Minnesota Timberwolves: Reasons to be thankful

The Minnesota Timberwolves are just 7-11, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things for the team and the fans to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Even after Wednesday night’s heartbreaking 103-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets, things are looking up for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hailing from a place where the cheery demeanor has spawned the ultimate stereotype of “Minnesota nice,” fans should be basking in the glow of the now Jimmy Butler-less Timberwolves.

Since trading away the Marquette product, the Wolves are 3-2 and have looked much more cohesive and happier on the court. The team is currently 14th in the Western Conference and has to jump over multiple teams that have 50-win talent to even get close to the playoff picture, but the season is still incredibly young.

For that, on this 2018 Thanksgiving Day, we’re putting away all the negativity (WHY ISN’T TOM THIBODEAU PLAYING JOSH OKOGIE?!) to remind Timberwolves Nation why they should be thankful this year.

In no particular order:

• Karl-Anthony Towns is actually smiling again:

• Andrew Wiggins is reminding us that he can in fact take over games:

• Derrick Rose is enjoying the best season of his career since his MVP days back in Chicago, averaging 19.0 points and 4.7 assists per game on .470/.459/.848 shooting splits.
• More than just empty stats however, Rose has a +3.6 net rating and has propelled the offense to a 112.1 rating when he’s on the court.
• Robert Covington has been as good as advertised since coming to Minnesota. In his four games with the team, RoCo is averaging 2.8 steals a game and shooting 50 percent from 3.
• The City Edition jerseys are beautiful. This cannot be said often enough.

• The announce team, Jim Peterson and Dave Benz, is among the best in the league. They have great chemistry, rarely get distracted during close games, don’t have big egos and actually teach you about the game:

• Since trading Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves have posted a top-five defensive rating. For a team that has been absolutely terribly defensively since Thibodeau took over, even a super small sample size like five games is massive progress!
• The Timberwolves’ next three games all come against teams under .500: the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
• The Christmas tree jerseys are back, and quite possibly may have been the reason Derrick Rose dropped 51 points on the Utah Jazz in October.

• Even if the Timberwolves miss the playoffs, with the NBA’s Draft Lottery reform, they don’t have to be completely awful to have a chance of landing one of Duke’s three potential superstars.
• Karl-Anthony Towns is looking like himself again, averaging 23.6 points and 17.0 rebounds per game since Butler was dealt to Philadelphia.
• Kevin Garnett made an appearance at the Target Center for the Purple Rain-inspired game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Perhaps this is the beginning of reestablishing a positive relationship between the franchise and its greatest player.
• The Washington Wizards have arguably surpassed any level of dysfunction the Timberwolves had during the Butler trade saga.
• And last but not least … Jimmy Butler is gone and Wolves fans don’t have to worry about their own player trashing his teammates and the franchise anymore!

Happy Thanksgiving and look on the bright side of life, Wolves fans!