by brutusbrutus » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:26 am
The Timberwolves made it to the Finals last year and have huge expectations this year. The Timberwolves have been consistently good for the last four years and are now in the upper echelon of the West Coast. Known as the All-NBA 4th team because of a solid all-around roster with no clear super star. Here is their Roster.
PGs
Ronald Sandler: "The Bulldog" at 27 is probably as good as he ever will be and that is pretty good. A few years ago the Timberwolves traded Travis Tennell who was a model citizen, a solid point guard and a locker room leader to make room for Sandler, the Timberwolves have never regretted it. Sandler is shockingly efficient, he is an elite shooter from anywhere on the court, he also has good court vision and is a tenacious defender.
Per 36
PPG: 17
APG: 8.4
RPG: 2.5
TS% .591
Grevis Vasquez: A tall backup point guard that can also play SG and can shoot with the best of them, he isn't the floor general that Sandler is but he adds height and length to the team.
Nino Vakhivakhishvlli: Nino is a serviceable shooting specialist who needs vowels in his name, he gets pretty much only garbage time giving the other guards a rest.
SGs
David McDermott: McDermott is a scorer, he is the teams best isolation player he has a well rounded game offensively, but at 6'3" he isn't very big for his position and has never made the necessary adjustments to be a good defender. McDermott is 25 and just entering his prime.
PPG: 22.1
APG: 2.6
RPG: 3.6
TS% .557
Wesley Matthews: A defensive player that can also shoot, he is an integral part of this team, he works within the scope of the offense efficiently and has become a very good defender, while not spectacular as McDermott he is just as effective.
SFs
Shand-de Teoh: Teoh can play any position on the floor effectively, he has developed a great passing game to go along with strong rebounding and incredible defense. Teoh's only weakness is that he has yet to develop much of an offense besides catching the ball near the basket or hitting an open mid-range jump shot. Teoh's ineffective offense isn't a big problem for an otherwise good offensive team. Teoh is only 26 and his best years may be ahead of him.
PPG: 13.0
APG: 5.4
RPG: 6.2
TS% .501
Jeff Smith: Where Teoh is a physical defensive player and jack-of-all trades Smith is a finesse forward who can shoot from range and has a good touch all throughout the court. Smith's defense isn't terrible either, Smith has earned himself heavy rotation minutes and like Teoh can also play multiple positions effectively.
PFs
Nikola Pekovic: Pekovic has played excellently the last couple of years. Shockingly he has a desire to finish his career with Minnesota, he is 31 and is signed for five more years. His contract is very reasonable. With that being said Pekovic may start to decline as the normal peak for basketball players is starting to end for him. He is slightly injury and fatigue prone so he plays about 30 minutes a night, he is one of the most efficient offensive big men in the NBA.
Per 36 numbers
PPG: 18.1
APG: 1.5
RPG: 7.8
TS%: .633
Travis Waldman: Waldman made Amir Johnson expendable, he off-sets Pekovic's excellent post game with a diverse array of offensive moves. While not as efficient as Pekovic he stretches the floor, Waldman needs to work on his defense which is about league average, but could be better. Waldman plays a key role, if he continues to develop the Timberwolves have a good chance of winning a ton of games.
Cs
Anderson Varejao: The oldest starter on the team Varejao is a veteran who knows how to defend and rebound, he isn't asked to do much more than that and he likes it that way. Varejao knows his role and wants to win.
Per36
PPG: 11.5
APG: 1.8
RPG: 10.0
TS%: .582
Timothy Mozgov: Mozgov was just recently signed to a one year deal, he will provide defensive and rebounding off the bench, he is essentially an insurance option just in case Varejao or Pekovic go down with an injury, he is serviceable in Varejao's role.
Chris Culuko: A very young and raw Center that can score in the post and block shots, Culuko is going to watch a lot of games from the bench and study what the veteran bigs do right so he can become a player like them in the future.
The sky is the limit for this team, but I have criticisms already coming the fans are angry that I put Donnell Greer in the D-League although I did it basically to not harm David McDermott's fragile ego, which I need in tact if I want to win this year. Its this year or next that the Timberwolves will have the best chance to win a Championship.