The Minnesota Timberwolves stand at 21-23 and are two-and-a-half games out of the playoff race in the Western Conference.
They’re 2-2 since firing Tom Thibodeau, winning one and losing one both on the road and at home. Outside of a Karl-Anthony Towns-inflicted block party against the New Orleans Pelicans last weekend, the defense has been poor over the last four games, and things look like they could easily spiral out of control.
After all, if there was ever a game to get up for, it was a nationally-televised showdown (sort of; it was on NBA TV) against the guy who held the franchise captive and torpedoed the opening 15 percent of the regular season schedule.