Minnesota Timberwolves Power Rankings: Gauging Full Roster After First 6 Weeks
With the worst record in the Western Conference, it's hard to call any ranking regarding the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-13) a "power ranking."
On the bright side, the Wolves do have a few blossoming young players. Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine have shown glimpses of brilliance, and Andrew Wiggins has consistently wowed fans with his athletic ability.
Even a few of their veterans, such as Mo Williams and Thaddeus Young, have been able to contribute. Unfortunately, injuries to Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic have completely hampered the Wolves' chances of competing.
They started the year 2-2. Both losses were close contests versus no-doubt playoff teams. The Wolves lost the season opener to the Memphis Grizzlies 105-101, and a few days later they were edged out 106-105 by the Chicago Bulls.
Since then, the Wolves have been anything but competitive, but that's mostly due to injuries and a few of their players who have been greatly underperforming.
Each player will be ranked according to how much he has contributed to the team, which will be a combination of playing time and how effective he's been this season. Some players, such as Rubio, are ranked lower on this list than they normally would be due to the time missed from injury.
It's time to rank each Wolves player on the 15-man (technically 16-man) roster.
16-11: Bench Players and Ricky Rubio
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This first slide is dedicated to the players who have played very limited roles on the team so far.
16. Jeff Adrien
No offense to Adrien for being last on the list, but he's only been here for one game. To his credit, Adrien played extremely well in his sole performance of the season, racking up seven points, six rebounds and two blocks in only 13 minutes.
15. Ronny Turiaf
The journeyman has only played two games this season due to hip injury. Through those two contests, he's averaged 9.5 minutes per game and has yet to score. He currently holds the team's lowest player efficiency rating (PER) with 4.3, well below the league average (15).
14. Glenn Robinson III
The 20-year-old rookie has been efficient this year, shooting 50 percent from the field, but that's because he has only taken four shots. He's averaging a minuscule 3.6 minutes per game, but Robinson barely made the final roster, so his lack of playing time isn't a surprise.
13. Ricky Rubio
He's arguably the best all-around player on this team, but due to a nasty high ankle sprain, Rubio has only seen the court five times this season. Before the injury, he was off to a hot start, averaging 10 assists per game.
12. Chase Budinger
The five-year veteran has played in 14 games so far this season, but he has been unable to make an impact. Right now, he's only averaging 3.6 points per game, and he's shooting a horrendous 27.8 percent from the field.
11. Robbie Hummel
The second-year Wolf has played in 14 games this season, and he’s had a few solid performances surrounded by games of mediocrity.
On December 1, in a crushing 127-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Hummel had his best outing of the season, scoring 13 points while shooting 6-of-8 from the field.
However, Hummel is also known to have performances where he contributes nothing to the team. In a 107-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on November 30, he played six minutes, went 0-for-2 from the field and his lone stat of the night was a single turnover.
10. Nikola Pekovic
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Pekovic is coming off a career year where he recorded a personal-best 17.4 points per contest. He also recorded a higher player efficiency rating than Chris Bosh, Serge Ibaka and Joakim Noah.
Unfortunately, Pekovic has been unable to live up to last year’s standards. He is averaging 11.9 points per game in nine contests, making this Pekovic's worst scoring season since his rookie campaign.
The five-year big man has also spent almost half of the season off the court with wrist and ankle injuries. His lack of scoring and playing time puts Pekovic near the bottom of this list.
9. Kevin Martin
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This is another tough player to rank due to his lack of playing time.
Martin is currently the leading scorer on the Wolves with 20.4 points per game, and he’s clearly their best (possibly only) offensive threat. He’s been extremely efficient as well, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from long range.
Martin has been great this year, but his wrist injury has caused him to miss practically half of the Wolves’ games. On the bright side, Martin’s injury has allowed more playing time for younger players like Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad.
8. Zach LaVine
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Due to Rubio's ankle injury, Zach LaVine has gained some much-needed playing time.
So far this season, he is averaging 7.4 points per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The 19-year-old rookie has had his fair share of ups and downs. In a 120-119 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on November 28, LaVine had a breakout performance, racking up 28 points and five assists. The very next game, in a 107-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he shot 0-of-3 and tallied zero points and zero assists.
LaVine has shown glimpses of potential, but those games are usually surrounded by nights of mediocrity. He's very raw, but with time we may see more ups than downs from the young point guard.
7. Andrew Wiggins
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Only a month into his NBA career and Andrew Wiggins has already won an award. The 19-year-old rookie was named the Rookie of the Month (November) in the Western Conference.
".@22wiggins's 11.6 ppg and 44 percent from 3 lands him the West's rookie of the month honors http://t.co/YGbvsuhlc4 pic.twitter.com/CTo24LoqJI
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) December 4, 2014"
The award is a nice start to a promising career, but Wiggins has also had his fair share of growing pains. Not only is he shooting just 39.4 percent from the field, but his 9.62 player efficiency rating is one of the lowest on the Wolves roster.
Wiggins hasn't been very efficient this year, but he's shown the defensive intensity that made him worthy of a first-overall pick. He's currently averaging 1.2 steals per game.
Not to mention, he may be one of the best high-fliers in the league. Wiggins showcased his elite leaping ability when he and Mo Williams connected for an alley-oop.
"Dunk of the Night: Timberwolves’ Mo Williams sets up the sweet alley-oop to Andrew Wiggins who rises UP for the slam. http://t.co/rrGnhsFnCg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 2, 2014"
Wiggins has a very bright future, but he's been inconsistent and inefficient as a scorer here at the beginning of his rookie campaign.
6. Mo Williams
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Mo Williams is hard to rank because he was so bad at the beginning of the year, but recently, he's been one of the Wolves' best players.
There was a six-game span from November 1-14 where Williams was unable to score more than five points in a single game. Over that time, he shot 6-of-38 (15.7 percent) from the field.
But since then, he's recorded four double-doubles. With Rubio hurt and LaVine still learning, Williams has carried the load for the Wolves.
Unfortunately, his early-season woes are still hampering his stat line. So far this year, Williams is shooting only 39.1 percent from the field and has a 13.3 player efficiency rating, which is below average.
5. Thaddeus Young
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After a career year last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, many fans and experts were predicting Thaddeus Young to break out and finally become an All-Star-caliber player, but that has not been the case.
He's currently averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, which is well below his career average of 49.8 percent.
In Young's defense, he missed several games this year due to the unfortunate passing of his mother, which may be affecting his performance.
Young is a solid player, and by the season's end, he may be the best player on this team, but so far, he's been a disappointment.
4. Anthony Bennett
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After a year of disappointment and frustration, Anthony Bennett has been proving his doubters wrong. Drew Garrison of SB Nation described Bennett's rookie year as the "worst rookie season of any No. 1 pick in the past 24 seasons."
The former first-overall pick still hasn't shaken his reputation as a "bust," but he's certainly shown improvement. So far this season, Bennett is averaging 7.1 points per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the floor.
He also has a player efficiency rating of 15.05, which is right around the league average. Only two players on the Wolves have played over 10 games and have a higher PER than Bennett.
Unfortunately, with Thaddeus Young on the team, Bennett is only averaging 17.2 minutes per game. If Bennett continues to improve, he could make Young expendable.
3. Corey Brewer
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On a team with several injuries and underperforming players, Corey Brewer's consistency is extremely valuable.
His numbers don't leap off your computer screen, but he's been the productive two-way player the Wolves need. Brewer is currently averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent. He's also been a menace on defense, collecting two steals per contest.
It's odd to see Brewer this high on a power ranking, but he's been the Wolves' only consistent veteran. Over the last 10 games, Brewer has scored no less than seven points but no more than 19 points in a single night.
2. Gorgui Dieng
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Gorgui Dieng is another player on this team who benefited from someone else's injury. With Nikola Pekovic sidelined, Dieng finally got his chance to prove he belongs in the NBA.
In the Wolves' 85-77 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Dieng was the only player on his team who performed. He racked up 15 points (while shooting 50 percent), 16 rebounds and two steals.
He's also proven to be the shot-blocker Pekovic never could be, averaging 1.2 blocks per game this season. In nine games, Pekovic only recorded two blocks.
Dieng's stat line isn't impressive, but he currently has an 18.61 player efficiency rating, which is well above the league average.
1. Shabazz Muhammad
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Shabazz Muhammad has had quite the bounce-back year.
After spending a chunk of his rookie campaign in the NBA Developmental League, Muhammad has proven to be an alpha wolf. In the Wolves' 107-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Muhammad had the performance of his career, scoring a personal-best 28 points while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor.
He currently averages 9.7 points per game, and he's shooting a team-best 50.8 percent. He also leads the league among qualifying guards with 3.2 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
To top it all off, Muhammad has a 19.34 player efficiency rating, which is the second highest on the Wolves, bested only by Kevin Martin. According to SportingCharts.com, having a PER of 20 categorizes the player as a "borderline All-Star."
All stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and ESPN unless otherwise noted.
Love the T-Wolves? Follow me on Twitter: @JosephZapataIII
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