BY GEORGE DICKIE
The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the surprise
stories of the 2021-22 season, making the playoffs for the
first time in four years after finishing with a 46-36 record.
And now they're ready to take the next step up to join the
Warriors and Suns atop the Western Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns will undoubtedly be key here. In
their seventh year big man and first overall pick in the 2015
NBA Draft, the T'Wolves have an elite talent who can score
from the perimeter and make his presence felt in the paint,
who will team with newly acquired Rudy Gobert to give
them perhaps the most daunting front court in the NBA.
The 6-feet-11-inch Towns' numbers last year were
typically outstanding: a 24.6 points per game average
on 52.9 percent shooting from the field, to go with 9.8
rebounds and an impressive 41 percent success rate from
three-point range. His selection as an All-Star for the third
time in his career was certainly well deserved.
But the big concern is how he will mesh with Gobert.
The T'Wolves gave up a king's ransom to get the three-time
Defensive Player of the Year in what was clearly a win-now
move. Most teams these days are going with smaller, quicker
lineups, so they're betting that this so-called "twin towers"
experiment will quash those
schemes and pay big dividends.
Towns and the Timberwolves can
be seen twice this week on national
television: on the road against the
Phoenix Suns Tuesday, Nov. 1, on
TNT; and at home against the
Milwaukee Bucks Friday, Nov. 4,
on ESPN.
Towns towers over the
competition in Minnesota
• FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 6, 2022 •
George Lopez stars
in "Lopez vs. Lopez,"
premiering Friday
on NBC.
YOUR WEEKLY GUIDE TO TV ENTERTAINMENT
