OKC Thunder: National and TI editor power rankings week 8 – hot takes in top tier
Previous: 20th. Minnesota Timberwolves. 20. team. 86. . 13-13
Minnesota is yet another Western team hampered by their season start. In the Wolves case, however, they dealt with extra “Buckets” drama. To that end, it’s the improvement of the Wolves since moving Jimmy Butler is palpable. The surprise is how improved the T-Wolves defense has been.
Credit Robert Covington who I knew was a solid defender, but not nearly as good as he’s proving to be. Reflecting back to last season the fact Butler didn’t move the needle as much as RC is in his early days speaks to how great he is. His initial impact saw the Wolves improve in defensive ranking by approximately 10 spots. They’ve regressed recently during a harder schedule stretch, but it will be interesting to see where he and the team rank at season end.
Minnesota Timberwolves:
Offensive Rating: 16th
Defensive Rating: 15th
Net Differential: 17th
Points per game: 109.8 (17th)
Offensive field goal efficiency: 44.5 percent (24th)
Opponent points per game: 109.6 (11th)
Opponent field goal efficiency: 45.1 percent (13th)
Record: 11th in WC
Home: 11-4
Road: 2-9
Back to back sets: 3
Versus the West: 6-10
Versus the East: 7-3
Week eight 2-1: Wins Rockets, Hornets, loss @ Blazers
On tap for week 9: @Warriors, @Kings, @Suns