2020-2021 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread







It was 83 to 62 OKC at the Half!

Now it's 94-93 with 1:34 left in the 3rd.

Final Minnesota 118 OKC 120
 
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Timberwolves rally from 23-point deficit only to fall late to Thunder

Roseville Area High School grad Mike Muscala had a career half, lighting Minnesota up for 22 points on 7-of-7 shooting. Oklahoma City shot 60 percent from the field and 53 percent from deep.

The rout was on. Time to pack it in.

Or not.

Instead, for one of the first times this season, Minnesota showed some heart. The Wolves turned the keys to the offense over to Naz Reid, who tallied 21 second-half points against the undersized Thunder. Minnesota defended with about 10 times more purpose and led by as many as six midway through the fourth quarter.

The Wolves did not win. Oklahoma City stormed back late on the strength of 13 fourth-quarter points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to top Minnesota 120-118 to split the two-game set between the two teams.

Reid had a look at the rim to tie the game on the final possession, but couldn’t get it to fall.

“I thought it was going in,” Reid said. “It felt good, I thought I did everything right. It was depressing when I missed, but my teammates, they all believed in me, they all came over afterwards and praised me for how hard I worked after the game. I just wanted to win, and unfortunately we didn’t.”

But not for a lack of effort down the stretch. Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said “a lot of things were said” at halftime.

“I think we just all agreed that they were playing way harder than us, which was unacceptable for a group like us — a lot of young guys struggling a little bit,” Wolves forward Jake Layman said. “A team can’t play harder than us like that than us. I think in the second half, it was a great comeback.”


 

The Timberwolves guard missed the game with quad soreness. That same injury caused Russell to miss three games in January.

“It’s an active injury, so he had soreness after the game, and then that soreness was still there this morning,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said Saturday. “With him, with our schedule, it hasn’t afforded a lot of time to recover, so it’s erring on the side of caution.”

Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the day Gersson Rosas and Co. acquired Russell for, namely, Andrew Wiggins and a top-three protected 2021 first-round pick. The deal was meant to pair Russell with all-star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

But over the course of the year, the two have played just five games together as Towns has battled wrist injuries and, now, COVID-19.

“When you take a step back and you see it from a large lens, it can be frustrating,” Saunders said. “But when you’re going through the daily process of things, you rely on the mindset of controlling what you can control, and you really just want to move forward and try to find solutions in the short term that can also help affect the long term. That mindset has not changed. There’s no waiting for so and so to get back, and then we’ll start trying to do this and do that. No. There’s a reason for everything right now, and that’s so that we can help speed up the process when a guy like KAT gets back and those two are playing together, because of
how players complement them is important.”

Saunders noted when Towns does return to action, it won’t be a “plug-and-play” situation where he’s immediately playing 35 minutes a night.

“Because he’ll have missed a significant amount of time,” Saunders said, “and we want to be fair to him in that sense, as well.”

 

I'll give some credit to Saunders for the final play last night. I was waiting to see Beasley or Edwards dribble and jack up a 3, ala Carr for the Gophers.

But they got it into Reid, who was their best player last night, for a 3 ft bunny and he just missed it.
 



This time the were down by 21 after the 1st Quarter! They ended-up losing to Dallas 127-122.

Dallas had five players in double figures as Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 27 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks while Luka Doncic had 26. Malik Beasley overcame a slow start to score 30, as he tried to compensate for the loss of D'Angelo Russell, who left after six minutes in the first quarter to left leg soreness. Anthony Edwards added 22 points.

Dallas led by double figures most of the game after their explosive first quarter until the desperate Wolves made a run late, cutting a once 25-point Dallas lead to 112-103 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds to play. Dallas kept the lead in double digits until Beasley, who went bonkers in the fourth, hit two of his six fourth-quarter three-pointers in the final two minutes, and the Wolves cut it to 123-118 with 1:18 to play.

A Beasley putback made it 123-120 with 50.8 seconds left but Josh Richardson's 10-footer made it a five-point lead to close it out with 27.5 seconds left.


 

This time the were down by 21 after the 1st Quarter! They ended-up losing to Dallas 127-122.

Dallas had five players in double figures as Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 27 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks while Luka Doncic had 26. Malik Beasley overcame a slow start to score 30, as he tried to compensate for the loss of D'Angelo Russell, who left after six minutes in the first quarter to left leg soreness. Anthony Edwards added 22 points.

Dallas led by double figures most of the game after their explosive first quarter until the desperate Wolves made a run late, cutting a once 25-point Dallas lead to 112-103 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds to play. Dallas kept the lead in double digits until Beasley, who went bonkers in the fourth, hit two of his six fourth-quarter three-pointers in the final two minutes, and the Wolves cut it to 123-118 with 1:18 to play.

A Beasley putback made it 123-120 with 50.8 seconds left but Josh Richardson's 10-footer made it a five-point lead to close it out with 27.5 seconds left.


I caught 1/2 of the 4th qtr. Beasley was on fire. He has been a bright spot in this dismal season so far.
 


I caught 1/2 of the 4th qtr. Beasley was on fire. He has been a bright spot in this dismal season so far.

Yep. Only guy who, based on his actual performance this season, would make the rotation on a contending team.
 
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Both papers did stories yesterday about how close KAT is to playing again. Read a lot about that about this regarding KAT a year ago too.

Longtime Wolves fans remember the same stories being written about Micheal Williams (!), Wally Szczerbiak, Terrell Brandon, etc. Always forgave the Wolves, particularly McHale, for being super focused on how healthy a player was in college when it came to the draft. They had been burned many times by talented players who faded or disappeared when they got hurt.

Since the chances of getting a good free agent to come here is almost nil, keeping your players healthy is paramount to the Wolves.

All that said a healthy, KAT along with Russell and Beasley will give the Wolves a competitive squad. Question is if and when it will happen.

Hell, Juancho Hernangomez came back last night so it can happen. Of course Russell only played 6 minutes..:oops:

"Karl-Anthony Towns was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Minnesota’s game Monday against Dallas, and while Towns still missed the game, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders viewed the pregame upgrade as “progress.”

The Timberwolves have had more gym time on the road, which has allowed players like Towns to get added treatment and work.

“He’s been partaking in all of that. He’s really been able to push himself,” Saunders said. “Our medical group has been able to try to simulate certain stints during a game, the stopping and going, what that might feel like with his lungs.”

The Wolves have made a point to find out how Towns’ lungs can handle different durations of high-intensity work.

“Nothing can simulate a game environment like a game,” Saunders said. “Because there’s a lot of bumping, it’s physical and you can’t always simulate it with coaches, even as in shape as our coaches feel they are, they aren’t able to simulate what he’d see against a (Jonas) Valanciunas or a lot of bigger guys we’ve been facing.

Towns has missed more than three weeks of action. The Wolves have made a point not to rush players who’ve missed ample time while in health and safety protocols back to action too quickly.”..


https://www.twincities.com/2021/02/...-to-work-way-back-to-action-for-timberwolves/
 

Both papers did stories yesterday about how close KAT is to playing again. Read a lot about that about this regarding KAT a year ago too.

Longtime Wolves fans remember the same stories being written about Micheal Williams (!), Wally Szczerbiak, Terrell Brandon, etc. Always forgave the Wolves, particularly McHale, for being super focused on how healthy a player was in college when it came to the draft. They had been burned many times by talented players who faded or disappeared when they got hurt.

Since the chances of getting a good free agent to come here is almost nil, keeping your players healthy is paramount to the Wolves.

All that said a healthy, KAT along with Russell and Beasley will give the Wolves a competitive squad. Question is if and when it will happen.

Hell, Juancho Hernangomez came back last night so it can happen. Of course Russell only played 6 minutes..:oops:

"Karl-Anthony Towns was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Minnesota’s game Monday against Dallas, and while Towns still missed the game, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders viewed the pregame upgrade as “progress.”

The Timberwolves have had more gym time on the road, which has allowed players like Towns to get added treatment and work.

“He’s been partaking in all of that. He’s really been able to push himself,” Saunders said. “Our medical group has been able to try to simulate certain stints during a game, the stopping and going, what that might feel like with his lungs.”

The Wolves have made a point to find out how Towns’ lungs can handle different durations of high-intensity work.

“Nothing can simulate a game environment like a game,” Saunders said. “Because there’s a lot of bumping, it’s physical and you can’t always simulate it with coaches, even as in shape as our coaches feel they are, they aren’t able to simulate what he’d see against a (Jonas) Valanciunas or a lot of bigger guys we’ve been facing.

Towns has missed more than three weeks of action. The Wolves have made a point not to rush players who’ve missed ample time while in health and safety protocols back to action too quickly.”..


https://www.twincities.com/2021/02/...-to-work-way-back-to-action-for-timberwolves/
Part of being a superstar and being a team leader, face of the franchise is being able to answer the bell and be on the court. KAT isn't exactly trending in the right direction in this regard. Whether you think it's fair or not, dependability is part of the game and part of the criticism when you get that max contract
 

The Athletic: As losses pile, Wolves cling to hope that Naz Reid and the pups have had enough

The Wolves need more of that give-a-damn to wash over this roster. Those who have been here the shortest amount of time seem to have that area covered. Reid has filled in admirably for Towns while he recovers from COVID-19, growing his game on both ends of the floor. Edwards, who had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, has shown signs of blossoming since entering the starting lineup and has played with an edge the Wolves need. Fellow rookie Jaden McDaniels continues to be a defensive dynamo, and Jaylen Nowell scored 15 points off the bench. Jordan McLaughlin plays point guard the way this system demands and, most importantly, these young guys play with a competitiveness that the larger group has been lacking for much of the last two years.

If the Wolves are going to dig out of this mess, they need Towns to return to the lineup ASAP, and they need these youngsters to be as sick and tired of losing as their fans are.

“We know we gave up way too many points,” Reid said. “They were hitting 3s and they were going by us. We all knew we had to knuckle up and do what we had to do man-on-man-on-man. That’s something we had to do when we came out in the second half.”

No sugar-coating there. No excuses made for missing Towns and Russell. Just straight talk from a player who no longer has time for the BS.

“I think we were just tired of it, getting blown out in games,” said Jake Layman, who scored 10 of his 15 points and grabbed four of his five steals in the fourth quarter. “It wasn’t easy to come back tonight, but I think we had to focus on our defense and getting stops, and that’s what was the most important thing.”


Howl Wolves!!
 

Part of being a superstar and being a team leader, face of the franchise is being able to answer the bell and be on the court. KAT isn't exactly trending in the right direction in this regard. Whether you think it's fair or not, dependability is part of the game and part of the criticism when you get that max contract

Indeed and felt that way last season. Though it seemed that the team was pretty happy to keep him out as long as they could. Got a 1st Round pick out of it too. Still with the Wolves history of not getting players healthy it did tick me off.

This year? Expected that wrist injury to heal quicker than it did. The COVID holdback? Not gonna hold that against KAT or the Wolves. After losing his Mom, Uncle and 5 other relatives to it, the extra caution displayed in this instance seems well warranted.
 



Yep, KAT is back!

Of course Russell isn't. 'Cuz..Timberwolves.
 

Of course Russell isn't. 'Cuz..Timberwolves.
Is that really a bad thing? Kidding, kind of.
The bad thing is it delays Ryan being fired. Taylor wants to see what he can do with his two "stars" before he ok's the move.

The similarities between Saunders and Pitino are really obvious. I'm talking coaching only. Even their mannerisms. The biggest thing is not reacting to anything before it's too late.
 

This season is reduced to tuning in for the purpose of watching the development of individual players. Once McDaniels adds 20lbs, he will be a legit player. He might even be an all star if he becomes aggressive. Sometimes I think Ant might become a franchise player and sometimes I think he's content to float and will never be more than a tease. He's getting killed on defense and I'm not sure why Saunders matches him against the opponents best wing player late in games. Offensively, he's generally not that active. However, that may be a function of the wolves' offensive dysfunction. (Every player is required to hold the ball for four seconds before doing anything.) He doesn't pass much, probably because he knows the ball isn't coming back. Naz Reid's offensive game is improving steadily. He's undersized, but he knows what he's doing. Good passer and shooter. He's getting killed defensively.
This team is 1,000 miles from being even average but they have three dynamic young players (plus KAT). We are MN sports fans. We take what we can get, I suppose.
 

This season is reduced to tuning in for the purpose of watching the development of individual players. Once McDaniels adds 20lbs, he will be a legit player. He might even be an all star if he becomes aggressive. Sometimes I think Ant might become a franchise player and sometimes I think he's content to float and will never be more than a tease. He's getting killed on defense and I'm not sure why Saunders matches him against the opponents best wing player late in games. Offensively, he's generally not that active. However, that may be a function of the wolves' offensive dysfunction. (Every player is required to hold the ball for four seconds before doing anything.) He doesn't pass much, probably because he knows the ball isn't coming back. Naz Reid's offensive game is improving steadily. He's undersized, but he knows what he's doing. Good passer and shooter. He's getting killed defensively.
This team is 1,000 miles from being even average but they have three dynamic young players (plus KAT). We are MN sports fans. We take what we can get, I suppose.
McDaniels is easily their best defensive player already. Steal of the draft so far. He will be starting soon imo.
Naz has improved a lot the last month. An incredible improvement really.
Ant is just as you wrote. One game shows him scoring with ease and holding his own on D. Last night, he was putrid on both ends. He' s 19...
Nowell is already better than Culver, which isn't saying much, but is still nice to see. A guy who can shoot isn't something we see a lot around here.
Kat is Kat.
J-Mac is still a 3rd string pg but plays hard.
Beasley had a bad game last night but has been solid.
Everyone else has been terrible.
 

"I'm a high-risk case," Towns said. "COVID did not treat me well, whatsoever. A lot of scary nights."

To hear Towns tell it in a postgame media session that lasted over 21 minutes, that he was back on the floor at all was hard for him to fathom a few weeks ago after he contracted COVID. His bout, he said, was unlike that of other athletes, who seem to get over it quickly with few or no symptoms. He also spoke of the mental anguish, after he said the virus has claimed the lives of multiple family members, including his mother, Jacqueline. His genetic similarity to her, he said, was one contributing factor to the severity of his illness.

"I told my sister that … I got it, and I don't got a good version of it," Towns said. "I've got a lot of COVID in me, but I'm going to fight and I'm going to beat it."

He did eventually. Towns was healthy again, and that's good news in light of how hard COVID has hit his family. That he is now healthy enough to play in NBA games again — and seems to have avoided any long-term effects the virus can cause — is something the Wolves and fans shouldn't take for granted.

"I know fans and people who play fantasy sports all the time want Karl to come back on the court," Towns said. "It's supposed to be 12 days and he's on the court, but that ain't how life goes. Everyone's case of COVID is totally different. Every human and their underlying conditions are totally different and my underlying conditions did not play in my favor at all for COVID."

Towns didn't delve into specific symptoms he had other than to say, "I just was not feeling well whatsoever and the vitals weren't good, and decisions had to be made on my health." The Wolves had said they were making sure his lungs were functioning properly before clearing him to play Wednesday.

Towns said he felt "guilty" that he had access to treatments that aren't easily available to the general public..

 

They only real chance they have is with both Russell and Towns healthy. No one knows what they'll look like then. Think they haven't even played 8 quarters together, and that's in a calendar year!

Yep, Saunders needs to go. Afraid the only chance of that happening is after the new owners take over. You'd think that they'd realize that by keeping him their killing their fan base.

That is if they worry about keeping a fan base here.

“I thought he did a number of positive things,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said. “We need to shore up and really key in on the details of the offense again, with him coming back into the fold, because it does change things a little bit, too, especially as you become more of a post-up team, too. … But I thought he competed. His wind was good. 18 and 10 coming back from a layoff like he did, it was a good night for him.”

Playing without D’Angelo Russell, who was out with left leg soreness, the Wolves led by six at the break, and it looked like Towns’ return might instantly boost Minnesota in the win column. But the Clippers (18-8) — one of the top contenders in the Western Conference — flexed their muscles in the second half.

The scoring tandem of Lou Williams and Kawhi Leonard took over the game. Those two combined for 63 points on 23-for-40 shooting — with Leonard tallying 36 points, eight rebounds and five assists — as the Clippers turned what was a two-point game early in the final frame to a seven-point victory.

Naz Reid was effective coming off the bench after starting in Towns’ absence. He scored a team-high 23 points.

Overall, Minnesota (6-19) is 4-16 without Towns this season, and now 2-3 with him. Saunders said the center was “unbelievable” in how he worked to get back in a position to play..

 

McDaniels is easily their best defensive player already. Steal of the draft so far. He will be starting soon imo.
Naz has improved a lot the last month. An incredible improvement really.
Ant is just as you wrote. One game shows him scoring with ease and holding his own on D. Last night, he was putrid on both ends. He' s 19...
Nowell is already better than Culver, which isn't saying much, but is still nice to see. A guy who can shoot isn't something we see a lot around here.
Kat is Kat.
J-Mac is still a 3rd string pg but plays hard.
Beasley had a bad game last night but has been solid.
Everyone else has been terrible.
It wouldn't surprise me if McDaniels has a better career than Ant and that's not a poor reflection of Ant.

I forgot about Nowell. I don't think he's a starter but he could be a rotation player. (Like Naz)

Culver and Okogie need to stay on the bench. McDaniels is already better than Okogie defensively and I'm tired of the other teams making sure the wolves funnel the ball to Okogie and the wolves falling for it every damn time.

I can't believe how badly Ricky's game has fallen off. He never could shoot but he was a passing wizard and strong defensively. He's slow and very turnover prone now. Utah and OKC knew what they were doing.
 

D'Angelo Russell was already ruled out of Friday's game against Charlotte because of left leg soreness but it appears the Timberwolves guard will be out for Sunday's game against Toronto in Florida as well.

Russell did not make the trip for this two-game road swing, coach Ryan Saunders said Friday.

"He's continuing to progress and I don't have other information other than they're just continuing to evaluate him," Saunders said.

Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns have still only played five games together since Russell came to Minnesota. Towns was in the lineup for his second game back from his battle with COVID-19.


Howl Wolves!!
 

per STrib:


*While Rosas is one of the most "active" NBA executives on the trade market in general, Marks said, it's hard to imagine a blockbuster move this season. Then again, with the Wolves sitting at 6-19 and being a disappointment even within the context of Towns being out so much this year, it's incumbent on Rosas to at least consider other major moves.

"Besides your No. 1 pick and probably besides Karl, you have to listen to everything," Marks said. "Even if teams are calling regarding your best player right now, which is Malik Beasley. you have to listen to that."

Because of the nature of the contract he signed in the offseason, Beasley isn't eligible to be traded for another few weeks, but he will be available before the deadline.

*The Russell problem: "I think what's hurt a little bit is certainly D'Angelo. The injuries, and not playing at a high level that we say probably in Brooklyn. He's playing not as a No. 2. I don't even know if he's playing as a No. 3," Marks said.

*So what kind of big moves could the Wolves be exploring? "I'll give an example. Aaron Gordon in Orlando," Marks said. "He's only 25 but he's been down there seven years. ... It's almost like trading your inconsistencies for another team's inconsistencies. ... That's the kind of deal you are looking at from your perspective, especially since you owe Golden State that No. 1 pick."

*Make no mistake: The clock is ticking on this experiment even if it has stalled in the last year.

"What's going to happen is pretty soon D'Angelo Russell will have two years left on his contract. And then you know what happens," Marks said. "That's where the logic says ... take full advantage of trade value. You are in a bit of a holding pattern, but the clock has certainly started with (Russell and Towns)."

*But overall, the Wolves are probably more in a wait-and-see mode with roster evaluation than in a major shakeup mode. They need to figure out what they have before proceeding.

"I think probably more of a fringe deal" is most likely if the Wolves do anything before the deadline, Marks said. "It's hard for me to think there's another blockbuster deal up their sleeve."


Howl Wolves!!
 

Ricky Rubio came into the night having hit just eight three-pointers on the season, but he shot 4 of 8 from deep and it wasn't a coincidence that Rubio played his best game in a while that the Wolves won even with D'Angelo Russell out again because of left leg soreness.

Rubio finished with 16 points and five assists as all five Wolves starters hit double figures. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20, Malik Beasley had 20 and Anthony Edwards had 18.

Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 24.

Rubio would help lead the charge ahead for the Wolves, who scored seven straight to grab a 105-98 lead. Rubio hit a three and helped set up Jarred Vanderbilt, who got the start and scored 12, for two more buckets.

The Wolves led 112-110 after Towns fouled out with a block on DeAndre' Bebmry with 38 seconds remaining. A Kyle Lowry layup made it 114-112 but Beasley stepped out of bounds with 12.1 seconds remaining, leading to a chance to tie for Toronto. Pascal Siakam challenged rookie Jaden McDaniels one-on-one, but Siakam's layup attempt rimmed out.

Jordan McLaughlin iced the game at the line..

 

Sunday night was, again, not a master class from Minnesota in terms of how to finish games.

Up by six with two minutes to play, the Timberwolves committed a couple critical turnovers and struggled to get stops. Leading by two with 12 seconds to play, Malik Beasley succumbed to backcourt pressure and stepped out of bounds, giving Toronto a chance to tie the game or take the lead.

Pascal Siakam drove through Jaden McDaniels to get a clean look right at the rim with seconds to play.

And, inexplicably, he missed. The ball spun off the rim and the Wolves grabbed the rebound. Jordan McLaughlin hit a pair of free-throws down at the other end and Minnesota held on for a 116-112 victory over the Raptors in Tampa, Fla., — Toronto’s home for this season...

“We played great together. It was a team win. No individual effort was greater than the other,” said Towns, who was awarded the game ball after surpassing Andrew Wiggins for the top spot on the franchise’s all-time 3-point list with 522. “I think there were so many amazing moments from our team as a whole that allowed us to play really well. We just played with great energy and this is one of those games that I feel very good in saying we played close to 48 minutes.”..

 




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