If you are a Minnesota sports fan, you are probably experiencing some familiar emotions this afternoon. Possibly feelings of sadness, anger and grief after the Timberwolves fell to the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals last night. You probably found yourself asking “What happened? Didn’t we just beat the reigning NBA Champs in seven games? How could we go down so easily to a team that won only one more regular season game than us?” Well, let’s break down just exactly what happened, and why this season could (and should) spell huge success for Minnesota moving forward.
On paper, the Timberwolves are one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. You have a center in Rudy Gobert who was named the 2023-24 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, a power forward/center in Karl-Anthony Towns that has a rare shooting ability outside the elbow, the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year in Naz Reid, one of the savviest NBA veterans in Mike Conley (Fun fact: Conley has played 1,183 games without recording a technical foul), and not to mention another point guard in Anthony Edwards, who is drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan. If only games were played on paper. From afar, a simple solution to the Wolves lack of competitiveness in the WCF’s could be attributed to the series prior against the 2023 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets, a series that felt like a heavyweight prize fight between Ali and Frazier. While that likely had an impact, there is more to the 4-1 series loss to Dallas.
People forget Timberwolves GM Tim Connelly, who came from the Denver Nuggets in 2022, took a chance on Gobert when no one else would, thus writing the blueprint to get past the Nuggets this year. While Gobert’s ’24 DPOY award will look great next to his three others, this one came with criticism from basketball purists, who thought the award should have gone to San Antonio Spurs cyborg, Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama averaged nearly twice as many blocks (3.6 to 2.1), steals (1.2 to .7) and deflections (204 to 124) as Gobert in 2024. Now, this is not to deflect Gobert’s solid defensive play in the ’24 campaign, or any of his play for that matter. But NBA voting is as pretentious as MLB Hall of Fame voting, and awards must be taken with a grain of salt (LeBron James has only 4 MVP trophies in 21 seasons). Gobert, who had success defending Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Semifinal, did not yield the same outcome against Doncic. In the final seconds of Game 2, Gobert found himself on an island with Doncic who would go on to hit the game-winning after putting Gobert in a defensive spin cycle. Doncic, who is a matchup nightmare for anyone, made Gobert look lost and exposed a major hole in the Wolves defensive scheme.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who had established himself as one of the rare ‘big men who can shoot’, failed to live up to expectations against the Mavericks. During the regular season, Towns was making an impressive 41% of his three-point attempts, a percentage that dropped to 24.2% against Dallas. Towns’ play beyond the arc was not his only issue, his field goal percentage also dropped from above 50% in the regular season to 39% in the WCF. To make matters worse, he finished Game 5 with a -18-point differential. Towns poor play did however give way to Naz Reid, who came off the bench and essentially hit everything passed his way, proving why he was named sixth man of the year.
Conley has been a huge addition to a younger roster and was crucial in keeping the Timberwolves focused and organized when he was on the floor. While that plays a huge role in settling a team down, it doesn’t win you playoff series.
Which brings us to Anthony Edwards, the focal point of the Timberwolves. The feeling is unanimous around Anthony Edwards, he is the next face of the league. The comparisons to MJ are not far-fetched, and the hype around him is proven. Anthony Edwards is must-see television. The entire team flows through him. Forget the x’s and o’s, the level of intensity and grit he plays with rubs off on his teammates and the city. He has rejuvenated a basketball culture that had been missing since the late 90’s/early 2000’s when Kevin Garnett was still a Wolf. Edwards understands the responsibility that he has earned in Minnesota, and he wears it well. When Edwards played well, he took accountability for the teams struggles, when he did not perform to his standards, he was quick to place the blame solely on himself saying, “I need to be better”. The sign of a true leader. When Edwards is hot, he is the most electric player on the planet. When he is off, the whole team is off.
The NBA is such a unique league and has seen a major shift in what it takes to be successful. Fleeting are the days of ‘super teams’ running the league and leaving everyone else helpless because they don’t have the capital or the draw of a Miami or a Boston. In today’s NBA, the goal is not so much about building the best team with the biggest names, the goal is to build a team best suited to beat whatever team is in your way. Just look at what the Timberwolves did in one offseason, going from losing to the Nuggets in the first-round last season, to defeating those same Nuggets a year later to advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Timberwolves fans should feel nothing but excitement for what lies ahead for this organization, just look at the pieces and the trajectory this team is on. It will be interesting to see how Connelly plans to address the holes in his team to compete with a team like the Mavericks. I imagine the consensus in the Timberwolves front office for the foreseeable future is championship or bust, as it should be.
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