It’s been a crazy week for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Between an international road trip, swirling rumors of a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, and two actual trades that saw Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and Mike Conley (for now) leave the organization, it’s been an intense set of days for the Wolves organization.
With the trade deadline in the rearview, the Wolves can now shift their full attention back to basketball and their two newest players, Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips, who were
both listed out but were in attendance for Friday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Before the game, Dosunmu and Phillips, along with Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, spoke to the media about the trade deadline.
The game played out as many have for the Wolves this season. The Wolves’ defense was atrocious right from the opening frame, giving up 32 first-quarter points, including 20 in the paint, as the Pelicans were able to get layups and dunks early and often.
The Wolves’ defense picked up in the second quarter, allowing the Wolves to take a 14-point lead into halftime, scoring 70 points in the first half. That lead grew to as many as 18 points early in the third quarter with the Minnesota offense humming.
Instead of stomping the Pelicans out right then and there, the Wolves let off the gas as they have so many times before. Trey Murphy III hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter to cut the Wolves’ lead all the way down to five entering the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a disaster on both ends of the floor for the Wolves has the ball movement and pace on offense completely dried up, while their defense was unable to stop Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, as the Wolves fell behind by six following Derik Queen’s fourth 3-pointer of the game.
The Wolves would mount a comeback, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead, but an and-1 by Zion on the subsequent play, and an empty possession for the Wolves on the other end sealed the Wolves’ fate as they lost to the 13-40 Pelicans by a final score of 119-115.
The Wolves had no answer for Zion, who scored 29 points on 11-13 shooting as he continues to torture Target Center every time he plays in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards finished with 35 points, but shot 4-14 in the second half, including four missed shots in the final minute.
Performances like tonight have become all too commonplace for a Wolves team trying to win the championship. They often don’t take teams like the Pelicans seriously, playing little to no defense, and when they do lock in and take a sizeable lead, they far too often let off the gas, let the other team back in the game, and are unable to regain their composure.
All of this feels like déjà vu. Much of what is written above has been written many times before this season. It has yet to change, and worse yet, it feels to be getting worse. The players and coaches say many of the right things about needing to be better, but at a certain point, actions need to match the words.
If the Wolves can’t find more consistency night-to-night against non-marquee opponents, a return trip to the Western Conference Finals or beyond feels like a pipe dream.
Up Next
The Timberwolves close out their pre-All-Star break schedule with three more games at home, the next coming on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Clippers. It is a matinee matchup as the game begins at 2:00 PM CT, airing locally on FanDuel Sports Network and nationally on ESPN.
After that, they play the Atlanta Hawks on Monday and the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday before the week off.
