Timberwolves' Disappointing Season Ends in Game 5 Rout

            The Minnesota Timberwolves reached the postseason for the first time since 2004. Two of their players, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, represented the franchise at the 2018 All-Star festivities. And yet by most measures, this was a dissatisfying season for the Wolves.

            Finishing eighth in the conference and grabbing just one playoff win cannot be considered a success for a team expected to post a top-5 record in the West. The Houston Rockets dispatched the Wolves in five games in the first round of the 2018 postseason, culminating with a convincing 122-104 Game 5 win on Wednesday night. Three of the contests in the series were blowouts, including a Game 4 home loss for Minnesota in which they allowed 50 points in the third quarter.

James Harden and Chris Paul, Houston’s star-studded backcourt, outperformed the Wolves’ duo of Towns and Butler.

Towns was even outplayed by his center counterpart Clint Capela, who is one of the league’s most improved players this season. Capela brought more energy on both sides of the court.

Capela recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in the opening playoff game. Towns had just eight points in the 104-101 Game 1 loss for Minnesota, which missed a golden opportunity to steal home court advantage from the top-seeded Rockets. 

Closing out the series in strong fashion, Capela registered game highs in points (26) and rebounds (15), going 12-of-14 from the field in Game 5. For the series, Capela posted better offensive statistics than Towns—something few could have predicted before the series began. He had averages of 15.8 points and 14.2 rebounds, compared to 15.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per contest for Towns.

Capela outplayed Towns for the majority of the series. (Michael Ciago/Houston Chronicle)

Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins failed to make a significant impact for the Wolves all series, a microcosm of his underwhelming season. The 23-year-old signed a massive contract extension in October—a 5-year, $145.6 million deal that kicks in next season. He remains one of the league’s weakest defenders and offers little outside of scoring.

Butler is eligible for a maximum contract extension in the summer of 2019 and Towns will eventually command a max deal as well. That means the Wolves will feature Towns, Butler and Wiggins for the foreseeable future—a “Big 3” that pales in comparison to the league’s most dominant trios.

            While Tom Thibodeau helped the Wolves reach the postseason, the 2012 NBA Coach of the Year has ran into the same problems as he did in Chicago. This is fitting given that, as the team's president of basketball operations, Thibodeau acquired some of his former Bulls players, including Butler, Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks. He still plays his starters far too long. Towns and Wiggins ranked in the top-15 in total minutes played, while Butler (who missed 23 games this season) ranked in the top-10 in minutes (36.7) per contest. Gibson averaged 33.3 minutes per game.

Thibodeau was frustrated throughout most of Minnesota's five playoff contests. (Jim Mone/AP)

            Thibodeau was brought in for his supposed defensive prowess, but the Wolves ranked 17^th in points allowed per game. Towns has the potential to improve defensively, but Wiggins seems hopeless on that side of the ball and he is under contract through the 2022-23 season.

            The Wolves broke their 14-year playoff drought. But if this season is any indication, they are far from being title contenders.