The punch that rocked the Timberwolves out of their slumber

When the Minnesota Timberwolves (41-40) hosted the New Orleans Pelicans (42-39) on the very last game of the 2022-23 NBA season, there was a great deal of pressure on the Timberwolves. But isn’t that what the NBA Playoffs are all about? Pressure is to the NBA Playoffs as wet is to water or cold is to snow. The Minnesota Timberwolves had not exactly handled their business to that point in the season when the pressure was on.

The Timberwolves seemed to lull themselves into some NBA version of manifest destiny, an unspoken expectation that if they show up, wins would follow. And that would sink this team as they faced teams that struggled this season.

Falling into a slump, the Timberwolves would snap out of their coma long enough to string together wins to carry the team to or beyond a .500 record. Then, the team would be lulled back into a sense of false confidence, and the cycle repeated itself.

The punch that rocked the Timberwolves out of their slumber

It was that season finale when the Minnesota Timberwolves leaned on a struggling Rudy Gobert, who battled back spasms and was clearly impacted by pain against the New Orleans Pelicans. In one play, he was absorbed in his pain, his teammates were absorbed in what a healthy Gobert should have done, and the resulting dispute resulted in a punch thrown by Gobert into the chest of teammate Kyle Anderson.

Many were shocked at the incident. I was glad it happened.

That one incident changed everything for the team. Call it tough love. Call it clearing the air. But it was that one event that shook the Minnesota Timberwolves out of a stupor against the Pelicans, without Rudy Gobert, to go on to defeat the Pelicans. Now ultra short-handed, the odds of the Timberwolves earning a berth in the NBA Playoffs seemed to be slim to none. But the Timberwolves were a different team now.

Timberwolves toughened up

The same short-handed Timberwolves nearly pulled off a miraculous win against the Los Angeles Lakers. The team then returned home to Target Center and handled business handily. If you had seen the movie Matrix, there is a climactic scene near the end of the movie where Mr. Anderson/Neo begins to realize that he is empowered with the ability to alter the computer programing around him. When that happens, he becomes practically invincible.

So too the Minnesota Timberwolves had to face one more team-forging bout of adversity to come together. It was the Gobert v. Anderson fracas that helped put everything into perspective for the entire team. Now it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves advancing to take on the Denver Nuggets, and I believe that the Timberwolves can push the series to six games if not outright win the best-of-seven series.

How did Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson perform against the Oklahoma City Thunder?

Rudy Gobert: 33 minutes | 21 points | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | (+/-) + 19
Kyle Anderson: 32 minutes | 11 points | 6 rebounds | 4 assists | 1 block | (+/-) +25

How can that be possible? In my experience, the person who is willing to get in your face is always the first person to cover your back.