Practice

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The Wolves had practice a day before their biggest game since 2004.

And there’s not ignoring what’s at stake. A playoff spot. The Wolves and Nuggets both go into Game 82 with a 46-35 record. The winner will take the last remaining playoff spot.

“This is the biggest game of my basketball career,” Wolves wing Andrew Wiggins said. “ . . . On any level, this is the biggest game.”

The Wolves have had quite the season, rising all the way up to the third seed before losing Jimmy Butler for more than a month after he suffered a meniscal injury in his right knee. Butler returned on April 6 and the team is 2-0 since his return and was 8-9 without him. Certainly not a great number, but enough to stay in the Western Conference Playoff race.

“They prepared themselves all year for this. This is why you work,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So, they continue to grow. I think they’re learning a lot. This last month has been great for us. Just in terms of every game meant a lot in terms of the playoff race and also to do it without Jimmy. It was a chnace for growth.”

One player who desperately wants to get his team in the playoffs in his third NBA season is Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns took pride on being a player who would get the Wolves back to the playoffs after being drafted first overall in 2015 and those feelings haven’t changed. If anything, they’ve gotten stronger.

“This franchise history is part of me. This franchise has given me the start to my career. It’s given me the life that I always wanted to live. I’m forever grateful to this franchise,” Towns said. “So I take those things very personally. Tomorrow’s a game that’s bigger than I how I feel. It’s bigger than all of us. We have to go out there and win, not just for ourselves, not just for the coaching staff, not just for the organization. For everyone in the state of Minnesota. They deserve that.”

Tipoff on Wednesday night is set for 7 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 for those attending the game. The game will air on Fox Sports North Plus and 830 WCCO.

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It All Comes Down To This

In the middle of probably their toughest stretch of the season, the Wolves host the Celtics at Target Center on Thursday night.

The Celtics, even without Gordon Hayward, sit at 45-20, second in the East. The Wolves are 38-28, sixth in the West.

Boston is about depth and balance. The Celtics rank first in defensive rating and while their offense is ranked 16th out of 30 teams, it’s still led by Kyrie Irving (who is questionable on Thursday with a knee injury) and Al Horford – two All-Stars.

“Their defense is terrific, and it has been for a long time,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said after Wednesday’s practice. “You can see offensively, they’re playing at a very high level also. It’s a very deep team and they’ve had some guys who have been in a lot of big games. They also have the young guys who are extremely talented.”

Even without Gordon Hayward, who broke his foot in the first game, and possibly without Irving on Thursday, this is still an extremely deep team. It has six players hitting double-digits and Danny Ainge has hit on draft picks like Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier.

After a rough stretch in the middle of the season, Boston has won five of its last six games.

“That’s the league. Especially with them. The way they started the season, with Hayward going down, the first game, everyone was like ‘there’s their season,’ but they found a way collectively, obviously Kyrie’s’ the head of the snake,” Wolves guard Jamal Crawford said. “They’ve been impressive.”

Minnesota fell to Boston 91-84 back on Jan. 5, but a lot has changed since then. The Wolves had a healthy Jimmy Butler. In the four games since Butler’s knee injury, the Wolves are 2-2.

Tipoff on Thursday is set for 7 p.m. on TNT and 830 WCCO.

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Wolves Prep For Well-Rounded Celtics

minsflood

These days for the Wolves, it’s all about the little things.

Their extended break is finally giving the team a chance to work out some of the kinks that cost them games against Portland and Utah last week.

Back at practice again Tuesday, coach Tom Thibodeau emphasized the importance of every possession, not just in these crucial late-season games, but throughout the entire season.

“You try to work the right way so you’re building the right habits, but you always work with the end in mind, and now [the team] is starting to see how important everything is,” he said. “Whether it’s a film session, a walkthrough, whatever it might be, it’s a drill, whatever we’re doing, you have to put everything you have into it.”

Games in March might feel more intense than games in November, but Thibodeau rightly pointed out that at the end of the day a win is a win and a loss is a loss, no matter what month it comes in, and a single play has the power to shape a season.

“It could be a block out on a free throw, it could be a loose ball, it could be a charge, you don’t know which play turns it. It can happen at any time during the game. You always have to have your guard up,” Thibodeau said.

Wolves stars Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins are excited by the opportunity to play meaningful games late in the season.

Veteran Taj Gibson and Thibodeau both spoke to the importance of Minnesota’s young stars learning how it feels to go up against teams that they have played many times in high stakes situations. This is especially relevant in the playoffs when teams can face their opponents up to seven times in a row.

“Your opponent’s going to know everything you’re doing, and you’re going to know everything they’re doing,” said Thibodeau. “So, it comes down to the base of your fundamentals; can you execute under duress? Can you impose your will on somebody?”

With a few tough games in the schedule ahead, the impulse for Wolves players might be to focus on their opponent, but Gibson said the most important thing is looking at themselves.

“You can’t really focus on the matchup aspect, you just have to focus on yourself and try to bring your teammates together, because at the end of the day everybody is a good NBA player. Everybody is here for a reason. It just comes down to doing the small things,” Gibson said. 

Absent the veteran on-court leadership from Jimmy Butler, Towns and Wiggins will have plenty of opportunities to learn from experience—assisted by a coach doing his best to keep things in perspective.

“Thibs has been real patient, real easy going in how he’s communicating. He’s teaching on every single play, he’s real hands on and he’s trying to coach. It’s good for us,” said Gibson.

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Wolves See The Big Picture, But Need To Keep A Day-To-Day Mindset

The Wolves have played 66 games through March 4, the most of any team in the NBA.

They have a five-day break before hosting the Boston Celtics on Thursday at Target Center.

Minnesota was back at practice on Monday and it’s all about balance this week for coach Tom Thibodeau. 

“It’s the challenge of getting some rest to recharge and getting some work to get ready for what we have going down the stretch here,” Thibodeau said after Monday’s practice.

It’s not very often a team has a five-day break in the middle of the season, but that just goes to show how weird and compacted Minnesota’s schedule has been thus far. 

“It’s unusual,” Thibodeau said. “I can’t ever remember having five days off. It’s good, though. We got bombed pretty good (earlier).”

The Wolves have played four games since Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for the foreseeable future.

Starting in place of Butler has been Nemanja Bjelica. 

It’s been an adjustment period for Bjelica, who has played 36.5 minutes per game over the four games and is averaging 10 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from the 3-point line and 83.3 percent from the 3-point line.

Bjelica knows that not one player can replace Butler, but as a team, the Wolves know they need to continue to get added production.

“Of course. I mean, first of all, Wig has to step up like he’s doing. KAT also. Jeff can play more with the ball,” Bjelica said. “ . . .I’m just trying to do my job as a three and some time in the game as a four. We know what we need to do . . . We are in a good spot.”

At 38-28, the Wolves are fifth in the West, a half game back from the third seed and 1.5 games ahead of the eight seed.

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Wolves Trying To Take Advantage Of Short Break

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