The local professional football team again failed when it mattered most after an enthralling regular season, leaving its ardent supporters to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts and find a new target for their sports fandom for the time being.
One of the places they’ll look to is Target Center. After all, the Timberwolves captured the hearts and minds of Minnesota sports fanatics last spring as they trekked to the Western Conference Finals behind a dominant defense and the heroics of young star guard Anthony Edwards.
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Hey, April and May were fun! Who wouldn’t want to jump back onto that train?
Fair warning: While the destination is still to be determined, the route is a little funkier this time around.
Let’s catch the Vikings fans up to speed by answering a few questions:
Are they back near the top of the West again?
Eh, well, not exactly. They are actually in eighth place as of Tuesday afternoon.
EIGHTH?!
Yeah, but that can be a little deceiving. It’s currently Oklahoma City (32-6) atop the West, with a massive canyon between the Thunder and everyone else. Teams No. 5-12 are separated by just three games. Minnesota (21-18) is currently 1½ games out of the fourth seed, but just two games north of 12th.
Much is still to be determined.
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Does the Wolves’ defense still strike fear into opponents?
Sometimes! A historically good unit a year ago, Minnesota’s defense is currently fifth in the NBA, surrendering 109.6 points per 100 possessions.
There have been rough patches. Jaden McDaniels has started slow, and Rudy Gobert hasn’t had the same impact on the interior many nights. Julius Randle had to improve his attention to detail and take on more defensive responsibilities, and Anthony Edwards continues to search for consistency game to game — er, possession to possession — on that end.
When the Wolves are at their best, a dominant defense is still what leads the charge. The dominance simply isn’t as consistent as it was a year ago.
Is Ant the best player ever, or what?
Sometimes! Edwards’ popularity surged during the playoffs, setting sky-high external expectations for the 23-year-old this season. He walked into this season with a 3-point shot that’s as good and consistent as you’ll find in the NBA.
But Edwards has struggled with the additional defensive attention he’s seeing and at times has been frustrated by the lack of answers he has for the questions being raised by opposing schemes. There have been more signs of progress over the last two weeks — Edwards scored 41 points thanks to a fourth-quarter outburst Monday in Washington — but consistency has yet to be achieved.
How’s that KAT trade working out?
That’s tough to gauge at this point. Randle’s fit with Minnesota is far from seamless, though the Wolves have found a few combinations of late that appear a little less clunky. Randle now trails only Nickeil Alexander-Walker in net rating among rotation players, but Randle will have maddening isolation possessions that end with turnovers or bad shots, much like Edwards but without the booms.
But Randle also has injected pace and a baseline level of production while not complaining when asked to do different things.
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Donte DiVincenzo was slow out of the gates but has largely recaptured the rhythm he played with down the stretch a year ago with the Knicks, and there are many nights where he looks like a suitable running mate for Edwards.
So it’s not all doom and gloom?
Far from it. DiVincenzo, McDaniels and Naz Reid are all settling into more consistent grooves, and the team is better for it. This team’s ceiling may not be championship contender, and they are at times a tough watch, but Minnesota is still an evolving product and has the talent level to compete with anyone on any given evening.
Are the rookies any good?
We’ll let you know when they play.
Did I hear I’m a Pistons fan now?
Yes! As part of the Towns trade, Minnesota received a protected first-round pick via Detroit. The pick is top-14 protected this season, so the assumption was it wouldn’t transfer for this summer’s draft. Because, well, the Pistons have stunk for years. But they’re pretty good now! After beating the Knicks on Monday, Detroit is currently 21-19, and if the season ended today, Minnesota would own the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Does A-Rod own the team yet?
Not yet! The arbitration process to determine whether Glen Taylor was within his rights to terminate the sale to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is in its final stages. Both sides have concluded all arguments and submitted all documentation, and the three-person panel is slated to levy its decision within the next month.
As a reminder, if the arbiters rule on behalf of Rodriguez and Lore, the NBA Board of Governors will still need to approve the duo as majority owners. For the time being, Taylor — who has been absent from Target Center as he recovers from a hip replacement — is still the controlling owner.
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