Minnesota Timberwolves bested by Mavs, 3 takeaways

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in a game that slipped away in the second half.

The Minnesota Timberwolves performed poorly in the second half against the Dallas Mavericks, and inevitably lost after being unable to keep pace.

There were few positives in the Timberwolves’ loss leading up to the trade deadline, as the Mavericks were very clearly the better team on the floor – even with Luka Doncic having one of his worst games this season.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

Takeaway #1 – Juan Hernangomez is not a rotation-level player.

Juan Hernangomez can be a crucial part of the Timberwolves offense when his shot is falling.

WHEN HIS SHOT IS FALLING.

This season, Juancho is shooting only 32-percent from three, and for a player whose main asset should be his shooting, that simply is not good enough.

Hernangomez’s free throw rate has dropped this season, and he is very clearly the worst defender on the team. While it would be nice for Hernangomez to provide at least some shot-making ability, frankly it isn’t consistent enough to justify getting minutes.

Takeaway #2 – This trade deadline shouldn’t be one where the Timberwolves are buying.

While it would be nice to think the Timberwolves have a chance to make a play-in game, that assumption would be more than unrealistic at this point.

Minnesota’s best course of action for the rest of the season is likely to go all-in on their 40-some-percent chance at keeping their draft pick – because at this point, that might be all they can salvage of this season.

Takeaway #3 – The defense is bad – REALLY bad.

We already knew the Timberwolves were a poor defensive team but allowing 120+ points to a team which Luka Doncic only put up 15 is bad – really, really bad.

Yeah, Minnesota wasn’t known for their defense before Chris Finch took over, but it has been especially bad of late. It will be interesting to see whether this trend continues next season, and the Wolves’ lack of complementary players certainly doesn’t help.

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their next game against the Houston Rockets on Friday.