Chris Finch said before the game on Friday night against the Sacramento Kings that contests like these serve as the “true tests” of the Wolves early on in the season.
Why?
A game against a reeling Kings
team hungry for its first win in four games would often be a letdown spot for a Wolves team that’s won five of their last six.
But the ghosts of Wolves’ past were not how they came out. With the ball moving early, they capitalized on open threes and were able to find their way into the paint, nearing a double-digit lead early in the quarter. From the start, it didn’t look like it would be incredibly close.
Frankly, I never really want to bag on officiating. I think it’s pretty weak and hides actual problems within the game. But in the first quarter, with the Wolves rolling, there were a few double standards of physicality allowed in the paint when the Wolves would attack the rim vs. when Sacramento would find their way into the lane.
Fighting through contact and not getting as many calls on the other end, it impacted the five on the floor, and the Kings closed the gap to a 28-24 game in the first quarter.
From that point, it was a collective holding of breath at Target Center. This script has played out before; letting a poor stretch of play where the whistle isn’t going Minnesota’s way compounds all the way into bad shots, lack of ball movement, giving up on defense, and a snowball that leads to an arena full of tension and sighs.
For a while, that looked like the case. Russell Westbrook had 12 assists through the first half, and Domantas Sabonis had his way with 30 points through 2.5 quarters, killing the Wolves drop coverage and taking advantage of a lack of help defense on the backside, hitting wide open cutters.
Through much of it, the Wolves stayed alive while getting gashed on the defensive end. Jaden McDaniels, who started out 5-5 from the field, left the game three separate times for getting an elbow to the face, a knee to the sensitive area, and a slip on the floor that looked like a possible long-term knee injury (which thankfully it wasn’t); he was much needed, and the fans let him know about it.
With McDaniels being the main offensive contributor in the first half, the game was even heading into the locker room at the halfway point. Most notably, Anthony Edwards had just nine points and seemed to take a more passive approach early on.
Enter the second half.
Edwards came out and drew three fouls in the first four minutes of the second half; setting the tone for what would end up being a 21 point second half for him, en route to his fifth 30+ point game this season.
With the Kings on their heels, the Wolves capitalized. Donte DiVincenzo came up with massive energy plays, finishing his night with 20 points and a plus 17, and perhaps the shot that buried Sacramento with eight minutes left in the fourth.
There are always things that will be needed to be improved upon, but the Wolves are currently doing what they previously couldn’t; consistently beat bad teams and close them out when it matters, despite getting knocked back in the middle of games (with much of that having to do with the bench; more on that later).
How sustainable is it? We may not know for a little bit with better teams on the horizon. However, it’s time to see if this offensive rhythm this team has found is ready to hold up.
Up Next
The Timberwolves will face their second back-to-back of the week and host the Denver Nuggets at Target Center. Denver is coming to Minneapolis for the second time this season, losing by 13 the first time around without Anthony Edwards.
It’ll be the Nuggets that are banged up this time around, as Anthony Edwards’ primary defensive matchup, Christian Braun, was ruled out for at least six weeks on Friday. How Denver defends Edwards will be extremely interesting to watch.
Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 7:00 PM CT.
