Timberwolves are beating NBA’s worst teams, which is a bigger deal than it might seem

It haunted the Minnesota Timberwolves all summer time lengthy. When executives, coaches and gamers regarded again on a 2022-23 season that ended with a 4-1 sequence loss to the Denver Nuggets within the first spherical of the NBA playoffs, they instantly began to do some soul-searching on what despatched them house early.

There have been many causes that they didn’t fulfill the expectations they’d for themselves, from accidents to unfamiliarity to immaturity. But one pebble caught of their shoe as a lot as another of their summer time of lament. The Wolves went 7-13 in opposition to the groups with the seven worst information within the league, together with a dumbfounding 1-9 in opposition to Charlotte, Washington, Detroit and Portland.

All of these losses to all of these losers helped push the Timberwolves right down to eighth within the Western Conference at season’s finish. It might have made all of the distinction if they’d been mediocre slightly than embarrassing in these matchups. Going 5-5 in these 10 video games in opposition to the Hornets, Wizards, Pistons and Trail Blazers would have put them as a No. 4-seeded staff and given them home-court benefit within the first spherical.

Instead, they needed to go on the highway to play the Los Angeles Lakers for the primary recreation of the Play-In Tournament. Then, after beating Oklahoma City within the second Play-In recreation, they earned the No. 8 seed and needed to play within the first spherical in opposition to the Nuggets, the staff that steamrolled via the playoffs to their first championship.

Had the Wolves gained only one extra of these video games in opposition to the dregs of the league, they might have hosted the Lakers within the Play-In Tournament. Maybe they might have overwhelmed Los Angeles at Target Center, which would have arrange a first-round matchup in opposition to the weak Memphis Grizzlies as an alternative of the juggernaut Nuggets. Maybe the Wolves would have overwhelmed the Grizzlies just like the Lakers did, which would have been simply the second time in franchise historical past they made it out of the primary spherical.

It would have been more durable to declare final season a failure and to criticize the Rudy Gobert commerce that had occurred, proper? It would have been inconceivable had the Wolves overwhelmed the Suns within the second spherical and superior to the Western Conference finals just like the Lakers did.

Of course, none of that occurred. They put up a good combat in opposition to Denver however went out rapidly and spent the subsequent 4 months being ridiculed and discounted. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly and coach Chris Finch harped on the staff’s lack of maturity all through the offseason, emphasizing the significance of not wanting previous any opponent, irrespective of the report.

“Some of those were just immature losses,” Finch mentioned final month. “We needed to form an identity. We didn’t have an identity last year. They were a little bit different every night.”

The message seems to have landed.

After thrashing the Grizzlies 127-103 in Memphis on Friday night time, the Wolves improved to 7-0 this season in video games in opposition to the worst groups on their schedule. They have overwhelmed Memphis (6-15), Utah (7-15) and San Antonio (3-18) twice every, together with two highway wins in opposition to the Grizzlies in the identical season for the primary time since 2003-04, and Charlotte (7-13) as soon as on their technique to a franchise-best 17-4 begin to this season.

The Wolves have had way more spectacular victories than these, together with in opposition to Boston, Denver, Oklahoma City and New York. But when it comes to quantifying the variations between this 12 months’s unimaginable begin and final season’s underwhelming end, the best way they are dealing with their enterprise in opposition to the struggling groups that come throughout their path stands out.

The 2022-23 season was stuffed with entice video games. This season, to make use of one of many Grizzlies’ favorite phrases, the Wolves stroll in your entice and take over your entice.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s different players every night,” Anthony Edwards mentioned after they beat the Spurs on Wednesday when requested why they aren’t struggling the identical letdowns this season. “It’s never one player. It’s always two or three players that come in and plays big on nights like this.”

That has by no means been more true than in Memphis in opposition to a Grizzlies staff lacking Ja Morant due to a suspension and Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke and Marcus Smart due to accidents.

Just over three minutes into the sport Edwards pulled himself out after aggravating the suitable hip pointer that triggered him to overlook two video games and hampered him within the win over the Spurs on Wednesday. Finch mentioned his hip was hit on the primary play of the sport and he “came down on it at an odd angle when he landed and kind of flared up on him.”

Edwards shall be examined additional in Minneapolis on Saturday, and it stays unclear if he must miss any extra time.

“Hopefully, we can get him back right,” Finch mentioned.

Earlier this season, shedding Edwards would have meant demise for the Timberwolves offense. But the Wolves have been in a position to shut out the Thunder within the fourth quarter on Nov. 28 after Edwards left the sport along with his preliminary hip damage and have now gained all three video games they’ve needed to play with out him within the final week.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the scoring Friday with 24 factors and in addition had seven rebounds and 5 assists. Gobert had one other monster night time with 16 factors, 20 rebounds and 6 blocked pictures. Mike Conley had 19 factors, seven assists and 4 rebounds. But it was the gamers down the depth chart who stepped in for Edwards on the wing.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14 factors, hit 4 3s and held Grizzlies star Desmond Bane, who scored 49 factors in a win over Detroit final day trip, to 16 factors on 6-of-13 taking pictures with 4 turnovers. Troy Brown Jr. began the third quarter in Edwards’ spot and hit three 3s and scored 11 of his 20 factors within the interval.

“I was just focused on winning,” Brown told reporters in Memphis. “My teammates found me in the second half.”

🔥 TBJ IS ON FIRE RN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TDJiIk7jEs

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 9, 2023

And long-struggling Shake Milton had his greatest recreation with the Timberwolves, scoring 17 factors on 6-of-9 taking pictures in 22 minutes. He hit three 3s within the recreation after hitting simply two in his earlier 12.

line it up,

and let it FLY. 🏹 pic.twitter.com/TPtWSjEGEY

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 9, 2023

That is the Shake Milton the Wolves thought they have been getting after they signed him from Philadelphia this summer time. They wanted a true bucket-getter with the second unit, a function that Jaylen Nowell was unable to fill. But Milton was hitting simply 35 % from the sphere and 21 % of his 3s this season. He regarded far more assured and assertive Friday night time, and that is what Finch has been pushing him to do for the previous couple of weeks.

If Milton’s night time was not simply a one-off and a signal of issues to return, the staff with one of the best report within the league simply obtained a little extra harmful.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can play and a lot of guys that can score,” mentioned Gobert, who led the best way for the Wolves to outrebound Memphis 54-28. “We are an unselfish team. When the ball is moving, we are a really, really tough team to guard because you don’t know where it’s coming from. … Everyone is shining. I think that’s the Minnesota Timberwolves we want to see and we’ve got to see consistently.”

Gobert had his first profession recreation with no less than 15 factors, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks. Kevin Garnett is the one different Timberwolves participant to have such a stat line. Gobert additionally blocked his 1,five hundredth profession shot and posted his ninth straight recreation with a number of blocks, tying Garnett and Eddie Griffin for the longest such streak in franchise historical past.

1,500 CAREER BLOCKS 💪 pic.twitter.com/7uFEpl0DSB

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 9, 2023

Now comes the laborious half for the league-leading Wolves. They journey to New Orleans for a recreation Monday that is the primary of 16 straight in opposition to groups with a report that is presently above .500. They play at Dallas (twice), Miami, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, New York, Orlando and Boston on this daunting stretch.

Then once more, given their struggles final season in opposition to the league’s weakest groups, perhaps the Timberwolves already conquered their largest problem.

(Photo of Rudy Gobert and Jaren Jackson Jr.: Petre Thomas / USA Today)