Wolves 108, Clippers 80: Did We Just Become a Good Team?

For the second game in a row, the Timberwolves held an opponent to 80 points, securing their third straight victory.

Any time you have a 27 point lead at halftime, things are probably going well.

Any time you get to stack blowout wins, things are probably going well.

And any time those wins both come against conference opponents and in particular in LA, you guessed it, things are probably going well.

Tonight’s blowout by the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Los Angeles Clippers wasn’t close at any point, which was great news for an Eastern Standard Time member, and moved remarkably quickly. There was almost no point after the first slate where this game felt like anything more than a YMCA pickup game. There was a ghost of competition, but it was a ghost that had no power to influence the game happening below it.

While 11-10 is not where the Wolves wanted to be after 21 games, a record that would put them on track to win just about 43 games this year and would be a medium to large-level disappointment, it is exciting that the defensive intensity that defined this team last year has seemingly returned.

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Randle’s Return to Form

The first half was dominated by Julius Randle who admittedly inflated his 20-point first half with a bunch of cherry-picked dunks and layups from leaking out in transition. For what it’s worth, Randle’s increased level of play in these two games has brought my thesis to light that this team will go as far as Randle’s general effort level.

That four-game losing streak that had many, myself included, running away from a sky that wasn’t falling resulted in a lot of think pieces on Randle as a player. Whether his body language was acceptable (it wasn’t) and whether he was just a losing player (he isn’t). Most notably, it had people hyper-analyzing Randle at Kentucky, four teams, and a decade ago.

Randle as a player is flawed, but nights like tonight are great to push back on some less-than-honest analysis on the power forward who has contributed immensely to each and every one of the Wolves’ wins this season. Unfortunately, he has also been a huge part of their losses.

Thus is the state of expectations.

NAW: Notoriously Always Winning

I said during a stream on playback.tv/canishoopus (I apologize for the shameless plug) that Nickeil Alexander-Walker may just be the Wolves’ second or third-best player. There was obviously pushback to that, as most of our conversations have, but the things Nickeil does to increase win probability on a per-play level is honestly absurd.

If you could choose any mindset to implant into every player on the roster, it is NAW’s.

There was one play that stood out this game where Nickeil nearly blocked a layup attempt (that missed the rim) on a drive he had smothered, prevented a put back attempt, and then fought to prevent an offensive rebound, eventually corralling the ball to Naz Reid. It was four successive jumps without the average exhaustion that should come from that.

When I wrote the arrival piece on Nickeil Alexander-Walker over two years ago, I was incredibly confident that he could be a rotational piece and would prove his worth. Not even I thought this was possible, and I was a homer in the field. It should be celebrated.

That brings us to the sadder question. Can the Timberwolves afford to keep Nickeil around? Free agency has changed in recent years and, especially with the new CBA, middle-tier free agents have been the ones to suffer the most in this new environment, but NAW and Naz, who should be the two priorities this offseason, could both end up seeing offers of 18+ million dollars a year. It’s hard to see Minnesota matching both of those.

It’s incredibly hard to justify letting go of a 26-year-old player who has flourished to this extent. Tonight, within the box of a blowout win, my mind started to wander.

I hope the future I saw, one where we lose one of my favorite Wolves of the last fifteen years, the lifespan of my fandom, does not come to pass.

Josh Minott and the Tantalizing World of Maybe

Josh Minott had an immediate and notable impact in the first quarter of this game. While the dunk, flying by Ivica Zubac, got the highlight post, there was a drop-off pass to Naz Reid under the basket that forced a timeout and caused the same eyebrow raise that Minott has given Wolves fans since he was drafted as a project player out of Memphis.

He then spent the rest of the game doing very little to change the game’s flow around him.

This has been the constant question mark for Minott, even when he was forcing himself into a rotation spot with an incredibly strong preseason. The issue hasn’t been the athleticism, which has always been excellent, or the handle, which is still shaky, or the shooting, which has improved to the level of requiring a half-hearted closeout. It has always been the shakiness of Minott’s consistency in activity.

It was during the air of unimportance of the third quarter that Minott’s free agent status was brought up. It’s not a huge conversation to have; Minott has been okay as a second rounder, an asset type that rarely pays off, but his contract will soon be over. Someone will take a shot on the hyper-athletic wing with flashes and clips, but with Terrence Shannon Jr available behind him at a dirt cheap price, this may be the last year of Why Not Minott in Minnesota.

There’s no real thought here. Minott has always been enrapturing for what he could be. I want to appreciate who he is now as well. That first quarter should be a celebration of how far he’s already come. That drop-off pass, one made away from the body and into space, is the most confident I’ve seen Minott.

When he ran off the court nodding his head and smiling, it reminded me of the joy that sports should bring. I thought that would be a nice, wholesome note to pass on, to those who watched and those who didn’t. For the first time in what feels like an age, the Wolves have been fun to watch again.

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Up Next

The Timberwolves continue their California road trip as they head up to the Bay Area for a pair of games against the Golden State Warriors. The first game is on Friday, December 6, tipping off at 9:00 PM CT, airing on ESPN.

The second matchup with the Warriors is on Sunday, December 8 at 7:30 PM CT with fans being able to watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network North.

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Game Highlights