3 benefits to Minnesota Timberwolves wake up call in fisticuffs finale

Benefit III: No more Mr. Nice Guy

Throughout the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have shown signs of playing down to the level of the competition, to the point of losing very winnable games. It’s that nice guy aura that has left this team susceptible to upsets, to be unwilling to enter a game with the intention of putting away other NBA teams that are struggling.

Competition is mesmerizing in its purest form. But that purest form starts with the ultimate and utmost effort from everyone on the NBA basketball court. As unpleasant as this may sound, the real NBA version of competition is not about pulling punches, is not about playing down to the opponent, is not about parity. The enchanting almost-hypnotic effect of real competition is the fact that it represents the most efficient distribution of limited resources.

Killer instinct discovered? Check.

To the victor goes the spoils. Ultimately, that is why competition is so ruthless, so winner-take-all. It’s that mindset that has become so entertaining right now.

Some of the factors that have contributed to the team’s inability to defeat lesser teams can be attributed to the lack of a killer instinct. Is that still the case? I don’t believe that it is.

Sure, tempers have flared among Timberwolves players. That’s simply the harbinger of the storm that is rolling into the NBA Play-In Tournament from the north. A thunderstorm announces itself with thunder long before the rain arrives. A tornado fills your ears with the sound of a speeding freight train long before the tail touches down and ravages the landscape.

So too are the Timberwolves banging the drums and placing the NBA on notice that the team is not about to go down quietly. This Minnesota Timberwolves team is the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil, a whirling dervish of destruction that intends to take down any and all comers in the NBA Play-In Tournament.