Timberwolves mandatory team dinner first step in turning things around

OKLAHOMA CITY – After the Timberwolves lost for the second consecutive game in calamitous fashion Monday in Sacramento, 19-year veteran Mike Conley had a message for the team, according to Julius Randle.

“We all going to dinner when we get to [Oklahoma City], like, it’s not optional. We doing it,” Randle said Wednesday before the Wolves lost to the Thunder 113-105.

So Conley got the team a private room at the Mahongany Prime Steakhouse (though Conley ordered chicken) where they could talk some things through. Some games were on TV, and it was a time for the Wolves to get together during the first rough moment of their season.

“Even at dinner, things that we said are things we say in the locker room and in timeouts or talking on the phone individually or whatever it may be,” Conley said. “Guys handle things differently. Personalities are different. But we all accept accountability in what we have to do to get better as a team.”

One of the observations coach Chris Finch and the team had after losing those games in Phoenix and Sacramento was they weren’t playing with joy or connectivity. There was talk about what they were doing wrong that led to two late-game collapses, but that wasn’t all they talked about over dinner.

“It’s OK to eat, enjoy each other and watch other basketball games and talk basketball and not be all about business all the time,” Conley said. “Sometimes you need that.”

Unfortunately for the Wolves, their issues didn’t go away in the close loss to the Thunder.

First came a turnover from Donte DiVincenzo in trying set up the offense that led to a layup from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Then a turnover from Jaden McDaniels, who then committed a tough foul following a free-throw miss from Rudy Gobert. After those sequences, the Wolves were down four before they had trouble inbounding the ball for a third straight game, with Randle getting a five-second call.

“Those two turnovers after the timeout gave them just enough breathing room. That’s really it,” Finch said.

Turnovers of varying perplexity were why the Wolves lost these three games as they headed home for their own Thanksgiving dinners with their families.

Tuesday was their de facto team Thanksgiving meal, and in the course of a long NBA season, nights like that can help a team get through the rough patches.

Fans might react emotionally on social media or in comments sections after such losses, but the team can’t afford that type of reaction in the locker room, and the front office isn’t taking a shortsighted view after a three-game losing streak. If the Wolves did that last season, they would have blown the team up in December and probably never made it to the Western Conference finals.

Randle then added: “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that you can be the worst thing today and the greatest thing tomorrow.”

Randle experienced that in his first season in Minnesota, especially after he had the best postseason of his career.

Anthony Edwards has also had his share of criticism for how he has handled late-game situations over his career.

After Wednesday’s loss, Edwards broke down his role in the team’s struggles over the past week — that he is still adjusting to being the team’s primary ball handler when playing alongside Donte DiVincenzo in the starting and closing lineups.

“I just got to get used to being a point guard, going to get the rock at the end of the game,” Edwards said. “Bringing it up, even though they pressure because, sometimes I be thinking, like, let somebody bring it up and then come get it.”

It turned out continuity couldn’t solve their late-game execution. Some things they have to relearn, and if this week showed them anything, it’s just how far they have to go. But last season taught them they can solve their issues, and they did that by staying connected and communicating.