The Timberwolves need to find their identity for a late playoff run
Things looked bleak for the Minnesota Timberwolves. At 16-19, they were competing for a spot in the play-in tournament. They were losers of four of their past five games and appeared destined for another ill-fated entry into the draft lottery.
You may believe this is the story of this year's Timberwolves, but it's where they were one year ago. That team found its identity as an aggressive upstart team and went on to post a 31-17 record in their final 48 games to reach the playoffs.
Sitting at 16-20 entering Saturday's game with the Detroit Pistons, the Timberwolves are in a similar spot. They're two games behind the Utah Jazz for the final spot in the play-in tournament and four games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the sixth seed and an automatic playoff berth.
A run to the playoffs isn't out of the realm of possibilities but it won't happen if the Timberwolves don't rediscover their identity.
Think about who the Timberwolves were one year ago. Sure, they were struggling to get into the playoffs but they were a fun group to follow. Anthony Edwards was a rising superstar and Patrick Beverley was getting in the face of every opponent.
That attitude made them the target of national analysts who believed they were showing up the Los Angeles Lakers or celebrating too hard after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in tournament. But that team backed down to nobody, helping to revive a dormant fan base.
This year has been a different story. Watching the Timberwolves is about as enjoyable as washing dishes by hand. There's no joy on the players' faces. They call each other out for eating too much fast food. Chris Finch – one of the key figures of last year's turnaround – looks like an embattled AAU coach on the sidelines.
There's also the Wolves' mentality that's holding them back. A simple staredown or a large run by an opponent and the Wolves retreat into their cave. We're not even mentioning the Timberwolves' vendetta against the referees which may lead to Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell playing the rest of the season wearing tin foil hats.
It's fair to question what happened to this group and it may have happened during the offseason. Tim Connelly's first splash as president of basketball operations sent five players and five draft picks to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert, but the franchise-altering move appears to have blown up in their faces.
The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year looks like he had his ability stolen by the Monstars in a bid to imprison Bugs Bunny and the only thing he's caught in the post is an illness that forced him out of Friday night's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
With his lowest points (13.8) and rebounding (12.0) averages since the 2017-18 season (13.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg), Gobert has been disappointing. And his 1.3 blocks per game are alarming for a player acquired for his defensive ability and shot-blocking prowess.
While Timberwolves fans will have Herschel Walker flashbacks at the four first-round picks and the 2026 pick swap the Jazz received in the deal, the bigger blow may have been the players that Connelly gave up to bring Gobert to Minnesota.
- Jarred Vanderbilt isn't the rim protector that Gobert has been but he could have been a solid role player at 23 years old.
- Malik Beasley's 3-point percentage has declined from 37.7% last year to 36.9% this year, but he would be a nice spot-up shooter for a team that ranks 22nd (34.2%) from beyond the arc.
- Walker Kessler, who the Timberwolves drafted with the 22nd overall pick, is shooting over 74% from the floor and is averaging more blocks per game (1.8) than Gobert.
All three players could have played key roles for the Wolves this season, but the biggest loss may have been trading Beverley.
The 34-year-old is more of a role player than a starter at this point of his career, but he was the veteran leader of a team that was learning how to win. While Beverley constantly got in the face of opponents, it wasn't to the point where it was a distraction and it led to a tough mentality that allowed the Timberwolves to take on anyone.
Even with rumors that Beverley would return to Minnesota if he's bought out later this season, he might not be enough to help a team that's about to embark on a brutal schedule.
The month of January alone will see the Timberwolves face the Portland Trail Blazers (18-17), the Clippers (21-16), Phoenix Suns (20-17), Cleveland Cavaliers (22-14), Utah Jazz (19-19), New Orleans Pelicans (23-12) and Memphis Grizzlies (21-13) – and they will play the Denver Nuggets (23-12) and Sacramento Kings (19-15) twice.
An optimist would say this is a great opportunity for the Timberwolves to gain ground in the standings and it looks even better with three games against the Houston Rockets (10-25) and matchups with the Pistons (9-29) and Toronto Raptors (16-20).
Even then, what evidence is there to suggest this team can find an identity? Injuries to Taurean Prince, Jordan McLaughlin and Towns haven't helped the cause but there's no indication that this team is on the verge of finding what made them successful a year ago.
That makes this team incredibly frustrating and one that won't go anywhere until they figure it out.
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