Minnesota Timberwolves: What’s next for the Wolves after disappointing homestand?

The Minnesota Timberwolves opened the season with an unbelievably easy schedule, but they have seriously faltered in the early going. The Wolves sit at just 3-5 as they head out on a difficult Western Conference road trip.

What’s next for head coach Chris Finch and his underperforming team?

Despite an easy schedule, the Minnesota Timberwolves have had a terrible start

According to Basketball-Reference, the Wolves have had the sixth-easiest schedule of any team in the league, taking into account opposing team records and point differential.

They’ve also played seven of their first eight games at home. In an odd twist, the Wolves won their only road game, and it came over the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Expecting the Wolves to go 5-3 or possibly even 6-2 over the first eight games would not have been unreasonable; they’ve played the 2-8 Orlando Magic once and the 1-9 New Orleans Pelicans and 4-4 LA Clippers twice apiece, and again, all four of those games came at Target Center. The Wolves now account for four of the combined seven wins between those three teams.

So, what happens next for the Wolves?

Minnesota Timberwolves: What’s next for the Wolves after disappointing homestand?

The Wolves now leave the Twin Cities for their first true roadtrip of the season.

First, the Wolves head slightly east to take on Ja Morant and the 5-4 Memphis Grizzlies. Then, it’s to California to face the surprising Golden State Warriors, who are 7-1, and both LA teams.

Realistically, emerging from these four games with a split of two wins and two losses would be a fine outcome. The Warriors are flat-out good, and the other three teams are all likely playoff teams who have underperformed slightly so far this season.

The Wolves might have D’Angelo Russell back on Monday after the star point guard has missed the past two-and-a-half games due to a sprained ankle. That might help the struggling offense, which is down to No. 27 in offensive rating, but then again, the offense was struggling with D’Lo in the lineup.

Minnesota’s ball movement has been terrible, and they had no answer for the LA Clippers’ strategy to slow down Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Wolves simply aren’t generating enough open shots, and are instead settling for long-range jumpers that are mostly contested. When they do get open looks, the shots are not falling.

Towns attempted only 11 shots in Friday’s loss to the Clippers, including just two in the second half as the Wolves saw a 10-point halftime lead turn into a 20-point loss. The likes of Anthony Edwards and Malik Beasley aren’t making shots at an efficient enough rate to allow the Wolves to keep pace.

Minnesota has scored under 100 points in five of their eight games so far this season — a stunning turn of events for a team that was expected to score with ease but scuffle defensively. The defensive unit is still No. 11 league-wide, but that number has been sliding for a week.

The Wolves should have a shot at winning in Memphis on Monday if Towns can get more involved offensively and the defense can make things more difficult for Morant. But at this point, it’s safe to say that a 1-3 road trip is looking like the most likely outcome.