Apologies in advance for the almost unqualified positivity in this post. I know that diehard Wolves fans that might find themselves reading these words are conditioned to strong doses of cynicism and skepticism when discussing or thinking about their favorite professional basketball team.
Today is not the day for that. Today is not the day for that because today represents the high-water mark in Timberwolves Franchise History. It holds that distinction over the thus-far-about-equal playoff run of 2004 for two main reasons: (1) the accomplishments of this team thus far — sweeping a superstar-laden Phoenix Suns team before dethroning the home-court-advantaged and title-favorite Denver Nuggets — surpass those of the ’04 club; and (2) as things stand, there is more cause for optimism both within this ongoing playoff run, and beyond it, than there was in 2004, when KG’s Game 7 postgame celebration faced a painful Kobe & Shaq hangover the next morning.
Yes, right now is the greatest time to be a Wolves fan, and with that comes happy thoughts and happy takes. I wrote a preview piece before the season began – the most recent entry on the site before this one. Aside from near-game-nightly tweeting, I couldn’t find the time or creative juice to write anything more until now. So it goes. Here are some thoughts about this Wolves team — some where it’s been and where it’s maybe going, and some just about what it is.
Why is Jaden McDaniels a more interesting player than a run-of-the-mill defensive specialist? First, because he has no inhibitions. Second, he plays with a constant poker face. Third, he has no inhibitions and yet plays with a constant poker face. When Jaden was a one-and-done rookie that few expected to see any playing time, he ended up seeing some playing time. The first thing that stood out to me was how he’d try to dunk everything. He missed a whole bunch of audacious attempts in heavy traffic, but his brain was operating like a kid playing 2K, with simple *turbo button + shoot button* as the obvious decision as he dribbled anywhere close to the basket. Of course on defense, his virtually unmatched combination of length and lateral foot quickness made him an immediately intriguing prospect. Combine all of that with a personality that almost always hides itself from onlookers (Eds note: I suspect he sometimes mutters things to opponents. We could just ask Devin Booker.) and it’s a unique blend. It is often said that Jaden is the barometer for the team’s success — when he plays well, they play well. There is truth to that. Just don’t try to link his thoughts and feelings to whatever’s happening in a game, because good luck discovering whatever those thoughts and feelings might be. (Eds note: Congrats to Jaden on making his first ever All-Defensive Team, announced Tuesday. Plenty more of those to come, no doubt.)
What it’s like to win with defense. I’m still adjusting to this, clearly. The Wolves have the NBA’s best defense, by far. They have Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels. Their offense in the regular season ranked 17th out of 30, in the playoffs it’s ranked 6th out of 16. There are times, in these games against the best of the best, when they look bad. They look unprepared. The first half-plus of Game 7 at Denver was one such time. When they look bad, I tend to panic because a bad offense – to my eyes – pops a little brighter off the TV screen than a bad defense does. Anthony Edwards sometimes draws aggressive double teams even in the backcourt, and my NBA brain conjures images of Steph dumping it off to Draymond, to immediately commence a crisp 4-on-3 set that will inevitably involve an open shot. The shot will probably go in. These Wolves, built for defense, do not have such personnel. They do not have a screen and roller with Green’s playmaking ability, nor do they have as much shooting as those Warriors teams. They sometimes have to force Rudy to be involved in the play, when that is never an ideal option. They do the best they can. But the method to this madness seems to prevail more often than not. The offense usually unsticks itself, turning a steal or long rebound into a transition score, loosening everybody’s surrounding parameters to the 50 by 94 feet around them instead of the 20 centimeters between their ears. They find a flow to match their hustle. When the Wolves find their defensive groove, it’s enjoyable. The last decade-plus of NBA history has been about shooting distance expansion and scoring inflation. These Timberwolves are doing their part to correct for those trends, and they’re doing it in style.
Kyle Anderson is polarizing. Last year, Slow Mo shared three-way Team MVP honors with Ant and Rudy. That was in large part because of KAT’s injury, and the playmaking void that Anderson so ably filled. Chris Finch explained Anderson’s value to Britt Robson in a preseason interview: “[Kyle is so good] in the middle of the floor. We use him as a de facto point guard and that’s what he’s best at. He’s best with the ball in his hands, making decisions.” KAT’s return from injury conspired with the decision to re-sign Naz Reid which also conspired with Ant’s continued ascent as the team’s go-to guy, which also conspired with Mike Conley settling in as a Helpful Point Guard, all to leave Wolves fans sometimes asking to Kyle, “What is it, exactly, that you do here?” His useful role was gone. Anderson has the team’s worst net rating in the playoffs, by far. (He’s -9.5 in 119 minutes. Next worse is NAW at -1.0.) And yet. And yet. And yet the Wolves don’t win Game 2 versus Denver without Anderson subbing in so competently for new-father Rudy. That major curveball of a lineup leaned more on speed than size, and Anderson’s ability to sometimes sort of guard Jokic or Gordon, while being a constant pest when within his long arm’s length of the basketball was crucial. When in the regular season Karl was out with his knee surgery recovery, Anderson’s value likewise reared its pretty head. Through the first 62 games of the season (up to KAT’s injury) Kyle had the worst net-rating on the team amongst players with 500 or more minutes (+4.2). In the next 18 games played, sans Towns, Kyle played in 17 of them. With his boosted importance role, his net rating was a whopping +11.3. The Wolves came up just short of the necessary total wins to secure the top overall seed, but going 12-6 without an All-Star is good work, and Anderson’s value shined in that context. Where does that leave him for the rest of the playoffs? Probably a very limited role – he’s harmful off the ball as a three. But if they need some emergency Luka Doncic defense or some overall veteran toughness, expect to see some Slow Mo. We know that Finch loves him.
This team is incredibly likable. This is usually a subjective thing, but I can’t really understand why anyone would not like this particular iteration of the Minnesota Timberwolves. To arrive at that grumpy state, one would have to place a whole lot of importance on the quirks of KAT’s persona, or hold a Draymond Green and Warriors Nation-led grudge against the defensive accolades laid upon Rudy Gobert, over the course of his career. Up and down the bench and roster, there is both good people and continuity feeding an actual Minnesota-team identity for the fan base. Chris Finch strikes the right Minnesota balance of competent and respectful. He has the players’ respect. Mike Conley, second-time NBA Teammate of the Year. KAT himself the latest winner of the league’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion. Jaden might sometimes lose his temper or – see above – leave us a little perplexed, but he’s obviously a beloved player within the locker room. Rudy might have more in common with Aaron Rodgers than people are sometimes comfortable with, but he sure seems like a thoughtful person and teammate, and if anything the bizarre treatment he gets from the likes of Draymond and any retired player with a social media platform gets the Wolves’ fan’s back up to come to his defense. NAZ REID, not much else to say there. And, last but first, Ant is indeed becoming The Face of the NBA. If the Wolves pull off this title – and probably even if they don’t – he’ll leave this season as the most popular player in the game for the foreseeable future. We’ve had so many bad teams here that it’s easy to set aside the factor where those rosters tend to be so fleeting and in-flux. It’s fun to rattle off names like Alexey Shved or Pooh Richardson without appreciating how many different versions of this team have existed in its 35 years of existing. This group has some lasting power and its forging a real bond with Minneapolis and Minnesota, and in pro sports, a huge challenge is developing the “care.” People now care about the Timberwolves. Let’s make that last.
KAT. It’s too easy and it’s simply not correct to say that Karl-Anthony Towns is suddenly “playing like we’ve always wanted him to play.” Let’s be honest, when Towns entered the league and was multiple times winning that GM poll of “player I’d build my team around,” the hope was greater than this. The hope back then was that he’d be a league MVP – something like Giannis and Jokic. But boy oh boy is that a long time ago, and boy oh boy is Towns now playing a whole lot better than he has for much of his career. It has been a good long while since some of us effectively gave up on KAT as a potential piece of the Wolves, if and when they become a title contender. Here and now, the Wolves are a title contender and Karl-Anthony Towns is Still Here. He’s not only still here, but he’s playing extremely well. He’s not only playing extremely well, but — and this is a first, unless you count the 2017-18 campaign with Thibs & Jimmy (which I do, but many would rather forget) — he’s playing extremely well in a winning context. Towns, as Ant is apt to point out, has needed to stop committing stupid fouls. He’s mostly stopped committing stupid fouls. He’s needed to stop plowing into defenders with a heart-on-his-sleeve belief that he’s actually the one being fouled. In these playoffs, he’s been playing offense under control, and defense with high effectiveness. In multiple games the Wolves have won in these playoffs, I’m comfortable saying, “We would not have won that game if we had anyone but Towns playing in his role.” That includes Game 7 at Denver, maybe atop the list where that was so clearly the case. Ant will get some credit for KAT’s maturity, and he should. His leadership style would probably work on many players, but one with much more experience and accolades than his own is not inevitable. Ant embraces the nastier parts of competition in his actual bones. If you need to see what that looks like, find the leaked videos after some of these playoff games. It’s not all smiles and hugs with the opponents. That nastiness isn’t really Karl’s deal, and that’s fine. He plays his best when he’s under control. That is where he’s at right now: under control. I don’t know what the West Finals have in store for the Wolves. If they’re able to advance, I don’t know what the Finals will have in store for them. But if you told me that Towns will maintain this approach for the rest of the way, I’d bet on the Wolves to win it all. The buy-in of superstars into roles is a luxury that few teams are afforded. The ones that get it, tend to become dynasties.
Go Wolves.
Punch-Drunk Wolves 