Minnesota Timberwolves treys, you say? Take me to the Rivers . . .

Wounded Wolves are the most dangerous

Wounded Timberwolves are at their most dangerous. With the normal choice of fight or flight limited to fight, the survival instincts of a wild predator are surprisingly powerful. Perhaps there is a message there for the Minnesota Timberwolves? The Minnesota Timberwolves (13-15) entered the game to face their last contest on the road and entered the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-17) without:

PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns
C Rudy Gobert
PG D’Angelo Russell
PG Jordan McLaughlin
PF Taurean Prince

Just stepping back and looking at the names and production from that group, they are a starting five players who could put up very strong competition in the NBA if they were the core of a new NBA team. But sitting on the bench pulls their nearly 70 points per game and 30 rebounds on ice. The Timberwolves have to find some way of making up that level of production.

Timberwolves Roster is wounded, but not done just yet

The team had just been drubbed at the hands of the LA Clippers (17-13) by a score of 99-88 and learned that Gobert was injured in the game and would join his four teammates on the bench in Oklahoma City. There was a bit of surrender entering this game, at the nadir of a three-game losing streak. But this is a team that was not done just yet.

Much like a true pack of Timberwolves, this team was running out of options. But as options seemed to run out, a couple of Timberwolves players rose to the occasion. Backup center Naz Reid had a huge game (we’ll talk about that later), and shooting guard Jaylen Nowell poured in 13 points off the bench. But the most shocking and pleasantly surprising performance on the night?  Well, I have to give the nod to the backup-backup point guard, veteran Austin Rivers