The Minnesota Timberwolves are stuck in a dogfight in the Western Conference, as they remain sixth in the standings despite easily defeating the Dallas Mavericks 122-111 in their first game after the All-Star break. It's going to be tough going forward, which in turn will force the Timberwolves to raise their standards so they can surpass their peers.
However, at this point, the Timberwolves are looking for ways to be better than the team they were the day before and the day before that. They are not exactly keeping themselves on par with others; What is important for them is that they reach their full potential.
However, currently, head coach Chris Finch said he does not know if the Timberwolves are there yet, especially when compared to last season.
"When you sit back and look at it, we have very high internal expectations. If you take the temperature of the team internally, we'll probably be a little disappointed with where we are. We feel like we should be a little more forward. We've been inconsistent on our defense at times, that's hurt us. The West is even more competitive this year," Finch said, via Dan Moore, Timberwolves beat reporter.
"I don't know if we're better or not. We'll evaluate that at the end of the season. But we know who we need to be when we become a good team. And sometimes we stray from that."
Here Chris Finch was asked whether this season's Wolves team is better than last season's team.
"When you sit back and look at it, we have very high expectations internally. If you measure the temperature of the team internally, we'll probably be a little disappointed with where we are... pic.twitter.com/qN2UpcWTQT
- Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) 20 February 2026
Timberwolves know next step is to get over the hump
The Timberwolves may have made the conference finals in 2024 and 2025, but they weren't exactly competitive once they got there. They lost to the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder in five games; They gave up a few winnable games against the Mavs, but against the Thunder, they trailed for most of the five-game series.
The challenge has not been easy for the Timberwolves. Thunder is still looming. The Nuggets have a lot of depth. But he has the ability to overcome the hump, that is for sure.
