The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a lot of rough nights at Target Center this season. Tonight was another one to add to the list, as the Wolves were routed 135-108 by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 27-point loss is the largest loss of the season for Minnesota.
Right from the opening minutes of the game, it was clear the Wolves were going to have to get creative with their rotations if they wanted to pull this one out. With Rudy Gobert suspended for accruing too many flagrant fouls and Naz Reid out with shoulder
soreness, Minnesota turned to Joan Beringer for his first career start to fill out the starting lineup.
That plan went up in smoke quickly as Beringer picked up two quick fouls just four minutes into the game, necessitating him going to the bench for the remainder of the quarter. His second-quarter stint didn’t go much better, as after just a single minute on the court, the rookie bigman picked up his third foul, putting him on the bench the rest of the half.
With the lack of other front-court options on the active roster, Beringer’s foul trouble threw a wrench into the Wolves’ rotations for the rest of the game. The Wolves tried mixing and matching with different players to see what would stick, including Mike Conley, Jaylen Clark, and Terrence Shannor Jr., who were all out of the rotation in the last game, but none of the combinations worked.
The lineups that had any sort of success included Anthony Edwards. Minnesota only lost Ant’s minutes by three points, but were outscored by 22 points in the 11 minutes Ant was on the bench before garbage time. Edwards finished with 28 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, but turned the ball over seven times.
The Wolves desperately missed Gobert’s defense near the rim, but his absence was not the only issue that caused the poor defensive output this game. They had poor closeouts on shooters most of the game and gave up 17 second-chance points.
Tyrese Maxey was superb the entire game, scoring 39 points to go along with eight assists, outdueling his fellow All-Star Edwards.
While the Wolves desperately missed Gobert and Reid in this game, it’s hard to use that as a reason for the poor performance when the 76ers, who played in New Orleans the night prior, were without Paul George, who, like Gobert, is suspended, and Joel Embiid, who is injured.
The Wolves have also been one of the healthier teams in the NBA this season, making their 35-23 record to this point feel underwhelming for a team with championship aspirations.
The loss by itself doesn’t signal that the sky is falling. The Wolves proved last season that they can make a playoff run with whatever seed they get. They also remained just one game back of the three-seed in the Western Conference, as each team currently seeded three through seven lost either today or yesterday.
While the Timberwolves still have the opportunity to achieve their loftiest of goals, at a certain point, the excuses have to fade away, and a sustained stretch of winning needs to occur. They now have just 27 games left in the season to make that happen.
Up Next
The Timberwolves now head out west for a three-game road trip starting on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers. With their last six games taking place at Target Center, and the All-Star break in the middle, this will be the first road game for the Wolves in almost three weeks. Fans can watch the game starting at 9:00 PM CT on Peacock.
Highlights
