We don't need to remind Minnesota Timberwolves fans of how last season ended. But for the sake of the comparison we're about to make, let's do so anyway. After putting together one of the best defensive campaigns of any NBA team in 2023-24, the Wolves made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they found themselves matched up with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
It was a series many considered very winnable for Minnesota, especially considering they had just taken down the defending champion Denver Nuggets in seven games in the conference semifinals. But the Mavs were on a roll, and Doncic's postseason magic was executed to perfection, sending the Timberwolves home in five games.
If you remember watching that series, you remember that Minnesota had a chance to win each of the first three games, but wilted down the stretch each time, going down 0-3 against Dallas. They were defeated by three points in Game 1, one point in Game 2, and nine points in Game 3 after being tied through three quarters.
The Timberwolves are among the NBA's worst clutch teams
Here's the painful irony of how that series result relates to the Timberwolves' current season: After seeing last year's dream season go down the drain due to poor execution in the fourth quarter of close games, Minnesota is now one of the worst-performing teams in the clutch in 2024-25. Their undoing last year has now become one of the main things holding them back in the current season. It doesn't get much more ironic than that.
The Wolves obviously came into this season with a plethora of things to try to solve, given they had a new roster from the one they won two playoff rounds with a year ago. They should be applauded for getting to this point after their early-season struggles. But regardless of the players available to them, Minnesota can not seem to shake this clutch problem.
Obviously, this looms large for April and May. According to the NBA's official data, the Timberwolves have played 43 clutch games this season, the most of any team in the association. They have won just 18 of those games, with 25 losses. That is the sixth-worst winning percentage in clutch contests this year. If this remains a problem, it is going to be hard for this team to go deep into the playoffs.