Hornets 120, Timberwolves 114: Three takeaways from the loss

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost a close game on the road against the Charlotte Hornets despite strong performances from both Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were, once again, competitive in a close game on Friday, this time barely losing to the Charlotte Hornets.

Reaction #1 – Anthony Edwards might not win Rookie of the Year, but he is still going to be an incredible player.

Anthony Edwards was downright great for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night – scoring 21 points, grabbing six boards, and assisting on three buckets. He scored in every way imaginable, and was somewhat efficient in doing so, hitting 43-percent of his shots (2-6 3PT).

Anthony Edwards almost certainly won’t win Rookie of the Year unless both LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton slow down significantly. That said, he is going to be a really valuable asset for the Wolves as his career progresses.

Reaction #2 – The Timberwolves were able to stay in the game despite a poor performance from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Okay, I know that Towns had an excellent second-half, but Minnesota staying in the game despite a really poor first half from Towns goes to show they do, in fact, have the talent to maintain themselves when he has a poor performance.

The Minnesota Timberwolves undoubtedly need Towns – and he has drastically helped when playing real minutes this season. That said, seeing the performances we got from Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards was really promising.

Reaction #3 – Jordan McLaughlin needs a contract – a REAL contract.

Jordan McLaughlin is, by all accounts, the Timberwolves’ second-best point guard behind D’Angelo Russell. He is sound defensively and is able to score in a variety of ways. McLaughlin is also a really good creator for others. The fact that he did not see minutes down the stretch over Ricky Rubio tonight was downright inexcusable – and Gersson Rosas should strongly consider giving him a multi-year contract. McLaughlin finished with six points, seven assists, and four steals in 22 minutes off of the bench.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 6-20 and will go against the Raptors in Tampa Bay on Monday Night at 6:00 PM CT.