On today’s show, Ryan Eichten and Leo Sun break down the Minnesota Timberwolves winning two games in as many nights on Thanksgiving weekend, as well as trying to figure out what’s going so wrong for this team late in close games.
— The Timberwolves beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-112, outscoring them by 17 points in the fourth quarter. It was the Wolves’ best win of the year, just their second of the year against a winning team, with the first coming the night before against the Boston Celtics.
— Minnesota’s ball movement and switch to a zone defense in the fourth quarter allowed them to flip the game in their favor. On one end of the floor, they were finding wide-open shots, while on the defensive end, they were slowing down a San Antonio offense that was getting to the rim at will through the first three quarters.
— The execution late in games was a huge issue for the Wolves this past week, blowing late leads to both the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was tied with three minutes left, but turnovers and missed free throws prevented any chance at victory.
— Winning the game against the Celtics despite giving up the lead is a big step in the right direction. When they gave up the lead in the Kings game, instead of fighting back, the Wolves doubled down on their mistakes. Seeing the Timberwolves pull themselves together after a poor stretch late in a game is an encouraging sign.
— In Sunday’s game against the Spurs, Rudy Gobert did not play after subbing out midway through the third quarter. Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch noted that it was due to the Wolves’ offense rolling and not something Gobert or anyone else should see as a cause for concern.
— Terrence Shannon Jr. had a breakout game against the Thunder, scoring 18 points and making all seven of his shots. The Wolves hope that this performance from Shannon is far more indicative of what he can do moving forward, compared to his production early in the season when he was dealing with a toe injury.
— Anthony Edwards has been sensational of late, scoring 30 or more points in each of his last five games. He is providing consistent high-level scoring while largely keeping the ball moving on offense. If he can iron out the mistakes late in games, Ant is primed for a potential First Team All-NBA selection at the end of the season.
— A weird quirk of the NBA Cup is that teams that don’t make the quarterfinals get rewarded with easier games than the teams that do. With the Wolves getting eliminated from the NBA Cup on Wednesday, two games were added to their schedule. On December 12 and 14, they will play the Golden State Warriors on the road and the Kings at home.