Despite being without Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped 147 points on the Utah Jazz on March 18. That was the highest-scoring outing in a non-overtime contest for Minnesota since April 8, 2023.
Since that offensive explosion, the Timberwolves have played in seven games (Ant has appeared in two of them). The team hasn’t come close to looking as good on that end of the floor since. That continued in Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Offensive struggles continue on FridayÂ
38-of-101. That is what the Timberwolves shot from the field in their 115-103 loss on Friday. It ended up as their fourth-worst shooting performance of the season (37.6 percent). Take away Julius Randle and Bones Hyland, and the rest of the squad shot just 30.6 percent.
Their worst shooting effort came just three games prior against the Detroit Pistons on March 28. In that outing, Minnesota made a miserable 31.8 percent of their field goal tries (27-85).
Since dominating Utah, the Wolves have averaged 105.4 points in the ensuing seven games. That’s a far cry from the 118.8 they averaged on the season after the Jazz performance.
Their offensive rating since the game against the Jazz? Just 102.4, last in the league. Nobody other than the Brooklyn Nets at 103.7 is even remotely close to being as bad.
This is a farcry for a team that ranks 12th in offensive rating overall.
The Timberwolves' offensive struggles are concerning as the playoffs near
Sure, the Timberwolves have been missing Edwards for five of those seven contests. He was available on Friday, though. Maybe his knee still isn’t healthy, or maybe he was still feeling the illness that helped keep him out of the previous game.
It was a struggle throughout for Ant who finished 3-of-15 from the field and 0-of-7 from deep. His eight points were the first time he finished in single digits this season, not including a game against the Indiana Pacers in October that Edwards left in the first quarter.
What’s a shame is that the Wolves have mostly looked awesome on the other end. Their 103.3 defensive rating since the Utah game is best in the NBA.
With the playoffs right around the corner, the Timberwolves need to find an offensive rhythm. The necessary ball-movement and off-ball activity just haven't been there enough.
As of now, they would face the team they beat in five games in the opening round last year, the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, Luka Doncic could be out for at least the start of the series, but if Minnesota continues to struggle putting the ball in the hoop, advancing is far from a sure thing.