A flame will singe whether it’s a blazing hellfire or a mere flicker. The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to inflict burns, no matter how they come about. When it’s a Western Conference foe, one who upgraded their roster in order to continue outpacing the Wolves, one who could potentially find themselves on the other side of a playoff matchup at some point, inflicting those burns feels that little bit better.
The game ends 124-121. Exhale. Let the nerves wash away and the exultation flood in. Sometimes, even on a night when everything is going right, a tornado can hit. This league has too much talent to stay pinned down all the time. When that tornado starts to ravage, sheltering and trying not to be blown the fuck away is the lone strategy. The Wolves got away with their lives and their foundations still standing, and that’s all that matters.
Perhaps no other night on this season’s schedule exemplifies Minnesota’s volatility quite like this one. Their ability to mingle and mesh and dominate. Their scoring wizards and their defensive stalwarts. Their tendency to lose focus and devolve into sloppiness when they’re within that dominance. Their inability to avoid the avoidable on a consistent basis. Their unwillingness to let any of their fans to age gracefully or live a life without a full head of gray hair.
Still, a flame will singe whether it’s a blazing hellfire or a mere flicker. And this was another burn on their résumé.
Mike Conley: 8/10
The difference was palpable. Not necessarily in the way that he did things better than D’Angelo Russell ever did, but that he did things in his way. A different way. And it felt refreshing, like a cool breeze wafting through a desert. A lower usage, a more consistent effort level as a defensive chaser and rebounder, and a penchant for empowering ball-movement.
The difference was just palpable. Maybe for no one more than Rudy Gobert. If it felt like a cool breeze for fans, it must have felt like a fucking ice bath for the big baguette. The pick-and-roll play was buttery and synergistic, helping turn Gobert’s offense from bumbling to brilliant. Outside of a few early turnovers, Conley was crisp with his playmaking and timely with his shooting all night, but he was brought in to boost his big man and he’s made a perfect start on that front.
Finished with 12 points (67.8% TS), 3 rebounds and 9 assists in 32 minutes — +9.4 net rating.
Anthony Edwards: 10/10
If you don’t spend his minutes maniacally cackling like a fucking evil genius when watching him then you’re not doing it right. He’s the kind of gem it takes decades to mine. A big burly fucking sapphire sparkling in the midst of a muddy franchise. All you really can do is cackle.
Even with his youthful warts protruding occasionally, he’s able to rack up heavenly performances on a near-nightly basis. This was no different. When the Wolves needed to bounce back and beat a fellow Western Conference opponent, he was ready for battle from the first war drum’s boom. His first quarter was brutish drives amalgamating with feathery finishes and his second and third periods were lower usage but scything efficiency.
Then it was winning time. Kyrie Irving knew it was winning time, he was lightsabering the Wolves through every vital organ they have. Luka Doncic knew it, too. But our sapphire was marvelous. Tide-stemming rim-attacks, a ridiculous self-created mid-range jumper, and, of course, the tag-team shackling to end the game. He loves locking fuckers up in the fourth. Just as much as he loves scoring the ball incessantly. Just as much as we love him.
Finished with 32 points (63.8% TS) and 5 rebounds in 36 minutes — +12.5 net rating.
Jaden McDaniels: 10/10
He just keeps doing it. He keeps making defensive plays, hamstringing offensive juggernauts, endearing himself to a fanbase that has been devoid of defensive masters for far too long. He’s like an emaciated fucking badger, savaging every would-be scorer in his path.
Sure, Doncic gets off the chain more than he usually does in their matchups, But Big Mac still gets the last laugh — if his stone-face can even produce one. He shadows him on the final possession, a spindly silhouette forcing the whingy superstar into one final submission.
He also scores a bunch of points. And he only misses a single field goal attempt for the whole night. It’s almost easy to overlook that. It’s the forest to his defensive trees. Big catch-and-shoot treys in the clutch, swooping finishes all night long, and a hilariously effective in-between game.
He’s so awesome.
Finished with 19 points (85.7% TS), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 23 minutes — +5.0 net rating.
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