In a strange twist, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been winning games lately. They’ll look to make it four straight against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
It feels like not too long ago when all Timberwolves fans heard about was the team’s ineptness at closing out games. You’ll recall that they started winless in their first ten games last season that qualified as tight contests.
This season, they’ve won all five such games with key play down the stretch. From a 30-foot buzzer-beater, to a clutch three from the sixth man, to a crucial and-one with under a minute to play, it’s been all hands on deck to finish out games to start the season.
As a result, Minnesota sits at 5-3 on the young season. Perhaps even more importantly, they’re 4-1 against the Western Conference so far, where every win is incredibly crucial.
And while there aren’t many “gimmie” games in the West, the Dallas Mavericks may be as close as it gets in the conference.
Dallas is 1-8 on the season, having lost four games by fifteen or more points already on the season, and will be on the back end of a back-to-back after playing Friday night.
You have to like the Timberwolves chances to make it four straight victories after a 2-3 start to the season. And as John Krawczynski of The Athletic points out, this would be the first time the Timberwolves have won four straight games since 2012.
A win over Dallas at home on Sat would give the Wolves their first 4-game winning streak since December of 2012. Been a long, cold winter
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) November 2, 2017
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup…