Uh Oh… Vibes are Reportedly Down in Timberwolves Locker Room

The Minnesota Timberwolves will get back on the floor Tuesday in Indianapolis, where they will make their latest attempt to end a losing streak that reached three games on Sunday, thanks to a lopsided fourth quarter that resulted in a 122-108 losing effort against the visiting Charlotte Hornets.

Losing to a young and upcoming Hornets squad whose stock is skyrocketing — winners in 9 of their last 11 games, and 17 of their last 22 — of late, is nothing to be embarrassed about. What the Wolves should be concerned with is how much confidence the market is losing in them.

Minnesota’s problems go beyond their three-game losing streak. The Timberwolves have now lost four of five and nine of their last fifteen. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, their cushion over 7-seed Phoenix is down to just three games, with four to play.

Minnesota Timberwolves down on themselves

But their cushion isn’t the only thing down right now in Minnesota. According to Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic) — who included a direct quotes from head coach Chris Finch and multiple players to strengthen his case — the locker room vibes are down and the Wolves “have returned to a sunken place”.

These moody Minnesota Timberwolves have ridden the emotional waves all season long. Now, just as the playoffs near, they have returned to the sunken place.

“It feels like we’re a million miles away from the team that we can be and that we are,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said after a 122-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. “We’ve got to get that back with our connectedness and our spirit.”

The Athletic

There’s reason to be concerned, of course. If the Wolves were to somehow lose their lead over the Suns in the West, they’d have to go through the play-in tournament, in order to land a spot in the 2026 NBA Playoff bracket.

Then, if they avoid the unthinkable and make it out of the play-in, their prize would be a first round matchup against either the 1-seed Thunder (62-16) or 2-seed Spurs (59-19).

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Of course, the injury absences of Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels are the biggest hurdles facing Minnesota on a nightly basis. For now, it sounds like both will be back before the playoffs, but Ant may not be near 100%.

Latest update on Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels

According to Krawczynski, the right knee injury Edwards is dealing with — patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) — is the same one that kept Steph Curry out for a stretch of 27 games earlier this season.

The way he makes it sound, runner’s knee can be especially frustrating to deal with because there is no structural damage in the knee. So it’s all about pain… except there may not be a lot of pain unless stress is put on the knee. That oftentimes leads to pain returning, either during the ramp-up process, or when guys return to play.

Curry described the injury as a frustrating thing to deal with because of a recovery process that is not linear. Initially, Curry said he believed he would miss a week to 10 days, but the pain lingered and kept him out for over two months.

“Every time I got on the court or tried to push it in that first month, there was always a reaction,” Curry said. “You just knew it wasn’t healing as fast as you thought.”

Finch indicated that the Wolves are navigating a similarly unpredictable path with Edwards. Like Curry, there is nothing structurally wrong with Edwards’ knee. Doctors have told him he is cleared to play when he feels well enough to go. But on the tougher days, the pain can be significant.

The Athletic

Edwards, McDaniels expected back for playoffs

Ultimately, barring some sort of unforeseen setback, Anthony Edwards is expected to be in the Minnesota Timberwolves first-round playoff lineup. Same for Jaden McDaniels — who’s missed the last five games with a bone bruise in his left knee.

However, the Wolves need both Ant and Jaden to compete at a high level on both sides on the floor, if they want to make another Western Conference run. That seems to be the larger question.

The Wolves remain optimistic that [Edwards] will be good to go, but it’s a matter of when. Ideally, he would come back in time to get a game or two under his belt before taking a week off to prepare for the first round.

McDaniels has a bone bruise in his left knee and is listed as week to week. But he did travel for all three road games last week, a decent sign as he hopes to return before the regular season is over as well.

The Athletic

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