On Saturday, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to dribble the ball out in the final seconds against the 9-19 Brooklyn Nets. Not because they had taken care of business and won, but because Brooklyn had secured its seventh win in ten games, beating Minnesota 123-107.
The Nets have been playing well, and they certainly played well against the Wolves. Still, it was a game the Wolves should have put up a better fight in. The hometown fans let their team know how they felt by letting the boo birds fly a couple of times after halftime.
“We got booed and s— by the fans today,” said Anthony Edwards postgame. “I’m with the fans, I would have booed us too. Lack of energy. I don’t know what’s going on. I guess this is just Timberwolves basketball.”
Seven years ago, a loss like Saturday’s would not have been surprising. Target Center would have been half empty, and the fans that were there probably wouldn’t have booed because the expectations were so low. But as Edwards has established himself as a superstar, the Wolves fill up Target Center for most home games. They are on primetime airwaves. Most recently, they played on Christmas Day in Denver.
Timberwolves basketball isn’t what it historically has been. It’s now an operation that consistently goes deep in the postseason. A captivating player leads the operation, and it features the type of performances that fans nationwide want to see. It’s also an operation that still features the uninspiring losses that fans saw on Saturday.
Minnesota’s game-to-game inconsistency makes this team increasingly difficult to figure out. What truly is Timberwolves basketball right now?
Last week, the Wolves beat Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks, 115-104. Towns scored 40 points, but Edwards scored 38, and Julius Randle had 17 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win, which improved the Wolves to 20-10 on the season.
Afterward, Rudy Gobert was rapping about Bones Hyland in the locker room. Minnesota had won ten of its last 12 games, and the vibes were high.
During that stretch, the Wolves handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their third loss of the season, beating OKC 112-107 at home on December 19. It was the type of win that the Wolves could have used as a model for success moving forward. Not because they operated at a high level. They didn’t. Minnesota shot 38% against the Thunder. But the Wolves played with relentless energy, grit, and passion.
In an overall successful season for the Wolves, their mindset, energy levels, and attention to detail every night have not been as consistent as you would like to see from a team with championship expectations.
“We can’t have these peaks and valleys,” Donte DiVincenzo said after Saturday’s loss. “It’s frustrating. … You don’t disrespect your opponent, but it’s a team we are supposed to come in and handle business [against] and do what we are supposed to do.”
nah CT is HOOPIN’ rn
pic.twitter.com/ni2BfmHna7
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 28, 2025
Brooklyn has been playing well. Losing to a team as hot as the Nets wouldn’t have been horrible if the Wolves had made them truly earn it.
The Nets shot 55% from the floor against Minnesota and registered a 129.5 offensive rating. Most of their offensive success was a product of Minnesota’s poor pick-and-roll defense. The Nets outscored the Wolves 66-46 in the paint, Brooklyn’s highest paint points in a game this season. They shot 26 of 29 (89.7%) at the rim. The Nets got downhill far too easily against a Wolves defense that ranks eighth-best this season.
Brooklyn played like the team the Wolves need to be consistently.
“They beat us to 50-50 balls,” DiVincenzo continued. “They beat us downhill. [The Nets] just played with more physicality. They played with more energy. And that is the type of team that they are. But they are that. Like, we have spurts of that. [That’s] what we can do, [but] that’s not necessarily who we are, and that’s who we need to become.”
Two days prior, the Wolves went to overtime against the Denver Nuggets on Christmas. Minnesota was down by 15 points … with five minutes left … on the road … against a three-time MVP in Nikola Jokić, who was at the height of his powers. Still, the Wolves went on a 24-9 run to force overtime, where they ultimately lost 142-138.
Collectively, the Wolves had no issue generating energy throughout that game, especially when it mattered most. They were playing in primetime against a Western Conference foe — that is where this team has operated its best. But similar to their win against OKC, the Wolves didn’t execute a flawless game by any stretch against Denver. The Nuggets outscored Minnesota 35-23 in the third quarter, where Denver shot 52%, and the Wolves shot 36%.
Still, the Wolves remained locked in and used gritty defense to charge their fourth-quarter run, which allowed Edwards, who was battling a right shoulder injury, to drop 15 points in clutch time on 5 of 6 shooting. On the other side, Jokić scored 19 of his 56 points in the clutch. He also finished the night with 16 rebounds and 15 assists.
Minnesota allowed Denver to close overtime on a fatal 27-14 run in the final three minutes. Leading by nine points with three minutes left, the Wolves probably should have won in Denver. But close, winnable losses against top-tier talent are bound to happen in a long 82-game season. One loss in December isn’t going to make or break an entire year, even a loss at home to an inferior opponent.
“Can’t get too low in this,” said DiVincenzo on Saturday. “You have to address it like we have in the past and turn it around, but when we do turn it around again, we have to hold that. … We can’t just get up for OKC and come in against Brooklyn and just get punked. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror.”
The Wolves own a 20-12 record. They are sixth in the West and 15-3 against sub-.500 teams. They’ve done a significantly better job taking care of business against inferior teams. Even when they haven’t been blowout wins, Edwards has delivered on his promise to lead the Wolves in games they should win.
At the same time, Minnesota has struggled to consistently generate its own energy, especially early in games, regardless of the opponent.
“We can’t rely on talent,” said DiVincenzo. “We have to come in and use our talent, but every night, the energy has to be there. Every night, a competitive spirit has to be there. It can’t be up and down on a night-to-night basis.”
The question that I am pondering is how concerning Saturday’s loss is in the long run. Last season, Timberwolves basketball was an operation that had struggled with consistency in the regular season but still made it to the Western Conference Finals. The Wolves didn’t struggle to generate energy in the postseason. That’s where they have been at their best, and where they probably will be again this year.
Edwards was right in his assessment. Saturday’s loss is Timberwolves basketball. But so are wins like the one against OKC, the late-game heroics against Denver, and the deep postseason runs, like last season. For as frustrating as the waxing and waning energy levels in the regular season are, perhaps it shouldn’t be too concerning.
Ultimately, however, championship teams — not just successful playoff teams — develop a consistently focused mindset in the regular season. The Wolves know they can be a team with that mindset, but they aren’t that team often enough. Each game is vital in what is shaping up to be a very contested Western Conference standings. Come April, one or two wins could decide who has home-court advantage in the first round. That’s when a loss like Saturday’s will burn the most.
Recently, in the regular season, Timberwolves basketball hasn’t been consistent enough. But that hasn’t stopped the team from being consistent in the postseason, and probably won’t again this year. But if the team hopes to become an operation that wins a title, Timberwolves basketball will set the necessary habits right now.