NBA Power Rankings week 11: OKC Thunder continues hot streak
23. team. 86. . 14-21. Previous: 29th. Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves:
Offense: (105.8) 24th
Defense: (108.2) 15th
Net: (minus -2.4) 20th
Games Week 11 (3-1): Won vs Nets: 122-115, Warriors: 99-84, Cavaliers: 118-103, Lost to Bucks: 104-106
Games Week 12 (3 games): Tues at Grizzlies | Thurs vs. Blazers | Sat at Rockets
Although there are teams who’ve struggled (Blazers/Nets) due to injuries the Timberwolves can’t truly make the same claim. Sure, Karl-Anthony Towns has missed the last 10 games and Andrew Wiggins missed four recently. Diving deeper into the games they’ve missed versus played however doesn’t suggest the Wolves play better when they (particularly Towns) are active.
The Wolves record is 9-14 with Towns in the lineup for a 39.1 win percentage and 5-7 in the 12 games he hasn’t played for a 41.6 win percentage.
In the seven games Wiggins hasn’t played, the Wolves are 3-4 equating to a 42.8 win percentage. With Wiggins but without Towns, the Wolves are 3-5 (37.5 percent) And with Towns but without Wiggins the team is 1-2 (33.3 percent).
Clearly, these are small samples but the point is these are two players earning max contracts who don’t seem to be affecting the bigger picture. Cue Gersson Rosas and Scott Layden weighing out the advantages of keeping both players. Factor in the news from last week regarding KAT’s unhappiness and perhaps it equates to the Wolves returning to Timberpup mode via a trade.