Timberwolves’ new twin towers could change the NBA’s blueprint yet again

Minnesota Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns and Utah Jazz C Rudy Gobert (Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports)

The Timberwolves’ big men play to each other’s strengths.

Gobert’s defensive impact means some drastic changes for Towns on that end of the floor. When the two big men are sharing the court, Towns will have to guard power forwards instead of centers. In some cases, he might have trouble staying with more agile players like Kawhi Leonard or Andrew Wiggins — especially because he is such a foul-prone player. Nevertheless, it will be a comfort for Towns to know that Gobert will be there to have his back and protect the rim.

The two big men will have to get accustomed to several adjustments throughout their first season together, but with this frontcourt, Minnesota will have the best team it has seen in a while. Minnesota’s front office was very much aware of this concept when they traded for Gobert and put a lot of pressure on their frontcourt players. They gave up so much for Gobert and Towns is already on his second max contract. Now, they have to prove that they can win together.

Towns and Gobert form a scary frontcourt because they complement each other so well, but the question is, how well that will translate to the playoffs? Both players have a shaky postseason history of never quite living up to their potential.

Now, as they both appear to be surrounded by better-fitting pieces, they have a chance to make up for that.

allowed opponents to shoot 66.9% close to the basket</a>, which was one of the worst averages in the league. They had similar deficiencies when it came to defensive rebounding. Gobert, one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in the game, should solve those issues.</p> <p>Thus, Gobert&rsquo;s main responsibility for the Timberwolves will be to anchor the defense and improve it as much as possible.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/18/timberwolves-analyzing-towns-gobert/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Towns and Gobert highlight each other&#039;s strengths </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_447765" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/18/timberwolves-analyzing-towns-gobert/3/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/13685222.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span>&nbsp;Grading all 30 NBA teams on free agency &amp; trades </a> </div> </div> <p>Now, as they both appear to be surrounded by better-fitting pieces, they have a chance to make up for that.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">