Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies Date: February 2nd, 2026 Time: 6:30 PM CST Location: FedEx Forum Television Coverage: Peacock, FanDuel Sports Network – North Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart
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The Minnesota Timberwolves have officially done that thing only the Wolves can do: follow a four-game skid that made you question the entire concept of organized basketball… with a four-game winning streak that thrust them right back into the “contender” conversation.
They’ve now stacked wins over the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Memphis Grizzlies in a busy, bruising, last week of January. And the standings in their cold, merciless honesty say the Wolves are still right there: sitting in the five spot, a half-game behind Houston for the four seed, two games behind San Antonio for the three, and 2.5 behind Denver for the two seed. After everything, every late collapse, every “why is this happening to me?” fourth quarter, every soul-snatch loss that had you staring into the distance, Minnesota is still in the mix.
That’s the wild part. The Wolves have played like two different teams all year, and yet the record is still salvageable because when the “good Wolves” show up, the January 1st Wolves, the “we’re defending like it’s personal” Wolves, the “ball is hopping, everyone eats” Wolves, they can beat anyone. Thursday against OKC wasn’t a fluke; it was a reminder. Minnesota isn’t just capable of hanging with elite teams. They’re capable of punking them when the intensity is real and the execution is clean.
Now the calendar flips to February, which in NBA land means the trade deadline comes to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Wolves fans will finally going to get an answer on whether Tim Connelly has a trick up his sleeve to address the point guard situation that’s been a sore spot all season. Then there are the Giannis rumors that would send shockwaves through Minneapolis and the rest of the NBA. But we’ll leave the wheeling and dealing to Tim. That’s his job. Our job is to look at what’s directly in front of this team.
And what’s in front of them is… opportunity.
The February schedule is lighter. The All-Star break chops it up. There aren’t a bunch of heavyweight boss fights stacked on top of each other like we saw in the back half of January. If the Wolves handle business against teams they should beat, if they take care of the LA Clippers, defend their home floor against the Philadelphia 76ers, and do the thing that has apparently been illegal for this franchise since 2004—cross the border and win a game in Toronto against the Raptors—then you can start squinting and seeing the outline of an undefeated February. Not because the Wolves are some unstoppable machine, but because the math works: a clean month would erase that 2.5-game gap with Denver in a hurry and set up a real push heading into the final quarter of the season.
But before we start ordering champagne and carving “2 seed” into stone tablets, let’s remember who we’re dealing with here. This is still the same team that looked like it forgot how to play fourth quarters in Utah. The same team that blew double-digit leads against Chicago at home. The same team that can go from “title contender” to “mildly haunted YMCA run” in the span of 48 hours.
Which is why Monday night matters.
Because Monday night is the second crack at Memphis, right after Minnesota beat them handily on Saturday. Same opponent. Same “we’re clearly more talented” dynamic. And those are the games that used to bite the Wolves all the time, the ones where you think it’s a formality and then you look up and it’s a six-point game with six minutes left.
Saturday has no bearing on Monday. Minnesota doesn’t get to cash that win twice. The Grizzlies are still scrappy, still proud, still annoyed, and they’re going to come in with the exact mindset you’d expect: “We’re not getting embarrassed twice.” The Wolves have to match that, especially because they’ve still got penance to pay for the January slump.
So with the Grizzlies fresh on our mind, here are the keys to the game.
#1: Protect the paint like it’s a bank vault
Memphis couldn’t shoot on Saturday. They looked uncomfortable from three, and when they did score, it was mostly the same formula: high-percentage looks near the rim, drives, dump-offs, second chances. Minnesota did a lot of things right, but they also had those little stretches where they acted like a double-digit lead was body armor. That’s when Memphis crept back into striking distance early in the fourth. The Wolves can’t give them that oxygen again. If Minnesota protects the paint with real discipline, staying connected at the point of attack, forcing tougher finishes, and closing possessions with rebounds, Memphis simply doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up for 48 minutes.
#2: Keep the ball moving
The Wolves shot 49% from three on Saturday, which is one of those numbers that makes you check if it’s a typo. But it didn’t feel fluky because the process was clean: crisp ball movement, quick decisions, and shots that came from advantage rather than desperation. Naz Reid got clean looks. Jaden McDaniels punished rotations. The Grizzlies were late, and Minnesota made them pay. Now, Memphis is going to adjust. They’re going to close out harder. They’re going to try to take away the easy kick-out threes. Fine. That’s where Minnesota has to trust the thing that actually works: move the ball again anyway. The ball rotates faster than any defender, especially a defense that’s short-handed and trying to survive. If the Wolves keep generating advantage, the shots will show up. If they start playing “my turn, your turn,” that’s when the offense gets sticky and Memphis gets a chance.
#3: If Memphis sells out to the arc, punish them inside
This is the see-saw game plan chess match. If the Grizzlies decide their entire identity on Monday is “no threes, no rhythm, everything contested,” then Minnesota has to respond like a mature team: go right through them. Rudy Gobert should be a nightly rim pressure event all by himself. Julius Randle needs to leverage his strength without turning into an iso black hole. The Wolves have a size and physicality edge; they need to use it like they mean it.
#4: Treat the ball like it’s valuable—because sloppy possessions are how underdogs hang around.
We’ve seen this movie: Wolves get comfortable, the passes get cute, somebody tries a highlight feed that belongs on a mixtape instead of a closeout game, and suddenly there are two turnovers, a couple transition buckets, and the arena vibe shifts from “easy win” to “here we go again.” Saturday had a little whiff of that with a few careless moments, like the Naz Reid behind-the-back turnover that hinted at the Wolves’ bad habit of playing loose when they feel in control. Memphis doesn’t need you to gift them much. They just need you to gift them enough to make it a game. Take care of the ball. Value possessions. Make them earn everything.
#5: Ant and Julius have to set the temperature—because everyone else follows their mood.
This is the heart of it. When the Wolves are sharp, it starts with the stars playing like leaders instead of freelancers. When Anthony Edwards is locked in, defending, attacking, making the simple reads, the rest of the team plays with edge. When Randle is engaged, physical, decisive, moving the ball, the offense has flow and purpose. And when either of them drifts into frustration or casual possessions, Minnesota becomes the team that invents new ways to lose winnable games. This is how you extend a streak: you don’t just rely on talent, you bring the same intensity again, even when the opponent isn’t glamorous and the last game felt comfortable. Memphis is going to come in scrapping. Ant and Julius have to meet that scrap with seriousness, and the rest will follow.
That’s the opportunity here: make February feel like a runway instead of a minefield.
The Wolves did the hard part by climbing out of that mid-January mess and stacking four straight wins. Now the challenge is the part that contenders don’t screw up: you don’t give it back. You don’t beat OKC and then drift. You don’t rediscover yourself and then start playing like it was an accident. You take the rematch, you handle your business, you make it five straight, and you start February with the kind of professional, no-drama win that good teams bank without needing a hero moment.
Because if Minnesota keeps treating every game like an opportunity, rather than a mood, then that gap in the standings starts shrinking fast.
Every win matters.
Monday is about making sure they don’t stop at four.
