After losing to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to 0-6 against teams with a .500 or better record. It's fantastic that the Wolves are 10-0 against below .500 teams, but to be the best, you have to win the big games.
Listen, I've held back from panicking about the Wolves' subpar showings against good teams up until this point. Every other game, there was some reasonable explanation. However, this loss was unfathomable for the Wolves, and it highlights the Wolves' need for a point guard in the worst possible way.
The Wolves were up by eight with less than a minute to go. Anthony Edwards had 41 points, and the Wolves forced 27 turnovers. On top of all this, Devin Booker fouled out. That's a game the Wolves have to win.
Nevertheless, the Wolves committed three turnovers with under a minute left in the game, allowing the Suns to mount a comeback. Credit Phoenix's defense, but man, was that poor execution from Minnesota. The Wolves' lack of a point guard and stabilizing force to organize the offense couldn't be clearer after this game. Unless this need is addressed, this feels primed to cost the Wolves in a big way.
Here are all three Timberwolves final-minute turnovers, all in 30 seconds of game time. https://t.co/looJ1pAT2x pic.twitter.com/2peroup43Z
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) November 22, 2025
The Timberwolves have a point guard problem
The Wolves' lack of point guard play hasn't been that much of a problem throughout the season. Yes, it will always be mentioned as a weak point. Regardless, the Wolves' point guard-by-committee approach has largely been effective. In the clutch, though, this is a massive problem. Minnesota ranks 26th in clutch time turnovers.
Late in games, this flaw can be exploited, and the Suns did just that. Two of the Wolves' three turnovers in the final minute came after simple inbound plays, and the other came as the defense collapsed on Julius Randle. There's no denying that having a trusted point guard would help in these moments.
At 38, Mike Conley is still a good decision maker, but he's best utilized in a low minutes role; his lack of shot creation and burst are problematic. Rob Dillingham hasn't proven to be trustworthy in high-leverage situations, and even at his best, he's not a stabilizing force.
Point guard play will hurt them in the playoffs unless they make a trade
Coming off back-to-back conference finals appearances, the hope for this season was that the Wolves could make a championship run. I'm not ruling that out just yet. However, to do so, they must trade for a point guard. It doesn't even have to be a star; someone like Tre Jones could be perfect.
If they don't trade for a point guard, the top teams in the Western Conference will surely expose Minnesota's point guard problem. The Oklahoma City Thunder force turnovers like nobody else. The Houston Rockets also force turnovers at an elite rate and have unmatched positional size. While the Denver Nuggets don't force turnovers like these two teams, their positional size and versatility make things tough for the Wolves.
We've seen how this problem has hurt the Wolves lack of a true point guard hurts them in close games. Now imagine the playoffs, where the close games are more common and opponents can key in on you for a series.
These three teams (especially the Thunder) are the standard in the West. For the Timberwolves to close the gap, it's necessary that they trade for a point guard.
Otherwise, they can forget about another deep playoff run, never mind a finals run.