony Edwards locks in. Hours after the disclosure of Towns’ damage rocked the staff, Edwards went supernova, scoring 16 of his 44 factors in the fourth quarter of a win over the Indiana Pacers. In the remaining seconds, he rejected an Aaron Nesmith lay-in into the shadow realm to safe a win and their standing in the West. Edwards leaped so excessive that he bumped his head on the backside of the backboard in the course of.
Then, on the second evening of a back-to-back, Edwards shot 7-for-27 in an time beyond regulation loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been lacking their lone 2024 All-Star, Donovan Mitchell. Towns is off the stress cooker for now, however his burden now falls onto Edwards’ shoulders. If he and Gobert can’t deal with the burden, their quantum leap season will likely be remembered as a mirage.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @cerebralsportex
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