The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team that, on any given night, can look like a juggernaut-or like they’ve completely forgotten how to play basketball. Their recent 115-96 loss to the LA Clippers was one of those nights where everything looked off. Head coach Chris Finch didn’t sugarcoat it.
“We don’t have a great spirit about us right now,” Finch said postgame. “We gotta pick it up and try to finish these last two games strong before the break.”
That lack of spirit wasn’t just coach-speak. The Wolves looked flat.
Offensively, they were stuck in the mud-14 turnovers to just 8 assists by halftime, and a brutal 24% from deep. The ball stuck, the shots clanged, and the energy just wasn’t there.
It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder if someone pulled a “Space Jam” and stole their mojo.
And yet, less than 24 hours later, Minnesota came out and throttled the Atlanta Hawks 138-116. Same roster, same coach, same building-completely different team. That’s the 2026 Timberwolves in a nutshell.
“Sometimes, it feels like you’re really far away from where you want to be, but you’re actually not,” Finch said after the bounce-back win. “You just got to remind yourself.”
That quote might as well be the mission statement for this Wolves season. One night they beat the Thunder and Spurs-the two top teams in the West-and the next, they drop games to the Kings, Pelicans, and Jazz.
It’s like watching a team with a championship engine but no GPS. They’ve got the horsepower, but the steering gets shaky.
Take their recent stretch: wins over the Warriors, Mavericks, Thunder, and Grizzlies-all playoff-caliber squads or better. But then, in true Timberwolves fashion, they turned around and lost to the same Grizzlies team just 48 hours later. Then they snapped a 20-year losing streak in Toronto, only to get run off the floor by a Clippers team that’s been more duct tape than dominance lately.
It’s dizzying. And it’s not just fans who are confused.
National analysts can’t seem to agree either. One day, Minnesota’s a dark horse Finals pick.
The next, they’re dropping games to teams with lottery odds. It’s the kind of inconsistency that drives coaches mad and keeps fans glued to every tip-off, unsure of which version of the Wolves they’re going to get.
Part of the turbulence comes down to the point guard situation. Mike Conley, the steadying veteran presence who helped organize the Wolves’ offense and calm things down in crunch time, has seen his production dip.
At 38, that’s not a shock-Father Time remains undefeated. Conley’s leadership still matters, but he’s no longer the on-court metronome he once was.
And with Minnesota trying to stay under the luxury tax, his role is shifting.
Enter Ayo Dosunmu, acquired at the trade deadline. He brings energy and scoring off the bench, and he fits the roster well.
But he’s not a traditional floor general. That leaves the ball-handling duties to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Julius Randle-none of whom are classic point guards.
Randle’s been used as a point forward in the halfcourt, and while that’s worked in spurts, it’s not a long-term solution.
That puts more responsibility on Finch to manage the offense from the sidelines, especially when things start to break down. Without a true floor leader, the Wolves have to rely on ball movement, defensive intensity, and smart decision-making to stay on track.
When they do that, they look like a team that can hang with anyone. When they don’t, well, you get nights like the Clippers game.
The challenge now is consistency. The Wolves have shown they can beat elite teams.
They’ve also shown they can lose to just about anyone. If they want to be more than a fun story or a first-round exit, they’ll need to find a way to stabilize the offense, stay locked in defensively, and keep their “spirit”-as Finch put it-intact.
Because when this team is clicking, they’re dangerous. But if they can’t steer the ship when the waters get choppy, they risk crashing out of another promising season.