The injury lists were longer than your last grocery list.
If you are on the Golden State Warriors and are a notable rotation player, you likely didn’t play with the back-to-back.
We were in notes app territory.
Conversely, no
Anthony Edwards for the nagging foot infection he’s been dealing with, and came off of a mediocre game by his standards on Sunday night.
Putting it lightly, it’s been a horrific stretch in Minneapolis, and Sunday night’s game was an environment closer to a vigil than a basketball game.
Pair it all with the uninspiring lull that the Wolves are currently forging for themselves on the floor, Monday night was simply a must-win game for a much better team on paper and a fanbase that just needed something to cheer for.
But who would bring the energy? An unfocused, unenthused Timberwolves team had been rolling through the last week without a tone-setter, and the results followed. Early on, much of the same seemed to be happening.
Julius Randle hit his first three but would go on to miss his next four, and a similar tone was set for a team that tends to settle for shots. Out of the Wolves first 12 shot attempts, eight of them were threes. With no Draymond Green for Golden State, the Warriors deeply lacked interior defense and were begging to be out-rebounded and outscored in the paint with Quinten Post playing most of their center minutes.
Rudy Gobert would need to play well. He did. His 15 points and 17 rebounds showed a return to aggression that’s been missing for the Wolves center over the last few games.
Largely because of The Wolves’ center’s return to form, the game would follow its anticipated projection as has been the theme all year. When Gobert plays well, the Wolves are able to lean into the only identity that wins them games; defense.
The home team would go on to pull in front of the Warriors by 28 points by the beginning for the fourth quarter and close the deal in emphatic fashion.
The slow start? Short lived.
A shot in the arm was needed badly and while they may just have gotten it, it wasn’t going to happen without a little help from the bench. A team so desperately searching for players to come into the game and make an impact, Monday served as a perfect opportunity to show a pulse from Chris Finch and company’s unit.
Enter Bones Hyland.
Up Next
The Wolves will head to Julius Randle’s home city of Dallas on Wednesday and take on a Mavericks team currently punching above its weight class. The Mavs have won four of their last five, two of which coming against the vaunted and merciless Utah Jazz (or so we saw when the Wolves went to Salt Lake City a week ago).
Because Anthony Edwards was out on Monday night with right foot injury maintenance, it would be expected that he makes his return to the lineup on Wednesday.
Tipoff is at 7:30 PM CST.
