Former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick predicts the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference this season. That’s actually worse than last season when the Wolves finished seventh in the West.
Redick’s 1-10 prediction:
- Warriors
- Clippers
- Grizzlies
- Suns
- Pelicans
- Nuggets
- Mavericks
- Timberwolves
- Lakers
- Blazers
Tommy Alter, Redick’s podcast co-host, picked Minnesota as the No. 4 seed.
Why isn’t Redick sold on the Timberwolves? He grouped the Wolves with the Raptors and Cavaliers as teams that he’s high on but can’t justify putting them higher yet.
“I think the ceiling is lower maybe this year and could be higher in years to come,” he explained. “When we start talking about young players potentially making big jumps like we saw from Ja Morant last year – talking about Anthony Edwards from the T-Wolves, Evan Mobley with the Cavs, Scottie Barnes with the Raptors – those teams’ ceilings, to me, are dependent upon those guys making that Ja Morant Year 2 or Year 3 leap that we saw last year.”
Redick’s picks were set in stone before the season began and he announced them in Friday’s episode of the The Old Man & the Three podcast, so it would be interesting to get his renewed thoughts on the Timberwolves after seeing Edwards post back-to-back 30-point games against the Jazz and Thunder.
But Redick is right. The West is tougher this season.
The Warriors could run it back with the same roster and an improved James Wiseman. The Clippers have Paul George and Kawhi Leonard fully healthy and are a trendy pick to represent the West in the NBA Finals. The Grizzlies have their core back, as do the Suns and Mavericks, while the Nuggets have a healthy Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. alongside two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
That said, if Minnesota can stay healthy and gel as the season goes, there aren’t many teams with a deeper rotation.
The starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert has come out guns blazing in each of the first three games before “narcoleptic” (term used by assistant coach Micah Nori) third quarters allowed the Thunder and Jazz to get back into games. And the depth featuring Jaylen Nowell, Taurean Prince, Kyle Anderson, Jordan McLaughlin and Naz Reid is about as offensively gifted as it gets.
And if this isn’t the Year of the Wolf, maybe 2023-24 will be.
Related: Report: Jaylen Nowell expected to explore unrestricted free agency
Related: Wolves go berserk from 3 in fourth quarter to crush Thunder
