So much for optimism about the Timberwolves in 2023-2024. I am of course referring to my post from earlier today in which I picked them at #4 in the West and to defeat Golden State in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Timberwolves team that played its opener tonight in Toronto is not going to finish #4. They’re not going to finish #10. They’re not going to make the play-ins. They didn’t just stink up Toronto tonight, they stunk up the entire country of Canada.
They lost their opener to the feeble Toronto Raptors 97-94, and they did it by shooting 34% from the field and 26% from 3-point range. But it’s not just that they shot poorly. Their entire offense was horrible. The point is that all night long, the Wolves took shots that were contested by the Toronto defense. Toronto, meanwhile, rarely had to take a contested shot. So is that bad offense or good defense, or good offense or bad defense. Well, the Wolves offense, at least, was unambiguously terrible, completely lacking in energy and purpose. Toronto’s defense didn’t even have to be good to be good, if you see what I mean.
Bottom line: If this is how the Wolves are going to play this year, they’re not going to win 58% of their games (48-34), as I forecast earlier today. If this is how the Wolves are going to play this year, they’re going to be lucky to win 33% of their games (27-55). Consider that their starting forwards were outscored 35-21 and their starting guards were outscored 39-37. And consider that 2 of those 4 starters are overall #1 draft picks Karl Towns and Ant Edwards. The lack of energy and purpose especially on offense was a disgrace.