In the early part of last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves had understandable reasons for why they were struggling.
The front office traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks days before training camp for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who had to get comfortable on and off the court in Minnesota on the fly. Coming off a Western Conference Finals run, the Timberwolves were 17-15 on New Year’s Day last season. Still, they ultimately turned things around and made it back to the Conference Finals.
Heading into this year, Minnesota lost one rotational player (Nickeil Alexander-Walker). Anthony Edwards expected their continuity to help them get off to a fast start, the kind of start that could springboard them to a run at a Finals berth.
But at New Year’s this year, the Wolves are struggling to be a consistently championship-caliber team. They may have continuity, but the Wolves have experienced more change than perhaps they initially planned.
Alexander-Walker’s absence has created ripple effects.
The Wolves own a 23-13 record, their fourth-best start in franchise history. They are 13-5 since Thanksgiving, tied for the second-best record in the NBA during that stretch. The Wolves employ:
- A bona fide star capable of dropping 30+ points every game in Anthony Edwards.
- Rudy Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, is defending at a level that could earn him another this season.
- Randle, a three-time All-Star, is playing like a walking double-double threat.
- Jaden McDaniels is a rising wing defender who has unique scoring chops.
- And DiVincenzo, an NBA Champion.
Off the bench, the Wolves have a former Sixth Man of the Year, Naz Reid, with plug-and-play offensive capabilities.
The Wolves know they’re a talented team, and so do their fans, who’ve seen enough of the dark days to realize how rare it is to be making deep postseason runs consistently. Still, this team has yet to take the step to become a legit title contender, which, combined with the recent playoff success, makes Minnesota’s regular-season inconsistency this year concerning, frustrating, and difficult to understand.
On New Year’s Day, the Atlanta Hawks were on a seven-game losing streak and without Trae Young. Still, they blew out the Wolves 126-102 in Minnesota’s worst defensive effort of the season. The debacle came two days after the Wolves dominated the Chicago Bulls 136-101 in a well-executed affair on both ends by Minnesota. Before that, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Wolves at Target Center 123-107.
After the loss to Atlanta, DiVincenzo said the Wolves can’t rely on their talent.
“Just the compete factor,” he explained. “You compete, and you give yourself a chance every single night. You don’t compete, and you’re relying on talent. Sometimes, shots don’t fall. Sometimes, you turn the ball over. The competing factor is the biggest thing. You compete, and it covers up so much. It’s just not there.”
As DiVincenzo highlighted, the offense isn’t always going to be well-oiled. There will be nights when the Wolves miss open three-point shots, as they did against the Washington Wizards on Sunday when they shot 11 of 37 (29.7%) from deep.
Games like that are inevitable. However, the Wolves can’t compound the problem by letting their defense slip and their overall energy decline, which has been an all-too-common theme for a team that has had as much success as it has this season.
On Sunday, the Wolves didn’t let their lack of shooting lead to another gut-punch of a loss or even a hard-fought win. They were on the tail end of a back-to-back and recorded one of their best offensive games of the season, beating the Wizards 141-115 by shooting 28-31 (90%) at the rim and keeping their foot on the pedal until the game was over.
“I thought it was one of our best games in terms of the approach,” Gobert said postgame.”Coming in on a back-to-back. On both ends of the floor, just sharing the ball and being physical. I feel like we played like a team that is playing for something bigger tonight.”
There’s something within this team that allows them to erect towering peaks built on impressive wins while also plummeting into valleys that are far too deep.
Minnesota’s inconsistent energy levels that dig those valleys aren’t something that a team with as much success as it has had in the last three years should be dealing with over a third of the way into the season.
The answer to why the Wolves are struggling with consistency isn’t black-and-white, but the departure of Alexander-Walker is a big part of it. Not just because the former Virginia Tech guard was an integral part of Minnesota’s bench whose energy levels were always high, but because his absence in the rotation has created unanticipated ripple effects up and down the roster.
Terrence Shannon Jr., Rob Dillingham, and Jaylen Clark all showed enough during limited playing time last season that they were deserving of a shot at meaningful minutes this season. Chris Finch planned to break up the 33 minutes per game Alexander-Walker played among the young players, but that plan has resulted in the Wolves having the NBA’s fifth-worst bench offensive rating (51.8).
Shannon has struggled on both sides of the ball while dealing with foot injuries. He’s currently sidelined with a right foot strain and won’t be reevaluated until Saturday. Finch gave Dillingham a shot at rotational minutes, but he is back to being DNP’d frequently, with Bones Hyland taking his spot off the bench. Clark has been the most consistent one of the three thanks to his lockdown defense, but he is averaging 4.6 points per game and is shooting 30% from three.
Finch is also starting DiVincenzo over Mike Conley this season to inject Donte’s winning hustle plays in the starting lineup and get more shooting next to Edwards. DiVincenzo has been a streaky shooter, but with Ant becoming more comfortable as the lead guard, the move has worked. However, Conley has regressed offensively and doesn’t have the spark-plug scoring ability that a guard off the bench needs.
Therefore, the Wolves may have lost only one rotational player in the summer, but they have completely rebuilt their bench from last season, which repeatedly sparked them in games and earned the nickname “D.N.A.” Naz (N) is the only one left. Hyland is playing well, but like the team, he is also streaky and not the defensive factor that Alexander-Walker is.
All of that has culminated in Minnesota’s dynamic, at least offensively, significantly shifting from last season. Alexander-Walker averaged nine points per game last season, and Clark is a rugged defender. In theory, the Wolves shouldn’t be missing NAW as much as they are, but he showed up every night with the type of execution, energy, and passion that this team is lacking.
Is that the exclusive reason why this Wolves team seemingly can’t be consistent? Probably not. It is difficult to determine exactly why their struggles are present. Last season, it wasn’t. Minnesota expected to lean into its continuity early on this year, but Alexander-Walker’s departure altered the Timberwolves more than they planned for.