The Minnesota Timberwolves are set to start the season with some new faces. After nine seasons, the team decided to trade their star big Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected first-round pick.
The roster has some changes, but what still remains the same is the franchise putting all their faith in the superstar talent of Anthony Edwards.
The Timberwolves performed well last season. They finished with a record of 56-26, placing them third in the conference. In the postseason, they swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round and ended up beating the than-defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in a thrilling seven game series.
Minnesota fell short in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, losing in five games. Though they fell short of reaching the NBA Finals, it was a successful season, especially with the continued elite performance from Edwards.
Going into this season, Ant-Man will have to elevate his game even further if he wants to go on another deep postseason run. It wouldn't be surprising if he has an MVP-caliber season given his talent.
With the season starting soon, I will review season averages and pick a player I like for specific statistical categories, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Anthony Edwards
Score 28+ Points Per Game (+120)
Scoring production shouldn't be an issue for Edwards. He's one of the most explosive players in the game and has increased his level of play each season.
The 23-year-old franchise player averaged 25.9 points last season, with a career-high of shooting 46 percent from the field. And after recently winning the gold in the Olympics, Edwards is without a doubt ready for NBA action. Though the Timberwolves acquired Randle, who was ball-dominant during his time in New York, head coach Chris Finch will likely prioritize what works best for Edwards to succeed on offense since he's the primary option.
Whether that means Randle's usage will decrease when playing with the starting unit or having to stay on the perimeter, Edwards needs his space to operate when creating his own shot and driving to the basket, where he's most dangerous due to his athleticism.
An underrated aspect of Randle's game is his playmaking ability and setting hard screens to create space for his teammates when they shoot 3's, so the duo can find a way to make things work.
Year five for Ant-Man will be fun to watch.
Julius Randle
Score 22+ Points Per Game (+120)
How Julius Randle will look on the offensive end should be different than what we were used to seeing during his five year tenure with the Knicks.
However, that doesn't change the fact that the veteran power forward is one of the best in the game when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. Just before his season was cut short last January due to a dislocated shoulder, Randle was averaging 24 points on 47 percent shooting.
He's an inconsistent shooter from 3-point range, an area he'll have to improve on if the Timberwolves really want to reach their peak on offense. But Randle's best strength is using his strong built and dominating in the interior. Last season, Randle worked best when he didn't waste air on the basketball with pointless dribbles and hold the ball for long durations just to take a deep mid-range shot.
The quick reactions when he got the basketball worked well for him. Whether he was driving the basketball and playing bully ball, or taking a close range pull-up jumper Randle's game looked way better than previous seasons.
He played better off the ball last season as well, finding open space to cut and score the basketball, which should serve him well playing with Edwards. As long as Randle can continue where he left off in his playing style, while also being a semi-average 3-point shooter, than there's no doubt he scores over 22 points per game.
