Just a week ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to be heading in the exact right direction. They defeated the Toronto Raptors in one of their most complete performances of the season, securing their fifth straight victory and moving the Wolves into third place in the Western Conference for the first time since they were 1-0. The vibes were high.
Over the past three games, everything has completely flipped for the Wolves. They’ve decisively lost their last three games, all by double-digits or more.
All areas of the game have fallen apart at one point or another during this stretch for the Timberwolves, which has made it impossible to focus on just one aspect.
It started Saturday afternoon at Target Center when the Timberwolves lost 119-92 to the Orlando Magic. The Wolves’ offense fell apart down the stretch of the first half as the Wolves went nearly five full minutes without a single point, allowing the Magic to go on a 16-0 run. After the game, Edwards either wasn’t sure or wasn’t willing to share what went wrong offensively.
The terrible offense continued into the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday when the Wolves scored just 45 points on 18-45 shooting from the field and 4-22 from beyond the arc. Minnesota’s first-half defense kept them in the game, but eventually, the pairing of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves broke through, combining for 62 points in the 14-point win over the Wolves.
Edwards had an especially poor game, going 2-15 from the field, including 1-10 from deep. Ant did get to the line ten times to boost his scoring total a bit, but with the Lakers’ defense playing heavy in the gaps to take away driving lanes and passing angles, Edwards was unable to generate consistent offense, over-relying on his step-back 3-pointer while over-dribbling the ball instead of making quick decisions with the ball.
The following night, the Timberwolves finally got their offense back on track when they didn’t turn the ball over as they scored 128 points and made nearly 60 percent of their shots. Their issues violently shifted to the other side of the court, though, as the Wolves gave up 153 points, which tied the Clippers’ franchise record for points in regulation.
It was an extraordinarily ugly performance across the roster for the Wolves. Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points on 15-20 shooting, including six 3-pointers, and nine free throws to go along with five assists. The Clippers as a team shot 63.4 percent from the floor and 51.4 percent from beyond the arc while scoring 35 or more points in each quarter.
The poor defense of both Edwards and Julius Randle stood out most. The two leaders of the team were missing rotations, often forgot to box out, were ball-watching on many possessions, and overall provided little resistance to the LA offense.
“I just gotta be better,” Edwards stated after the game, taking accountability for his performance. “Whoever I’m guarding. Trying to set the tone to start the game, I gotta be better. It’s just me, everything is about me.” Ant later said, “I gotta find a way to get us out of it, it’s all my fault.”
It’s a good sign that Edwards is recognizing that the problem and the potential solution both reside with him as the best player. The likelihood is that the Edwards and Timberwolves will turn it around because that has been their pattern for at least four seasons now. Every time their season feels on the brink of collapse, the Wolves have made fans, and those who cover them feel stupid for ever doubting them.
The issue is that the Wolves can’t just rely on what they’ve done in the past; they need to be better. Much better. While the last two seasons have undoubtedly been successful, as the Wolves made it to back-to-back Western Conference Finals, they also did not come close to winning either series, losing both series in five games.
Now 66 games into the season, the Wolves have shown little reason why they are a legitimate threat to win the championship. On the season, they are 11th in Offensive Rating, 12th in Defensive Rating, and 11th in Net Rating according to NBA.com. They are on pace for fewer than 50 wins and currently have a 5-9 record against the teams currently seeded one through six in the Western Conference.
Most notably, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who eliminated the Timberwolves in the West Finals a season ago, appear to be further ahead of the Wolves than at any time before. Despite being one of the most injured teams in the NBA, OKC leads Minnesota by 11 games in the standings. The Thunder seem primed to defend their title no matter who they face, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on track to win his second consecutive MVP award.
To a certain extent, it’s fair to believe the Wolves can “flip the switch” and perform at a higher level than they have in the regular season. Edwards specifically has shown the ability to turn up his level of play and intensity in the playoffs with his ability to wipe away any of the warts that had shown up throughout the year.
At a certain point, though, the numbers and level of performance in the regular season start to become damning. At no point during this regular season have the Wolves put together a weeks-long stretch indicative of a team that can win three or four straight rounds in the playoffs.
Edwards and the Wolves have just not played with the level of consistency indicative of a championship-caliber team. Maybe Oklahoma City is an unfair bar, given SGA is set to break Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive 20-point games, but the Wolves’ play can’t vary so much that one night they score only 92 points and two games later they are giving up 153.
The Wolves’ season is still far from over. They currently sit just a half-game back of the three seed in the Western Conference, and everything is still left in front of them in terms of meeting preseason expectations. With just 16 games left on Minnesota’s schedule, though, this week’s stretch of awful basketball likely has to become a turning point that gets looked back on as when things began to change.
It has to be rock bottom. If it’s not, the roster and possibly beyond will look a whole lot different come next season.
