In some good news for the Timberwolves, and they could use some after the Knicks blew them out of Target Center on Monday night, center Rudy Gobert cleared COVID-19 protocols, practiced Tuesday and is available to play Wednesday against Phoenix.
That could help their defense, which is No. 9 in terms of defensive efficiency, but looked disinterested in making the Knicks work Monday.
That prompted guard Anthony Edwards to say the team was "soft" after the game, and they were likely developing that reputation around the league.
For Gobert, who spent the last two games watching from home, the Wolves need to concentrate on doing the "little things" right — like communication and playing with urgency on a consistent basis.
"It's the hardest thing to do, to do the things that are not cute," Gobert said. "The things that none of your family members are going to come in and say, 'Oh, that was a great box out tonight.' All those things that are gonna make the difference at the end."
Coach Chris Finch lamented the Wolves' lack of physicality after Monday's loss. He said the Wolves needed to play harder on a consistent basis. That's where their improvement begins in his eyes.
The Wolves are 5-6, which is actually a better start than they had a season ago, though expectations weren't nearly as high for a group that had yet to establish itself. Finch says there are some similarities between the starts. For instance, the Wolves were searching for an offensive identity the first two months of last season. But there are some differences in the team's mind-set now compared to last season that could be leading to these early struggles.
"This team probably just expected they were going to be good and short-cutted a few things along the way. That's on all of us," Finch said. "Last year's team was probably searching for more of its identity, but believed they could be good. They had to prove to the world that they were good."
