All Things 2023-2024 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

[7Gopher7]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA

8:52 AM · Nov 10, 2023

The last 10 seasons of Timberwolves defense...

2014-15: 30th
2015-16: 27th *hire Tom Thibodeau to teach KAT/Wiggins/LaVine defense 2016-17:

2016-17: 26th *Thibs gives up on teaching KAT/Wiggins/LaVine defense, trades LaVine for Jimmy Butler and signs Taj Gibson

2017-18: 23rd *Jimmy quits and Thibs gets fired

2018-19: 24th *Hire Rosas, who makes Vanterpool D coordinator -- still playing KAT in drop, literally making their defensive slogan "solid is enough"

2019-20: 20th

2020-21: 28th *turns out solid was not enough. Hire Finch, who finally stops playing KAT in drop, begin starting Vanderbilt, McDaniels and Beverley

2021-22: 13th *acquire Gobert

2022-23: 8th *stop playing Gobert exclusively in a drop

2023-24: 1st

Burrero would disagree with those thibs rankings. He thinks thibs was the best.

 

[Iceland12]

(6-2) Wolves 117 (3-6) San Antonio 110

Wolves now tied for the 2nd best record in the Western Conference

Towns 29PTS, 12RB, 2AST
Edwards - 28, 7, 5
Gobert 11, 10, 2
Conley 11,3,6

Wembanyama 29,9,4
Vassell 29,3,4

Timberwolves 117-110 Spurs (Nov 10, 2023) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game from November 10, 2023 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

 

[BleedGopher]

(6-2) Wolves 117 (3-6) San Antonio 110

Wolves now tied for the 2nd best record in the Western Conference

Towns 29PTS, 12RB, 2AST
Edwards - 28, 7, 5
Gobert 11, 10, 2
Conley 11,3,6

Wembanyama 29,9,4
Vassell 29,3,4

Timberwolves 117-110 Spurs (Nov 10, 2023) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game from November 10, 2023 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

I watched the game after the Gopher game, despite a late run by the Spurs, it was in cruise control. I love this team.

Howl Wolves!!

 

[short ornery norwegian]

It got a little interesting down the stretch, but the Wolves made their free throws. Naz hitting his head and having to come out didn't help.

Wolves are 1-0 in the In-Season Tournament. and the Spurs' court wasn't as garish as some of the other ones I've seen around the league.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Win pretty at home. Scrap any way you can on the road

 

[Iceland12]

Wolves (6-2) play the first of two out at Golden State (6-4) tonight at 7:30 Central time. The Warriors were beat by Cleveland at home last night 118-110.

Both Anthony Edwards (illness) and Naz Reid(neck) are questionable to play. Edwards along with Towns and Gobert were big factors in the win down in San Antonio. Reid who hasn't had many bad games this year wasn't much of a factor in the win. Glad he wasn't hurt too badly on that fall.

Golden State don't list anyone in their injury report.

The Tuesday night game, like the San Antonio win, will be part of the In Season Tournament. Can't comment further 'cuz don't really care about that.

Minnesota Timberwolves Injuries​

Naz ReidC​

StatusDay-to-day
Reid (neck) is questionable for Sunday's game against Golden State.

Anthony EdwardsSG​

StatusDay-to-day
Edwards (illness) is now listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Warriors.
Nov 7

Jordan McLaughlinPG​

StatusOut
McLaughlin was diagnosed with a right knee MCL sprain Tuesday and will re-evaluated in four weeks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Jul 8

Jaylen ClarkG​

StatusOut
The Timberwolves are preparing for Clark (Achilles) to miss at least the first half of the 2023-24 season, Jace Frederick of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

It is hard to beat a team 2x in a row on the road.

Maybe give up this game to be healthy for the tournament game.

 

[Iceland12]

Timberwolves are now listing that both Naz and Edwards will b available to play tonight against the Warriors.

 

[Iceland12]

Stephon Curry carries the basketball. A lot. Wonder how often he's called for it?

 

[From the Parkinglot]

I am ready to be hurt again.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Stephon Curry carries the basketball. A lot. Wonder how often he's called for it?

Gramps used to yell at the tv for travels. That was 39 yrs ago and it has only got worse.

 

[Iceland12]

"Frankly, throughout Minnesota’s 116-110 victory Sunday in California, the Wolves looked like the significantly better team.

Part of that is because Golden State is no longer the big, bad Warriors. They lean heavily on the aging Steph Curry, and don’t have much surrounding him as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green regress and the Warriors haven’t found nor developed pieces around the older core to pick up the slack.

But another, major part of the equation is how good Minnesota appears to be. The Wolves’ top nine players look like significantly superior players in totality versus Golden State’s rotation.

So while Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are vitally important to Minnesota’s success — Edwards finished with 33 points Sunday, while Towns played a masterful game in which he finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot — the difference between Minnesota and its foes so often rests with everyone else.

Rudy Gobert again dominated the defensive interior, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Mike Conley had nine assists. Jaden McDaniels scored 13 points. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each contributed 10 points off the bench, while Kyle Anderson was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field.

Everyone combines together to play consistently dominant defense.

As a unit, Minnesota (7-2) — which has won six straight games — has the feel of the dominant team against which opponents are likely to add a loss."

Timberwolves down Warriors in convincing fashion for sixth straight win

It used to feel like a daunting task to go into San Francisco and have to take on Golden State. It was the type of game fans would chalk up as a loss ahead of time. They’re the Warriors. At h…

www.twincities.com

 

[kg21]

"Frankly, throughout Minnesota’s 116-110 victory Sunday in California, the Wolves looked like the significantly better team.

Part of that is because Golden State is no longer the big, bad Warriors. They lean heavily on the aging Steph Curry, and don’t have much surrounding him as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green regress and the Warriors haven’t found nor developed pieces around the older core to pick up the slack.

But another, major part of the equation is how good Minnesota appears to be. The Wolves’ top nine players look like significantly superior players in totality versus Golden State’s rotation.

So while Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are vitally important to Minnesota’s success — Edwards finished with 33 points Sunday, while Towns played a masterful game in which he finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot — the difference between Minnesota and its foes so often rests with everyone else.

Rudy Gobert again dominated the defensive interior, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Mike Conley had nine assists. Jaden McDaniels scored 13 points. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each contributed 10 points off the bench, while Kyle Anderson was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field.

Everyone combines together to play consistently dominant defense.

As a unit, Minnesota (7-2) — which has won six straight games — has the feel of the dominant team against which opponents are likely to add a loss."

Timberwolves down Warriors in convincing fashion for sixth straight win

It used to feel like a daunting task to go into San Francisco and have to take on Golden State. It was the type of game fans would chalk up as a loss ahead of time. They’re the Warriors. At h…

www.twincities.com

I really didn't think the wolves played that well. And couldn't buy a 3. In the first half, they were getting offensive rebounds left and right.........and yet the wolves won. It got close at the end because they pulled towns and Ant.

My favorite part of the night was ANT talking right back to that tool known as Draymond.

 

[Iceland12]

I really didn't think the wolves played that well. And couldn't buy a 3. In the first half, they were getting offensive rebounds left and right.........and yet the wolves won. It got close at the end because they pulled towns and Ant.

My favorite part of the night was ANT talking right back to that tool known as Draymond.

Edwards couldn't buy a 3. He was 1 for 9. The rest of the team was 8 for 18.

What score are you predicting for the rematch Tuesday night?

 

[Iceland12]

Golden State Warriors ran into similar issues in their 116-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night at Chase Center.

“It’s tough because we’re not a paint-dominant team,” Stephen Curry said. “Understand that the last two defenses we’ve played, they had two big presences in the paint … We get stuck a little bit … Those big guys are long and lengthy at the rim and you don’t have options. So you have to play under control in those situations.”

In losing their third straight after a 6-2 start, the Warriors — whose tallest player is 6-foot-10 Dario Saric — were tasked with limiting the impact of Minnesota’s tandem of 7-footers in Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. The results were disappointing.

Towns and Gobert combined for 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting and the Timberwolves outscored Golden State 62-38 in the paint. The Warriors went 25-of-53 on two-point attempts. The length of Gobert — who finished with a game-high five blocks (the Warriors didn't have any) — was a major reason why..

Because of the Timberwolves’ rim protection, the Warriors wound up hoisting 43 3-pointers and made just 12 (27.9%). And while Curry scored a game-high 38 on 11-of-25 shooting, the rest of the team went 26-of-71.

Warriors come up short again; loss to T’wolves is their 3rd straight

The Golden State Warriors lost their third consecutive game Sunday, falling 116-110 to Minnesota in a matchup that again highlighted their lack of size.

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[kg21]

Edwards couldn't buy a 3. He was 1 for 9. The rest of the team was 8 for 18.

What score are you predicting for the rematch Tuesday night?

I wanted to say Ant in my original post. I was wanting to say that.......Ant couldn't buy a 3. It auto-corrected to and.

I predict the Wolves will win easily on Wednesday, as this will be the warriors 3rd game in 4 nights. They are old. On the other hand, they have a ton of pride, so who knows.

 

[kg21]

“It’s tough because we’re not a paint-dominant team,” Stephen Curry said. “Understand that the last two defenses we’ve played, they had two big presences in the paint … We get stuck a little bit … Those big guys are long and lengthy at the rim and you don’t have options. So you have to play under control in those situations.”

Gobert is in better shape this year, and Towns has committed to much better defense. I never saw that coming this year. I love it.

That's pretty cool for Curry to say .

 

[tmvander]

I'm actually surprised there isn't more chatter in this thread considering we're MN sports fans who constantly deal with failure and the Wolves are .5 games back of leading the west right now and have wins over 2 of the best teams in the NBA and a road win vs Golden State.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I'm actually surprised there isn't more chatter in this thread considering we're MN sports fans who constantly deal with failure and the Wolves are .5 games back of leading the west right now and have wins over 2 of the best teams in the NBA and a road win vs Golden State.

When things are good, there's not much to complain about

 

[tmvander]

When things are good, there's not much to complain about

You saw how busy that Twins board was though...seems like this one should be hoppin but it really hasn't been.

 

[Iceland12]

I'm actually surprised there isn't more chatter in this thread considering we're MN sports fans who constantly deal with failure and the Wolves are .5 games back of leading the west right now and have wins over 2 of the best teams in the NBA and a road win vs Golden State.

When things are good, there's not much to complain about

Nothing brings out Minnesotans like being able to complain about their teams.

 

[tmvander]

That Twins board was full of posts about how bad they were and how players should be traded or let go. Take a look in this thread after those two Wolves losses. A lot more posts than in the winning streak.

Could be the wolves too...I don't think they picked up a huge following from the older crowd when they started in the league.

 

[tikited]

I'm actually surprised there isn't more chatter in this thread considering we're MN sports fans who constantly deal with failure and the Wolves are .5 games back of leading the west right now and have wins over 2 of the best teams in the NBA and a road win vs Golden State.

Don't want to jinx it?

 

[kg21]

Could be the wolves too...I don't think they picked up a huge following from the older crowd when they started in the league.

Hockey state, Vikings football

Those are the main things. When football is over and the Wild have fallen way back, it's a chance for the Wolves to take over this state somewhat. I hope they don't blow the chance.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Could be the wolves too...I don't think they picked up a huge following from the older crowd when they started in the league.

Much like Gophers BB, when the Wolves are winning, which is rarely, people will come and the atmosphere is a lot of fun.

I think everyone is in wait and see mode right now. If this team stays healthy, I think it's the best team in franchise history. Better than '03-'04. They have a legitimate shot to be one of the top seeds in the west and win it all.

They have everything they need, and just need to develop that killer instinct. It looks like that's started.

 

[coolhandgopher]

"Frankly, throughout Minnesota’s 116-110 victory Sunday in California, the Wolves looked like the significantly better team.

Part of that is because Golden State is no longer the big, bad Warriors. They lean heavily on the aging Steph Curry, and don’t have much surrounding him as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green regress and the Warriors haven’t found nor developed pieces around the older core to pick up the slack.

But another, major part of the equation is how good Minnesota appears to be. The Wolves’ top nine players look like significantly superior players in totality versus Golden State’s rotation.

So while Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are vitally important to Minnesota’s success — Edwards finished with 33 points Sunday, while Towns played a masterful game in which he finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot — the difference between Minnesota and its foes so often rests with everyone else.

Rudy Gobert again dominated the defensive interior, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Mike Conley had nine assists. Jaden McDaniels scored 13 points. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each contributed 10 points off the bench, while Kyle Anderson was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field.

Everyone combines together to play consistently dominant defense.

As a unit, Minnesota (7-2) — which has won six straight games — has the feel of the dominant team against which opponents are likely to add a loss."

Timberwolves down Warriors in convincing fashion for sixth straight win

It used to feel like a daunting task to go into San Francisco and have to take on Golden State. It was the type of game fans would chalk up as a loss ahead of time. They’re the Warriors. At h…

www.twincities.com

The irony of the building of their dynasty was on the savvy drafting of Curry, Thompson, and Green to kickstart the rebirth of the franchise and the fall off the cliff that is coming for the Warriors is heavily impacted by the lost opportunity of the 2020 (James Wiseman) and 2021 (Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody) drafts. Interesting to consider whether their lack of development is due to lack of opportunity or missed talent evaluation and I don't know that a LaMelo Ball or Tyrese Haliburton would have found the room to develop on the team, but their future would look considerably different with one of them in the fold.

Also should be noted, Andrew Wiggins is a bum.

 

[kg21]

The irony of the building of their dynasty was on the savvy drafting of Curry, Thompson, and Green to kickstart the rebirth of the franchise and the fall off the cliff that is coming for the Warriors is heavily impacted by the lost opportunity of the 2020 (James Wiseman) and 2021 (Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody) drafts. Interesting to consider whether their lack of development is due to lack of opportunity or missed talent evaluation and I don't know that a LaMelo Ball or Tyrese Haliburton would have found the room to develop on the team, but their future would look considerably different with one of them in the fold.

Also should be noted, Andrew Wiggins is a bum.

You never know. I wanted to them to pick Wiseman. Our interior defense was non-existent and Wiseman was getting love. Everything I read on Ant was that he was massively talented, but lazy. I kept thinking Wiggins. I believe the Warriors would have picked Wiseman had they drafted first.

Also, I didn't care at the time that the wolves did not draft Curry. I didn't think he'd get his shot off in the pros too much. LMAO

You just never know.

 

[kg21]

 

[Iceland12]

I predict the Wolves will win easily on Wednesday, as this will be the warriors 3rd game in 4 nights. They are old. On the other hand, they have a ton of pride, so who knows.

The Wolves/Warriors game is at 9:00pm tonight again out in Golden State. Wolves 6 game win streak has been very impressive. Just think that beating the Warriors twice, in back to back games, at Chase Center would be unexpected.

Then I looked at the injury report

Golden State Warriors

NAME	POS	EST. RETURN DATE	STATUS	COMMENT
Stephen Curry	PG	Nov 13	Day-To-Day	Curry (knee) is listed as questionable for Tuesday's game against Minnesota.

 

[kg21]

Curry officially out tonight. We should abuse them tonight.