What number of horrible defeats can a staff with championship hopes have in a season? For Minnesota Timberwolves, it was an excessive amount of.
Anthony Edwards described the defeat of 119-115 in opposition to the Pélicans, which occurred 48 hours after a defeat of 132-130 in additional time in opposition to a staff extraordinarily damaged by Pacers, “embarrassing”. He is proper, and nobody goes to take the wolves significantly if they can not cease bothering.
Many issues this season have been issue in clutch. The Wolves lead the NBA with 43 video games that qualify as a clutch time – when the rating is lower than 5 factors within the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter or additional time – and they’re an 18-25 of those video games.
Though this comes out as a sore thumb, the losses of this week for Pelicans and Pacers are the final final on an inventory of 10 losses that ought to be thought of unacceptable. The opposite eight:
If the Timberwolves need to be revered as an actual competitor, they’d have gained all these video games. The championship candidates don’t lose at dwelling or on the highway in opposition to the worst League groups, and they don’t let the gold alternatives escape once they can play {dollars} with out Giannis antetokounmpo or the warmth with out Jimmy Butler or the Kings 48 hours after their change of’aron Fox.
As a result of the Wolves should not put into service, they’re 40-31 in complete and within the eighth place within the eliminatory race of the Western Convention. If they’d not cracked the mattress in these 10 video games, they’d be 50-21 and the agency management of second place within the West.
With 11 video games to do within the common season, the Wolves at the moment are lengthy -term to leap excessive sufficient within the rating for the benefit of the sector at dwelling within the first spherical of the playoffs. And getting a top-top seed to keep away from the sport event shouldn’t be a secure factor as a result of they should skip the mowers and warriors.
The one factor that goes in favor of Minnesota in the intervening time is the sadly pelvic bruise that Steph Curry suffered when he fell onerous within the victory of Golden State in opposition to Toronto on Thursday night. The Warriors, who’re 16-3 years outdated of their final 19 video games, might be in bother with out their famous person as they embark on a six-game highway journey from Saturday in Atlanta.
Minnesota in all probability must win 10 of its final 11 video games to have a practical shot at a seeded among the many first 4. And if they don’t end within the first six, the stress can be exerted within the sport event and we’ll uncover how these incoherent wolves have these incoherent wolves.
