Former Green Bay Packers quarterback and current ayahuasca enthusiast Aaron Rodgers joined ESPN Milwaukee on Sept. 23, 2014, after the Packers started the season 1-2.
“Five letters here for everybody out there in Packerland R-E-L-A-X,” Rodgers spelled out before continuing. “Relax, we’re going to be okay.”
The Packers toiled through the first three games, ranking 28th in offense, and Rodgers’ heed to Relax struck a nerve in the fanbase. The quote went viral on the early internet ecosystem. Pundits suspected the slow start was due to his collarbone injury from the previous year. Internet sleuths threw out allegations related to his recent breakup with celebrity Olivia Munn.
The Packers finished 12-4, and after losing in the NFC Conference Championship, former Packers receiver Jordy Nelson explained why the quote struck such a nerve.
“As fans, I understand,” he said. “They have no control over what happens. So the only thing they can do is panic, and ride the highs and lows and live and die with everything that happens.”
Minnesota Timberwolves fans understand this all too well. This season, the Wolves have had thrilling victories in which they have looked elite. They have two wins over the playoff-contending Sacramento Kings, and elite clutch wins over the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. However, they have also dropped back-to-back games to the Portland Blazers. On Thursday, they had a disappointing 110-105 road loss to the Toronto Raptors.
As a result, the Wolves are 8-7. They are tied for the ten seed as the final play-in team. Minnesota’s slow start has resulted in panic among some Wolves fans. Fans are watching Karl Anthony-Towns thrive in New York while the new-look Wolves look out of sorts. The Wolves are searching for an identity, ranking 10th in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating.
However, the Packers were 1-2 when Rodgers told fans to relax, roughly 18.75% of the way through their season. The Wolves have completed 18.29% of their season. Green Bay had Rodgers, a generationally talented quarterback. Minnesota has Edwards, who is becoming the face of the league. The Packers were working Rodgers back into the offense after injury the previous year, and the Wolves are working in Julius Randle after the last-second offseason trade.
Reflecting on the Packers, their season played out well after the concerning start. Rodgers backed up his relaxation sentiment in Week 4. He would go 22 for 28 for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-17 beatdown of the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Packers returned home and stomped the Christian Ponder-led Vikings 42-10.
The Packers finished 12-4, Rodgers made the first-team All-Pro, and R-E-L-A-X shirts with Rodgers’s head sold like hotcakes. Green Bay finished the season with the No. 1 scoring offense in the league, led by Rodgers, who threw 38 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
No one on the Wolves has been telling fans to Relax, but they have been stressing the need to improve their chemistry. While they are still learning to play together, they are still a top-ten offense in the top half of the league defensively. They rank 11th in net rating and fifth in true shooting percentage (59.7%).
Minnesota also ranks in the top ten in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage. On the other hand, they rank 11th in points allowed and opponents’ three-point percentage.
Each stat above indicates that the Wolves have raw talent. However, they are struggling in categories directly related to team cohesion. Their 16.3 turnovers per game are the seventh most in the NBA, resulting in opponents scoring 20.5 points per game off turnovers, which is also seventh most in the league.
They rank 21st in assists per game, suggesting an iso-heavy offense far from Chris Finch’s flow-heavy concept. The lack of assists and high turnovers resulted in the Wolves ranking 24th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Defensively, the 20.5 points off turnovers amount to 18.46% of their total opponents’ points.
That suggests the Timberwolves need more time to gel. Their shooting marks and base defense rankings imply that the baseline talent is enough for the Wolves to make a deep playoff run. The lack of assists and turnovers, coupled with points allowed off those turnovers, are largely causing Minnesota to suffer this season. With just under 82% of the season remaining, the Wolves still have plenty of time to mesh and turn their season around, just as the Packers did nearly ten years ago.
Telling Wolves fans to relax after all the pain and frustration they have endured would be inappropriate. However, being patient with the Timberwolves throughout December while they find themselves could help them reach a much higher goal than the Packers losing in the NFC Championship game. If they can get through this, the Wolves could hang their first banner.