National Basketball Association

Why are the Timberwolves off to such a slow start?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Minnesota Timberwolves are having a sub-par start to the 2016-17 season, with a 3-6 record to this point and currently sitting in the 11th spot in the Western Conference.

Many, including yours truly, thought that the Timberwolves were going to make a jump this season.

Of course, I didn’t actually think they had a shot at the title or even the Western Conference Finals, but I thought that the playoffs, and even a playoff series win might be realistic.

Sure, it’s early in the season. Plus, a new coach, things to adjust to, and a few minor injuries. Still, these are just excuses to Timberwolves fans expecting results this season.

So what’s the deal? Why is this not a breakout year so far? Why are the Timberwolves looking at such a bad start?

The answer is…I don’t know. I really don’t know.

Yeah, I have some theories, some realistic and some make me look like a lunatic. When it comes down to it though, I don’t know. If I really knew what the problem was, I’d be on staff with the Wolves. Or at least I’d hope so if that were the case.

One clear issue thus far has been consistency. In seemingly every game this season, the Timberwolves have had 20-point lead in the first half before blowing the lead completely in the second half.

What causes a team to fall apart like that? Well, it’s a slippery slope. Something goes bad, the team gets frustrated, and they’re too young to really understand how to calm their nerves.

Also, the Wolves are only shooting 73.6 percent from the free throw line. Missed free throws can derail a team.; very few things are as frustrating as missing free throws.

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Another factor could be interior play: the Wolves are 20th in the league in rebounding and 21st in blocked shots.

How could the T-Wolves have Karl Anthony-Towns and Gorgui Dieng in the starting lineup and have Cole Aldrich as the first big man off the bench and the team not be top-10 in rebounding and blocked shots?

My craziest theory has to do with Gorgui Dieng. We all know he got into a little bit of money recently (a four-year, $64 million contract extension, to be exact). Who knows…he might be letting himself go a little bit. His numbers really haven’t changed since last season overall but he’s had a couple of invisible games of late, including a two-point performance in the big win over the Lakers.

More realistically, I think it’s also fair to blame Ricky Rubio’s injury on the rough start. I’m not the biggest Rubio fan myself, but I’m not stupid. I know the team is better with him on the floor. He only missed five games but he isn’t a guy that the Wolves can afford to have missing.

There have been some positive things out of the start to this season, of course. It’s not all bad.

The Timberwolves are number one in the league at three-point shooting and are averaging 108 points per game while shooting 46.4 percent as a team. Once the defense clicks, the Wolves will start playing like the team we expected them to be, dominating on both offense and defense.

So sure, things look rough now but give it some time. I still believe they’ll make the playoffs and I still believe they’ll be competing for a championship in the near future. Things will turn around.

Timberwolves fans just need to sit back, have faith in the Wolves staff, and wait for them to be the great team they will be.

Oh, and GIVE THE BALL TO ANDREW WIGGINS!!

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