Jeff Teague was hoping he wouldn’t have to go back in.
After a 41-18 third quarter, the Timberwolves were up 106-80 and seemed to have the game all but put away. As the entire starting unit headed to the bench, it seemed as though the game was safely in hand.
But the Timberwolves, the team with the worst fourth-quarter net rating in the NBA, allowed the Magic to get themselves back into the game and nearly steal it.
And despite the victory, and moving to 11-7 the night before Thanksgiving, the team and its coach were far from satisfied.
“All in all we won, but I’m not happy,” a frustrated Jimmy Butler told FS North’s Marney Gellner immediately after the game at center court.
“I was concerned,” Tom Thibodeau said at the post-game press conference. “They brought their starters back to start the fourth. So, matching up with the starters was a concern. The way they shoot the 3, I knew the lead wasn’t safe.”
The first half gave no indicators of how the game was to shuffle out. The starters came in and held their own, only to have the bench come in and lose the lead. At one point, the Magic were up by as many as eight points.
The Wolves bench only managed two minutes and change before Thibodeau decided to bring the entire starting lineup back in, and ultimately finish the game. The Wolves starters were forced to score 110 of the team’s 124 points.
The quick turnaround happened because the Magic went on a 19-1 scoring run, led mostly by Evan Fournier, Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon. Eventually, Butler and the starters were able to get things into check and calm things down, but it wasn’t an impressive outing.
The mood at Thibodeau’s press conference, and in the locker room, reflected that. The happiness that has surrounded this team after victories was absent, and the team’s two leaders – Thibodeau and Butler – appeared to be downright irritated with the way the night ended.
“What did Thibs say? That’s what I say,” a still-irked Butler said in the locker room. “Possessions matter a lot more, you can’t turn the ball over, you have to find ways to get stops. More than anything you have to guard.”
It wasn’t just the old friends from Chicago with that frustration, either. The entire starting group came up positive in plus-minus, while all five bench members were in the negative. While plus-minus rarely tells the whole story, it was a fair pairing to the eye test in this one.
Still, the starters felt a share of responsibility, and it reflected in the overall mood of the game.
“We took them for granted,” Taj Gibson said. “How the play was, we were real stagnant, taking quick shots. Sometimes when you’re up big you tend to relax a little bit and that team right there, most teams in the NBA, most guys are pro for a reason.”
Still, defense remains a problem for the team that sits in the bottom six in the NBA in efficiency on that end. Giving up 110 points to a middle-of-the-road offense, with its leading scorer – Fournier, who averages 19 points per game – struggling through most of the game, is not a good look.
“We can’t be casual,” Thibodeau said “The intensity in the fourth quarter is different, so you have to execute. It comes down to being strong.”
The Wolves go into Thanksgiving with a nice record, but a not-so-great outlook on where they’re at on that end. As time goes on into the new season, the figures from last season remain heavily similar.
They have a top-notch offense, but a bottom-10 defense. They have rebound the ball well, but struggle to defend the fast break. Their young stars show several flashes of brilliance, but often show lackadaisical efforts to match it.
The difference this season, of course, is the record. Going into Thanksgiving a year ago, the Timberwolves were 4-10. This year, they’re 11-7.
If anything, the frustration everyone is showing is a good thing, and could lead to more good things going forward.
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