If things went as well as they possibly could have for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, then this year was the karmic reversal that we should have all seen coming. The basketball gods don’t impart goodness upon the Timberwolves without serious consequences to follow. That’s not how this works.
Here the Wolves sit on the precipice of a win-or-go-home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that no one expected to be here before the season. In fact, it’s fair to say that most people in NBA circles didn’t expect either the Wolves or the Thunder to be in this final play-in game, but for completely opposite reasons.
Minnesota has failed to put the pieces together to optimize a roster that is brimming with talent. In this particular game, the Wolves could really use the energy that Naz Reid brought them. He’s had some of the best games in his career against the Thunder, most recently 28 points on 61% shooting on December 16, 2022.
“He’s such a huge shot in the arm,” Chris Finch said about Reid. “He’s a mismatch problem a lot of the time. His energy, his activity. He makes big shots for us can finish at the rim, gives us a rolling threat. Just everything. I’m really pleased with his defense, too.”
They’ll need someone else on the roster to provide that proverbial “shot in the arm” tonight as they face a young and hungry Thunder team. In many ways, Oklahoma City has nothing to lose. A playoff bid this early in their rebuild will be a feather on their cap as they continue to build around their young stars. Missing the playoffs would give them better lottery odds to add another potential difference-maker to their squad during the draft.
Throughout the year, injury and changes to the roster have forced many players to step in and out of roles on the court. Regardless of the bumps along the way, the Wolves have dug themselves out time and time again.
I think back to Game 82, when they beat the New Orleans Pelicans. Brandon Ingram came out on fire as he scored a career-high 27 points in the first half. Of course, this was the game with the punch seen around the world that resulted in Rudy Gobert’s team-imposed suspension for Minnesota’s battle against the Los Angeles Lakers. And, yes, this was also the game with the other punch seen around the world that left Jaden McDaniels with a broken hand after he lost a fight with a concrete wall. All that drama and still the Wolves were able to claw their way back from a 14-point deficit.
On Tuesday night, the Wolves dug into their bag of resilience once again and gave the 8.5-point favorite Lakers a run for their money. The Wolves met a Lakers team for which everything seems to be going right. LA has finally gotten everyone on its roster healthy, and ended the season on a 16-7 run since the trade deadline. That’s in stark contrast against the Timberwolves, who entered the play-in tournament with everything going wrong.
All too often, basketball commentators, fans, and analysts venture into the territory of viewing players as monolithic. Singular beings who are this and aren’t that. Karl-Anthony Towns can’t defend or Anthony Edwards is a poor decision-maker. So much discourse on team building, chemistry, and talent is based on binary analysis of what happens on the court. It is easy to forget that each game is only 48 minutes of a player’s life. This season has reminded Timberwolves fans maybe more than anything that these players are unique and complicated individuals.
As the Wolves take their last step toward the playoffs, they will call upon the complexity of each individual. Injury and interpersonal dynamics weigh heavily on the team. They move forward without Reid, McDaniels, and now perhaps Rudy Gobert, who is questionable to return to action tonight with back spasms.
There are so many narratives that fly around about the Wolves: The Gobert trade was a bust, Karl-Anthony Towns can’t perform in the largest moments, the Wolves can’t stay out of their own way, etc. For many fans, the loss to the Lakers seemed to act as confirmation of what they already believed. The belief is that the Minnesota Timberwolves are destined to disappoint in perpetuity.
Now the Wolves have played themselves out of pole position in the Western Conference into a place where they never wanted to be in. They’ve got one game to win and make it to a best-of-seven series with the runaway No.1 seed in the West, the Denver Nuggets. This play-in game and hopefully subsequent series against the Nuggets present an opportunity for the Wolves to validate this season — validation they desperately need. When all the pieces click into place, the blueprint for a competitive team is evident. But, the question remains, will the Wolves be able to dig deep once again and make it to the playoffs?
