The Minnesota Wolves are on the rise. It is possible to play a late November NBA game in the middle of a college football game, and the Wolves played a double overtime thriller against the 76ers. It wasn't enough for center Joel Embiid to score 43 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the field, but it was good enough for his return to the lineup. The Wolves won the game 121-120. They have won six of their last seven games and are currently.500 on the season, their first winning streak since the last season.
D'Angelo Russell was their top performer. He scored 35 points with six 3-pointers and eight assists. If the Wolves had boxed out the 76ers center, Russell would have made the game-winning three in the first overtime. Russell stripped Maxey of the lead in the second overtime and made a pass to Prince for the go-ahead bucket.
It would be logical to think that the Warriors won the Russell/Andrew Wiggins trade. Russell wasn't helping the Warriors win in Stephen Curry's absence, and the forward has helped solidify their defense while still providing a scoring punch. The Warriors have a positive impact on them, but that doesn't mean Russell is a loss for the Wolves.
Wiggans has played in 72 games with the Wolves and has averaged 19.5 points and six assists. He is shooting a low 42 percent from the field, but he is also shooting 36.7 percent from the three-point line. He missed 31 games last season with a knee injury, but the team ended the year with an 11-11 record.
The click on the League Pass app makes the Wolves worth the price of admission. His performance above the rim and in post-game press conferences makes him worth the No. 1 overall selection. He is the first exciting part of the organization. He blocked the 3-pointer as time expired in the game.
The plays that knocked off one of the better teams in the NBA on the road are not anomalies. The 11th best defensive rating in the NBA is currently held by the Timberwolves. They have not finished a season better than 20th since the 2013-14 season. They have held teams under 100 points in four of the last five games, and only one team has scored more than 101 points.
Patrick Beverly has been a great addition to the backcourt. He is second on the team in minutes played and fifth in defensive rating among players who appear on the court. Beverly's defensive intensity was what the team needed to stay in the game on Saturday. He won't be on the court for at least a couple of weeks with an adductor strain.
This is not something the Wolves have experienced before. They would be playing a play-in series game if the playoffs started today. Since the franchise's debut in 1989, they have made the playoffs once and won two series. This team is fun to watch and they have a chance at the playoffs. This is a young team with promise that any basketball fan would enjoy tuning in to see, that can't have been said about any previous team.
The youngsters can stay together and build instead of becoming a memory of hope for the franchise.
