It's possibly pointless to even talk about the 2017-18 NBA season since the Warriors — as long as Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry stay with the team and no more than one player sustains a major injury next year — will win another championship next season.
The Warriors are an unfair team as constructed. They did everything by completely legal means, and they play beautiful basketball. But if you enjoy competition and the notion of a fair fight, you can't love that part of the Warriors. You can love them for their art, but not for their sport. They are a stacked deck. They are Capitalism, The Basketball Team — the rich getting richer while insisting they earned every penny.
So 29 teams are battling for second place next year — or more aptly, 15 Eastern Conference teams are battling for second place and the other 14 Western Conference teams are battling for third place since they won't make it past the Warriors in the conference finals.
If you're OK with that, then we can talk about this: What do the Timberwolves need to do to reach the playoffs next season and give themselves at least a chance at that NBA bronze medal?
Lest you think it's preposterous to think about the Wolves in the playoffs or the next NBA season less than 24 hours after the old one ended, know that I received an email this morning from an online sports betting firm. One of the prop bets involved which teams who didn't make the playoffs in 2016-17 were most likely to make it in 2017-18. The Wolves had 1-1 odds, so a 50 percent chance that they make it. But to get there these things need to happen:
1) Add a defensive-minded big man. The Timberwolves allowed opponents to score 46.2 points per game in the paint last season. Only five NBA teams allowed more. I don't know that they specifically need a shot blocker, but neither Gorgui Dieng nor Karl-Anthony Towns are thick post defenders who strike fear into opposing guards and bigs. Someone like Nene would be a great addition.
2) Add a perimeter defender who can shoot threes. Yes, the three-and-D player so many teams covet in the modern NBA. Whether the Wolves address this in the draft or through free agency, a strong wing defender who can space the floor and knock down threes would be a major boon to this rotation. Brandon Rush *sort of* filled that role last year on a one-year contract, but a turbo-charged, more athletic version of Rush who is a better defender would look great in a Wolves uniform.
3) The continued evolution of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Here's where we get into things a little harder to define, but clearly for as good as Towns and Wiggins already are, they have room to get better. As they gain even more confidence and repetitions, they should improve in two key areas: end of game situations and stopping opposing teams' runs. Minnesota lost a ghastly 22 games last season in which it held a double-digit lead at one point. Leadership means getting good shots and defensive stops as momentum starts to turn against you. Towns and Wiggins are young, but they are leaders. This responsibility will fall to them, and they will need to be able to handle it.
