Timberwolves

11/17 PREVIEW: Timberwolves Don't Have Luxury of Taking it Easy Against Mavericks

The last time the Timberwolves faced the Mavericks, the Wolves looked like they were on top of the world. The 13-point win brought them to 6-3 on the season, and following a next-day double-digit win against the Hornets, it felt like the Timberwolves had figured out how to win.

Even after a somewhat expected loss to the Golden State Warriors, things felt fine. They were still beating the teams they were supposed to beat. The Warriors have always been seen as an outlier, and the blowout loss wasn’t one they’d take too hard. But then, the Wolves lost on the road to the Phoenix Suns, forcing some necessary short-term reevaluation.

After that game, it became clear that Tom Thibodeau and his team weren’t good enough, on either end of the floor, to take a night off. Even against an alleged “gimme” win, like Phoenix.

This stands true in the case of Friday night’s game, against those same Dallas Mavericks. While Rick Carlisle is still regarded as one of the best head coaches manning an NBA sideline, and the aging Dirk Nowitzki is an all-time great, the team sits last in the Western Conference and the entire NBA. Yes, they currently sport a worse record than the Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings and those same Phoenix Suns.

With Nowitzki – a player nowhere near where he used to be, and a liability defensively at this point – being forced to start at center in a goofy small-ball starting five, they’ve become liable to giving up easy points in the paint. With Nerlens Noel slowly losing minutes in the rotation, paint production becomes even easier for teams, even when the second units start to cycle in.

Still, somehow, they’re nearly in the top 10 – they currently sit No. 12 in the league, according to NBA.com – in paint protection through the year. Part of that is Nowitzki’s years of wisdom coming through, part of it had to do with Noel’s minutes being higher earlier in the season, and part of it is likely good coaching by Carlisle.

Still, a muscle-heavy duo like Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson will be tough for Nowitzki and pseudo-power forward Harrison Barnes to keep up with. When these teams faced off on Nov. 4, the Wolves scored 50 points in the paint, a number that on average would put them near the bottom of the league.

After that game, the Mavericks were 1-10. Since then, they haven’t done much better, going 1-3 over the past week and change. Their only win in that span came against a fully-healthy Washington Wizards team, played on John Wall and company’s home floor.

It’s hard to figure out what went wrong for Washington in that game – the Mavericks have owned them in recent history, now with nine straight victories against the Wizards – especially considering their relevancy and exception to be a top-tier team in the Eastern Conference.

But that should serve as yet another cautionary tale for the Timberwolves. Yes, they’re fresh off a pair of wins against the Jazz and Spurs, but should still feel the effects of the road loss to the Suns from nearly a week ago.

They’ve proven they can win close games, against good teams, and can beat up on the bad teams. They’ve also proven they can’t do it consistently. Not yet.

The Mavericks fall under that “bad team” description, but can’t be taken lightly, for that very reason.


Listen to Tim on Wolves Wired!

Timberwolves
Draymond Green’s Antics Are Beneath the Wolves
By Andrew Dukowitz - Mar 27, 2024
Timberwolves
The Wolves Unlocked Something By Starting Naz Reid
By Charlie Walton - Mar 26, 2024
Timberwolves

Naz Reid Is the People’s Superstar

On Saturday, Jake’s Graphs made a compelling case that Naz Reid is the ideal man. He’s loved by all, has a killer crossover, and is hard-working. Reid […]

Continue Reading