Well, after the entirety of Twitter and the Wolves fanbase was screaming bloody murder after we lost our first game to San Antonio, we beat them last night to go to 3-2. I swear, man. Maybe it's because I grew up in New York and was used to the Yankees winning (not in the late-80s though), but holy crap people turned on the team. And then after last night, all is right with the world in Minnesota media.
The Wolves are what I knew they'd be to start the year - inconsistent. Of their five games, they came out like gangbusters in four of them, looking amazing. Like potential Western Conference title contenders. And then the inevitable halftime adjustments by the opponent and we crumble. TOTALLY EXPECTED BY THIS OG TIMBERWOLVES FAN. Apparently people don't realize changing an offensive scheme and having two 7 footers on the court is going to take a minute to get comfortable.
Anyway, last night in the win against the Spurs, I see things starting to get better. Yes, Anthony Edwards got hot AF in the first quarter from the perimeter. The kid had all the tools. Just needs to be more consistent (there is that word again) and keep working on his conditioning so that he is just as effective in back-to-back games. But the difference between last night, and the four games before it - the Wolves started to play like last year again. They took lots of perimeter shots if open, instead of trying to force the ball to Gobert on the block. They looked MUCH better. Gobert had a quiet game, but that's okay. He's there to PLAY DEFENSE.
Sure, you want to give the guy a few touches, but at the end of the day, his role is to be a lockdown post defender. Not a scorer. The Wolves have finally seen that, and it was a great effort all around by the team.
For those of you who don't follow rotation players, you may have heard the name Jaylen Nowell this morning. The hype is legit. He's a second round pick from a few years back. I saw him his first year in the G-League, and knew right then (along with Naz Reid) that he had the knack. He's a walking bucket. REALLY versatile though. Can shoot the 3, score all three levels, defend, and initiate offense. We really developed him. If you have a basketball fantasy team, and it's a deep league, if he's out there, scoop him up as a flex play. He'll be in double figures every game, and be a candidate for 6th man at the end of the year. yes, he's that good. that's why we didn't care one bit getting rid of Beasley in the Gobert trade.
As for Friday against the Lakers...Wolves are in trouble. I am sure the coaching staff (I love Chris Finch) is pounding on this, but when you have a team with three future HOFers coming into down, who haven't won a game, they are out for blood. I expect the Lakers to play HARD in Minnesota. And I actually expect the Lakers to win, and I hope I'm wrong. But a desperate team like the Lakers with that kind of HOF talent on the floor...they are due, and Minnesota better be prepared, otherwise they will get all sorts of national exposure for being the team the Lakers busted out against.
Anyway, I'm excited for the Timberwolves as always. Very high on their potential. KAT looks comfortable, D Lo the same. Edwards is adjusting to two bigs a bit (nice sign how the offense worked through him instead of KAT last game), and if Gobert is okay with just being a 10 pt, 12 rbd guy, and embracing that role, they will be a very special team this year.