Game Story
An Italian man, a human bowling ball, and a miserable online following walk into Charlotte. They left with a broken nose, a win, and hundreds of different topics to re-litigate online. This game was, if I can speak candidly, not a fun experience to watch. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been having many of those recently.
Still, what can be expected with Anthony Edwards missing another game with a hamstring injury? Julius Randle continues to be a bright spot. The point forward as gone from the Wolves’ most used trade machine chip to near single-handedly keeping Minnesota’s offense afloat as the primary creator for a team that lacks that. His near-seamless transition to what can only be described as a Giannis-Antetokounmpo-lite has been fantastic.
On the other front, Jaden McDaniels has shown more than just a few glimpses with increased opportunity. While he’s had a few gaudy point totals, his playmaking continues to be the most exciting domino to fall in Minnesota’s exploratory search for guidance during a difficult year.
That has typically been where the good news ends. Mike Conley has looked completely unplayable, Donte DiVincenzo continues to make that singular season in New York look like a mirage, and Rudy Gobert has spent 2025 being unwilling or unable to finish a layup.
That is… until tonight.
The two veterans looked excellent throughout the first half, with DiVincenzo earning his praise as he played through a nasal alteration that saw his nostrils end up less than parallel and more than a little clogged. It feels worth noting, however, that he did not shoot the ball well until late. But, with shots up for grabs, there are worse people to be launching threes than your supposed shooting specialist.
The third quarter was when the Wolves pulled away. Gobert had 11 rebounds in the quarter alone while Minnesota slowly cracked open a double digit lead. It was Gobert, alongside Naz Reid and Julius Randle, that put this game away.
Still, there’s so many little things that require a deeper look. From the guard rotation to the return of Jaylen Clark, there was a lot going on under the surface.
With that being said, let’s get into it.
Stability and Instability in the Point Guard Room
There was a moment in the midst of a fourth quarter closeout that seemed to signal a change for Rob Dillingham and Chris Finch. After the diminutive point guard was subbed in with about five minutes left to play in the game, on the first play of that stretch, Dillingham went for a contested rebound against a player no less than inches taller than him and prevented a putback layup.
There was no pan to Finch, or any real acknowledgement of that play in particular, but it was a play that shows how much has changed for Dillingham. Look, rebounding will never be his strong suit, but just in making things as difficult as he can for anyone on defense, he has earned more moments.
When I asked Finch about Rob’s ability to get to the paint, he pushed back against my designation of the now second year guard as a scorer. It’s clear that the slow changes — while they have come at the expense of not just Dillingham but also the team at large — have finally came with a much needed reward.
Earlier this year, Mike Conley and, to a lesser extent, Bones Hyland could do nearly anything without reproach. Maybe that’s because of Conley’s track record or Hyland’s status as a one year rental, but it always felt like the standards were demanded at a much higher rate for Dillingham.
Tonight was different, and that is so hugely exciting if that signals a long term change and not just a singular event within a rotation impoverished for real guard production.
(PS. Donte’s inconsistency continue to make him the single most confusing player on this roster.)
Jaylen Clark: The Designated Driver
Jaylen Clark was arguably the story of the Wolves preseason. With the question of who would replace Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the forefront of many people’s minds, Clark delivered performance after performance of excellent point of attack defense, decent enough shooting, and the tone setting that this team seemingly needs.
However, it seemed like he would be out of the rotation entering the year. There were question marks about how many minutes would be up for grabs between Edwards, McDaniels, and rising sophomore Terrence Shannon Jr. Yet, whenever opportunity called, Clark answered. While Shannon has been lackluster in his extended runs, Clark has been phenomenal.
Which leads me back to the subtitle of this section. I think I have a new nickname for Clark. The former Bruin doesn’t stop drives. He prevents them. He takes away keys and forces guards to abandon their plans of getting to the rim.
It was Clark that put an end to the avalanche of Collin Sexton drives. He did the same once again to LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann, to any guard he was tasked with guarding. It was truly game defining considering the level of defense we’ve seen at other times this season.
Clark is by no means a season altering player, but with all the conversations around Jaden McDaniels and his ability — or non-ability — to continue to be a shutdown perimeter defender, maybe just having a guy that fills that role allows everyone to slide back into place.
Maybe McDaniels’ returned presence as a help side shot blocker brings back the Gobert we saw tonight. Maybe the return of Gobert gives the Wolves a defensive identity again. Maybe that allows the team to run in transition, the way they’ve stated they want to.
The inflexibility that has plagued the early season Wolves hasn’t disappeared. But, a rising tide raises all boats, and Clark is doing his best to maximize everyone around him.
That’s all anyone could possibly ask for a role player fighting for his spot.
Game Highlights
NBA
Minnesota continues on their second game of a three game road trip against the 0-5 Brooklyn Nets on Monday, November 3rd at 6:00 PM CT. The Wolves have shown that no game can be assumed an easy one though. Tune in on FanDuel Sports Network - North or Peacock.