The good news is that the Minnesota Timberwolves are, literally, just a few buckets away from a 10-game winning streak and a cushioned lead in the Western Conference standings.
The bad news is that the Timberwolves have lost three of their six home games after the All-Star break, including their last two, and now they are looking toward Oklahoma City. They are in this position because they have been unable to solve the problem that has plagued them for much of the season: offensive execution in close games.
An 89-88 defeat At Los Angeles Clippers On Sunday, everything came into focus. The Timberwolves scored 16 points in the second quarter and 20 in the fourth, committing 14 of their 15 turnovers in those two periods and committing a series of late errors that spoiled another terrific defensive night against one of the most difficult to defend from the championship. league.
The Wolves held the Clippers to 37.6 percent shooting, 29 percent from 3 and kept James Harden (0 out of 10, four points) and Paul Georges (5 out of 16, 15 points) largely in check throughout the game. Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points, but it took him 26 shots to get there, and Minnesota outscored the Clippers by 11 points in the 38 minutes he was on the floor.
All of this should have led to a win for the Timberwolves, but they shot 39 percent from the field, 27 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and gave the Clippers 20 points off their 15 turnovers. Minnesota has seen its clutch time efficiency — games in which the score is within five points with five minutes left — fall off a cliff in recent months. The Wolves were 8-1 with a net rating of plus-23.7 points per 100 possessions in clutch situations from the start of the season through December 19. Their offensive rating of 126.3 was sixth in the league during that span.
Since then, the Wolves are 7-11 in decisive games with an offensive rating of 94.6, which is last in the league, and a net rating of minus-23.8, which is 25th. For a team that has its sights set on advancing to the first round of the playoffs for the second time in franchise history, the inability to operate offensively in close games is a major concern.
“The ebb and flow of the season. Really good offensively once, then we got really bad. Cities of Karl-Anthony said. “And then we had the same conversation, and we got good again before the All-Star break. And after the All-Star break, we encounter another one of those ebbs.
The Wolves seemed to turn a corner offensively at the break. They had won four consecutive matches against the Milwaukee BucksClippers and Portland Trail Blazers (twice), scoring at least 128 points in each. But they seem to have left precision and decision-making to the beach, with the Clippers’ loss being particularly glaring.
Coach Chris Finch prioritized a fast start to the game after the Wolves had to overcome huge first quarter deficits against the Memphis Grizzlies And Kings of Sacramento last week. His players responded, opening a 16-point lead thanks to Towns’ 5-of-5 shooting in the first quarter and suffocating defense that gave the Wolves a 30-18 advantage after one.
19-5 RACE ???? pic.twitter.com/wskbyOvsAL
– Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 3, 2024
SO Norman Powell came off the bench and started hitting every shot in sight and the Wolves offense collapsed. They scored 16 points in the second quarter, struggling to adjust to the Clippers’ defensive approach. Minnesota turned things around eight times in the period, leading to 13 points for the Clippers in transition, the kind of easy scores that can give rhythm to an offense.
“The turnovers brought them back into the game, that’s for sure.” Rudy Gobert said. “I loved the way we started the game. And then we lost our rhythm a little.
This is a recurring problem all season, which is even starting to be felt Mike Conley right away. He played his second straight game with three turnovers and also went 0 for 4 from the field, perhaps a sign that the breakneck speed at which games are being played these days could be taking a toll on the point guard. 36 years.
When Conley doesn’t run the game as precisely as he usually does, the Wolves offense is in big trouble. As they engaged in a physical game against the Clippers in the fourth quarter, the lack of a true identity late in the game was evident.
After scoring 12 points on perfect shooting in the first quarter, Towns missed eight straight shots as the Wolves desperately searched for offense. He was 2 of 7 with two turnovers in the fourth. Anthony Edwards scored just two points and also had two glaring turnovers in the fourth quarter, showing how shaky the Wolves’ offense can be when their two main scorers make the kind of mistakes they did on Sunday.
Tim Legler, the excellent X’s and O’s analyst for ESPN, did an in-depth analysis of the offensive issues. It’s a question of whether Towns and Edwards can make simple, smart plays when defenses get after them. Sometimes it works wonderfully and the KAT-Ant pairing overwhelms a defense. Often this can lead to stagnation and turnovers for two players trying to carry the load.
Very good analysis of Legs and his concern regarding the Wolves offense, especially late in the game pic.twitter.com/AmSqGnXRrq
– CJ Fogler’s account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 4, 2024
“I just have to make some shots,” said Towns, who finished with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting with nine rebounds, eight assists and three turnovers. “I wish I could have touched on a few that I thought I looked at, just the ins and outs. The shots just didn’t go in. This is how the game goes for a while.
Towns has been struggling a bit lately. He finished 1 of 6 from 3 against the Kings and shot 39.5 percent from the field over the last three games. Some of the struggles might be at the head and heart level. The cities missed the victory against the San Antonio Spurs last week to attend the funeral of a high school teammate and close friend. He hasn’t looked quite the same in the three games since his return. He was 2 of 7 from deep Sunday and also missed a tough baseline floater in the final 30 seconds that would have given the Wolves the lead.
Finch took ownership of the play that led to that missed shot, saying he should have called a timeout when play paused, forcing Towns to create something.
“It’s my fault,” Finch said. “Gotta take a timeout, get us organized on that penultimate possession we had there. It’s a hotly contested game. I just didn’t make enough shots.
After Leonard made two free throws, the Wolves had the ball and 13 seconds left. With a timeout still in his pocket, Finch came up with a play that had opportunities for a quick 2 or 3 later in the clock. But the Clippers defended it well and Edwards ended up making a layup with three seconds left, which did them no good.
“I wanted the 3, so I was trying to get the 3,” said Edwards, who had 27 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three turnovers. “I tried to turn around and hit KAT, but his man was there. Bad reading on my part.
https://t.co/DEAZuO3Im3 pic.twitter.com/1teVifLAzE
-LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 3, 2024
After the game, Kyle Anderson reminded everyone in the locker room that Edwards was still just a puppy. He is 22 years old and Jaden McDaniels is 23 years old. McDaniels scored 26 points in the overtime loss to the Kings on Friday night, but then had six points on 3-of-9 shooting against the Clippers.
“Of course we have to grow and understand,” Anderson said. “I think we’ll just learn from our mistakes.”
Edwards left the game against Sacramento at halftime to be there for his girlfriend as she gave birth to the couple’s first child, which could have impacted his 2 of 11 against the Kings and his 3 on 10 from 3 against the Clippers.
But Towns is 28, Gobert is 31 and Conley is in his 17th season. The Wolves have enough experience to make a run. But they still have a lot of work to do to get ready to run this spring. So far, they have looked most vulnerable in close games, of which there are many in the playoffs.
One of the simple solutions to inject more offense into the game would be to get out in transition. But the Wolves have been outscored 38-0 in their last two losses, including 19-0 against the Clippers. Finch has been trying to get them to pick up the pace lately, knowing that the quickest path to improved efficiency is to get the easy buckets that come in these scenarios. But Edwards has rarely been a willing runner and Towns and Gobert, as bigs in the middle, aren’t good at running the field. For them, it’s about recognizing the opportunities that present themselves and taking advantage of them.
“We’re sorting all that out right now,” Anderson said with a smile of the team’s mistakes. “The playoffs are going to be great and all the way.”
In the end, the Timberwolves lost by one point to one of the hottest teams in the league. If they had made another one of the seven missed free throws against Sacramento, this game never would have reached overtime and the Wolves would have won.
Teams play this rationalization game all the time. The Wolves (42-19) have 21 games to continue refining this offense and becoming a more reliable unit capable of winning close playoff games. There’s just over a month left to get Conley back into rhythm, Edwards the discipline to play the simple play over and over again and Towns the serenity not to press as much when the pressure mounts. If they do that, they will be dangerous in the playoffs. Otherwise, they will go home early.
“The goal is to continue to improve,” Gobert said. “Of course we want to win every game, but a lot of good things too tonight.”
(Photo by Kyle Anderson and Terance Mann: David Berding/Getty Images)
