The Timberwolves at midseason: young, unfinished — and on the rise
Due to the dearth of quality teams in the Western Conference, the Wolves have a good chance of getting at least minimal postseason action. So enjoy the ride.
Britt Robson
Britt Robson has covered the Timberwolves since 1990 for City Pages, The Rake, SportsIllustrated.com and The Athletic. He also has written about all forms and styles of music for over 30 years.
How Chris Finch is mixing and matching the Timberwolves to competency (and maybe a playoff spot)
The key to the Wolves’ success this season may come down to how well Finch is able to fashion what he calls his “blended lineups.”
The Timberwolves try to navigate the omicron blues
Welcome to the portion of the 2021-22 NBA season during which team rosters are strafed by a virus-variant sniper practicing guerrilla warfare on competent basketball.
For good and bad, Jarred Vanderbilt has come to epitomize the 2021-22 Timberwolves
Vando is becoming a feel-good exception to the franchise’s historic failure at developing role players.
What’s wrong with the Wolves offense. And what they can do about it.
More than a quarter of the way through the 2021-22 season, the Timberwolves’ offense is currently ranked 24th in the NBA. That’s not where this team was supposed to be.
D’Angelo Russell might be the feel-good story of the Wolves season so far
Even if the path to DLo’s blooming has been as idiosyncratic as his personality.
Wait, are the Wolves actually starting to figure some things out?
Enjoying the novelty of a team on the rise.
Defense (yes, defense) has become a hidden pleasure of the Wolves season so far
Because the Wolves record is still a desultory 4-9, even die-hard fans have had trouble fully appreciating how overachieving the team’s defense has been.
The dread zone: How a history of failure continues to sabotage the Wolves
After nine games, there is a growing realization that this Wolves outfit, perhaps more than any other, is corrosively affected by the franchise’s unparalleled legacy of losing.
How to maintain a smidgen of optimism when the Wolves seem determined to revert to their historic ineptitude
Watching this team scrap and dig in to get stops during the first two weeks of the season has been a rare and rewarding experience, one that pleases the eye and warms the soul.
Karl-Anthony Towns is vital to the Timberwolves. It would be nice if that was more wonderful and less troubling to think about.
The box score proclaims that Karl-Anthony Towns had a fabulous game Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. But this is Karl-Anthony Towns, so it was not that simple.
A sincerely hopeful preview of the 2021-22 Minnesota Timberwolves
Give Gersson Rosas his due: The Wolves head into Wednesday’s opening game of the 2021-22 NBA season in better shape, in both the short- and long-term, than they were when Rosas took over less than 30 months ago.
Great expectations: the Minnesota Timberwolves 2017-18 season preview
Welcome to the first step on what should be a thrilling — and expensive — road to relevance.
Timberwolves media day takeaway: Can Butler and Wiggins play nice together?
After years of disappointments, the Wolves are suddenly expected to make the playoffs this season. Should we believe the hype?
Nobody should be surprised by the way Tom Thibodeau has remade the Timberwolves
After a series of moves — including trading Ricky Rubio to Utah — the 2017-18 Timberwolves will be older, blunter, bruising, expensive and better.
Jimmy Butler brings everything the Timberwolves need. And more.
Butler is the best player the Timberwolves have ever acquired via a trade in the 28-year history of the franchise — and an absolutely perfect fit given the team’s current circumstances.
The Timberwolves’ new logo might as well be a question mark
Thibs, Wiggins and Towns are inextricably tied to each other. Can they synergize their extraordinary skills in a manner that elevates the Timberwolves?
Is Tom Thibodeau getting through to his players?
A coach of Thibs’ pedigree deserves a season-long mulligan if it is prelude to the great leap forward. But that mulligan has eight games left. Then that vaunted reputation is on the clock.
Will the Wolves ever develop the ability to play sustained team defense?
The brief and predictably specious boomlet of playoff talk surrounding this year’s Wolves turned out to be a mirage.
The days of the Timberwolves being a laughingstock are over
Does this mean the Wolves will snag a playoff berth? Doubtful. But the chance to be obliterated in a first-round playoff series is a short-term endgame that ignores the greater good of the Wolves metamorphosis.
