The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to SHOCK EVERYONE

The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to SHOCK EVERYONE

When you take a look at the landscape of the Western Conference, it feels like so many people in the NBA community are hyperfixated on this Houston Rockets team that’s now trying to make a championship push with KD. People are talking about if the Oklahoma City Thunder can win back-to-back championships and be the first team to do it since the Golden State Warriors, but people have seemingly forgot about this Minnesota Timberwolves team that has now gone to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. They’ve been knocking on the door of an NBA Finals appearance and they are not only my favorite to win this year’s Western Conference, they’re my favorite to win it all. Now, when you take a look at this Timberwolves team from last season and what they were able to accomplish, people don’t give them enough respect, but I’m going to be the person to give them their flowers because this team overachieved and exceeded all expectations. Now, when you take a look at the year prior of them losing to the Dallas Mavericks in those Western Conference Finals, they decided to move in a completely different direction. They traded away longtime center Carl Anthony Towns for Julius Randall. And at the time there was a ton of question marks about the fit of Julius Randall and Rudy Gobear on the interior. But after this team got off to a slow start. They were 21 to 19 to begin the year. You had Julius Randle miss the entirety of the month of February. 13 games with that groin injury. You had Rudy Gobear miss I believe it was 10 games right before the All-Star break. And this team did not look like they were meshing and jelling together. But that’s what you expect from a team that’s not only dealt with a litany of injuries, but they were a team trying to get used to playing with one another. They went on that eight-game win streak once their team got healthy. And they not just squeaked into the playoffs, they stre into the playoffs, finishing with a record of 49 and 33, the six seed in the Western Conference just three games back of that number two seed in the Houston Rockets. And they impressed the hell out of me because it wasn’t just what they were able to do in the regular season. It was the fact that everyone was saying Lakers in five, but it ended up being Timberwolves in five. [Laughter] They went on to the conference semi-finals. They beat the Golden State Warriors in five, albeit without Steph Curry. And they obviously ended up losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the eventual champions in five. But you saw the glaring needs of what this team needed. You saw that there were still some death issues which you could still address right now, but I believe that third time is the charm. They’ve got the experience, they’ve got the resiliency, they have the veterans, and they have the bonafide superstar in Anthony Edwards to get the job done. So, let’s talk about not only why I believe in this team so much, but let’s talk about their offseason acquisitions, some of the young guys, and just why I believe in this Minnesota team. Just want to take a moment to say if you are enjoying today’s video and appreciating this type of work and coverage from me, the best and easiest way to support me is by liking, commenting, and subscribing down below. It’s free and it helps me out tremendously. My goal is to get this channel up to a,000 subscribers by the end of August. And if you guys want more exclusive content from me outside of YouTube on my social medias, the links are in the description down below in the link tree. But thank you so much and let’s go ahead and get back to today’s video. Now, when you take a look at this Minnesota Timberwolves team and what Matt Lloyd, their general manager, did this off season, I thought he did a terrific job. All things considered, not only did you have the possibility of losing out on Nas Reed, they were able to give Naz Reed that 5-year, $125 million contract extension. You gave Julius Randle a three-year, $100 million contract extension. Both of those were welld deserved. And I’m very glad for Timberwolves fans that they could retain both of those players in the draft. They took French forward Yoan Beringer. If I mispronounced his name, I apologize. But what I do know about him is the fact that Timberwolves coaches and executives are extremely high on him. It looked like he, you know, had some flashes from what I watched of his highlights on YouTube from him playing in the French leagues or in the Euro Leagues. And, you know, he’s 6’11, runs the floor really well, and he looks like he’s got some promise. I don’t know how well polished he is right now where he could potentially get rotational minutes, but he does look like he has some promise. And then of course, their biggest loss this off season was in that signing trade with the Atlanta Hawks when they traded away Nquille Alexander Walker to Atlanta in exchange for cash considerations and a 2027 second round pick. So when you look at this roster on paper, it is obviously one of the top rosters in the Western Conference. That starting five has shown that they can get to the Western Conference Finals. Anthony Edwards has shown time and time again that he’s not only an MVP in the regular season, you know, caliber player, but he’s a playoff riser. He’s one of the best playoff risers this game has ever seen. And now you have an opportunity to capitalize on that with the experience with the veteran mentorship that you have with a lot of these guys. And now the ability for Chris Finch and this organization to really continue putting those pieces together. And I firmly believe this is the year that they’re going to capitalize on it. And I would not be surprised if they made a trade at this year’s deadline. Of course, I’m projecting. And on a side note, I don’t know how I forgot to mention Dante Danchenzo coming off the bench. That’s another sniper that Minnesota has available to them. Now, I briefly mentioned it earlier talking about Rudy Gobear and Julius Randall, the question mark surrounding them, some of the fit that people had, and rightfully so, because Gobear is a guy on the interior. When he’s not in the screen and roll action, he’s somebody that kind of anchors down low. Even offensively speaking, people wanted to know how that fit was going to work because Carl Anthony Towns was a guy who could space the floor and obviously play off the ball. Whereas Julius Randall is a, you know, on the ball kind of guy, consistently bringing the ball up the court, likes to operate out of the low post. But what I love about Julius Randall is the fact that he’s able to get other guys involved. you saw him not only really fit into Chris Finch’s system and really play extremely well with Minnesota, but I think that he looks a lot more comfortable than he did in New York. Of course, he had a resurgence in his career with the Knicks. But it never came together in the playoffs. It really never felt like him and Thibs got on the same page, but I saw more chemistry, more continuity, and more of an understanding and a willingness around the players and around Julius Randall for him to fit into that system. And I thought it was a match made in heaven. I thought Cat was a perfect fit in New York. I thought Julius Randle is a perfect fit and continues to be that in Minnesota and maybe this is a hot take and I’m not trying to discredit anything away from Carl Anthony Towns. I think Julius Randle is a better player than Carl Anthony Towns. I think when Randall is on and he’s playing with a 110% efficiency and he’s going out there and really giving it his all because we know his motor can be questionable, Randall I think is a better player. I think he does more offensively speaking. I think he’s a better playmaker and I think that he just hustles more even on the defensive side of the ball. But that’s a sep separate diet tribe. And just to kind of finish that point off, what I loved about Julius Randle was the fact that we saw him take that next step in his career and perform well in the postseason. Was it perfect in the conference finals? Of course it wasn’t. Neither was it for anybody on the Timberwolves. But Julius Randall in the postseason this year averaged 226 and 5 on 50 38 88 splits. Not only was Randall extremely productive, but he was extremely efficient and he was a huge catalyst and a reason for the success of this Timberwolves team, especially in the postseason. Now, when I mentioned the depth chart and then some of the young guys in that second unit, guys like Jaylen Clark, Robert Dillingham, or even Terrence Shannon Jr., at least one of these guys is going to have to fulfill a big role in replacement of Nquille Alexander Walker. A guy who did a lot of the dirty work both offensively and defensively. He was a hustle guy, really just a perfect glue guy on the perimeter. And of course, a guy who could knock it down consistently from three-point range. I believe he shot over 38% last year for the Timberwolves from behind the arc if I’m not mistaken. So now you expect Robert Dillingham, who had opportunities and stretches here and there last season. Maybe not as much as you’d like to see from a top 10 pick. He needs to be able to take that offensive step up as a legitimate scoring threat, a guy who could score on all three levels, and really alleviate some of that pressure off of an aging 38-year-old Mike Connley, off of Anthony Edwards, who needs more offensive help, especially in the back court when it comes to scoring production. And then for Terence Shannon Jr., this is a guy who I thought really balled out in the summer league. He was obviously one of the top performers. He plays a lot of bullyball, does a good job of like getting downhill, being forceful, and getting his way to the rack. and Terence Shannon Jr. really showed promise in last year’s postseason. He showed a lot in this year’s summer league and I think that there’s a pathway to success for both Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. this year in that second unit. When you take a look at what Robert Dillingham did in the summer league, Dillingham averaged 176 and four and he became that reliable scoreer that you saw in the summer league albeit in the summer league. And then for Terence Shannon Jr. like I mentioned, one of the better performers in this year’s summer league. Shannon Jr. averaged 22.7 points, six rebounds, and five assists on an efficient 4738 94 splits. I was very impressed from what I saw from him and both Dillingham. And I think that they have a very bright future in that back court in that second unit for Chris Finch and this organization. And like I’ve mentioned before, the Western Conference is extremely tough and extremely unpredictable. If the Warriors are healthy with Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry and Draymond Green, they’re going to be highly competitive. The Houston Rockets, if they’re healthy, should be highly competitive. The LA Clippers got a lot better. The Lakers should still be very good now with Marcus Smart and LeBron and Reeves and Luca, you name it. The Oklahoma City Thunder, they’re going to be great. This is not to dismiss those other teams, but it’s for me to show that for some reason, the NBA community continues to disrespect the Minnesota Timberwolves, what they’ve accomplished, how they have overachieved and exceeded all expectations, and this is the year that they should be able to get it done. They brought back their guys. Matt Lloyd was willing to bite the bullet and pay both Nas Reed and Julius Randall. Anthony Edwards has continued to show time and time again that he gets better each and every single year. He continues to perform in the postseason. Rudy Goar, Mike Connley, a lot of these guys now are aging veterans, I guess you could say, even though they’re still productive. Maybe not Mike Connley, but I digress. This is a team that has had the pieces. They have the experience. They’ve made those deep playoff runs. Now, it’s time for you guys to get it together. And I expect at this year’s deadline that Minnesota’s going to make one more big move that’s really going to put this team over the top. And I have my full faith and trust in Anthony Edwards, in Chris Finch, in Matt Lloyd, in this entire organization from top to bottom. Now, just to kind of end this video, let me also say, if I’m being completely honest, yes, there is some bias in this video because I am a huge supporter of Rudy Goar, of Mike Connley, and Joe Engles as a Jazz fan. So, I want to see those guys have an opportunity to win a ring. And I do believe that if there’s any guy that can lead this team, it’s going to be Anthony Edwards. And I think he’s going to be able to get this team over the hump this upcoming season. But thank you guys so much for watching today’s video and all of your guys’ continuous support. If you want more exclusive content from me here outside of just on YouTube, you guys can go ahead and follow me on my socials. The links to them will all be in the description down below, including a lot of my digital written work that I do for Fanited, and a lot of it is Timberwolves articles that I’ve done. But thank you guys once again for all of your continuous support. I appreciate it very much. Looking forward to continuing to grow this channel with you guys. And as always, I’ll catch you on the next one.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a team that’s been on the brink of an NBA Finals appearance the last two seasons, and they’re my pick to win this year’s NBA Finals. #anthonyedwards #minnesotatimberwolves #rudygobert

Here is my full article on Gobert and Randle:
https://fansided.com/rudy-gobert-julius-randle-just-proved-everyone-wrong

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