Why do the Minnesota Timberwolves suck this year? Every pundit and their mother predicted a 50 win team and the playoffs for this young team. But we knew better, as we pointed out on our season predictions a few weeks ago.
Eveyrone said that Tom Thibodeau was worth 10 wins, Andrew Wiggins would make the leap, Kris Dunn will be great, and Zach LeVine is for real. Also, Karl Anthony Towns was ready to take over. Not so fast, Minnesota. In this show, I explain why bad karma from Glen Taylor firing Sam Mitchell and driving out Kevin Garnett is affecting this team, as well as a few basic on court problems that they are struggling with for the time being.
Another reason why the Minnesota Timberwolves suck so badly in 2017 is due to sheer competition in the Western Conference! Think about it for a second. Look at who else is in the West:
| Western Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors* (1) | 73 | 9 | .890 | — | 114.9 | 104.1 | 10.38 |
| San Antonio Spurs* (2) | 67 | 15 | .817 | 6.0 | 103.5 | 92.9 | 10.28 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder* (3) | 55 | 27 | .671 | 18.0 | 110.2 | 102.9 | 7.09 |
| Los Angeles Clippers* (4) | 53 | 29 | .646 | 20.0 | 104.5 | 100.2 | 4.13 |
| Portland Trail Blazers* (5) | 44 | 38 | .537 | 29.0 | 105.1 | 104.3 | 0.98 |
| Dallas Mavericks* (6) | 42 | 40 | .512 | 31.0 | 102.3 | 102.6 | -0.02 |
| Memphis Grizzlies* (7) | 42 | 40 | .512 | 31.0 | 99.1 | 101.3 | -2.14 |
| Houston Rockets* (8) | 41 | 41 | .500 | 32.0 | 106.5 | 106.4 | 0.34 |
| Utah Jazz (9) | 40 | 42 | .488 | 33.0 | 97.7 | 95.9 | 1.84 |
| Sacramento Kings (10) | 33 | 49 | .402 | 40.0 | 106.6 | 109.1 | -2.32 |
| Denver Nuggets (10) | 33 | 49 | .402 | 40.0 | 101.9 | 105.0 | -2.81 |
| New Orleans Pelicans (12) | 30 | 52 | .366 | 43.0 | 102.7 | 106.5 | -3.56 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves (13) | 29 | 53 | .354 | 44.0 | 102.4 | 106.0 | -3.38 |
| Phoenix Suns (14) | 23 | 59 | .280 | 50.0 | 100.9 | 107.5 | -6.32 |
| Los Angeles Lakers (15) | 17 | 65 | .207 | 56.0 | 97.3 | 106.9 | -8.92 |
There are no real surprises in the top 12 (all the teams ahead of the Wolves), so we can’t be that surprised at their performance this year!
The Warriors, Spurs, Rockets, and Clippers aren’t going anywhere. The Jazz, Thunder, and Grizzlies are all playing expectedly well. The Blazers regressed but are still okay, and the Pelicans and Kings, though mediocre, still have better players in Anthony Davis and DeMarcous Cousins, both of whom are better than Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns!
At this point, they might as well tank to get another pick. Oh, and bring back Kevin Garnett!!! (As an assistant coach obviously).
