Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert proving defensive dominance

There are plenty of nervous nellies among the Minnesota Timberwolves fanbase right now. The comments after articles and the discussions in Minnesota Timberwolves team forums had turned more negative of late, and the frequency of downright despair is on the rise. But the panic is premature, as these Timberwolves entered their 24th game with a  record of 11-12 after 23 NBA games. That record is identical to the 11-12 record earned by the team during the 23-game mark of the 2021-22 NBA season. In fact, the Timberwolves were 16-20 after 36 games last season.

Patience is very much the key to appreciating this team right now. Patience and a bit of optimism.  Did I say that the team was 11-12? Oh, I must have overlooked their two-game winning streak. The Timberwolves have improved to 13-12, and the pieces to this team seem to be falling into place.

The sky is not falling

So the Timberwolves, despite being challenged to figure out the nuances of this newly assembled roster, are not plummeting to the depths of NBA insignificance. And the target of their blockbuster trade, All-Star center Rudy Gobert, is improving all the time.

Rudy Gobert is getting better on this team all the time.

Of course, that all makes sense, doesn’t it? The improving all the time part. In many ways, the Minnesota Timberwolves roster was still making introductions in the first game of the NBA season. After all, the team did not have the luxury of getting Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) and Rudy Gobert (knee) on the basketball court at the same time.  That left working out all of the bugs and fine-tuning the team would be delayed until the season began.