All Things 2023-2024 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
(14-4) Timberwolves 101 (6-13) Utah Jazz 90

Saturday afternoon they play Charlotte. Who beat the Nets in Brooklyn tonight 129-128
 
Last edited:

MINNEAPOLIS -- — Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves weathered the absence of leading scorer Anthony Edwards to beat the Utah Jazz 101-90 on Thursday night.

The Wolves moved into a tie with Boston for the best record in the league (14-4).

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a season-high 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota.

Edwards, who averages 26.2 points per game, was sidelined with a right hip pointer he suffered in Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma City. Coach Chris Finch said Thursday he didn’t expect Edwards to be out long.

Simone Fontecchio led Utah with 16 points and five assists. Ochai Agbaji had in 13 points and six rebounds for the Jazz, who also lost Wednesday at Memphis.

With Edwards out, Alexander-Walker had an opportunity to shine. The fifth-year guard helped ignite a 15-0 run in the second quarter that helped pull Minnesota out of a slow start.

Towns scored seven straight points during that run on the way to topping 30 points for the second time this season..

www.espn.com

Timberwolves 101-90 Jazz (Nov 30, 2023) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Utah Jazz NBA game from November 30, 2023 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

I like defense. And they were real good last night (I know Utah didn't have their two best scorers) without two of their three best defenders. If you can get KAT being active on defense too, they might be on to something.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I like defense. And they were real good last night (I know Utah didn't have their two best scorers) without two of their three best defenders. If you can get KAT being active on defense too, they might be on to something.
Click to expand...
I didn't see the game last night (at the Gopher game) but I have noticed that Kat has been very active defensively compared to past seasons. He's still not great, but Kat has brought it so far.
 




Breakin' The Plane said:
I like defense. And they were real good last night (I know Utah didn't have their two best scorers) without two of their three best defenders. If you can get KAT being active on defense too, they might be on to something.
Click to expand...
Breakin' The Plane said:
tikited said:
I didn't see the game last night (at the Gopher game) but I have noticed that Kat has been very active defensively compared to past seasons. He's still not great, but Kat has brought it so far.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

The Wolves success had been built on defense. Think that KAT is playing defense pretty well. We don't see that as much because he's not "guarding the net" the way he would as a full time Center.

The double-team, chase the ball defense also makes it look worse than it is.
 

Iceland12 said:
The Wolves success had been built on defense. Think that KAT is playing defense pretty well. We don't see that as much because he's not "guarding the net" the way he would as a full time Center.

The double-team, chase the ball defense also makes it look worse than it is.
Click to expand...
Yep. Last year, other teams killed the Wolves just passing it around until a wide-open three was taken. This year... the Wolves are chasing much better and Rudy is always there in the middle causing havoc.
 

This is foreign.

I attended my first wolves game of the season in person last night. It's foreign because I can legitimately use the words "Timberwolves" and "excellence" in the same sentence. This is foreign because the wolves play serious defense. This is foreign that even on a night that was a "scheduled loss" for Utah and the wolves were missing two starters (incl. their best player), they took the game seriously enough the last three quarters to win comfortably. They have lost too many of these kinds of games in the past to begin to count. This is foreign because they share the ball, are developing depth, play playoff caliber defense. This is foreign because they are smart and disciplined.

Somebody wake me up.

OK, time to rag on Finch a little bit. He keeps his starters (even puts them back in!)in blow outs way too long. One of these days somebody important is going to get hurt in the 46th minute of a 20 point win or loss and the season will be in peril. He's a really, really smart coach. This is a dumb habit.
 



jamiche said:
OK, time to rag on Finch a little bit. He keeps his starters (even puts them back in!)in blow outs way too long. One of these days somebody important is going to get hurt in the 46th minute of a 20 point win or loss and the season will be in peril. He's a really, really smart coach. This is a dumb habit.
Click to expand...
More than a few MN coaches have this habit.
 

tikited said:
More than a few MN coaches have this habit.
Click to expand...

Looking around the NBA and watching a lot of College Football a whole lot of coaches have that problem. Seems more recent in the NBA. It goes back a long way in football.

Can't help but think it's a "let the stars get their stats first" kind of thing. Though it does explain why so many "not the Number 1 guy" stars in the NBA want out and why so many 2nd and even 3rd string players in college football love the transfer portal.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
This Wolves team plays their asses off every night. You gotta love it.
Click to expand...

Being without their leading scorer, best defender and best PG off the bench has to catch-up with them sometime but it hasn't happened yet. Tonight Milton and Brown didn't really show-up until the 4th Quarter and they still won.
 



Timberwolves grind out 123-117 road victory over Hornets​

Big buckets and big stops down the stretch keyed the Wolves, who moved to 15-4 on the season. Big men Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert combined for 77 points.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There was a lot of skepticism throughout the NBA that the Timberwolves' insistence on playing two centers on the floor at the same time, all the time, was a smart basketball idea.

On a night like Saturday, when the rest of the offense was struggling, it made all the sense in the world.

Each of the Wolves' centers — Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid — were the team's three best players in a 123-117 victory over Charlotte that was otherwise a little too close for comfort for the 15-4 Wolves.

Towns finished with 28 points, Reid 23 and Gobert 26 as the team's backcourt failed to generate scoring in the second consecutive game without Anthony Edwards (hip pointer). Coach Chris Finch even had all three playing at the same time for a stretch of the fourth quarter.

The Wolves' transition defense failed them most of the day (Charlotte had a 20-0 edge in that category) but when the game tightened up late, the Wolves went on a 7-0 run spurred by a Troy Brown three to take a 115-109 lead. A few possessions later, after Charlotte's Terry Rozier (23 points) cut it to three with three free throws, Mike Conley (14 points, 10 assists) iced the game with a driving runner for a three-point play with 44.8 seconds remaining..


www.startribune.com

Timberwolves grind out 123-117 road victory over Hornets

Big buckets and big stops down the stretch keyed the Wolves, who moved to 15-4 on the season. Big men Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert combined for 77 points.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 


Iceland12 said:
Being without their leading scorer, best defender and best PG off the bench has to catch-up with them sometime but it hasn't happened yet. Tonight Milton and Brown didn't really show-up until the 4th Quarter and they still won.
Click to expand...
They lost all of these guys at the perfect time in the schedule. These teams are crap they are playing.

It was perfect timing.
 

Short-handed Dallas Mavericks team loses to OKC last night 126-120, though you can't blame Luka Doncic. Though an unusual call also helped beat them.

DALLAS -- Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was exhausted, emotionally spent, extremely proud and quite perturbed as he exited the American Airlines Center court after a sensational, wild outing Saturday night.

One night after becoming a father for the first time, Doncic helped a short-handed Dallas squad rally from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead, but the Mavericks failed to finish off the win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas' 30-0 run -- the biggest in the NBA since at least 1997-98, according to the Elias Sports Bureau -- and Doncic's 36-point, 15-rebound, 18-assist performance weren't enough for the Mavericks to avoid a 126-120 loss to the Thunder.

"It was the happiest day of my life with the baby, but then today's game was a big roller coaster too," said Doncic, who wrote his daughter's name, Gabriela, on one of his signature Jordan Luka 2 shoes. "I'm so sad we didn't win this game, but man, we gave a big, big effort."

The Thunder responded to the Mavericks' massive run by scoring 15 of the game's final 18 points, including the final 10. Doncic committed two turnovers in the final 87 seconds, including a traveling call with 1:27 remaining that enraged him.

"My view is it probably was a travel, but those travels happen about, my opinion, 20 times a game," he said. "So a minute and a half to go, if you're going to call that travel for the first time in the game, you can't do that. I don't think so. But I think those travels happen a lot of times in one game and the NBA doesn't call the travels, so I was really surprised."..

www.espn.com

Doncic 'exhausted' as Mavs fall despite 30-0 run

A night after becoming a father for the first time, Luka Doncic went through a "roller coaster" of emotions Saturday as the Mavericks failed to finish off a win over the Thunder despite going on a 30-0 run.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 


Slim Tubby said:
Rudy, KAT and Naz combined for 77 points, 24 rebounds and 4 blocks on 62% FG and 50% 3FG. 😯
Click to expand...

Coach Finch knew they had a big height advantage and in the 2nd Half he took full advantage of it.

Chris is starting to grow on me.
 


So as far as best record in the west goes..........phoenix lost a game on us due to playing the lakers.......and the kings lost a game on us due to playing New Orleans.

Meanwhile, we get San Antonio. LMAO
 

Chris Hine's preview:​

For the fans: The Wolves want to emphasize to fans who will be attending that the game begins at 6:30 and not the usual 7 p.m. start time, since the game is on ESPN..

Watch him: Victor Wembanyama, who missed San Antonio's last game because of a hip injury, had 29 points in the teams' previous meeting. That was Wembanyama's second-highest scoring output of the season as he faced off against fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert for the first time. Wembanyama's array of offensive skills has already been a handful for teams to defend this season

Injuries: Anthony Edwards, who missed the last two games for the Wolves because of a hip pointer, was "trending in the right direction" to play Wednesday, coach Chris Finch said. Edwards is listed as questionable. Edwards had entered the last two games as doubtful. Jaden McDaniels (right ankle) remains out and has been cleared for individual on-court activities. Jordan McLaughlin (right knee) has recently been cleared for five-on-five practice and could return soon. For San Antonio, Wembanyama has been cleared to play..

www.startribune.com

Timberwolves-Spurs preview: Broadcast info, analysis and injury report

San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama has been cleared to play, and Wolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards also could return to action Wednesday.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

He back. Edwards in the starting lineup tonight.

 


For 3 Quarters they couldn't hit a shot. Particularly a 3. Edwards had a very bad 1st Half. Gobert got in foul trouble and had to sit down for a big chunk of the 1st Half. Shake Milton, again, was very bad and Troy Brown Jr. was pretty terrible himself until the 4th Quarter. For many years they would lose that kind of game.

Tonight they won 102-94.

The Wolves (16-4) trailed 77-75 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds to play when the shots finally began to fall and the stops piled on the defensive end. Troy Brown began the 16-4 burst with a three, and that seemed to finally lift the lid off the basket for the Wolves, shot 30 percent from three-point range.

Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid and then Brown again his three consecutive threes while Rudy Gobert punctuated the run with a block of Keldon Johnson and a pair of putbacks to give the Wolves a 91-79 lead, their largest of the night, with 4:58 to play.

Edwards struggled in his first game back after missing two because of a hip pointer. He had 18 points on 4-for-16 shooting, but he wrapped up the night when he seemingly came out of nowhere to dunk a Reid miss with 2:53 to play.

Gobert navigated foul trouble in the first half to put the Wolves on his back with 16 points and 21 rebounds. He received a standing ovation when he exited. Reid provided a needed spark off the bench with 15 and eight rebounds.

The Wolves and Edwards could not have started much slower on the night – Edwards was 0-for-2 in the first quarter and the Wolves had just one point through the first 3 minutes, 38 seconds of the quarter, but the Wolves still led 25-22 after one..
 




jamiche said:
The wolves need to stack these wins. After Memphis on Friday, the next 16 games are against playoff or play in teams.
Click to expand...

Their last 3 wins/games have been against non-playoff or play-in games. The previous 17 games were against play-in or playoff teams.

The Wolves won 13 of them. Included beating the Championship Final teams Boston and Golden State, all 3 times they have played them.

These aren't your normal Timberwolves.
 

Hypothetical. Spurs call and want to trade Wemby for Ant. Should Wolves say yes?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom