The Minnesota Timberwolves have blown two straight games. The first, they led by eight points with a minute left. The second, they led by ten with three minutes left. Andrew Carlson joins Ryan Eichten
to try and figure out where the Timberwolves go from here.
— In their past five games, the Timberwolves rank 27th in offensive efficiency. One of the largest reasons for this regression has been Julius Ranlde, who has had a recent stretch of poor games after starting the season as well as anyone else in the NBA.
— One of the more hidden reasons for Monday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings was the Wolves’ inability to grow their lead. Despite playing from ahead almost the entire game, Minnesota was unable to put the Kings away early in the game, leading to a 10-0 Kings run late in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
— Jaylen Clark, Terrence Shannon Jr, and Rob Dillingham combined for a total of just 22 minutes against the Kings. They collectively scored zero points, with none of the three players able to find a rhythm. Playing so few minutes may be affecting these young players’ chances for success, as one of the three will likely need to sit on the bench so the other two can find their stride on the court.
— In Friday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, Anthony Edwards played the largest role in the final-minute collapse. The Wolves need both better play down the stretch of games and more consistent play against lesser teams from Edwards; otherwise, the Wolves will fall short of their season-long goals.
— The Timberwolves need more from their leadership trio of Edwards, Randle, and Chris Finch, who have all had a litany of mistakes during these pair of gut-wrenching losses.
— The Wolves play the Thunder Wednesday night with a chance to either switch the recent narrative or dig a deeper hole. If they win, they likely advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.
