After making the Western Conference Finals last season for the first time since the 2003-04 season, the Timberwolves have seemingly become one of the most slept-on teams in the NBA, and they're hitting their stride at the right time.
It's no surprise that the Timberwolves have been overlooked as a dark horse contender this season. The West has significantly improved since last season, with the Lakers adding Luka Doncic, the Warriors acquiring Jimmy Butler, and the emergence of teams like the Thunder and Rockets.
Timberwolves struggled out the gates
Minnesota made one of the biggest trades of the offseason, sending away long-time center Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick.
The Timberwolves had now revamped their frontcourt, and with the subtraction of KAT, it was going to take a while for this team to fully mesh together. Randle is a point-forward who can alleviate some ball-handling responsibilities from Anthony Edwards, but doesn't provide nearly the same floor spacing as KAT and can tend to clog the paint alongside Rudy Gobert.
Minnesota was a subpar 21-19 through their first 40 games of the season and couldn't seem to find a level of consistency with their new guys. They suffered some ugly back-to-back losses to the Trail Blazers back in November and multiple three-game losing streaks up until the beginning of the new calendar year.
Injuries hindered the Timberwolves
After the Timberwolves hit a five-game win streak and it looked as if this team had turned the corner, the injury bug hit them in a bad way.
Julius Randle suffered a right groin strain in Utah on Jan. 30, and he would proceed to miss the next 13 games and the entire month of February. Randle would make his return back to the floor on Mar. 2 at Phoenix en route to a 116-98 victory over the Suns.
Just before the All-Star break, Rudy Gobert suffered a lower back injury that would cause him to have a 10-game absence before returning to the court on Mar. 9 versus the Spurs.
The month of February wasn't great for the Timberwolves as they finished with a record of 5-8, they ranked 15th in offensive rating (114.5) and 13th in defensive rating (113.2) as they desperately missed both Randle and Gobert.
Minnesota getting hot at the right time
The Timberwolves are currently the hottest team in the NBA, riding an eight-game winning streak and just 2.5 games behind the Rockets and Nuggets for the second seed in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
This team has been playing at an exceptionally high level as of late, and getting their guys back healthy into the rotation has made the biggest difference. According to NBA stats, the Timberwolves in March currently rank first in wins (8), second in offensive rating (123.4), third in defensive rating (108.4), and number one in true shooting percentage (62.8 percent).
What was a questionable fit to begin the season between a Gobert and Randle frontcourt pairing has now paid dividends as they're making a huge impact on this team.
Anthony Edwards ranks fifth in the NBA in pick-and-roll ball handlers, and Gobert is one of the best screen and roller bigs in the game. Gobert's ability to dive towards the rim and that anchor down low opens up so much for the Timberwolves offense.
Julius Randle has become the unsung hero of the group, as they're 13-0 in their last 13 games with him on the floor, and it's a night and day difference when he's out there. In those contests, Randle is averaging 18.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 48.5/30.2/84.6 splits.
Randle not only accounts for 25.2 percent of the team's usage percentage but his ability to guard multiple positions, score on all three levels, and the physicality that he provides down low on the glass is invaluable to this team.
Timberwolves depth
Even in a stacked Western Conference, the Timberwolves have one of the most complete teams top to bottom and they're poised to make a deep postseason run.
The pairing of Randle and Gobert has continued to be effective, Jaden McDaniels is one of the most elite defenders in the game, and veterans like Naz Reid, Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Donte DiVincenzo help round out this roster.
This is all without mentioning that they have one of the elite guards in the game in Anthony Edwards, who is putting together a career season. Edwards, in 66 games, is averaging 27.4 points (career-high), 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, while shooting a blistering 40.5 percent from distance (career-high). Edwards also ranks ninth in NBA and ABA playoff history in points per game (27.8).
Minnesota showed everyone last season that they're capable of going toe-to-toe with the best in the West after sweeping the Suns, knocking off Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, and then ultimately falling short to the Dallas Mavericks in the WCF. This team appears to be rejuvenated, hitting their stride at the right time, and has more talent overall across the board.
The old cliche may hold true here: It's not how you squeak into the playoffs, but it's how you streak into the playoffs. We know this is one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and if they can continue this level of play heading into the postseason, they're going to make a ton of noise out West.