October in Minnesota is a beautiful time. The leaves are changing, the air is cool and crisp, it (hopefully) isn’t snowing yet, and it’s time to f—ing panic because all your sports teams are garbage, and they want you to die sad and alone.
The Twins are getting sold after going 12-27 down the stretch to crash out of the playoff race. The Wild are off to a hot start, but we all know they get one good month per season. Vikings fans (bless your heart) are waiting for Sam Darnold to turn back into a pumpkin. Lynx fans are still Zaprudering the Breanna Stewart travel from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. And the Minnesota Timberwolves looked terrible in their 110-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to open the 2024-25 NBA Season.
Panic, failure, death. You better start prepping Wolves fans because it’s going to be a long winter.
Okay, now that I got that out of my system, it’s time to get on with the article the same way the Timberwolves will move on from their first loss of the season. The Wolves dropped a clunker in the opener in LA. But it’s just one game, and it’s far too early to freak out. Everything will be fine. Admittedly, it was an ugly game from the jump and an incredibly deflating way to start the most anticipated season in franchise history. Julius Randle forgot he now plays for the Timberwolves and didn’t show up for the opener aside from his first bucket, a stepback three, and baptizing Bronny James in his first NBA action.
Mike Conley went 1-7 with three turnovers and was a minus-22 for the game. Jaden McDaniels committed five fouls in 16 minutes. Coming off his fourth DPOY season and minutes after announcing a new contract extension, Rudy Gobert looked closer to his 2022-23 self, where he struggled in his first season in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards played well but struggled to get anyone else involved, and the Wolves lost to a team that most predict having a tough time making the playoffs this season.
Where have we heard this story before?
Oh yeah, last season. The Timberwolves were rolling into 2023 off of a second straight hard-fought first-round exit and realistic expectations to win a playoff series for the first time in 20 years. With all the hype, the Wolves laid a giant egg in the season opener against a Toronto Raptors team bound for the lottery.
For those who scrubbed their memory of this game, Minnesota lost the season opener 97-94 and shot 34 for 100 in one of the ugliest basketball games in recent memory. Anthony Edwards shot 8-27. Karl-Anthony Towns missed 17 of his 25 shots and was 2-10 from three. Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. were in the rotation, and the Wolves looked destined for another play-in berth and an early playoff exit.
Two games later, the Timberwolves blew a 21-point second-half lead to the Atlanta Hawks in a demoralizing loss that should have derailed the season three games in. It felt like a promising season was already over after two bad losses bookending a nice little win against the Miami Heat in Game 2. After the loss to the Hawks, the Wolves rattled off seven straight wins and won 23 of their next 28 games to establish their early dominance of the Western Conference. Minnesota went on to win 56 games and reach the Western Conference Finals for the second time in team history.
They still need to iron out some things from the lackluster opener at Crypto.com Arena. Randle must find his footing in Minnesota’s hierarchy and get comfortable with Edwards. They must guard against their habitually sticky offense that generated only 17 assists on 35 made baskets. Their shooting also will need to tick up after shooting just 41.2 percent from the floor, 31.7 percent from three, and 74.1 percent from the free-throw line.
It will probably take a little longer to find their top gear than last season as they try to work Randle and Donte DiVincenzo into the mix on the fly and adjust to life without Towns for the first time since 2014. But this team is far too talented to get too worried after one lackluster performance.
Getting a total feel for Minnesota’s early season will be tough. They have two nasty home games coming up against the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets. But the schedule also includes a weird stretch in which they play the Portland Trail Blazers three times in four games. They also have games against the Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, and Chicago Bulls, who all might be tanking already.
The Timberwolves disappointed in yet another season opener, but it’s far too early to freak out as if the season is already dead and the Towns trade was a huge mistake. If the Wolves are near or below .500 20 games in when the calendar flips to December, then you can start to worry, and if that happens, you have my permission to blame me for not sounding the alarm earlier.
