Minnesota Timberwolves Need To Focus On Karl-Anthony Towns And Andrew Wiggins In 2015-16 Stretch Run

The Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t a great team yet, but they do have promise. Their 22-46 regular season record doesn’t speak to their talent. They suffered an unfortunate loss of their head coach Flip Saunders before the regular season began and this officially became a transition year. Now is the time for the Timberwolves to develop Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins into the duo that will lead the team to championship contention.

The Timberwolves made a wise choice by selecting Towns No. 1 overall in this past draft. He is averaging All-Star caliber numbers at 17.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He is even shooting 34.4 percent from three-point range and 81.9 percent from the foul line. That means that the team can rely on the fact that Towns will be able to make shots or free throws when they count most.

Towns has also had the advantage of having Kevin Garnett around as a mentor. Garnett might have seemed a little crazy in the past, but his veteran leadership and numerous experiences in the league are a great thing for a young big man like Towns to have around. All Towns needs is more experience and better teammates.

Wiggins, like Towns, has star potential. In a perimeter oriented league, a team needs to have a player who can score even when a defense is a playing at an elite level. Wiggins is averaging 20.6 points per game, but he needs to improve his shooting just a little bit. On the other hand, Wiggins has played nearly every game in his first two seasons. Availability is the best ability, and Wiggins has shown that he is durable.

Wiggins was also hailed for his defensive potential when he was about to enter the NBA, but there have been times when he takes breaks on the defensive end. If the Timberwolves want to be a contender, it starts with the stars. The stars set the tone defensively, and if everybody sees them playing defense the rest will follow. Regardless of how the Timberwolves look now, the sky is the limit for the team as long as their young talent continues to develop.