If you’re a Minnesota sports fan, you’re probably feeling some familiar emotions this afternoon. Maybe sadness, anger, or heartbreak after the Timberwolves lost 4-1 to the Dallas Mavericks in last night’s Western Conference Finals. You’re probably asking yourself, “What happened? Didn’t we just beat the reigning NBA champions in seven games? How could we lose so easily to a team with just one regular season win?” So let’s break down what happened and why this season could (and should) be a huge success for Minnesota going forward.
On paper, the Timberwolves have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. They have center Rudy Gobert, the 2023-24 Kia ​​NBA Defensive Player of the Year; Karl-Anthony Towns, a power forward/center with a rare ability to shoot outside the elbow; Naz Reid, the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year; Mike Conley, one of the smartest NBA veterans (fun fact: Conley has played 1,183 games without recording a technical foul); not to mention Anthony Edwards, another point guard who has been compared to Michael Jordan. If only the match had been on paper. From afar, an easy solution to the Timberwolves’ lack of competitiveness in the WCF could be attributed to their previous series against the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The series felt like a heavyweight prizefight between Ali and Frazier. It’s likely that that played a role, but it’s not the only reason they lost the series against Dallas, 4-1.
People forget that Tim Connelly, the Timberwolves’ general manager, who came in from the Denver Nuggets in 2022, laid out the blueprint to beat the Nuggets this year, betting on Gobert when no one else was willing to take a chance on him. Gobert’s 2024 DPOY award would be great alongside the other three players, but it came with criticism from basketball purists who said the award should have gone to San Antonio Spurs cyborg Victor Wembanyama, who had nearly double the number of blocks (3.6 vs. 2.1), steals (1.2 vs. 0.7) and deflections (204 vs. 124) as Gobert in 2024. However, this doesn’t negate Gobert’s solid defensive play in the 2024 season, or any of his game really. But NBA voting is just as smug as MLB Hall of Fame voting, and the awards should be taken with a pinch of salt (LeBron James has only four MVP trophies in 21 seasons). Gobert’s success defending Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference semifinals didn’t pan out against Doncic. In the final seconds of Game 2, Gobert found himself alone with Doncic, who forced Gobert into a defensive rotation cycle before scoring the game-winner. A matchup nightmare for anyone, Doncic led Gobert astray, exposing gaping holes in the Timberwolves’ defensive strategy.
Karl-Anthony Towns had established a reputation as one of the few “big men who can shoot,” but he didn’t live up to expectations against the Mavericks. During the regular season, Towns had an astounding 41% three-point shooting percentage, but against Dallas, that percentage dropped to 24.2%. Towns’ three-point shooting percentage dropped from over 50% in the regular season to 39% in the WCF. To make matters worse, he finished Game 5 with an 18-point deficit. Towns’ poor performance was handed down to Naz Reid, who came off the bench. Reid completed nearly every pass he took and proved why he was named Sixth Man of the Year.
Conley has been a great addition to the young roster and has been vital in keeping the Timberwolves focused and organized when he’s on the court, which goes a long way in keeping the team calm, but doesn’t translate to winning playoff series.
Which brings us to Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves’ centerpiece. There’s a consensus about Anthony Edwards that he’s the next face of the league. The comparisons to MJ aren’t far-fetched, and the hype surrounding him is substantiated. Anthony Edwards is must-watch TV. The entire team flows through him. Forget the small stuff. The intensity and grit with which he plays is contagious to his teammates and the city. He’s reinvigorated a basketball culture that was missing in the late ’90s and early 2000s when Kevin Garnett was still with the Timberwolves. Edwards understands the responsibility he’s earned in Minnesota, and he handles it well. Edwards takes responsibility for the team’s struggles when he plays well, and when he doesn’t perform to his standards, he’s quick to blame himself, saying, “I need to be better.” That’s the mark of a true leader. When Edwards is good, he’s the most exciting player on the planet. When he’s bad, the whole team is bad.
The NBA is a very unique league, and what it takes to be successful has changed a lot. Gone are the days when “super teams” dominated the league and left other teams powerless because they didn’t have the money or the ability to attract fans like Miami or Boston. In today’s NBA, the goal is not to build the best team with the biggest stars, but to build the best team to beat any team. Look at what the Timberwolves did in one offseason. Last season they lost to the Nuggets in the first round, but a year later they beat those same Nuggets to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Timberwolves fans should be excited about the future of this organization. Look at the pieces and trajectory of this team. It will be interesting to see how Connelly plans to fill the holes in the team to compete with teams like the Mavericks. I imagine the consensus of the Timberwolves front office for the foreseeable future is, of course, championship or bust.
