By: Jonah Sprinkel

On Monday night the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers. The game itself was the most enjoyable game of basketball the Timberwolves have played this year. Target Center was nearly full of fans. It was possible to hear fans through the television! Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns and LeBron James each demonstrated their basketball prowess. When the fat lady finally sang, the Timberwolves came out on top, 124-120. Jimmy Butler connected on a remarkable six of seven threes, including a ridiculously contested three over Rajon Rondo to seal the game. Karl-Anthony Towns busted his slump with 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. The Timberwolves won a close basketball game against a team they could possibly be in playoff contention with. By every low standard the Timberwolves fans have, it should have been a feel-good night in Minnesota.

And yet, there is a lack of meaning to everything that goes on involving this organization.

Having your star small forward demand a trade, in a contract year, right before the season begins, is the NBA equivalent of having your friend jump off the seesaw when you’re at the top. The bottom drops out. Everything hurts. It takes a second to realize just what has happened. The pain from the seesaw accident is quick to disappear. Just as a preseason trade demand should be. Tom Thibodeau does not believe any of this should be short lived.

It has been 40 days since the news of Jimmy Butler’s trade request broke. Since then, the Timberwolves front office, and by extension, ownership, has absolutely dropped the ball on the entire situation. Butler made a joke out of the organization in one practice. Trades with other organizations have seemingly been in place more than once and yet, bafflingly, Butler remains on the roster. Championship dreams aside, these are not the normal goings on for a halfway competent franchise.

If Jimmy Butler is an injury to the metaphorical body of the Timberwolves organization, the doctors in charge (Thibodeau, Scott Layden and Glen Taylor) should, in theory, be quick to perform surgery. Continuing to run the team through Butler only serves to prolong the inevitable; turning the offense over to Karl-Anthony Towns. Included in that inevitable should be the development of the young players. Thibodeau is a firm supporter of the opposite. The longer the doctors allow an injury to fester, the worse it will affect the future of the body.

Thibodeau has never faced the future during his time in Minnesota. Every former member of the Chicago Bulls who went on to become a Timberwolf is a prime example of that. The significant moves Thibodeau has made have been successful. Derrick Rose is a capable bench player. Taj Gibson has been invaluable to the team. Jeff Teague has done well in his role. Anthony Tolliver is a savvy addition. All these moves are centered around the idea that the Timberwolves need to be successful now. If Butler is your centerpiece, that’s a fantastic approach. That is no longer the case. The Timberwolves must begin operating for the future.

It’s very apparent that this squad will not be in title contention this year or even next. Between the existence of the Golden State Warriors and the current state of the Timberwolves it would take a Minneapolis Miracle-type season for that to happen. That’s not to say the organization should throw their hands in the air forfeit the next couple seasons. They should be doing the opposite by doubling down and working harder than every other franchise to be ready to pounce when the title window opens. Towns needs to be instilled with confidence as a player and a leader. Someone needs to light a fire under Andrew Wiggins. The young players need to get quality playing time. A rebuild is not what is necessary nor required. A time of stability and growth is what this team needs.

So long as Butler remains a Timberwolf none of this can happen. The Timberwolves will be forced to suffer through the bipolar tendencies of a team that is aware it won’t be together much longer. Those tendencies manifest themselves in the shape of the dismemberment by the Milwaukee Bucks last Friday and the win over the Lakers on Monday. The drama of the Butler situation was likely a large cause for the Bucks loss. Butler was the reason the Timberwolves won the Lakers game. Thibodeau may see those wins as a bonus for keeping Butler around longer. But is the stability of the franchise and the growth of talent worth a couple extra wins in a meaningless year?

By: Dan Slaubaugh

Tonight, the Minnesota Timberwolves will square off against LeBron James, Lavar I mean Lonzo Ball, and the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a game that projects to be high scoring as both teams are top half in offensive rating and in the bottom 10 of the league for defensive rating.

After beginning the season 0-3, the Lakers have won two of their past three with wins over the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. Both of those wins came without 21-year-old forward Brandon Ingram, who was suspended four games after throwing a haymaker at Chris Paul in their second game of the season. Ingram is set to return tonight against Minnesota.

The Wolves come into tonight’s game with a disappointing 2-4 record and seem to be distracted by the Jimmy Butler saga. They will try to bounce back after getting steamrolled at home by the Milwaukee Bucks Friday.

What: Wolves - Lakers
When: 7:10 PM CT
Where: Target Center. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Where to watch: Fox Sports North
Where to listen: 830 WCCO

What to watch for:

King James and the kids: Led by the one and only LeBron James, the Lakers have a plethora of young talent around their newly-acquired Hollywood superstar. Having shown a lot of promise so far, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma should only continue to get better. Surrounding LeBron and the kids are a cast of colorful characters in Rajon Rando, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, and Michael Beasley. This team is certainly entertaining and probably the first Lakers squad I haven’t actively rooted against in my life.

Transition scoring: LeBron teams tend to get in the open floor and attack in transition. This year is no exception. The Lakers rank first in the NBA in transition averaging 37.7 points in transition per game and percentage of total points from transition buckets at 21.9 percent. With multiple ball-handlers capable of pushing the pace, and explosive athletes all over the floor, getting out in transition will be their bread and butter all season.

The second-best transition offense in the league? The Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been pushing the ball more this year as a result of multiple capable ball-handlers and distributors that can create easy looks for the team.

"If you get stops, you can push. I think having multiple point guards allows you to play that way. We do want to play a lot faster,” Thibodeau said after a win over the Pacers one week ago today. “Now, I don't know what it really means because our pace was fast in the preseason and we got blown out. If the pace is fast and we win, I'm good. I think we have the capability of doing that.”

Thibodeau credited Karl-Anthony Towns for the success the Wolves have had in transition.

“I think KAT is getting down the floor a lot better and mixing it up being the first big down. Those are the opportunities, because of what he sees in terms of double-teams in the half court, sprinting the floor to the front of the rim, the defense can’t get set. It sets up a lot of things because often times the guards are back protecting, and that leads our guards to get KAT the ball in deep post ups. ... For us, it's good. The faster the better.”

It’s going to be a track meet at Target Center tonight.
​
Attendance: With King James in the West now, LeBron fans in Minnesota get to see him twice a year instead of once. Tonight will be their first chance and it will probably result in it being a pro-Lakers crowd, as the Wolves rank dead last in attendance this season with an average of 15,227 fans through the team’s first three home games. I’ll be listening to hear the noise levels between each fanbase after each bucket.

Projected starters

Minnesota: PG Jeff Teague, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Jimmy Butler, PF Taj Gibson, C Karl-Anthony Towns

Los Angeles: PG Lonzo Ball, SG Josh Hart, SF Brandon Ingram, PF LeBron James, C JaVale McGee

Prediction

Lakers win the transition battle in a high-scoring affair.

117-112, Lakers.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the game.

By: Seth Toupal

The Timberwolves welcome one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference to the Target Center in the Milwaukee Bucks. Led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and a very talented supporting cast, the Bucks are thriving under new head coach Mike Budenholzer. The Wolves are very tough at home in the Jimmy Butler era, so will the Bucks suffer their first loss of the year or will the Wolves be handed their first home loss this season? Something has to give.

What: Bucks @ Wolves
When: 7:00 PM CT
Where: Target Center
Where to watch: Fox Sports North
Where to listen: 830 AM WCCO
 
What to watch for:

Wide Open Spaces: The Bucks made a huge effort to build around their franchise cornerstone and put teams in difficult spots when trying to play defense. The addition of Brook Lopez and his ability to knock down 3's has freed up Giannis to feast down low. Giannis also has the freedom and ability to kick out to any of his waiting shooters if teams crash on him in the paint. Might as well call them Houston East. The Wolves will have to force the Bucks off the 3 point line or we could see a similar result to any of those losses against the Rockets last year.

It's Time for Angry KAT: Karl-Anthony Towns has had a rough start to the season to say the least. After appearing to check himself out of the game against Toronto, how will Towns respond against another tough and physical matchup against the Bucks? A rebound performance would do wonders for Towns' confidence which has definitely taken a hit. Some ferocious dunks or blocks could help get him going.

Bombs from the Bench: The Wolves bench will need to be able to match the Bucks in production. This is a perfect game for Anthony Tolliver to come in and launch from deep whenever he has a chance. They will also need good Derrick Rose, and a little Okogie sprinkled in to try to lock somebody down. In a matchup of star power it will likely come down to whoever gets the most out of their bench.

Projected starters
 
Minnesota: PG Jeff Teague, SG Andrew Wiggins (Josh Okogie will start at SG if Wiggins is out), SF Jimmy Butler, PF Taj Gibson, C Karl-Anthony Towns 
 
Milwaukee: PG Malcolm Brogdon, SG Eric Bledsoe, SF Khris Middleton, PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, C Brook Lopez
 
Injury Report
 
Minnesota: OUT - Justin Patton (foot) QUESTIONABLE - Andrew Wiggins (quad)
 
Milwaukee: QUESTIONABLE - Matthew Dellavadova (illness)
 
Prediction

The tough stretch to start the year continues for the Wolves. We will have to wait and see if Andrew Wiggins is able to suit up or if he will miss his second straight game. Giannis will be difficult to stop, but if the Wolves can limit some of the key role players on the roster they will have a chance to knock off the Bucks. The Wolves will need Karl-Anthony Towns to have a much better game than he did against Toronto, otherwise this game could get out of hand quickly. My guess is the Wolves keep it close if Wiggins plays, if not who knows.

Bucks 116, Wolves 108 :(

Seth is host of The Scoop on KLGR Radio out of Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Listen to episodes of The Scoop here.

By: Jonah Sprinkel

In the span of one week the Minnesota Timberwolves will have begun their season and played five games. The Timberwolves have yet to have a homestand of more than a game. The team has traveled from Minnesota to San Antonio to Minnesota to Dallas to Minnesota to Toronto. Jimmy Butler is still on the roster and playing basketball, something that will hang over the team until some form finality arrives. It’s safe to assume there is physical fatigue from travel and competing. I would suggest that emotional fatigue from the Butler drama is also present.

Despite that, and an unsightly loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Timberwolves have a chance to go over .500 for the first time this year. The only thing standing in their way is the Toronto Raptors and their newly-acquired star, Kawhi Leonard.
 
What: Wolves @ Raptors
When: 6:30 PM CT
Where: Scotiabank Arena
Where to watch: Fox Sports North
Where to listen: 830 WCCO
 
What to watch for
 
Jimmy vs Kawhi: The outcome of NBA games is generally dictated by how well the star player for each respective team performs. Tonight’s game will follow a similar blue print with Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. Leonard missed last year with some weird injury and team related issues before being traded to Toronto. He has not played against Jimmy’s newest form, the vibrantly brash leader capable of running a starting unit off the floor with third-stringers.

In the seven games against each other, Leonard has dominated Butler statistically (Butler scored more than 20 once in 2014) and holds a 4-3 record over the former Marquette Golden Eagle. Leonard is as competitive as they come. He is not the vocal competitor that Butler is and will continue to prove himself on a new team in a new conference. Butler is in the opposite situation as he displays his talents to potential trade suitors. This one should be an excellent basketball showcase.
 
A weird kind-of bench unit that works: Last season, the Timberwolves were dead last in bench points per game with a hair under 27. Through four games in the 2018-19 season the Timberwolves bench ranks 11th in the league with 39.9 points per contest. This improvement can be attributed individually to Derrick Rose playing better than expected and Gorgui Dieng’s hands being on fire. However, there’s a bigger picture item that is being missed.

Jimmy Butler missed the Timberwolves outing against the Dallas Mavericks, a losing effort if you need a reminder. But in the three games he has played, Tom Thibodeau has put him on the floor with Tyus Jones, Rose, Anthony Tolliver and Gorgui Dieng for roughly seven minutes a game. This is the Timberwolves second most common lineup. They are outscoring opposing lineups by over 30 points per 100 possessions.  

On paper this does not appear to be a lineup that would be successful. It features a glaring lack of perimeter shooting and two-point guards that are undersized defensively.  This lineup will not post such positive numbers all season, but it may continue to be a benefit to the Timberwolves. My working theory for why this lineup is successful is simple: Jimmy Butler and his competitive leadership.
 
Projected Starters

Minnesota: PG Jeff Teague, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Jimmy Butler, PF Taj Gibson, C Karl-Anthony Towns

Toronto: PG Kyle Lowry, SG Danny Green, SF Kawhi Leonard, PF Pascal Siakim, C Serge Ibaka
 
Injury report

Minnesota: Justin Patton – OUT (Foot)

Toronto: Delon Wright – Game Time Decision (Thigh)
 
Prediction

​The Timberwolves will get their first look at an MVP level player this season. The Raptors have yet to lose a game and have wins over the extremely talented Boston Celtics and probably playoff bound Washington Wizards. If the Timberwolves want to walk away with a W, everyone will have to be on their A game. 118-112 Raptors.

By: Seth Toupal

Fresh off a 131-123 win against Cleveland the Wolves are in Dallas taking on the new look Mavericks. Offense and bench were great for the Wolves in their first win of the year, but the defense continues to get torched and gave up plenty of open looks in allowing Cleveland to get back into the game (although the refs had a hand in that also). But still, progress. There were some good moments defensively that got lost in translation. It seems like this team might just be able to get things to gel, but a loss on the road could change all of that.

What: Wolves @ Mavericks
When: 7:30 PM CT
Where: American Airlines Center
Where to watch: Fox Sports North Plus
Where to listen: 830 AM WCCO
 
What to watch for:

Stringing wins together: The Wolves did a lot of great things against the Cavs including getting the bench involved and playing at a faster tempo. But playing on the second night of a back-to-back and playing on the road were not kind to the Wolves last year, can they make it 2 wins in a row at the start of a difficult first month of the season?

Feed KAT: Karl-Anthony Towns has 20 TOTAL points through the first two games of the season. He fouled out against the Spurs and finished the Cavs game with 12 points and 9 rebounds, including several stretches where he wasn't even targeted on offense. The Wolves have to get him more involved in the gameplan. Towns is the franchise player, and in order for him to continue to grow as a player Tom Thibodeau needs to get him more involved. He does have a tough matchup against DeAndre Jordan but that shouldn't sway the Wolves from feeding him the ball.

Doncic Show: Dallas swung a big draft day trade to acquire Luka Doncic. His NBA debut wasn't anything flashy (10 points and 8 rebounds on 5-16 shooting) but Doncic showed some great flashes in the preseason and will be one of the reasons to keep an eye on Dallas all season. How will he fare against the Timberwolves?

No Dirk: Unfortunately the Mavericks will be without the services of Dirk Nowitzki on what is likely his farewell tour in Dallas. Nowitzki has had some great games against the Wolves throughout his career but will have to channel his success from the bench.
 
Projected starters
 
Minnesota: PG Jeff Teague, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Jimmy Butler, PF Taj Gibson, C Karl-Anthony Towns
 
San Antonio: PG Dennis Smith Jr, SG Luka Doncic, SF Wes Matthews, PF Dorian Finney-Smith, C DeAndre Jordan
 
Injury Report
 
Minnesota: OUT - Justin Patton (foot)
 
Dallas: OUT - Dirk Nowitzki (ankle), Harrison Barnes (hamstring-unlikely to play) and Devin Harris (hamstring-unlikely to play)
 
Prediction
 
The Mavericks are an interesting team, but still not ready to rise to the level of the rest of the Western Conference. DeAndre Jordan will help the Mavs keep things closer between these two teams, but with Dallas shorthanded it will be tough for them to stick around for the entire game. Give me the Wolves on the road with a healthy dose of Jeff Teague and Jimmy Butler. 115-92 Wolves make things look easy tonight.

Seth is host of The Scoop on KLGR Radio out of Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Listen to episodes of The Scoop here.