The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to have it rough to start the season without injured stars Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, and the preseason power rankings reflect that.
For SB Nation, Seth Rosenthal puts the team at No. 17, also noting that the team finished with a pretty disappointing record last season. But there’s lots of silver lining, he says, and the team has a “genuine shot” of making the playoffs. The addition of Andrei Kirilenko and Brandon Roy could be “wondrous,” he says.
ESPN puts the team at No. 17, too: “Hopefully the playoffs aren’t out of reach for the should-be-very-watchable Wolves if Love and Rubio are both back in the lineup by New Year’s.”
Ditto, says Bleacher Report, calling Love and Rubio the team’s dynamic duo. Without them, “the potential of this Timberwolves team is incredibly limited.”
MinnPost’s Britt Robson puts the Timberwolves at No. 8 in the Western Conference, also a middle-of-the-pack rank.
