The Wolves absolutely demolished the Spurs on Wednesday night at Target Center, 128-89.
The 39-point win marked Minnesota’s largest win over San Antonio ever and the third-largest win in franchise history. And it’s not like this Spurs team is bad. It does have All-Stars like DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge on the squad. But it wasn’t their night. Or even more than that, it was the Timberwolves’ night in just about every way.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
RoCo Is A True Team Player
Robert Covington led the Wolves with 21 points and nine rebounds, shooting 4-for-9 from the 3-point line. What we’ve seen from him in eight games has been nothing short of amazing. Covington has hit four or more 3-pointers in five of those games and going into Wednesday night, he had two or more steals in every game.
He only finished with one against the Spurs.
Shame on you, Rob!
Kidding, of course.
Watching Covington support his teammates and cheer from the sideline is a fun thing to watch. The Wolves were all smiles last night, and a lot of that has to do with Covington’s quiet and positive leadership. He leads by example.
Since shooting 1-for-18 on Saturday against the Bulls, Covington has bounced back and combined for 45 points, shooting 16-for-27 from the field and 8-for-16 from the 3-point line in the two games since.
Covington was a +44 on the night, the fifth-highest mark in team history.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “It’s really what you’re doing when you’re on the floor, how he impacts the game.”
It feels like Covington’s been on the team much longer than he has. His familiarity and respect he’s gained with his new teammates in less than 20 days is extraordinary.
Rook Staying Ready
Rookie Josh Okogie found himself out of the rotation after the trade. It makes sense. Thibodeau plays a nine-man rotation and the rookie, despite playing super well earlier in the season, was on the outside looking in.
The NBA season is a long one and opportunities will present themselves throughout for players. The tough job for them is to stay ready.
It doesn’t appear as if that will be a problem for Okogie. We’ve been praising Okogie for his energy since Summer League and oh my goodness gracious did he come with it last night. In 10 minutes and 22 seconds, Okogie finished with 12 points, nine coming from the 3-point line.
Of course, the highlight of the night is when Okogie put himself in the nightmares of Dante Cunningham and Chimezie Metu forever.
Dunk contest in February, anyone?
We Can Talk About Playoffs Again
The win improved the Wolves to 11-11 overall, just a half game back from the eighth seed in the West.
When the Wolves made the big trade, they were 4-9 and had lost five-straight games. The team was not in a good place.
That is quite the opposite as I type this.
Minnesota has won seven of nine games since the trade, including the last four.
Expectations are a tricky thing. Saying playoffs when your team is 4-9 is like saying Voldemort in Harry Potter.
We could have been like this team can still make the playoffs after the trade, but that's hard because it was impossible to know how these pieces would fit.
Turns out the answer is perfectly.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Wolves, but such is life in the NBA.
The Wolves close out their four-game homestand against the Celtics on Saturday, Rockets on Monday and Hornets on Wednesday.
Certainly not an easy three-game stretch, but it’s also time to recognize the fact that other teams probably don’t want to play the Wolves, either. Especially right now.
Things can change quickly in the NBA, but right now, life is good for the Wolves.