The 'immature trait' that is killing the Timberwolves

The next 11 games are part of the reason Minnesota has the hardest remaining schedule in the Western Conference.

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Jan 24, 2023 12:56 PM EST

How long until the Minnesota Timberwolves start winning games they're supposed to win? Monday's 119-114 loss to the Houston Rockets was the latest in a string of concerning losses that are becoming more and more painful as the season wears on.

Entering play Tuesday, the Wolves are 24-25. They're sitting in ninth place in a congested Western Conference, just 1.5 games behind Dallas for fifth place but only one game ahead of the Lakers and Portland for 12th and 13th. There are 10 teams all within four games of each other in the West.

Recent losses to Houston, Detroit (twice) and a shorthanded Miami team are all hard to accept. If Minnesota had taken care of business in those games, they would be 28-21 and sitting comfortably in the top four.

"It's a bad tendency, but it is a tendency," Anthony Edwards admitted after Monday's loss. "It's a bad tendency that I gotta change within myself and then we gotta change together. If this was anybody else, we're coming out ready to play."

Minnesota is 49 games into the season and they haven't figured that out yet. Sure, Kyle Anderson got into foul trouble, Taurean Prince was out with a sprained ankle and Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan McLaughlin remain out with calf injuries, but Houston was riding a 13-game losing streak and has a roster that – despite Minnesota's ailments – is nowhere near as talented.

"The games that we gotta win, we gotta take care of them," Edwards continued.

News flash: They're running out of those types of games.

Minnesota's final 33 games are the most difficult in the Western Conference based on strength of schedule. Now until the All-Star break in late February is a hellish grind.

Nightmare Road begins Wednesday in New Orleans before returning to Minneapolis for a showdown with the Grizzlies on Friday night. Then it's Sacramento at Target Center Saturday and Monday, followed by the Warriors in town on Wednesday.

Orlando is awful but is a difficult matchup because of their size. They're on the menu next Friday (Feb. 4), followed by a home/away battle with Denver that following Sunday and Tuesday.

Out of breath yet? It gets worse.

After two straight against Nikola Jokic, Minnesota has to play Walker Kessler and the Jazz on Feb. 8 (the day before the trade deadline). Then it's off to Memphis and Dallas.

So, yeah...only one (!) of the next 11 games (Orlando) is one that Minnesota is the undeniable favorite where they will be expected to win. You know, just like they were expected to beat Houston, Detroit (twice) and the Heat.

“You are what you repeatedly do, right? And we repeatedly struggle with these types of games. Focus, sure, has to be part of the problem,” Timberwolves head Chris Finch said Monday. “These are games that your opponents that you’re chasing on the table tend not to (lose). But we have the ability to beat anybody and we have the ability to lose to anybody. And that’s been on display all season. That’s an immature trait.”