Game Story
Former Canis Hoopus contributors Cooper Carlson and Jake Paynting said on their most recent podcast episode of “World Wide Wolves” that the Minnesota Timberwolves loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday was
one of the worst regular season losses of all-time. The mathematical improbability of that loss backs that claim up. Was a visit to the hopeless Sacramento Kings KANGZ be the remedy they needed to rewrite the ship?
You aren’t really a Wolves fan if you thought you were impervious to this.
The Wolves looked like a team on a mission early. They were undefeated against teams sporting a losing record after all. The team’s commitment to feed Rudy Gobert on the short roll paid dividends, helping unlock some space for Anthony Edwards to get loose. Edwards popped off for 12 points in the first quarter, looking engaged on both ends of the court.
The Kings could have laid down as they have much of the season, but this is a team that had just traveled to Denver and returned victorious. They leaned heavily on their 36-year-old veteran, DeMar DeRozan, to lead a parade to the free throw line. Poor Terrence Shannon Jr., who just returned from a nine-game absence, was repeatedly getting abused by the wily elder statesman.
A pair of Julius Randle five-point bursts helped the Wolves scoot ahead by double-digits early in the second quarter. It looked like it bided just enough time for Edwards to get back into the game and potentially blow the game open. Just like the first quarter, he delivered winning play after winning play on both ends despite favoring his left leg with some unknown discomfort.
Minnesota advantage was swelled up to 14, but as Wolves fans know, nothing is ever safe.
A quick 9-0 run by Sacramento shredded the Minnesota lead right back down to size at the end of the third. The game sat within a five to 10-point Wolves lead for the majority of the second half. Edwards continued to be nearly unguardable, but just couldn’t quite put the Kings away. Actually, that’s a lie. They held a 12-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, and then a 10-point lead with just over three minutes left. Surely that’s enough, right?
It took Sacramento literally less than a minute and a half to erase that.
The wheels were too wobbly at this point. The ghost of Timberwolves past, hell even of just Friday, reared its ugly head. You know this story. Isolation basketball. Poor defense. Mind-numbing turnovers. Even as the game crawled to overtime, just to punish Minnesota fans, we all knew the end result.
No Anthony Edwards supernova could even survive the black hole of the Wolves in clutch situations.
A calamity of errors and mistakes makes this all too difficult to put into words. The end result was a fanbase calling for their head coach’s head. Shouting to trade any player not named Edwards (Too late, Jesse). At the end of the day, the Timberwolves lost to the toilet bowl of the NBA who have zero to play for.
I should’ve just written a recipe instead.
Quick Hits
- The Wolves suck. Again.
- Never let Julius Randle inbound a pass ever again.
- Donte DiVincenzo is not a good defender.
- Jaden McDaniels has the mental fortitude of a wooden chopstick.
- I hope you’re excited to hear rumors of Anthony Edwards “unhappiness in Minnesota” for the next week.
Highlights
Box Score
Comment of the Night
Up Next
Why are you still here? The pain not enough?
It’s been six months since the Wolves were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals. Minnesota gets their first look at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, November 26th at 6:30 PM CT. Visiting the Thunder, in Oklahoma City, with a rest disadvantage will easily be the hardest test of the season.
Will the Wolves be overwhelmed just like 17 of the 18 opponents the Thunder have faced? Or will the Wolves make like the Lakers, Nuggets, and Suns have against them, and get revenge for their postseason elimination?
Game will aired on ESPN for the world to see. Feel free to hate-watch.
