Jace Frederick: Timberwolves taking care of business amid soft early schedule

Thomas Shea / Imagn Images By Jace Frederick / St. Paul Pioneer Press Today at 10:00 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article Opinion Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. The Trust Project What is this? Minnesota’s win over Utah on Sunday was the Timberwolves’ fourth in a row, and the Wolves owned the West’s fourth-best record (8-3) — and fifth best in the entire league — heading into Monday’s slate. The Wolves sport the NBA’s eighth-best offense (116.2 points per 100 possessions), the best defense (105.1 points) and the second-best net rating (outscoring opponents by 11.1 points per 100 possessions). ADVERTISEMENT Sunday’s 115-100 win was the seventh of Minnesota’s eight victories that have been by double digits. It has been highly impressive considering Anthony Edwards has missed the past seven games after having arthroscopic surgery on his knee, and also … exactly what Minnesota should do. Especially if it’s the title contender it aims to be. Minnesota didn’t have its best stuff Sunday yet eventually pulled away from a banged-up Jazz team that’s stuck on just one victory and has now lost eight in a row. Half of the Wolves’ wins this season are against teams that currently have two or fewer victories — Utah, Milwaukee, Orlando and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers got win No. 2 on Sunday against New Orleans, a team Minnesota beat by 16 points on Friday. Minnesota’s schedule to date, in fact, is currently the third-easiest in the West ranked by opponents’ winning percentage. The Wolves have played just three teams with winning records (Toronto, Golden State and Houston). That’s in no way a knock on the Wolves. You play who’s in front of you. If anything, the scintillating start — again, played largely without Edwards — is a testament to how this Wolves team may be different. Past editions would have kicked away one of their “gimmes” by now and played with their food for too long in one or two others. The Wolves have beaten the four cellar dwellers on their schedule by an average of 19 points. ADVERTISEMENT Even amid this current winning streak, Minnesota coach Chris Finch noted the Timberwolves have played a couple of games where they “didn’t maybe have our best stuff” yet won convincingly all the same. That was the story on Sunday. The Wolves couldn’t hit a 3-point attempt early, turned the ball over too often and had a few too many blow-bys on the defensive perimeter. Yet their general effort and energy was good, particularly from the bench players, and Minnesota established a double-digit lead late in the third quarter that it held to the final buzzer. It’s tough to drop games you shouldn’t when you compete at a consistent energy and attention to detail, regardless of who’s lined up across from you. “You’ve gotta try to play to a standard that you lay down every night … in the beginning of the season, every night, or once you play to a certain level and you show it to yourself that you’re capable of it,” Finch said. “Then the challenge is to measure up every single night. “You’re not always going to be able to do it. I didn’t think we were our sharpest (Sunday). We had a chance to take control of the game several times. I thought we got a little sloppy, whether it be turnovers or some ill-advised shots. “We’ve been able to respond within the game pretty well. So that’s kind of pleasing. But what I like about this team right now is … I have great confidence in how they’re going to play every night when it comes to effort and connectivity.” ADVERTISEMENT Those are things you establish in the regular season across all 82 games — even the ones against inferior foes — that create an identity you can rely on when competition stiffens and things get serious. The things you continuously repeat against Utah and Milwaukee are more likely to be there for you when you need them against Oklahoma City. “We have a group that wants to win, that understands what it takes to win,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “Even on some nights when it might be a little tougher than others, we know that if we want to give ourselves a chance, we have to do those things. I love it. I think that’s called a foundation. That’s a foundation that we want to have every single night.” Text Example ____________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here. Comments Share Share this article Opinion Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. The Trust Project What is this? 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