The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the hottest and coldest teams in the NBA. When they’re hot, they look completely unstoppable. When they’re cold, it makes you want to rip your hair out watching them. But they have a special skill that they’ve leaned on for a few years now that makes them one of the NBA’s most formidable opponents, no matter which game it is.
They can erase deficits with the best of them, and they can complete some crazy comebacks that seem borderline impossible with their ability to lock in on both sides of the basketball. Anthony Edwards’ heroic shotmaking and Rudy Gobert’s ability to be a one-man wrecking crew on defense are two of the factors that make it possible.
The Timberwolves have a “switch” that they know they can turn on
If you ask many fans about this topic, they might say it’s annoying. “Why can’t they just play like that all of the time?” That’s something I hear quite a bit, and honestly, I don’t think I, or the team, really have an answer. But in moments when the Wolves are down double digits with two or three minutes left, many would say it’s over, but it’s never over for Minnesota.
Most recently, the Wolves had arguably their most impressive comeback in the last couple of seasons. They beat the Houston Rockets in overtime with Edwards and Ayo Dosunmu out for the game with injury, Jaden McDaniels missing overtime with an injury, and Gobert and Naz Reid both fouling out before overtime.
How exactly did they pull this off? I’m still trying to figure it out. But the group of Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Bones Hyland, Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, and Terrance Shannon Jr found a way. They “flipped the switch.”
The Wolves were down by 13 points midway through overtime with half of their roster out of the game, and they closed the game on a 15-0 run. This was the largest overtime comeback in the NBA’s record.
This trait makes them formidable in the playoffs
The Wolves have the perfect recipe for these comebacks in the playoffs. They have one of the best closers in the game, and they have one of the best defenders in the game. The rest of the roster is filled with guys who can become scorching hot from three or lock up the opposing team’s best player.
Julius Randle is widely considered a bad defender, but multiple times in crunch time this season. He’s flipped a switch and looked like an all-world defender. This is the same with numerous players on the roster. They just all rise to the opportunity when it counts, and you have to bury them if you’re an opponent.
Because if you give this Wolves team some life and a reason to believe they can win, that’s usually all they need.