Elite Minnesota Timberwolves player stepped up in playoffs

The Minnesota Timberwolves arrived at the 2023 NBA Playoffs both outmanned and outgunned. But that is the type of scenario when you learn those incredible lessons about your teammates, and yourself. In this case, both were true, as some players struggled against superior competition and others seemed to thrive on it.

It was a time to discover who had grown tougher since the 2022 NBA Playoffs. It’s like the old saying When the going gets tough, the tough get going. If you didn’t recognize that phrasing from ancient US Military recruitment pitches, perhaps you recognize it as the song title from music performer Billy Ocean “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going.”

That’s the type of player the Minnesota Timberwolves roster needs right now. Having made the NBA Playoffs for two consecutive seasons, the bar must be raised now. It’s no longer enough to get there, now this team must learn how to win and advance there.  To do that, the team needs to rally around the players who click when the bright lights come on, like this guy:

That is not to say that this Minnesota Timberwolves team needs to make drastic or immediate changes to the team just yet. After all, the sum total of the Timberwolves roster starting lineup of the final starting five players was six games. Just six full games. That’s hardly the sample size required to make formal and final decisions.

But it was the five-game 2023 NBA Playoffs that convinced the Minnesota Timberwolves front office that this team needs to prioritize developing and building around shooting guard Anthony Edwards.

That can happen naturally, as the team restocks the roster each year. For now, the Minnesota Timberwolves put a huge investment into the top-tier talent on this roster. It only makes sense to get a good read on what works, and what doesn’t, before making any more wholesale changes. Once the team has accomplished that, building around Anthony Edwards is a much easier process.