Another night, another advantage lost in the fourth bedroom. I’m sorry, it just became a habit at this point. The Minnesota Timberwolves not only entered the fourth period with an advantage, but held on to beat the Toronto Raptors!
After the excursion to the frozen Tampa tundra, the Timberwolves achieved a desperately needed victory. As the teams entered the court, we saw a new Timberwolves first team. Jarred Vanderbilt replaced Josh Okogie in the starting lineup, and the change made the difference.
I still believe in Okogie as a positive contributor to the rotation, but inserting Vanderbilt was absolutely the right decision. That’s right, Saunders haters, he is capable of making the right decision. Vanderbilt’s combination of size, athletics, length and energy helped the Timberwolves get off to a great start.
In the beginning, Vanderbilt did an excellent series that showed all his energy. It all started with Vanderbilt running in transition to drop a lost tray. The Raptors then pushed the ball quickly and Vanderbilt ran back to contest a tray and force an error. Instead of running in the attack, Vanderbilt ran in the transition and won a free kick. For a team that often comes out flat, this type of energy is contagious.
As the game progressed, the Timberwolves saw significant contributions across the board, as all five players scored two digits and four players off the bench scored at least five points. The attack moved the ball well and the effort on the tables was significantly better than what we saw in Charlotte.
Malik Beasley was on fire for three, especially in the corners, and Ricky Rubio had a hot night beyond the arc when hitting 4-8 of three. Off the bench, Jaden McDaniels continued his impressive game with six points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and a second team record plus-less than +11.
The fourth half ended, and the Raptors struggled to increase the Timberwolves’ lead significantly. The Raptors tried all the referee manipulation they could. Stop me if you’ve heard it before, but Kyle Lowry and Nick Nurse were emphatic in saying that they would never do something as heinous as committing a fault. The nurse went so far as to invade the court and reprimand employees for a whole commercial break. Somehow, he escaped with nothing but the experience of one-sided conversation.
The seconds passed and the Timberwolves entered a very familiar reality of turning the ball with a small advantage in the final seconds. The Raptors’ subsequent inbound game prompted Pascal Siakam to attack McDaniels on the edge. Siakam moved McDaniels effortlessly, but the rookie used his Go-Go Gadget Arms to contest the kick enough to make him spin randomly off the edge.
Rubio secured the rebound and asked for a break, which generated an entry for Jordan McLaughlin, who calmly hit both free throws. Then, the Raptors, searching for two rapids and a small filling of statistics, dived with a second left. Happy to increase his stats, however, Vanderbilt promptly sent the shot the other way.
Victories like tonight’s are precisely what this fan base has been waiting for. It was a total team effort from start to finish. They played a lot and finally started to show signs of what this team should be.
Tonight’s victory should be celebrated and should not be overlooked, but I have a slight reason for concern. The way this team is using Karl-Anthony Towns is disconcerting. Overall, I love the production spread about the attack. I love that the 20-point line of statistics on 8-11 shots with 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal and three blocks is considered a bad night for this team’s star. Before proceeding, reread the statistics line. Wow.
My concern is with the 11 shots. That is very little for the most offensively talented center in the history of this league. I know there were problems, and Towns had many upsets (seven), but Towns should have more pictures in the future. I’m not sounding the alarm, but on nights when Rubio is not hitting four out of three (which will be the majority), cities should be more involved in the offense.
Okay, overly concerned neurotic nitpicking is out of the way. This was an excellent final victory to finish the Timberwolves. Enjoy it. Let’s hope that energy and execution will arrive by Tuesday.
Editor’s note: I love Anthony Edwards.