It’s a new year and Timberwolves fans hope their team is starting to turn the corner. We’re approaching the halfway point of the season and by this time, we have a clear idea of where teams stand. Right now, the Wolves have a 17-15 record—not the best, but it could be worse.
They came off of a very important month of December where they started off hot defensively but plateaued during that stretch. Here, we’re going to take a look at the Timberwolves season so far and how they should navigate moving forward.
New Year’s Check in on the Minnesota Timberwolves
December Highs and Lows
The Timberwolves entered December with a 9-10 record. Throughout the month, they went 8-5. In theory, this looks good, but the second half of the month was where the Wolves really struggled. They won five of their first six December games, then immediately lost three in a row.
Those losses came against the New York Knicks, where they welcomed former player Karl-Anthony Towns, then to the Golden State Warriors, a team they’re 1-2 against this season. By far their most disappointing loss of December came against the Atlanta Hawks, where they lost 117-104.
However, they did turn around and win the next three games, including their Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Dončić suffered a calf injury during the game, forcing him to sit out, and the Wolves took care of business.
Their game against the Houston Rockets went down to the wire. Houston led by 12 with about three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but the Timberwolves responded by going on a 10-0 run. It was then capped off with a game-winning three from Anthony Edwards. They won another nail-biter against the San Antonio Spurs but lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder to cap off the month.
Individual Standouts
Despite having a winning record, we saw a drop in production from some players. The most notable was from Edwards, who is averaging 24.8 points a game on 44.3% shooting on the season. In December, those numbers dropped to 20.5 points a game on 42.7% shooting. Julius Randle also saw a slight dip in his production as well. In December, he averaged 18.2 points a game on 43.7% shooting. That’s down from his season averages of 19.9 points on 47.6% shooting.
On the other side, some others have seen an increase in production, most noticeably Donte DiVincenzo, who had an ice cold start to the season. That wasn’t the case in December as he had his two highest scoring games this season that month: 26 points against the Spurs and 22 points against the Rockets. Throughout the month, he averaged 11.4 points while shooting 39.8% from three. If DiVincenzo can keep up this production, it will be great for the Timberwolves or make him a very enticing trade piece.
Time to Make a Move?
Trade season is underway, and so far, the Timberwolves have stayed silent. Trade season will only heat up from here and the Timberwolves could get involved. Now, the question is, “Should they?” As of now, Randle has not made a decision on his player option and other teams might not be tempted to take on a player whose future is still doubtful. After acquiring him and DiVincenzo from the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, it obviously set the Timberwolves back, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be out of contention for long.
If the Timberwolves were to make a move, the one player that somewhat makes sense would be DiVincenzo. He’s under contract through 2027 and is making $11.4 million dollars this season. Even so, it would be unlikely for the Wolves to make a trade this season, because no trade out there will turn them into contenders this year. If they were to make a move, it would be minor trades to create cap flexibility going into the offseason.
Expectations for the New Year
Just like December, it’s important for the Timberwolves to get off to a good start for the New Year. They’re not completely dead in the water as they’re eighth in the Western Conference, currently 1.5 games back from being out of the Play-in. Their first game of the New Year, however, is against the defending champion Boston Celtics tomorrow. It’s not a must-win, but it would be nice to start off on the right track. A lot can happen this month, and time will only tell if the Timberwolves will make the right moves to better position themselves for a chance at a postseason run.
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