Minnesota Timberwolves: The 3 biggest issues for the Wolves so far

The Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled to a 4-11 record. Even with a win over New Orleans on Saturday night, the Wolves have lost 11 of their last 13 games.

Put simply, this young team is making too many mistakes and are letting winnable games slip away from them.

Although there are some positives to take away from the season so far, the negatives far outweigh the positives. There is a lot that needs to be fixed in order for this team to succeed, and there a few examples that come to mind.

Let’s take a look at some of the key issues for the Wolves to this point.

Minnesota Timberwolves Shortcomings: Coaching

The Timberwolves coaching this season has left a lot to be desired, and it’s a big reason why the team is losing winnable games. Questionable coaching elements to this point include playcalling, rotations, and timeouts.

At times, the offense can look like they are just passing the ball around without any plan, which inevitably leads to turnovers. On defense, the Wolves too often leave opposing players wide open.

As far as rotations go, there were some questionable decisions that ended up costing the Wolves the game. Early in the season, it seemed like the coaching staff avoided putting him in the game.

As Dane Moore points out, Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t become a true piece of the rotation until he outperformed expectations. Now, with Juancho Hernangomez out, he’s in the starting lineup.

Timeout management has been another significant issue. The most prominent came just this last Wednesday against the Orlando Magic and Jan. 9 against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Wolves were up by as many as 20 points against Orlando and started to fall apart towards the end. With two timeouts in his pocket, Saunders didn’t call one in a baseline-out-of-bounds situation with under 30 seconds to play and the Wolves up by only two. Then, with under five seconds to play and the ball in a poor free throw shooter’s hands, Saunders again failed to call a timeout.

Think back to the overtime loss to the Spurs. Anthony Edwards made an ill-advised pass at the end of overtime. Saunders could have stopped the action and drawn up a play designed to get a 3-pointer to tie the game, but instead, the Wolves rookie made a poor open-court decision and turned the ball over.

In a close game like this one, there is a lot of pressure on having Anthony Edwards making a decision like this one. It would’ve been smart for Saunders to call a timeout and draw up a play instead of having him make a bad pass.

Some of the decisions that Saunders has made this season have been poor and he is to blame for some of the struggles. Even though some of the players probably enjoy having him as a coach it might be time for the team to reevaluate the coaching staff.