Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Date: February 26th, 2026
Time: 9:00 PM CST
Location: Aspiration Dome
Television Coverage: Prime Video, FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart Radio<\/p>\n
There are two versions of the 2025-26 Minnesota Timberwolves, and at this point I\u2019m convinced they share custody of the same locker room.<\/p>\n
Version A is the Sunday matinee squad that sleepwalks through games, forgets how to rotate defensively, and treats urgency like it\u2019s an optional add-on package. That team got run out of its own building by Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Version B? That\u2019s the feisty, ball-popping, defensive-snarl version we saw in Portland. The one that looks like it actually enjoys playing basketball. The one that remembers it has Rudy Gobert, a Defensive Player of the Year anchor, and the blossoming \u201cface of the league\u201d in Anthony Edwards.<\/p>\n
Tuesday night in Portland, Version B showed up.<\/p>\n
From the opening tip, Minnesota looked nothing like the half-asleep group that surrendered 135 points to the Sixers. The ball was humming. The defense had teeth. Gobert, fresh off his one-game suspension, returned to the paint like a bouncer who\u2019d just been told someone trashed his club while he was away. He cleaned the glass, altered shots, and reestablished physicality.<\/p>\n
The Wolves never blew the doors off Portland, but they controlled the tone. Even when the Blazers clawed back and the fourth quarter tightened into one of those familiar \u201care we really doing this again?\u201d moments, Minnesota responded. They hit timely shots. They made defensive stops. They showed composure.<\/p>\n
This is where we give deserved credit to Portland. That\u2019s a young, scrappy team that doesn\u2019t fold. But this game ultimately showcased the difference between a team learning how to win and one that\u2019s been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. When it mattered, the Wolves executed.<\/p>\n
And now comes the next test: the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n
If you remember the last meeting with the Clippers, it was another one of those sleepy Sunday disasters. Minnesota looked disinterested. Kawhi Leonard looked like someone injected the 2019 playoffs into his veins, dropping 41 points en route to a complete evisceration of the Wolves.<\/p>\n
This time, it\u2019s a Thursday night road game in Los Angeles. No Super Bowl matinee. No brunch vibes. Prime time.<\/p>\n
As was the case in the previous meeting, the post-trade deadline Clippers are in transition. James Harden is in Cleveland. Ivica Zubac is in Indiana. Darius Garland, newly acquired, isn\u2019t ready to go yet. On paper, Minnesota has the clear talent advantage. But if this season has taught us anything, it\u2019s that \u201con paper\u201d means absolutely nothing to this Wolves team if they decide to nap through the first half.<\/p>\n
# 1: Actually Show Up This Time<\/p>\n
It sounds absurd that this has to be said about a team with a legit aspiration (see what I did there?) to grab the 3-seed in the Western Conference, but here we are.<\/p>\n
Effort is the swing factor with Minnesota. When they\u2019re engaged, they can suffocate OKC. When they\u2019re not, they can lose to anyone. After the Sixers embarrassment, the Wolves showed pride in Portland. The hope is that it wasn\u2019t a one-night emotional spike. After all, Kawhi Leonard is not someone you casually \u201cfigure out\u201d after falling behind 15.<\/p>\n
This has to be a wire-to-wire effort game.<\/p>\n
# 2: Don\u2019t Get Caught in the Claw<\/p>\n
To say Kawhi Leonard has been on a heater lately would be an understatement. He torched Minnesota in the previous meeting at Target Center. When Kawhi is healthy, he\u2019s one of the most devastating two-way forces in the league. He doesn\u2019t talk much. He doesn\u2019t emote much. He just calmly dissects you.<\/p>\n
Jaden McDaniels, fresh off a monster game in Portland, will likely draw the primary assignment. That\u2019s a good start, but leaving McDaniels alone on an island is not the solution. Kawhi will find his spots. This has to be collective defense for the Wolves. Force the ball out of his hands and make the Clippers\u2019 role players beat you. If Leonard gets 30 on tough, contested shots, you tip your cap, but the Wolves can\u2019t afford to make it an easy night for him.<\/p>\n
In his two games since the All-Star break, Gobert has been on a tear, vacuuming rebounds, turning misses into putbacks, and reminding everyone why he anchors this defense. Against Portland, his presence was unmistakable. It\u2019s amazing how different Minnesota looks when he\u2019s active and emotionally engaged.<\/p>\n
With Zubac gone, the Clippers don\u2019t have a true counter for Gobert inside. This is a game where Minnesota should win the paint decisively. Pound the glass. Feed the lob. If Gobert dictates the interior, it changes everything defensively and creates easier offense on the other end.<\/p>\n
# 4: Keep the Ball Moving<\/p>\n
Portland was a good reminder of what this offense looks like when it shares. The ball movement unlocked Jaden McDaniels. It freed up Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid for clean threes.<\/p>\n
The danger, as always, is hero ball. We saw flashes of it in the fourth quarter in Portland when Anthony Edwards briefly tried to don the cape again. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it stalls the entire offense. Against the Clippers, Ant and Randle need to be dual-threat scorers and facilitators to turn this team into a five-headed monster.<\/p>\n
This is Game 2 of a critical three-game road trip. The goal from the jump was 3\u20130. Portland was Act One. The Clippers are Act Two. Denver looms as the finale.<\/p>\n
If Minnesota handles business in L.A., they set up a massive showdown with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets with real standings implications. Minnesota is a half game behind Denver, and the Wolves haven\u2019t beaten them yet this season. Win against the Clippers, and Sunday\u2019s game in Mile High brings the potential of leapfrogging the Nuggets in the standings.<\/p>\n
But the Wolves can\u2019t look ahead. The Clippers, even reshuffled, are not going to roll over. Kawhi alone makes this dangerous, and Minnesota\u2019s own inconsistency can\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re at Game 60 now. The final turn. The stretch run is here. February has been chaotic with flashes of brilliance, head-scratching losses, defensive lapses, and emotional swings. The Wolves have an opportunity to close the month on a positive note and start March with momentum.<\/p>\n
The ladder is right there. Each game is another rung. Defeating the Blazers was a good step. The Clippers are the next grip.<\/p>\n
Eyes forward. Eyes focused. The finish line is starting to come into view. The Wolves need to run with purpose and stay in their lane. Hopefully they don\u2019t stray in L.A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles ClippersDate: February 26th, 2026Time: 9:00 PM CSTLocation: Aspiration DomeTelevision Coverage: Prime Video, FanDuel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,559,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,6,64153],"class_list":{"0":"post-625040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-clippers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clippers","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-clippers","12":"tag-laclippers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesclippers","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-timberwolves-game-discussion"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116134146209122264","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}