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Portland Trail Blazers: Power Ranking Northwest Division after week one

By Carson Brown

PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives against Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter during a preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives against Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter during a preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Robert Covington #33 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Robert Covington #33 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves have erupted out of the gates as Karl-Anthony Towns emerged as an early MVP candidate.

The Wolves went 3-0 with wins in Brooklyn and Charlotte and a home victory against the Heat to finish their undefeated week. The Wolves sit at 3-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 NBA season.

Karl-Anthony Towns was magical in his first set of games. He averaged 32 points along with 13 rebounds while shooting over 50 percent from the 3-point line. He was miraculous offensively yet kept that same energy on the defensive end. Towns contributed 3 steals and 2 blocks per outing making him the Western Conference player of the week.

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1188894314023313409

Andrew Wiggins got off to a decent start as he put up nearly 21 points a night, but his shooting wasn’t excellent. He shot just 43 percent from the field and was miserable from behind the arc except for in the 4th quarter against the Heat when he caught fire and shot 4-4 from deep winning that game for the Wolves.

Jeff Teague and Shabazz Napier both did their jobs of facilitating the rock averaging nearly 12 assists combined, but both shot poorly. Teague was just 17 percent from the 3-point line and Napier wasn’t much better shooting 20 percent from behind the arc.

The shooting has to be the biggest concern for the Wolves going forward. The 3-0 start has to feel good, but this statistical outpour Towns is providing can’t be expected every single night. Other than Towns the rest of the starters are shooting around 24 percent from the 3-point line which needs to be improved for continued success.

The Wolves have a light week coming up with only two games, but the first one in Philly on Wednesday night should be a great test for the hot Timberwolves. The Wolves follow this game with a Saturday night battle with the Wizards in DC that the Wolves should expect to win.