#WolvesBack

Sometimes a win is just a win. Sometimes it means so much more.

Target Center was bumping on Saturday night at 9pm Central Daylight Time. Tipoff was past most of our bedtimes, but that couldn’t keep the energy in the building down. The over-capacity crowd was roaring and waving their rally towels even before starting lineups were introduced for Game 4 between Memphis and Minnesota. When Karl-Anthony Towns hit a second-chance 3 on the first possession of the game, the 19,832 in attendance lost their minds.

Like Game 3, the Wolves started fast and took a 6-0 lead. And like Game 3, the Grizzlies quieted the elated crowd with a run of their own. That was the theme of the night: Minnesota would take an 8-to-10-point lead (15 at one point), and Memphis would claw their way back within 3 or 4, before Minnesota stretched it out again. At the end of one such Memphis run early in the second quarter, Dillon Brooks (the punkiest of all the Grizzlies), drove to the basket for a layup to put his team ahead, 34-33. As the ball was falling through the net, Wolves coach Chris Finch disgustedly asked for a timeout from the official to his right. However, before the timeout was granted, traveling was called on Brooks. No basket. Finch back peddled to the bench, retracting his ask for time. The Wolves proceeded to go on an 8-2 run that set the tone for the rest of the night.

In a game that lasted nearly three hours due to multiple official reviews, a protestor running onto the court, and Ja Morant retying his hair one too many times, KAT and his Timberpuppies responded to their doubters in a big way. Towns heard the criticism that he was too soft and timid in Minnesota’s back-to-back losses and delivered an aggressive, dominant performance of 33 points and 14 rebounds in Game 4. I spoke it into existence hours before tipoff:

He attacked any defender(s) that Memphis threw at him with drives to the basket, catch-and-shoot threes, and the occasional traditional post-up. Grizzlies’ coach Taylor Jenkins put the officials on blast after the game, calling it “embarrassing” that Minnesota shot 40 free throws compared to Memphis’ 25 [1]. Complain all you want coach, but I was at the same game you were; the Wolves were the more aggressive team from the jump. It seemed as if their mentality going into the game was to foul out every single Grizzly: they attacked the rim relentlessly, forcing Memphis to make plays at the rim.

Unlike Game 3, when it got tight late, Minnesota came through. D’Angelo Russell, their calm, stabilizing leader was off most of the night. But down the stretch, he demanded the ball with the smaller Morant on him, and buried an off-balance, contested leaner to put the Wolves back up 7 with 1:28 to go. And with the game hanging in the balance with 4.2 seconds and Minnesota up 2, the man who was roasted over the coals for his shrinking performances in Games 2 and 3 hit two clutch free throws to put the game away.

The Saturday night win was significant in multiple ways. It got this team back in the series, but more importantly, the Game 4 win announced that the Timberwolves are for real. After a blowout loss in Game 2 and an egregious collapse in Game 3 where they blew a 26-point lead, Game 4 was a test of character, resilience, and desire. The team passed the test, proving to its fans that they’re worth the price of admission and that there is reason to have hope that this team isn’t like every other Timberwolves team. A fanbase that had been in hibernation since Kevin Garnett’s departure in 2007 has been awakened: as the seconds ticked down on Saturday night, chants of “Wolves in 6! Wolves in 6!” rained down on the floor.

Even if the Wolves do pull this upset in 6 or 7 games, it’s far-fetched to think this team can make a run back to the Western Conference Finals and ultimately a championship. But it’s clear how different this playoff run is from the 2018 group that broke the franchise’s 14-year playoff drought. That team was not ready for the moment, and it showed in their brief 5-game whooping to Houston. The 2022 squad is young and unproven (just ask Russell Westbrook), but they’re using the steep learning curve that young teams go through to their advantage: after the embarrassing losses in Games 2 and 3, the Wolves showed the resilience and ability to close that has been lacking in Minnesota for nearly two decades. They’re growing up right before our eyes.

Growth takes time; look no further than Memphis as an example of exponential growth. After sneaking into the 2021 playoffs for the first time since 2017, the Grizzlies’ young roster made the leap this season, claiming the second seed in the West, behind only the 64-win Suns.

With a young core highlighted by budding superstar Anthony Edwards surrounded by veterans like Towns, Russell, and Patrick Beverly, this Minnesota team has the makings of a multi-year contender if their stars can stay healthy and the growth curve continues upward.

So even if Minnesota can’t pull off the upset and move on, the message has been received loud and clear: the Timberwolves are here, and they’re here to stay.