The Minnesota Timberwolves expected to take a leap forward this season coming off of the team’s first trip to the playoffs in five years and adding Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster, all-in trade this summer.
However, through 11 games the Wolves have been unable to get out of their own way, struggling to a 5-6 record (that was expected to be one of the softest early schedules in the league) including some blowout losses and inconsistencies on both ends of the floor. While growing pains are expected for new arrivals, the Wolves’ struggles have gone far beyond just a team trying to get acclimated to a new star on the roster. They have looked wholly disinterested times, but that got taken to a new level on Wednesday night against the Suns.
In the midst of a run in the second quarter as they chipped away at a 14-point first quarter deficit, Minnesota played a full defensive possession (including a Phoenix offensive rebound to reset) 4-on-5 because D’Angelo Russell didn’t realize he had been subbed in during the Wolves’ free throws on the other end and just stood at the scorers table watching as his team tried in vain to get a stop, ultimately giving up a three on the second attempt after Russell ran on the court well too late to help.
This is an all-timer! Russell not realizing he’s supposed to be on the court, Suns play a possession 5-on-4, make a 3-pointer. #Timberwolves pic.twitter.com/3hrT51FGKO
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 10, 2022
It’s something of a microcosm to the start of the season for Minnesota, as the Timberwolves have just not executed much of anything well at all, with a number of mental lapses and disjointed play as the culprit for their sluggish start. They trailed by 18 at halftime, as the 5-on-5 defense wasn’t an awful lot better than the 4-on-5 effort, and look like they are headed for their fifth loss in six games.