The Timberwolves preseason is under way and the regular season is closing in. The excitement is ramping up and I want to talk about 3 under the radar Wolves thoughts to watch for this year.
NUMBER 1: Jarrett Culver’s development.
As you know, Culver was not exactly the greatest last year. Some may have even called him “shit”. Have no fear though, there is reason for hope. Culver was kind of thrown into a dumpster fire, you can’t put the full blame on him but he still was bad regardless. Now there was signs of hope after the all star break when Culver’s shooting picked up. He shot 42.4 % from 3 following the All-Star Break, so that was a super positive sign before the season ended. Was it just a hot stretch or a sign of things to come? Well, we definitely all hope it wasn’t just a fluke and he doesn’t come into the year with that broken ass shot.
I am also looking forward to seeing if Culver will handle the ball at all in that second unit or if he will primarily be off the ball. Culver deserves at least some chance “running the show” in that second unit if you ask me. We’ll see if he is actually given the opportunity and what he does if it is presented. Culver is a very interesting piece going forward.
NUMBER 2: Can D’Lo and Ricky work together?
To start the year, I’m going to assume Ricky comes off the bench, but I bet him and D’Lo will get consistent run together on a night to night basis. I know Ryan Saunders will try a lot of lineups in the pre season and test a lot of crazy stuff. I’m sure he will have Ricky and D’Lo out there together and I can’t wait to see how that goes. Here is a tweet from one of my favorite guys who covers the Wolves, @DaneMooreNBA showing how Booker was more successful with Ricky on the floor, comparing the combo a little bit to D’Lo and Rubio.I think it’s a pretty good example of how Ricky can elevate Russells game. You have a combo guard type in D’Lo, but more ball dominant than not. Then you have Ricky, a pass first PG who wants to distribute. I’m just fascinated to see how that will look together and if it can be successful. I truly do believe it can work. D’Lo is a good shooter and Ricky has improved enough where you have to respect him. So I’ll be keeping a close eye out when these two are on the floor together, whether it is really successful or not, it definitely will be fun to watch.
NUMBER 3: The guy next to KAT.
The Power Forward position has been a talking point for awhile now, and with us signing Juancho back you would think he is the starter. I don’t think that’s for sure the case and I know Saunders will experiment with a lot of guys at that spot. Whether it be Juancho, Layman, Hollis-Jefferson. There is a lot of intrigue there for me. It’s pretty much been a problem since KAT has been here. Will we find it? Will the combo of options we have work? Or will it all burn up in flames like we’re used to as Timberwolves fans? The latter is probably most realistic, but I will have hope this year. Things are CHANGING…..I hope.The Timberwolves are going to be super intriguing and these are just a few of the under-the-radar Wolves things I’m excited for. If you are a hardcore fan, I think it will be a fun year regardless of how much we win. For now, we’ll see what happens in the pre-season and go from there. Until next time people!
10K sports writer that specializes in Timberwolves content. Lover of pizza, disc golf and having the Timberwolves forever make me sad.