Timberwolves flop as minority owner A-Rod watches in disbelief

The Minnesota Timberwolves (24-24) were one game over .500 for the last time on December 20, 2022, with a record of 16-15. Since that apex, the Timberwolves have approached .500 just twice more. The first occasion was a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers (27-17) on January 14, 2023, to knot the record up at 22 wins and 22 losses. The second time the Minnesota Timberwolves achieved a record of .500 was on January 21, 2023, when the team defeated the Houston Rockets (10-36) to tie their record of 24 wins and 24 losses.

The good news was that the Timberwolves faced the Houston Rocket for the fourth and final time on January 23, 2023, and having won three of three games played so far, the optimism leading up to this game was warranted, somewhat. And courtside was minority-owner Alex Rodriguez, prepared to cheer his team onto a win that would place them over .500 for the first time in a month.

But the Minnesota Timberwolves have an incredibly frustrating way of playing down to the level of poorly performing opponents. The Timberwolves are 0-2 against the Detroit Pistons, a team that has only won 12 of 49 games so far in the 2022-23 NBA season.

Trap game?

Were the Timberwolves looking past the Rockets to the remaining teams on the schedule for January 2023? That would be a huge mistake, as this team continues to struggle to play consistently, to beat inferior opponents, and even to make the type of in-game adjustments that can either preserve a halftime lead or rally this team to a come-from-behind victory.

The more this season advances, the more obvious it becomes that this team is not coalescing quickly enough to be any type of factor in the upcoming NBA Playoffs. Even if this team does earn a playoff berth, the likelihood that the Timberwolves find some way to defeat one of the best teams in the NBA in a best-of-seven series seems remote right now.

The Minnesota Timbewolves finished the 2021-22 NBA season with a record of 46-36. That is significant because, by the time the Timberwolves ended the season, they were one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Timberwolves are not hot in the least this season, hovering from a tepid warm to an icy cold.

In a must-win game, the Timberwolves fell to the lowly Houston Rockets. Is it a lack of heart? A team hampered by a poorly constructed roster? A team struggling with a head coach who has lost his players along the way?

The Timberwolves won three of four games against the Houston Rockets. With the loss, the Timberwolves are now 24-25 and must now try to scrape a win from the New Orleans Pelicans (26-21), the Memphis Grizzlies (31-15), and/or the Sacramento Kings (26-19).

It’s safe to say that the Timberwolves’ 2022-23 NBA season has been quite disappointing. The biggest question that now needs an answer is: What will this team do about it?