There was a segment of games last month in which the Timberwolves played a largely entertaining brand of basketball with 5-out spacing and a bunch of guys who could attack off the dribble and play with immense pace.
It was Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and the young players such as Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. at the forefront for a team that was fun to watch.
But didn’t win a lot of games.
This made any outside push for a youth movement a difficult sell. Not that players like Clark and Shannon Jr., specifically, didn’t prove they were ready to contribute to a winning team at the moment — they’ve earned minutes even since the team returned to full health — but a youth-centric direction wasn’t one Minnesota should turn to this season.
That wasn’t a viable option for a team that still views itself as a collection capable of making a deep postseason run.
And while some may scoff at the notion Minnesota could potentially play deep into May for a second consecutive season, there are nights — like on Friday, when the Wolves dismantled Phoenix yet again — when everything appears to still be on the table for the Timberwolves.
“When we play like that,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said, “we feel like we’re the best team in the league.”
“That” is playing with a defensive tenacity and an offense that executes repeatedly. It’s with a consistent effort and attention to detail. Frankly, Minnesota hasn’t shown an ability to deliver those traits on a game-to-game basis over the first 74 games of the season, which is why it’s in the fight of its life to nab a top-six seed in the West and avoid the play-in tournament.
The Wolves have suffered some inexcusable defeats this season, an old scab from previous seasons that they seemingly remedied a year ago. But inconsistency is a mark of a young, inexperienced team.
Luckily for the Wolves, they’ve got experienced players upon which they can rely — particularly of late.
Rudy Gobert was dominant in Friday’s win, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds. His interior rim deterrence made offense nearly impossible for Phoenix. The center set the tone, as he’s done so frequently in the past, and Minnesota needs him to do far more often moving forward.
“I mean, he’s got to play like the Defensive Player of the Year that he’s been,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He was huge around the rim, just setting the tone. As we get more aggressive on the ball, they may think twice about coming to the rim.”
But it wasn’t just on offense. Gobert also grabbed five offensive boards, which led to seven second-chance points on his own. Friday was an example of Gobert’s best basketball, and when he is delivering that …
“That’s when we’re all playing our best ball, to be honest. That’s when our team really functions the way it’s supposed to function,” Mike Conley said. “We just need him to continue to be aggressive. I think the fact that he was crashing the glass, trying to get second-chance points and making extra plays for us, extending possessions for us and, defensively, being that anchor that we count on.
“If we can continue to get him involved early, continue to get him playing with that sense of urgency, man, it’s who we want to be.”
The same is true of a floor general playing as consistently as Conley, who’s shooting a lights-out 50% from 3-point range since mid January and maintaining a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span.
“As important as his leadership is,” Finch said, “it’s his production and his play right now, which is at a super high level.”
The things Conley brings — taking care of the ball and orchestrating good shots for himself and others — and Gobert delivers — interior defense and rebounding — are highly repeatable, and contribute to consistent team success.
It’s why both Conley and Gobert rank in the top four among all NBA players with at least 20 games played and 25 minutes per game in net rating since Jan. 22. In that time, Minnesota is outscoring opponents by 14.8 points per 100 possessions with Gobert on the floor, and 12.7 when Conley is playing.
Minnesota’s record in those 31 games? 20-11.
The “old guys” are driving the bus on team success.
“I’ve got to set the tone for the team,” Gobert said. “It’s gotta be every night.”
If that continues, Minnesota may be the threat it hopes to be this postseason.
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