Timberwolves minimum and maximum level prediction for the 2024-25 season
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, pundits weren’t nearly as excited about the Timberwolves as they were before this season. ESPN predicted 43 wins for Minnesota, while CBS Sports predicted a total of 45 wins. This time, the sentiment is different.
Bleacher Report recently ranked the Wolves as a 50-win team. Despite the projected decline in wins, Bleacher Report pointed to the quality of the Western Conference from top to bottom as the reason for the decline.
Sure, the Western Conference is challenging, but this year won’t be much different than last. 11 teams won 41 or more games last season. In addition, the seventh-place team won an impressive 49 games. For comparison, the 11th-place team in the Eastern Conference won 32 games and the seventh-place team had a total of 47 wins.
There’s no question the West is a gauntlet. However, the Wolves have navigated the treacherous conference better than any of the other 14 teams. Minnesota’s record against Western Conference opponents is 37-15. In addition to their dominance in the conference, the Wolves are 12-4 against divisional opponents. Finally, Minnesota has won 33 of 53 games against teams with a record above .500.
The Timberwolves are a difficult opponent for anyone to play, as evidenced by the excellent grades above. Minnesota’s strong defense deserves praise for being “ready to face any competition.” The Wolves led the league in points per game and opponent defensive rating and finished in the top five in blocks and steals per game.
In the 2024/25 season, the Wolves will retain their top-7 leaders in minutes per game. This means that this new edition of the Timberwolves will be almost identical to last year’s team. While similarities do not dampen hopes in today’s NBA, there is still room for improvement. Minnesota returns Edwards (22) and Jaden McDaniels (23) and has signed two rookies in Rob Dillingham (19) and Terrence Shannon Jr. (24).
The Timberwolves are equal parts young and experienced. Although they lost Kyle Anderson in free agency, Tim Connelly brought in his former Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley teammate Joe Ingles. Despite Anderson’s tight defense, he hurt the Wolves’ spacing. Minnesota’s points and effective field goal percentage per 100 possessions suffered when Anderson was on the court.
If Edwards, McDaniels, Naz Reid and even Nickeil Alexander-Walker improve, the Wolves should be better. Also, Gobert is still at his best, while Conley’s game was never based on athleticism. The only wild card is Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns’ interplay with Gobert was questionable from the start. However, the duo played well together and Towns’ excellent ability to distribute the ball has made the argument for a stunted offense moot. If Towns continues to shoot well (as he has throughout his career) and doesn’t suffer an unfortunate injury, it’s not hard to imagine Minnesota surpassing last season’s win total.
