We already know the Wolves are shopping the No. 31 overall pick, in the hopes that they can land a future first round pick, in return. Many draft-savvy MN fans and NBA pundits consider Rashere Fleming too good to pass up, at 31. But the cost to move up in round one was higher than expected.

Minnesota Timberwolves 2nd round pick (No. 31) up for sale

And that puts the Timberwolves in an even more advantageous position during trade talks today/tonight. Which leads us to a Pat McAfee Show appearance early Thursday afternoon, from top NBA insider Shams Charania (ESPN).

It was there that Shams confirmed earlier speculation that the Timberwolves second round pick is indeed “up for auction”. The NBA Draft festivities are scheduled to resume tonight at 7 p.m. CDT.

"The first pick of the second round is currently being auctioned off to the highest bidder..

There's multiple offers coming in as we speak"@ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/9q76OW1kfF

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 26, 2025

“So the first pick of the 2nd round tonight, No. 31 Minnesota Timberwolves, I’m told that pick is actually currently in the process of being auctioned off to the highest bidder. There are multiple offers coming into the Timberwolves, multiple future assets, potentially.

So they’re going to continue to have those conversations. The draft is several hours away tonight. So that first pick tonight, likely seems to be there’s serious traction on a potential trade there.”

Shams Charania – Pat McAfee Show

Related: ESPN Expert Crowns Wolves as 1st Round NBA Draft Winner

If the Minnesota Timberwolves can get a lottery-protected future first round pick (which seems to be the expectation) in exchange for this year’s 2nd rounder, that is a no-brainer trade, given where the Wolves are at in their current organizational development cycle.

The other franchise changing trade between Minnesota and Utah

But the destiny of this franchise seemed to take a turn in the right direction after last season’s trade deadline, when the Wolves executed a 3-way deal that sent D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota to the LA Lakers and Russell Westbrook + a 1st round pick to the Utah Jazz.

The Lakers, Jazz and Timberwolves are in discussions on a three-team deal that would send D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers, Russell Westbrook and draft compensation such as a first-round pick to Utah and Mike Conley Jr. to Minnesota, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2023

In the deal, the Timberwolves got a 35-year-old Mike Conley from the Jazz, along with a young asset for their bench, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. At the time, most fans back in Minnesota didn’t know what they had gotten in NAW… or in Conley for that matter.

Still, unlike the immediate pushback Tim Connelly faced after completing the blockbuster trade that landed Rudy Gobert, this deal received high marks across the board right away. It just made sense.

Related: Bally Sports North May Stream Timberwolves, Twins and Wild on Amazon Prime

DLo wasn’t a part of the Wolves’ future, especially when issues between he and Rudy Gobert began bubbling to the media surface. Mike Conley, on the other hand, played with Rudy for four seasons in Utah and has never been known to have issues with any teammate or any coach… ever.

Defense isn’t D’Angelo Russell’s game. Just ask him…

But after seeing what D’Angelo Russell said in his postgame press conference, following the Lakers latest loss, I was reminded of just how franchise changing last year’s trade really was, which in retrospect, may be just as influential as the Gobert deal was months earlier.

When asked something about his defense, DLo said that he shouldn’t be judged on his defense. Why? Because defense isn’t part of his game. If nothing else, at least he’s honest.

This may be the first player I’ve seen willingly tell the world he isn’t impacting a game if he isn’t making shots pic.twitter.com/6YPeFyvKTT

— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) December 22, 2023

“If I’m not making shots and I’m depending on just getting a stop [defensively]… um, that’s where I work and try to be better, but umm… [defense] is not what I do.”

Tim Connelly swapping DLo for Mike Conley deserves highest honor

I know, right. Thank the basketball gods for that trade and whatever stars happened to align that allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to rid themselves of whatever that was, in return for everything that Mike Conley brings them.

Related: Jump on the Timberwolves Bandwagon Now or Live with Regret Later

Not only is Conley the consummate professional, and someone who reflects that professionalism onto his younger teammates. But he was the key to unlocking Rudy Gobert. With Russell gone and Mike Conley replacing him at point guard, the Wolves newest max contract big man has flourished both on and off the floor.

Rudy Gobert lob dunk, assisted by Mike Conley for his 6,000th NBA assist pic.twitter.com/mNDSdUwAWZ

— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) December 17, 2023

Before you feel too bad for the Lakers, the trade doesn’t necessarily place them in too bad of a light, even if the Wolves got far and away the best arm of the deal. LA got off of Russell Westbrook, which they were desperately trying to do at the time.

DLo is far from perfect but at least he can shoot better than my 7th grade daughter who’s never played organized basketball in her life. Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz, on the other hand, do not come off as clean.

Sure, they got some future cap relief + another 1st round pick. But two of Utah’s future 1st round picks and some draft swap decisions, will be dictated by how good the Timberwolves are over then next few seasons. And with Mike Conley on roster, those picks will now be much later in the 1st round.

I will never fully understand why the Utah Jazz (and Danny Ainge specifically) agreed to trade Mike Conley to Minnesota.

They essentially gifted the Timberwolves the passcode to unlock Rudy Gobert, which has in turn unlocked everything else for this team.

— Kyle Theige (@KyleTheige) December 22, 2023

Where would Minnesota Timberwolves be without Mike Conley?

Had Connelly not found a way to get that trade done, who knows where the Minnesota Timberwolves are right now. How bad would the locker room have gotten, had Russell been the team’s point guard for the rest of the season? I don’t even want to know.

And if they had traded DLo for another piece that didn’t fit as perfectly as Mike Conley has, is Gobert playing as well as he is now? Are the Timberwolves the best team in the West? Probably not. Thus, I propose we put Tim Connelly’s suit coat in the Target Center rafters immediately.

Related: Anthony Edwards Releases Statement Confirming Exposed Text Messages Were His

Without that seemingly innocuous 3-team trade last season before the deadline, it’s unlikely we’re in the best season of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball in two decades. And even if it doesn’t lead to an NBA Finals appearance, I’m glad we’re at least getting the ride.

It was an eventful weekend throughout the NBA. The Wolves had to wait until Sunday night to get in on the festivities. Losing to the Rockets wasn’t an option, if they wanted to keep any chance of swooping in and stealing the Western Conference 6-seed before the 82-game regular season comes to a close on April 10.

Earlier Sunday, the Denver Nuggets beat the floundering LA Lakers, all but killing LeBron & Co’s chances of making the play-in tournament. With the win, Denver jumped over Utah, who lost to Golden State on Saturday night, and landed in the 5th seed, still 2 games better than Minnesota. That meant the Wolves looked up, after beating Houston, and saw it was the Jazz now sitting above them (by 1.5 games).

Western Conference Standings

1. Phoenix…………… 0.0 GB – clinched
2. Memphis…………. 7.0 GB – clinched
3. Golden State…. 12.5 GB – clinched
4. Dallas…………….. 13.5 GB – clinched
5. Denver…………… 15.5 GB
6. Utah………………. 16.0 GB
7. Minnesota……….. 17.5 GB
8. LA Clippers………. 23.5 GB
9. New Orleans……. 28.0 GB
10. San Antonio…….. 29.0 GB
11. LA Lakers……….. 31.0 GB

Timberwolves Remaining Schedule

The Minnesota Timberwolves have three games remaining and should be favorites to win all three. Both the Spurs and Wizards have losing records and the Bulls could be resting for the playoffs by the season finale.

• 4/5: Washington Wizards (34-44)
• 4/7: San Antonio Spurs (33-45)
• 4/10: Chicago Bulls (45-33)

Nuggets Remaining Schedule

The Denver Nuggets play on all the same nights as the Wolves, through the rest of the schedule. Memphis is the only team remaining on their slate who has a winning record. They’re already slotted into the 2nd seed in the Western Conference.

• 4/5: San Antonio Spurs (33-45)
• 4/7: Memphis Grizzlies (55-23)
• 4/10: Los Angeles Lakers (31-47)

Jazz Remaining Schedule

Here’s where things get a bit more interesting. The 6th seed Utah Jazz are losers in SIX of their last SEVEN games and have one extra contest remaining on their schedule, than the Wolves and Nuggets.

TWO of their opponents (Grizz, Suns) sit atop the Western Conference. Should Utah lose both of those games and Minnesota win on Tuesday and Thursday, the Wolves and Jazz would enter the last day of the regular season (April 10) with the same record.

• 4/5: Memphis Grizzlies (55-23)
• 4/6: Oklahoma City Thunder (23-55)
• 4/8: Phoenix Suns (62-16)
• 4/10: Portland Trailblazers (27-51)

Tiebreakers

The Timberwolves hold the tiebreaker over the Nuggets but not over the Jazz. So finishing with the same record won’t be enough to overtake Utah for the 6th seed.

To avoid the play-in tournament, Minnesota needs to win out. Then, either the Jazz find a way to lose 3 of their last 4 OR the Nuggets lose 2 of their remaining 3. Neither are likely to happen but the Jazz have lost a lot recently and have a pretty hellish schedule remaining, as long as the Suns and Grizzlies aren’t resting key players this week.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The start of this particular spring work week signifies the final three days of the NBA’s regular season. With the Timberwolves looking to snap the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, the final two games of their 2017-18 campaign might prove to be more important than Patrick Reed’s final two putts at Augusta.

At about the same time the Masters champion was taking pictures in the Green Jacket, Ricky Rubio and the Jazz were toying around with the Los Angeles Lakers. Utah’s 15 point victory over L.A. means that they have officially clinched a postseason birth. While the Spanish PG’s new squad joins Houston, Golden State, and Portland as playoff bound teams, five other franchises will fight it out for the remaining four spots.

Western Conference Standings:

The way things currently stand, it would take a Matt Damon in Goodwill Hunting type person, to decipher all of the West’s seeding scenarios. We’ll have plenty of time on Tuesday and Wednesday for that brain-teaser. For now, let’s focus on what it will take for the Timberwolves to secure the first postseason spot since 2004:

#Twolves can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow if:

Minnesota defeats Memphis

AND

San Antonio defeats Sacramento (7 @ SA 7:30 pm CT)

AND

Denver loses to Portland (@ DEN 8 pm CT)

— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) April 8, 2018

That’s right, folks. On Monday night, our brutally long wait can finally be laid to rest. Despite coming off like a long-shot parlay, there is a very good chance the three outcomes (laid out in above Tweet) occur exactly as needed.

To start things off with the Wolves, do we all remember the last time they faced Memphis? Two weeks ago, the teams’ loss to a Wayne Seldon-lead Grizzlies’ squad wasn’t pretty was a shit-show.

Thud: Wolves lose 101-93 to a Grizzlies team that had won once since January

— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) March 27, 2018

When you combine the importance of tonight’s game, with that little bit of revenge factor, indications point to a Minnesota victory. Toss in some other key factors: 1) – the “rematch” will include a man named Jimmy Butler, along with, 2) – Memphis is on the back-end of a back-to-back, Tom Thibodeau’s team should win in blowout fashion.

Moving on to Gregg Popovich’s team, we’ll keep their matchup vs. the Kings short-and-sweet:

– Sacramento is BAD (the Spurs are 13.5 point favorites).

I fully expect that San Antonio will take care of business.

Assuming those two predictions hold, a Portland defeat of Denver equals a playoff berth. With the Trail Blazers losing their last three games, they are (surprisingly) yet to lock up round 1 home-court advantage. Fortunately for Wolves Nation, if Dame Lillard & Co. beat Denver, Portland can bank on Game 1 of Round 1, at home.

For both of these teams, the playoff implications riding on Tonight’s game are huge. On that note, ya’ll know what time it is:

Get it, Damian. Let’s go.

If you’re asking me,  it’s time to get the champagne ready. I fully think that the celebratory bottle popping goes down tonight at Target Center.

In the event things don’t go accordingly to plan (my bad), Wednesday’s dual vs. Denver will most likely be a win and you’re in scenario. Hopefully, it doesn’t all come down to the Game 7 type environment, but if it does, all bets are off.

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

For those of you who didn’t make it through last night’s Jazz/Timberwolves game Friday night, that might as well have started at midnight for some of us, you missed a pretty incredible game. It was entertaining in just about every facet.

Karl Towns was aggressive and dominating on the offensive end, early. Rudy Gobert was throwing Wolves’ shots into the 2nd row from everyone without KAT initials. That guy gets more impressive every time I watch him play. Utah is on a hot-streak and could surprise some teams, heading down the stretch.

Eventually, the Jazz won, what ended up being a closer game than what I expected, after Towns was ejected in the 2nd quarter. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that part? Towns was fouled in the 2nd quarter by Jae Crowder and in the shiver KAT delivered with his left arm, to gain position during the contact, an accidental blow to the chin of Crowder was also delivered (full summary video at bottom).

Now, the call itself was bullshit. This whole “incidental contact to the face” with an elbow/forearm is stupid. The contact was Crowder’s fault. That is even admitted by the refs, since he was the one the PERSONAL foul was called on, for the play. The only thing KAT was called for was a technical foul that derived from the contact from Crowder’s personal foul. Confused yet?

On top of that, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the referees have discretion with this rule, where they dictate whether to call a flagrant foul or a technical foul. In last night’s case, there was a big difference. Because two technicals equals an ejection (one flagrant and one tech does NOT).

And, just before the 2nd half came to an end, shit hit the fan.

Karl-Anthony Towns scores over Gobert and picks up his 2nd technical of the game and is ejected. Weak. pic.twitter.com/ZzUbXS0Fuz

— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) March 3, 2018

Are we having fun yet? Well, that was just the tipping point. The second half was even more eventful.

First, Jeff Teague got pissed off and may have taken out some of the frustration he’s had on the many Minnesota Ricky Rubio lovers, who have been sliding into Teague’s DM’s, on Ricky Rubio himself.

Jeff Teague gets ejected after hip-checking Ricky Rubio. pic.twitter.com/z0ClZn1eya

— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2018

So, that led to an ejection for Teague and a Jae Crowder/Tom Thibodeau old-school bar mouth fight. You know, the kind that will never lead to anything, as friends from both sides are already on the way to get between the two? I have to give Thibs some credit, though. Crowder is a big man, but that’s the last thing on Tom’s mind. Whatever is on his mind, he wants Crowder to know about it.

Y aquí Tom Thibodeau quejándose y discutiendo con Jae Crowder, ¿por qué? ¿Es que no se pasa Teague? Qué actitudes tan cuestionables de los Timberwolves anoche… pic.twitter.com/FRizoYDZG9

— Anastasio Ríos (@Tasio93) March 3, 2018

So, Crowder got tossed too and Thibs picked up the Wolves’ 47th Technical foul (5th w/o exaggeration) of the game. At this point, even non-NBA people, were tuning in. The action was so good and so controversial, that Jimmy Butler was obviously foaming at the mouth to be a part of it, from somewhere other than Utah:

haven’t used Twitter in years. But yeah Jeff that’s what I like to see. Rubio getting up quick for no reason.

— Jimmy Butler (@JimmyButler) March 3, 2018

Jae get away from my coach. You don’t want no smoke either

— Jimmy Butler (@JimmyButler) March 3, 2018

Does Jimmy Butler care that Jeff Teague ran Ricky Rubio off the court, like a road-enraged GMC 2500 sick of the Volkswagen Jetta that can’t hold a consistent speed, in the left lane next to them?

Does Jimmy Butler care that Jae Crowder was minding his own business before Tom Thibodeau called him over to yell at him like he played on his own team?

via GIPHY

Jimmy Butler doesn’t care because the only thing he cares about are his teammates. He picked up his Twitter for the first time since 2016, to be there for his teammates, because he couldn’t be there in person.

Jimmy Butler is the friend you need next to you at the bar when you accidentally spill that drink on the guy who took an extra shot of steroids that morning. He’s the guy you want next to you when you start something you find out you can’t finish yourself. Jimmy’s never gonna ask who started it. Hell, he doesn’t even give a shit. He’s running over, under, and through the party to make sure he lays that first haymaker.

via GIPHY

This is why Jimmy Butler was needed for this team’s future. This is why he will bring this team to levels it’s never been at. Jimmy Butler is the ULTIMATE teammate and that sort of selflessness is contagious.

As for the Timberwolves; another loss dropped them all the way to 6th in the Western Conference. With a grueling schedule coming up and with Butler likely out until the Playoffs, the rest of the team needs to channel their inner-Jimmy and make sure they pull out a 6th-seed or better so they don’t have a date with Golden State or Houston in the 1st round.

We need Towns and Wiggins to grow up VERY quickly while Taj, Jeff, Jamal take over the leadership roles, since they know what it takes to be a Playoff team.

Hang on Wolves’ fans. It’s gonna be a WILD ride to the finish line…

Eric Strack (Founder/Editor/Social Media)
Minnesota Sports Fan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com @RealMNSportsFan

Outside of stepping over a downed opponent, daring someone to shoot is one of the most disrespectful actions that can occur on a basketball court. Watching an NBA or NCAA defender aggressively playing off of his guy, to where it’s almost awkward if a shot doesn’t go up, is must see television.

It’s a sport-lover’s version of the awkward moments created 87 different times in every episode of The Real Housewives of (Name your City). But, instead of violently screaming at the opponent about your upper-class problems, you’re silently screaming at them to shoot the damn ball. Out of all the guards in the NBA, Ricky Rubio sees about 5 more feet between him and his man, than other guard or wing players. Defenders are silently screaming at him ALL THE TIME. Like this… but silently.

On Friday night, at least on their most important defensive possession, the Toronto Raptors adopted this strategy. However, with the Jazz down by one, Rubio’s man bailed HARD to help on the ball. The Spaniard’s teammate hit him for a wide open three. In rare fashion, the former Wolf let it fly from deep.

#TakeNote| Ricky Rubio con el game winner pic.twitter.com/H8xIi0a8WS

— Clutch Time (@ClutchTimeArg) January 27, 2018

Three ball, side pocket. Bang. After stopping Toronto on the other end and converting a couple of FTs, the Jazz won on what was ultimately the GW, by the 6.5 year NBA veteran.

This past summer, somewhat stomped on by the trade to acquire Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves parted ways with their incumbent ball handler, Rubio, and signed 29 year-old Jeff Teague. The changing of the guard, pun intended, was meant to be an immediate upgrade. Now that this year’s NBA campaign is more than halfway over, the question needs to be asked: Contracts and the draft pick MN acquired aside, for this season, was signing Jeff Teague and trading away Rubio an upgrade at the point guard position?

With Rubio three-point GW’s about as rare as a Nikola Pekovic sighting, it seems like the appropriate time to address that question.

Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a per-minute rating developed by ESPN. PER “sums up all a player’s positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments, and returns a per-minute rating of a player’s performance.” When doing a comparison such as this, that stat alone isn’t a tell all, but it’s the first place my eyes look.

As of Sunday, Jeff Teague (14.78) has a PER 2.64 points higher than Rubio (12.14). Like I said it isn’t a tell all, but it sure tells a hell of a lot. That is especially true in this side-by-side breakdown for the following reasons: Both players are starters, both play the same position, and they are in the same conference, meaning, both face a similar slate of competition.

If you’ve been concerned that the Timberwolves’ downgraded at PG, the above information should assist in putting the majority of your worries to bed. As for any that may remain awake, hopefully these numbers help knock those more resilient f*ckers out.

Jeff Teague 2017-18 Stats:

Ricky Rubio 2017-18 Stats:

Only 4.8 assists per game for Ricky Rubio! Jeff Teague is dusting him in his own bread and butter category.

To be fair, Utah’s outstanding rookie, Donavon Mitchell, has been spending a lot of time on the ball. However, at the same time, Jimmy Butler spends a good amount of time running the show for the Wolves. Despite averaging about 8.5 assists during his Minnesota tenure, Rubio didn’t once play alongside a ball-commanding, All-Star wing. Teague is at almost 7 dimes a game, while Jimmy Buckets is RIGHTFULLY having plenty of opportunities of his own to run the offense.

On top of PER and assists per game, the following five categories are also statistical victories for Teague :

• Points (per game): Teague (13.3), Rubio (11.2)
• FG%: Teague (43.2), Rubio (38.8)
• 3P%: Teague (35.3), Rubio (29.9)
• Offensive rating (per 100 poss.): Teague (107), Rubio (96)
• Defensive rating (per 100 poss.): Teague (111), Rubio (106)

For sanity purposes, it feels good to know that the Wolves’ new PG is currently outperforming the Wolves’ old PG. It’s like our significant other is an upgrade from our ex. That’s the way it should be. Steps forward, not backward.

With that said, despite being glad to see Ricky leave Minnesota, I was happy to see him hit make that shot. Unlike Tyron Lue in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals, Rubio made the other team pay for the blatant lack of respect.

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Tyus trying to injure Rubio ??? pic.twitter.com/cZ2UZwAHTn

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 21, 2017

Well, shortly after that incident, this happened, and it forced some Minnesotans to decide if they are really all-in on the future or if they are still stuck in the Timberwolves past. If you were hoping Jimmy Butler and Ricky Rubio were going to like each-other for future Timberwolves’ Hall of Fame events, you’re going to be disappointed.

Who else loves the new Ricky Rubio?
Watch him flop then get in Jimmy Butler’s face! He also had 19/10/5 vs his old team. pic.twitter.com/28Lo1aCCXn

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 21, 2017

The Rubio lovers in Minnesota were very conflicted…

JIMMY BUTLER VS RICKY RUBIO STAREDOWN MY HEART IS SO CONFUSED

— Drew Mahowald (@DrewMahowald) October 21, 2017

Jimmy Butler talking smack to Rubio and then the Target Center cheering broke my heart ??

— Mack Uter (@M_Uter3) October 21, 2017

seriously, I think that Rubio-Butler situation was gonna get real

— Gregory DiRenzo (@Gregapalooza) October 21, 2017

Butler just told Rubio..”This is my city now”

Pretty cool. But I still ❤️Rubio

— Anthony Downs (@anthony_downs) October 21, 2017

But then things really got interesting earlier today when Jerry Zgoda let us in on this little nugget…

One leftover from last night: Jimmy B informed the authorities after the game not to allow Ricky into “my locker room” if he tried to visit

— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) October 21, 2017

Whoa…..

Personally, I love this shit. This is Jimmy Butler’s team now and anyone who still has some stupid crush on Ricky Rubio can go to Utah. At the end of the day, this is about the Timberwolves. He hasn’t shown it yet but the Wolves have a point guard now that is better than flop-a-lot Ricky Rubio. Jimmy Butler and the rest of this young core is our future. We will forget about Ricky Rubio when these guys are done.

Time to move on Rubiobo’s

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com @RealMNSportsFan

Photo: ANTHONY SOUFFLÉ • [email protected]

For the first half of this game, we watched the Wolves get used to playing with each other on both ends of the floor again. Luckily, the Jazz weren’t any better. I feel like I could just copy/paste my recap from the last game into this first half and nobody would know the difference. The turnovers on offense were a BIG problem. They had 9 in the first half total.

Wiggins was the Wolves’ best offensive player by far in the first half, scoring 16 points. He also had 4 rebounds, which might be more than he has ever had in a whole game, before tonight. The Wolves struggled to get Towns good shots again in the first half. He ended the half with 11 points, good for 2nd most on the team, but had to make tough shots to get there.

Towns again frustrated us with his defense. I almost typed “defensive effort” in that last sentence. However, I can’t blame it on effort. Everything we know about Karl tells us it wouldn’t be due to a lack of effort or work ethic. So we will continue to sit on our hands and hope he will figure it out because it is hard to watch at times.

It’s currently halftime as I type this first half recap. Wiggins hit a last second 33 footer to put the Wolves ahead by 4. To be better in the 2nd half, Butler needs to take more control of this offense. He looks tentative again in this game early on. Same thing goes for Teague. Both guys seem like they’re still trying to find their place on this team.

Taj Gibson’s defense has definitely shown in the first half. It’s hard for even the best post-defender to make up for Towns on that end of the court right now but he is doing his best. He was big on the boards in the 1st half too, especially on offense where he snagged 3 of his 7. Defense overall wasn’t very good even though the score was low. It was a sloppy half. I may have seen things start to improve defensively, toward the end of that 2nd half though, when the Timberwolves took the lead.

Halftime: Timberwolves Lead 46-42

Here are some first half highlights:

Jimmy. Wiggins. SLAM! Thinking this will become a common occurrence at @TargetCenterMN. ? pic.twitter.com/uA70STQYSj

— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 21, 2017

Andrew Wiggins drives baseline on Rudy Gobert & slams pic.twitter.com/6HGeIilpqx

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) October 21, 2017

Tyus to Belly for the 3 pic.twitter.com/AgPd7jmuao

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 21, 2017

Karl-Anthony Towns with the Dirk fadeaway while falling to the floor. pic.twitter.com/p0SSzTLvMw

— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) October 21, 2017

WIGGINS AT THE BUZZER! #AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/LhmOakHfxu

— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 21, 2017

2nd Half:

The 3rd quarter went about 7-8 minutes before the Wolves started to figure things out. However, it did seem like the defense was picking up and the offense didn’t look quite as confused. Then, with a few minutes left in the quarter, things started to click a bit. The defense picked up and the ball started going in. Before we knew it, the Wolves had gone on a 10-0 run and had taken the lead back (which was a 6 point deficit moments earlier). The Wolves led by 5, all of a sudden, as we entered the fourth quarter. Closing has been an issue for this young team in years passed. That needs to change.

Wow, the fourth quarter ended in a bang. The Wolves almost gave the game away. Ricky Rubio thought he was playing soccer with all of his flopping. He shot 47 free throws. He hit 46 of them. With just over 4 minutes left, the Wolves were up 10 and it felt like the fat lady was singing. But, of course, it can’t be that easy.

While Utah came back because of Rubio’s free throws and flops, the Wolves helped them by going back to their first half mistakes and turning the ball over. It almost cost them the game. But, Thibs picked up a guy named Jamal Crawford in the offseason and he took over the 4th quarter, scoring 17 points in that last quarter alone.

I just watched his interview with Marney Gellner after the game and he confirmed being the nicest guy of all-time on top of it all. What a huge signing. The second best player in the 4th quarter was Nemanja Bjelica. That’s not a typo. Here are the 2nd half highlights, up to the last 30 seconds when things got real interesting.

Tyus trying to injure Rubio ??? pic.twitter.com/cZ2UZwAHTn

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 21, 2017

Teague foul. Rubio makes all 3 pic.twitter.com/NpcpB1JjTK

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 21, 2017

Jimmy doing work on both ends! ? pic.twitter.com/7QExMprV0b

— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 21, 2017

Butler scoring pic.twitter.com/s2RlITvNCI

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 21, 2017

After bad TWolves’ fouls, that helped the Jazz score 6 points in 1 minute, it looked like another Timberwolves’ giveaway. But, Jamal Crawford knew it was Friday and nobody likes to go out and celebrate a loss. He continued his takeover of the fourth quarter with this shot. The next Jazz possession took 3 years from my life but it was worth it.

Jamal Crawford! pic.twitter.com/FtQvGmJBAX

— NBA Center (@nbacenter_) October 21, 2017

Wolves get the stop pic.twitter.com/xBbvvEtyb8

— A Wolf Among Wolves (@AWAWBlog) October 21, 2017

FINAL: Timberwolves WIN 100-97

This was a huge victory for the Timberwolves and the last thing I wanted to do tonight was write a recap to a loss. Now, we will talk about what a great signing Jamal Crawford was. I just got a text about how good we will be when Butler and Teague get comfortable. How about when the defense starts to sink in?

Wins bring positive vibes, even if the win wasn’t that pretty, we’ll take it.

Here is Jamal Crawford. Great player. Great guy.

.@JCrossover credits Thibs for drawing up the play that resulted in his clutch 3-pointer late in the game. pic.twitter.com/TvSt3xpICI

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) October 21, 2017

Up Next:

Timberwolves (1-1) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) – Sunday, October 22 – 6:00 PM

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Stat and Schedule Help from ESPN

Photo: @Timberwolves

Well Minnesota, you didn’t overreact quite as much as I had predicted when the Wolves lost the first game of the year. I’m proud of you.

The Wolves will take some time to mesh together with all of their new pieces. We need to be patient with that. I mentioned in the season preview on Tuesday-Wednesday, how poorly newly formed talented teams had played early on in their first seasons together.

So, after doing that research, I expected things to look a little off.

However, some things looked eerily similar to last season. First, the defense. It looked like Towns and Wiggins haven’t come as far as we’d hoped on that end of the floor. It seems to be a lack of concentration. There are things you learn early on as a basketball player. One of those things is help defense. Not losing your man, while making sure you are in good position to help on dribble drives is a key fundamental. Right now, those two guys are having problems. @StreetHistory has some of the lapses from Towns. I couldn’t find any for Wiggins but they were there.

Towns making LMA look like an All-Star again pic.twitter.com/wUJ7DpNazX

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 19, 2017

Towns defensive positioning, awful pic.twitter.com/ewmhORDGaQ

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 19, 2017

The rebounding on defense needs to be better too. The Wolves gave up 12 offensive rebounds on Wednesday and lost the rebound battle 48-56. Thibs needs to find a way to help Towns succeed. The lack of size from other big men on the Wolves seem to be having an effect on Towns’ ability to score and be a larger force down low. That’s something to watch, since he will see a lot of Rudy Gobert, one of the better defensive centers in the league, on Friday.

I will also be watching the point guard situation. Teague didn’t see the floor much on Wednesday in the 4th quarter. He wasn’t playing well on defense but he was starting to heat up offensively, toward the end of the 3rd quarter. Nonetheless, Thibs opted for Tyus Jones in the all-important 4th quarter. Why?

There are many reasons why Teague may have been on the bench in crunch time but it begs the fans to ask questions. It could be Thibs’ frustration in Teague’s defensive effort. It could be Thibs’ impression of Tyus Jones and his improved game as we move into his 3rd season.. It could be a myriad of other things. So look for how that develops.

I’m really looking for Jimmy Butler to take control of this team. That’s when the Wolves will be at their best. Butler seemed a bit tentative at times on offense. He was looking to distribute more to his teammates, than he was to score. It shows in the boxscore. He finished with just 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. That needs to change. Butler is the best player on this team right now and he needs to act like it. Where Butler struggled, however, Wiggins picked up some slack… at least on offense..

Andrew Wiggins scores 26 pts vs San Antonio 10/28/17 pic.twitter.com/kTglbKuwKe

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 19, 2017

Also, Ricky Rubio comes back to town in Friday’s matchup. He rides in with his new team, the Utah Jazz. Look for a LARGE ovation for him before the game. I would expect the Wolves to do something special for Ricky too. He was the same old guy in his first appearance with the Jazz, finishing the game with 9 points and 10 assists on 3/9 shooting from the field.

Ricky Rubio 10 assists 9 points in his Utah Jazz debut pic.twitter.com/FkGCds8qi8

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) October 19, 2017

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America