Now nearly a quarter of the way through the season, we have learned a good deal about this Minnesota Timberwolves team. Things were thrown into a frenzy when one of the the Wolves' franchise cornerstones was traded the week of training camp, and there were always going to be struggles in learning how to make the new roster work.
This obviously led to some problems, and made Minnesota look like a team far behind where they were at this time last year. While certain problems persist and things are undeniably different, we can see the learning curve where the Timberwolves are already gaining ground toward becoming a true contender in the Western Conference once again.
Perhaps one of the more underrated trends that has marked the Wolves' season to this point is their involvement in close fourth quarter contests. Chris Finch mentioned this development when he appeared on KFAN FM 100.3 with Paul Allen on Tuesday morning.
Finch says the win over the Clippers "broke the ice"
— Will Eudy (@WillCEudy) December 3, 2024
13 of the Wolves' 19 games have been "clutch games," and he said the fact that they led for the majority of the game was the best part about that win. #BringTheNice
13 of 19 games have been clutch situations for Minnesota
Speaking about breaking their losing streak against the LA Clippers last week, Finch explained why he thought that win essentially "broke the ice" for his team. "It broke the ice because we were staring at a long losing streak that was continuing, which is something that we haven't really experienced here in the last year or so," said Finch.
"We just needed a win no matter what. We played eight straight clutch games, which is games that are within five points inside the last five minutes. We've played 13 of the 19 games of the season, have been clutch games. I think that's the most in the league by any team, and I think it was some sort of NBA record, like playing the most clutch games in a row."
Finch goes on to explain that he obviously wanted his team to get the job done in each of those situations, but it must be understood that there is a degree of variance when it comes to those close end-of-game scenarios. So naturally, you win and lose some when you put yourself in that position. The key moving forward, says Finch, will be for the Timberwolves to avoid those situations as often as they can.
Minnesota certainly did just that when they took care of business against the Los Angeles Lakers by 29 points on Monday night. One thing is for sure: If the Wolves get back to blowing opponents out on a regular basis, it will go a long way toward making them look like the team we saw dominate the league last season.