The Whiteboard: Minnesota refuses to make sense

I made a promise to myself in early January to not write about the Minnesota Timberwolves until they made sense.

But after a 25-point comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, I'm breaking that rule because everything has become so clear to me. The Wolves don’t make sense… and they never will. That’s their thing. They exist to confuse, befuddle and irritate me, specifically. So, yeah, I guess I'll write about them.

With about 8 minutes left in the game last night, I had started writing about the gap between Oklahoma City and the rest of the Western Conference — a gap I still believe exists, for the record — but that piece had to be scrapped after Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr and Jaden McDaniels clawed their way back to force OT, eventually winning in OT thanks to a heroic Anthony Edwards block... which came less than a minute after one of the worst-advised shots I've ever seen Edwards take. What a ride.

Who are the Timberwolves?

Almost 70 percent of the way into the season, I still don't know — that's why I say things would have been so much simpler if they had merely lost this game by 20. Because if they did that, it would have been the second straight loss to OKC, and we could pretty comfortably declare that Minnesota is a fine, middle of the pack Western Conference team that can win a playoff series but not likely much more.

But they won. And they're still coming off of a Western Conference Finals appearance, so we know this team (minus one Karl-Anthony Towns, of course) can compete in the playoffs. So now, every time we want to count them out this season, we're forced to hesitate. The Wolves remain in the if only... tier of NBA teams, with their "if only" being if only they could play to their potential every night. And if only... then they can still compete with the NBA's elite.

Just pick a side, Wolves. Be good. Be bad. Stop being confusing.

The Anthony Edwards question

What can we take away from that game? That Minnesota can beat Oklahoma City, it just needs the biggest comeback in franchise history to do so? That doesn't seem like the lesson. The lesson might be way less fun for Wolves fans.

I consider myself an Anthony Edwards fan, but games like this don't encourage me a ton when pondering whether he can lead a team to the highest highs in the league. Yes, he made the game-winning play — but was on the bench for the entire comeback, and wouldn't have had the chance to swat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into the ether if the Wolves young guys didn't pull off one of the wildest comebacks ever. He's been awful in clutch situations this year, marking the second straight year the Wolves completely collapse when games are close late.

I'm also not condemning Anthony Edwards to someone who "can't get the job done," because 1) he's 24 years old and 2) he's obviously comfortable changing his approach to the game. But in 2025, do I think Anthony Edwards is in the tier of players who can lift his team to heights they'd be incapable of without him? Bluntly — no.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy!

NBA news roundup

• The Cleveland Cavaliers can't stop winning. If the season ended today, these Cavs would have the seventh-best winning percentage in NBA history. They haven't lost since acquiring De'Andre Hunter, who's filled into a sixth-man role nicely. It's hard to fathom them losing every time they take the court. As dominant an offensive unit as we've seen in years.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the Charlotte Hornets have lost two games by a combined 95 points in the past three nights. That's tied for the worst two-game point differential in nearly 60 years. It's bleak in the Queen City.
• Somewhere in between those teams are the Pistons, who have won seven straight games after breaking an impressively sad losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. This turnaround for Detroit is one of the coolest stories in basketball this year; everyone involved, from Cade Cunningham and JB Bickerstaff to Malik Beasley and Ausar Thompson, deserves huge props. The Motor City is having a sports renaissance.

Marcus Smart in Washington is kind of amazing

Look, there were numerous high-level basketball games on Monday, so if you neglected to watch even a second of Wizards vs. Nets, I'm not going to hold it against you.

You did, however, miss Marcus Smart being Marcus Smart in his new home, though. Now a member of the lowly Washington Wizards, Smart is... still playing like he did when he was competing deep in the NBA Playoffs. I love it.

There was basically no downside to Washington adding Smart at the deadline. The front office got some picks for it, and he's showing the teenagers on Washington's roster that it's cool to try, even when you're 9-47. This is veteran leadership — being a psycho in mid-February in front of about 8,000 fans against the Brooklyn Nets. Love it.