The Minnesota Timberwolves came out of the All-Star break with a definable air of rust, leading to a double-digit lead for the Houston Rockets. Despite this, the Wolves still managed to lead as far as late into the fourth quarter before terrible decision-making and bad shots (if this was a drinking game, you’d be hammered) lost them yet another game in a Western Conference that is too close to be burying yourself in.

There is good to be taken with the bad, however, as Anthony Edwards was fantastic in the second and third quarters and the defense had moments of genius even without Rudy Gobert.

Had the Wolves not loafed for the entire first quarter, they could have won this. Had they been even a little bit better in the fourth than their 15-20 clutch game record proves they are, they could be better than seventh in the West. Had they made a move at the deadline, there would be a conversation about incorporating a new piece.

Unfortunately, though, that is not the world we live in. And while there’s something to be said about the absences of Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo, we need to stop looking at that as the main factor for bad losses.

Let’s get into it.

Inconsistency Looms Ever-Present

Earlier in the season, the Wolves kept dropping easy games but then playing hard against tougher competition. They kept losing the first but fought back in time for a fourth-quarter comeback that had varying levels of success.

Chris Finch all the way back on November 27th: “It’s like Groundhog Day. We’re playing the same game every night. We get down, fight back, run out of gas, can’t close. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

The Wolves have continued to lose in this exact fashion all season

— Ryan Eichten (@REichten) February 22, 2025

All in all, the Wolves have been the embodiment of the “we’re so back, it’s so over” meme. While the Wolves of last year never lost three straight games, this year’s iteration seems to never win or lose without a streak to follow or precede it.

As the season rolls on, it becomes harder to blame this on shooting variance or even Ant’s youth, which no doubt plays a role in his regular slow starts. Instead, it may be time to start looking at Chris Finch.

Finch, who got a technical tonight, is most likely the best coach in franchise history and has definitely led to the longest period of success of any coaching tenure, but seems to struggle to bring any level of consistency from the team he leads. Instead, it seems to take an angry cross of the arms or a few timeouts to get real effort flowing.

Disappointments and Triumphs

The Rockets came into tonight at an underwhelming 3-7 in their last 10 games. That record underrates a team that has been the one seed at points this season and ignores that they had the entirety of the break to relax and recover, but it does not undersell how badly the Rockets had been playing recently.

Instead of pouncing on this game, Minnesota was outworked on the boards and defensively, only managing to keep pace in the moments where this game leaned towards a shoot-out.

Additionally, Mike Conley is, for lack of a better word, cooked. His functionality on the court has been hamstrung by his inability to move downhill and, on nights when his shot isn’t falling, he becomes an outright liability. Unfortunately, that fit gets even worse when Gobert is out.

That’s the unabashed bad. It was a poor showing from most of the team. That has been made clear.

However, Luka Garza gave good minutes at the five tonight and continues to be at least a replacement-level big with the absence of Rudy Gobert. Jaylen Clark is an excellent bench piece and has provided an insurance policy in case the free agent to be Nickeil Alexander-Walker is on his way out this summer.

A Few Quick Notes

• Naz Reid should remain the starter going forward. His 22 points tonight came in bursts, but his play continues to encourage hope in the core three of himself, Ant, and Jaden McDaniels.
• Speaking of “Seatbelt”, the deep shooting continues to be a lacking aspect but even through big minutes (41 mins), Jaden continued attacking the rim which has been a huge part of his breakout.
• There will always be a time and a place to blame refs. Alperun Sengun gets a horrifyingly friendly whistle, but the Wolves lost this game without that being a deciding factor.

Up Next

The Timberwolves will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder twice in less than 24 hours. The first game is at Target Center on Sunday, tipping off at 8:30 PM CT. Then, they have only 22.5 hours before the game in OKC starts at 7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports Network North.

Game Highlights