It feels as if it was yesterday when the Wolves made one of the biggest trades in NBA history, when they traded every tradedable first round pick plus fan favorites Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt for no other than Rudy Gobert. That was over a year and a half ago now but it feels like yesterday that the entire NBA world took a collective dump on the Timberwolves franchise, heckling them but now it is far from that, they have become feared across the Association.
Prior to this season the Timberwolves could be considered one of the worst franchises in American Sports history, being around for over 30 years only advancing in the playoffs one year in that span were they were defeated 4-1 by the Kobe and Shaq Lakers in the 2004 Western Conference Finals. There’s also the infamous Jimmy Butler practice incident in 2018 where Butler lashed out on the whole organization from calling out then franchise cornerstone Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns for being “unprofessional” and ripping the organization for an overall lack of leadership. All of this and more accumulated to the Wolves being the worst franchise in North American sports history, from passing on Steph Curry twice in a row for two different Point Guards, Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio and failing to re-sign Latrell Sprewell in 2004, leading to the best player in team history, Kevin Garnett being traded because of the Wolves ineptness to creating a viable contending roster for a generational talent such as The Big Ticket. But that all changed this year.
The Wolves have been the biggest story of the season so far going from a play-in team just limping their way into the playoffs, due to Jaden McDaniels breaking his hand punching a wall in the final game of the regular season, Rudy Gobert being suspended for swinging at teammate kyle Anderson, and Naz Reid being out with a broken wrist. With a 42-40 record a year ago the Wolves now boast the top record in the Western Conference at 39-16 as of February 20. A key factor to this is Defensive Player of the Year front runner Rudy Gobert who is leading the number one defense in the association with a league leading defensive rating of 108.5. Rudy has also left an immense impact on the offense alongside his former Utah Jazz teammate Mike Conley. Conley has brought stability at the point to a formerly floundering offense as an elite decision maker and smart driver with a seemingly unstoppable floater game. Conley has also brought Rudy into the offense which has helped the team space the floor and give Rudy plenty of easy touches and lobs off pick and rolls leading to many fouls which has added an extreme dimension to the Wolves that makes them a threat on all three levels with Gobert inside Ant in the midrange and KAT from three. But it needs to be acknowledged just how important the impact that 2015’s 1st overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns has had on the winning ways of the Wolves this year.
Last year was a disaster for the Wolves because of an early season calf injury that forced Towns to sit out the majority of the season. This proved to be devastating for the wolves offense which ended the season with a subpar offensive rating of 113.7 which was near the bottom half of the league coming in at number 20 in the league. This year with Towns playing all but one game the Wolves offense has managed to move up to 17th in the league with a 115.8 offensive rating. With the addition of towns the wolves offense is able to diversify from just force feeding Edwards the ball leading to many empty positions. Towns has shot an incredible career high .423 from three this year which makes the Wolves an unstoppable force when everything is clicking. With Towns’ recent injury tearing his meniscus it is reported that he will need surgery and will miss a month minimum meaning he is out for the regular season, the Wolves will need to find a way to limp to the playoffs where Towns will hopefully return.
Things aren’t all bleak for the Wolves even though they have gone 1-2 so far in Towns’ absence. Not only has Anthony Edwards taken another leap in his superstardom but Naz Reid has found himself again. The Michael Jordan Anthony Edwards comparisons have resurged again with Ant having to carry the offense without KAT with some believing that he can and will be the face of the league. In these four games Ant has averaged 29.3 points 6 rebounds and 4.3 assists as he has had to shoulder the load for a struggling starting unit in KAT’s absence and Mike Conley’s struggles to score as of late. Naz has also found himself in these three games after going from an early sixth man of the year candidate to a mid season lol Naz had a career high of 34 points and 7 3’s in a loss to the Cavs. Since Towns went down, Naz has taken advantage of an increase in playing time by averaging 24 points 6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Ant’s assertiveness and Naz’s resurgence are necessary pieces if the Wolves still wish to have home court advantage in the first round with a tight Western Conference. The Wolves have fallen to 3rd, 1.5 games back of the first place Thunder and only 4.5 games up on the 5th place Pelicans which puts them at risk of losing home court in the first round.
Although it feels like this season has been a dream for the Wolves, having their best season since 2004, the Wolves must stay focused in Towns’ absence. Even if Towns misses the rest of the year and the Wolves fizzle out in the first round again they have put the league on notice. No longer are fans clowning the Wolves for the Rudy Gobert trade after leading the league’s best defense. When this team is healthy they are contenders not only in the Western Conference but for the NBA Finals whether it is this year or next. The Wolves are no longer an afterthought they have arrived and are here to stay whether you like it or not.