Minnesota Timberwolves Show Grit Against Grizzlies

The Minnesota Timberwolves are not the same team that began the season; no teams are the same. But the Timberwolves look very interesting since they got Kevin Garnett back on their team.

This was plain when he got ejected with his second technical foul after only 15 minutes of play against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s hard not to love that, especially if you’ve followed Garnett’s career. There is something invigorating about that for a team.

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With Ricky Rubio back, Andrew Wiggins has benefited from the up and down play that creates lanes for him and Gary Neal — who is new to the team — and is able to stretch the floor with killer three-point range. Kevin Martin is there as well, but now seems more valuable in light of the roster changes. It is not that the team is different in the sense that the core players have changed. It is that real winners have entered the roster and made the team a bit grittier than it used to be.

Take their previous game as an example. The Timberwolves were able to stay with the Grizzlies up until the end of the game, and eventually lost to them 101-97. The fact that they could stick around shows the kind of grit that the team has, a sort of newfangled strength that they didn’t have before.

Truth be told, the Timberwolves aren’t that much better in terms of record, although they are 5-5 in the last 10 games. But look at the way that Andrew Wiggins has been playing. In the last five games, Wiggins is averaging 21.6 points per game, which is great for a player at his size and athleticism.

Ricky Rubio, while struggling as much as he ever has to find his shot, is averaging 11 points and 10 assists per game. It is really his ability to find other teammates that makes him so much valuable. The player who is really surprising is Gorgui Dieng, who collected nine rebounds and 13 points against the Grizzlies.

He is averaging 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds off the bench, and plays with a lot of energy. He reminds me a lot of Chris Andersen, who plays for the Miami Heat and is put on the court to provide energy, rebounds and blocked shots. Then, occasionally in the process, he will get points, mainly on put-backs and layups around the basket.

These players represent something different in the way that they have previously looked. Minnesota is far from the team it needs to be in order to make the playoffs, so this isn’t one of those columns saying that Minnesota could make some noise soon. They are a few All-Stars away from being who they need to be (and maybe some offseason moves).

But it is interesting to see how the team has progressed in just this year. With Wiggins moving into a “LeBron-esque” type role now towards the end of the season, his play might insight the front office in Minnesota to get other players to join the show. It worked in Cleveland.

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Minnesota Timberwolves Show Grit Against Memphis Grizzlies

By Christopher Cruz | Mar 2, 2015

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