Encouraging reminder from three seasons ago could be good sign for Timberwolves

As the Minnesota Timberwolves continue trying to figure things out, their schedule has not gotten any easier. Monday afternoon saw the Wolves lose another close contest to the Memphis Grizzlies, making it two instances of that scenario in the previous 11 days. Now, Minnesota will face the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets to close out the week.

The Western Conference is a gauntlet, and each loss the Timberwolves incur puts them further behind the eight-ball as they try to gain ground in the standings. Of course, one of the biggest issues this team has encountered this season has been their offensive production. For much of the season, it has been their ineffective offense that has doomed them, especially late in close-game scenarios.

But lately, we are actually beginning to see that trend reverse itself a bit. It is somewhat of a small sample size, but Minnesota's offensive efficiency is slowly beginning to tick upwards. As of this writing, the Timberwolves currently rank fifth in the NBA in offensive rating over the last six games with a 119.7 offensive rating during that stretch.

This improvement was originally brought up by Dane Moore in pregame media availability at Saturday's home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He referenced the fact that Minnesota was 20th in the league in offensive rating at the end of December, but noted that since then, they have jumped up to sixth.

The Timberwolves' offensive efficiency is improving

Interestingly enough, this development mirrors a similar occurrence during the 2021-22 season. Moore talked about how at the end of December 2021, the Wolves ranked 23rd in offense. But for the remainder of the season after that point, they became the top offense in the NBA.

Could the same kind of improvement be in the future of this Timberwolves team? It seems unlikely, especially now that Donte DiVincenzo is sidelined for the foreseeable future. But it's also not completely out of the question.

Minnesota doesn't have to become the top offense in the league this team around. Even just continuing on their current trajectory of improvement would be a massive win, especially considering all they have had to figure out.

Watching Minnesota become a respectable offense over the last several weeks has been something of a surprise, but certainly a pleasant one. The current version of the Timberwolves probably still has a ways to go before they can call themselves a top-level championship contender, but even so, their improvement is notable.