Wolves

Five Timberwolves story lines for this season

By Jerry Zgoda

October 28, 2015 at 4:33AM

Combo guard Zach LaVine is one of the Wolves’ youthful core of players that will determine how quickly the team can improve. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Coaching up the kids and playing defense will be points of emphasis

Life without Flip

Only three days after the death of Flip Saunders — coach, president of basketball operations and, as Ricky Rubio put it, the team's "dad" — the Wolves enter the season pledging to play for Flip. But it remains to be seen how the season will be affected by this emotional loss and how the team will move forward without him. As interim coach Sam Mitchell said, playing games might ease the pain, but nobody's ever going to forget. "We're going to be men," Rubio said. "We're going to go through this tough moment, but in honor of him, we will be playing hard, giving everything we have, winning games."

Staying healthy

It has been an ongoing struggle for the Wolves — not just playing, but getting everybody healthy enough to get on the court. This goes back years. There was Kevin Love's hand. Ricky Rubio's knee, ankle, then quadriceps. Kevin Martin's wrist. And don't forget Nikola Pekovic, having dealt with ankle and foot pain for years and sidelined to start this season. Can the Wolves stay healthy this time around? The annual question will go a long way in determining how much the team improves on last season's 16-66 record, the third time in the past six seasons the team has had 17 victories or fewer.

Youth being served

The Wolves know that, relatively speaking, the young players are their future. Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and even third-year players such as Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad are all being counted on for a brighter tomorrow. But what about today? The Wolves have surrounded youth with veterans at every position — Kevin Garnett, Andre Miller, Tayshaun Prince. But their roles are largely as mentors. How quickly the youngsters progress will determine the success or failure of this season.

Getting defensive

By just about every measure, the Timberwolves were a horrible defensive team a year ago. They were 30th and last in the league in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions, 109.6). They were last in opponents' field-goal percentage (48.7) and last in points allowed per game (106.5). This, of course, has to change. It has been a focus of interim coach Sam Mitchell from the start of camp.

The X Factor

There are a couple of players who might fit this description. Muhammad, for example, could become an offensive force at the start coming off the bench. But consider Nemanja Bjelica, last year's EuroBasket player of the year. He's big (6-10), he's skilled. He can pass the ball, and he can shoot the three — a key for a team lacking in long-range shooters. It will take him a while to adjust to NBA officiating. But his ability to hit threes could be important for a team that hasn't emphasized that shot enough in recent seasons.