2012-13 NBA Sleepers: Minnesota Timberwolves

(Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves)

2. Minnesota Timberwolves (Northwest Division

Division Rivals: Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trailblazers and Utah Jazz

If I’m going to talk about the possible success of the Minnesota Timberwolves, I have to discuss who I feel is a top 5 power forward and a top 10 player in the NBA, Kevin Love. Love, who was the 5^th overall pick in 2008, has improved his scoring every year from 11 to 26 points and 13 rebounds per game also earning himself the Most Improved Player award as well as an All-Star game appearance. The Timberwolves success lies primarily on his shoulders, however unlike the other teams I reviewed throughout my NBA Sleepers posts, Minnesota has what could be one of the best supporting casts of all.

Point guard Ricky Rubio proved he could compete at the NBA level after coming over from Europe and lived up to expectations by playing some great basketball before falling to a season ending injury. Rubio’s backup Luke Ridnour also averages 10 points and half as many assists as Rubio with 4.

Then there is Nikola Pekovic. Relatively unknown to most, but this Center made a huge jump in production going from 5 points and 3 rebounds to 13 points and 7 rebounds per game over his 2-year NBA career. At 6’11 and 290lbs, Pekovic is a force some opposing Centers will have a hard time dealing with, although he will have to be careful about picking up fouls against some of the elite Centers in the league.

At the Small Forward position there’s 13 year veteran Andrei Kirilenko.  A career 47% shooter who has found success due to the fact he plays smart basketball by knowing what he can and can’t do and has never strayed away from that mentality his entire career.

Brandon Roy’s retirement from the NBA and Portland Trailblazers due to injury was short lived, and he has returned a year later as one of the Minnesota Timberwolves go to players. Brandon Roy had a huge drop in scoring from 21 to 12 points per game prior to his retirement with both his rebounding and assists numbers falling as well.

It’s no secret that in sports remaining healthy is in most cases the most important key to success, and like the Chicago Bulls learned when Derrick Rose exited the playoffs with a season ending injury last season, some teams are only 1 injury away from complete failure.

With a solid starting five of Love, Rubio, Roy, Kirilenko and Pekovic, the Timberwolves might be able to remain successful with a few bumps and bruises throughout the season. If Love were to go out for an extended period of time, I have a hard time seeing Minnesota winning enough games for a solid chance at making the playoffs. However, if things work out as I’m sure Minnesota hopes they will and everyone stays healthy, they have one of the best chances of making it to the post season out the teams that missed out last year.