NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Earlier this season, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch found a precise if unusual way to describe why his deep, experienced and well-rounded team had slipped into another funk: moodiness.
The bad vibes are back, and with the NBA playoffs fast approaching, the timing is not good.
Advertisement
“It feels like we’re a million miles away from the team that we can be and that we are,” Finch said after Minnesota’s fourth loss in the past five games, at home against Charlotte on Sunday. “We’ve got to get that back with our connectedness and our spirit. We’ve got to have some guys just play better.”
The Timberwolves (46-32) have frittered away an opportunity to secure home-court advantage for the first round and fallen three games behind fifth-place Houston in the Western Conference with four games remaining in the regular season.
They’re still three games ahead of seventh-place Phoenix, but they’ve yet to secure a spot in the playoffs by avoiding the play-in games.
After reaching the conference finals in each of the past two years and recently bolstering their rotation with the addition of guard Ayo Dosunmu and forward Kyle Anderson, this is not the position the Timberwolves expected to be in down the stretch.
Advertisement
“I know guys can get down individually if things aren’t going their way, and we do have an emotional team and it can spiral if it gets too crazy,” said guard Mike Conley, whose presence on the team this season is more for leadership and support than for on-court contributions. “It’s just about trying to keep everybody’s spirits up and understanding that we’re a really good team. Just because we hit a tough stretch with injuries or whatever we’re dealing with, we have a lot in the tank.”
With superstar Anthony Edwards sidelined for eight of the past 10 games because of lingering pain in his right knee and ace defender and third-leading scorer Jaden McDaniels out for the past five games with a left knee injury, the Timberwolves have been dealing with a legitimate setback over the past few weeks. What’s more, sixth man Naz Reid has been playing through…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/t-wolves-million-miles-away-225509102.html
Author : DAVE CAMPBELL
Publish date : 2026-04-06 22:55:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
