Struggling Minnesota Timberwolves Chalk Up Another Loss

The Minnesota Timberwolves have now lost five of their last six games.

Chalk up another loss for the skidding Minnesota Timberwolves. After being soundly defeated by Julius Randle and the New York Knicks in their last timeout, the Wolves suffered another loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. Their defense was again lethargic, as they gave up 39 early points to the Suns in the opening quarter, and that set the tone for the whole contest. Phoenix had an easy night from the three-point line, hitting 45.7% of their 35 three-point attempts.

The Minnesota Timberwolves trailed by as many as 27 points at one point, as their tendency to commit miscues haunted them the whole game. They average the 5th-highest turnovers this season, and they committed a total of 19 against the Suns. Defensive-minded big man Rudy Gobert had one of his best individual performances for the Wolves so far, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the loss. Jaden McDaniels chipped in 24, and D’Angelo Russell contributed 20 points and six assists.

The loss to the Suns was their fifth in the last six games, as they also succumbed to the San Antonio Spurs and the Milwaukee Bucks in that span.

Acquiring Gobert last offseason did some good in terms of their defense (currently ranked 9th in team defensive rating), but Minnesota’s offense is posing more questions than answers. They are producing a 109.7 offensive rating, which is ranked just 22nd in the league. Scoring point guard D’Angelo Russell is averaging his lowest point output since his rookie year in 2015, and Karl-Anthony Towns has had his share of struggles (only had 11 points tonight).

The Wolves front office definitely expected more when they gave up boatloads of assets to acquire Gobert, and it’s now up to head coach Chris Finch to mix it up on both ends of the floor.