Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

3. No internal drama but not much fight either

For all the eyeballs expecting Butler or anyone else to cause problems Wednesday night, nothing notable happened. There were no screaming matches, passive-aggressive passes or highly unusual behavior.

In fact, the way the Wolves played in San Antonio mirrored the way they played throughout the second half of the 2017-18 season: lots of effort, but little heart. Last season, the team too often looked like it wasn’t having fun playing together, and the body language Wednesday conveyed the same message.

Sure, the team listened to what Butler had to say throughout the game, but for a back-and-forth affair, the bench was conspicuously quiet throughout and the high-fives exchanged felt perfunctory and not enthusiastic.

Other than Derrick Rose‘s steadfast dedication to helping teammates up off the floor, these guys largely looked like they were going through the motions of playing together. Sure, they were playing hard (especially Rose and Wiggins), but the cohesion was lacking.

The team is trying to bury the tension and push through, but it’s doubtful that approach will work over the course of the season. Thibodeau claimed the Wolves spirits were good and only had praise for Butler in his postgame interview.

Butler however, was a bit more cheeky in his postgame interview. When asked if he thought he’d play the remaining 81 games with Minnesota, Butler dodged the question, saying, “I got 81 games, baby. That’s all the matters.”

Wednesday night was a quiet appetizer, but if reports from writers around the league are worth their weight in salt, chaos … is … coming.