OKC Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 2019-20 team preview
The Minnesota Timberwolves were a lottery team but had the number of the OKC Thunder last season. How will the clubs matchup in 2019-20?
Last season began with Jimmy Butler holding court both literally and figuratively in Minnesota as he ranted about the lack of commitment of young stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Flash forward a few weeks and Jimmy Buckets was on his way to Philly where he became their clutch time performer and the Wolves returned to the lottery.
Tom Thibodeau was fired and replaced by Flip’s son Ryan Saunders. In hindsight for as much as the kids like Saunders how much of an improvement was he over Thibs? In 40 games Thibs collected 19 wins and in 42 games Saunders collected 17!
Karl-Anthony Towns made the All-Star Game again and put up some monster numbers BUT — he still doesn’t play defense.
Underrated Robert Covington missed 60 games due to injury so his presence should help this year.
As the team prepares for the 2019-20 season KAT is telling all who’ll listen to how the Wolves are going to be a threat and will defend. Meanwhile, Wiggins, the OKC Thunder buster is making news for his dissatisfaction by the media and sounded off about ESPN excluding him from their top 100 players list.
So the Wolves enter this season with the two young stars sure of their ability and the team’s chances while everyone else waits for their actions to match their claims!
The Basics:
2018-19 Record: 36-46
Lottery Seed: Landed the 11th draft pick
Head Coach: Ryan Saunders begins his first full season as the bench boss.
Points per game: Ranked 13th (112.5) | Opponent points per game: Ranked 23rd (114.0)
Pace: Ranked 14th (100.2 ) | Offensive Rating: Ranked 11th (111.4) | Defensive Rating: Ranked 24th (112.9)
Vegas Odds:
Win-Loss: 35.5 games
Odds to NBA Title: +20488
Odds to Win Conference: +9604
* Odds courtesy of The Action Network.
The OKC Thunder lost the regular-season series against the Timberwolves three games to one. Next up, let’s look at the offseason changes made by Minnesota and review what to expect when the team’s tipoff versus each other in their four contests.