It’s funny how much variance there is in this game we love. On any given night, the Minnesota Timberwolves can be champagne. They can flow like liquid gold. They can amaze and wow and elicit emotions that leave us all scraping our jaws from the floor. On other nights, nights like this one, they can stumble and bumble through their tasks. They can stagnate and congeal. They can make the exact same sport look like a trudge through quicksand.
In the end, every win nestles itself into the standings in the same way, though. Every one keeps the Wolves atop the Western Conference pile. As long as they keep winning, things will continue to feel rosier than ever.
The game ends 101-86. That ugly scoreboard could have looked much uglier. It certainly felt that way. This was a slugfest to end all slugfests. A pillow fight for the ages. A doff of the cap is owed to the defensive exploits of both the Wolves and the Brooklyn Nets, but in reality this was two teams who spent their evening galumphing through the motions with nary a hungry bone in their bodies.
At some point, one of the teams was going to snap out of their funk for long enough to snatch the game away and it had to be Minnesota. After dropping their game the night, they couldn’t afford to limp out of this mess with another avoidable loss under their belt. It had to be Minnesota.
So, it wasn’t overly surprising that the better team on their home court found enough energy and connectivity to pull the game apart in the closing minutes. And yet, years of Timberwolves trauma means it also wasn’t boring or exasperating. It’s always fun watching this team percolate. Even if it’s expected. Even if it’s just for a few measly minutes. Even if it’s coming off a long stretch of stinky basketball.
Don’t take this feeling for granted. Don’t let winning basketball games become a chore. Embrace it and cherish it and revel in every moment; even on a night that will be forgotten much quicker than a lot of the others we’ve experienced this season.
Mike Conley: 8/10
Loved his game.
Loved the way he pried open shooting pockets for himself and nailed the ensuing shot. Loved the way he took control when things threatened to really get out of hand but still gave Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns the bandwidth that they require as well. Loved the way he always fought to stay in front of his man on and off the ball even when he isn’t a particularly great physical matchup for any of Brooklyn’s bigger guards and wings.
Most of all, I love the way he buried that triple at the end. Dennis Schroder used to have a bleached blond smudge in his hair while Mike Conley is the greatest man to walk this fucking earth. Rules that aren’t written aren’t rules. Play to the whistle and defend better and you won’t have to throw a temper tantrum on the court.
Finished with 14 points (50% FG), 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes — +4 plus/minus.
Anthony Edwards: 8/10
Another one of those nights that make me question my sanity, my reasoning, and especially my rating.
There were alarmingly large swathes of this game where he was utter naff. He never stopped trying to swerve his way through Brooklyn’s wall of defenders and he never stopped trying to rediscover his touch around the rim — a better approach than settling for jacking up jumpers — but his persistence felt like it was becoming his downfall as the game wore on. Mix some spotty defense into the mix and he looked to be flailing.
Then, as he did in the loss the night before, he decided he was going to park all of the nonsense and just give his opponents a final-frame molly-whopping. This time the right result accompanied the outburst.
Perhaps this game would have been over earlier had he put on his superstar pants sooner, but when he did he closed the curtains on any sort of dramatic finale. In the final period, he toasted Brooklyn’s double-teams, made a couple of shrewd back cuts for dunks, and lit them up on his jumpers.
Better late than never.
Finished with 29 points (47.8% FG), 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes — +16 plus/minus.
Jaden McDaniels: 6/10
Speaking of better late than never. Nobody left it later and nobody had the air of never like him.
He’s in a funk. A big stinky fucker of a funk. There are some focus issues going on there, there are some fairly normal shooting woes that every player experiences going on there, and there’s a big fat helping of frustration acting as the pulsing undercurrent and exacerbating all of it.
The funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk. It quivered through the night like a quiet storm threatening to explode into a hellacious downpour. Then, when they really needed him to do something, he responded with two clutch corner triples and a slick wraparound pass to feed Towns under the rim. Then he babies Schroder into the fetal position when he starts chirping. Sod off, Dennis you little twerp. This isn’t FIBA.
If that was a circuit-breaker then it will be welcomed with open arms.
Finished with 7 points (50% FG), 2 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 33 minutes — +4 plus/minus.
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