Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns
Date: November 21st, 2025
Time: 8:00 PM CST
Location: Mortgage Matchup Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network - North/KARE 11
Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart Radio
The Wolves, the Suns, and the Quest to Finally Beat a Good Team
There’s an old saying in Minnesota: “Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it… but in the most Timberwolves way possible.”
For years, Wolves fans begged the basketball gods for one simple thing: Please, for the love of Kevin Garnett’s clenched teeth, just stop losing to awful teams.
And you know what? The basketball gods listened. But they did that classic monkey’s-paw curl where you get exactly what you asked for… just not how you imagined.
Because the 2025–26 Timberwolves? They beat bad teams. They beat bad teams decisively. They bully them. They stuff them in lockers. They take their lunch money and then go back for seconds.
But ask them to beat literally anyone over .500?
Yeah… about that.
Minnesota enters Friday night at 10–5, but they are also an 0–5 monument to frustration against winning teams. And now enters the Phoenix Suns, a team that’s over .500 (9–6), somewhat competent, and definitely capable of ruining Minnesota’s night if the Wolves stroll into the desert acting like their job is already done.
This time, the stakes are higher than “avoid annoying fan meltdown.” This time it’s the NBA Cup. Yes, the tournament that casual fans pretend not to care about. For Wolves fans, whose trophy case is basically the basketball equivalent of Old Mother Hubbard’s pantry, this thing should matter. A lot.
Minnesota is 2–0 in Cup play with a ridiculous +54 point differential, the best in the entire league. One more decisive win on Friday and the Wolves basically punch their ticket to the tournament almost regardless of what happens against OKC next week.
In other words: Beat the Suns by double digits, and you’re in. Lose? Well… then things get very Minnesota, very quickly.
Let’s examine how the Wolves get this done.
1. Don’t Let Book Cook
Devin Booker walks into this matchup as the last man standing. Kevin Durant? Gone. Bradley Beal? Gone. The Phoenix Big Three experiment? A Wikipedia footnote.
The Suns are Book’s show now. Historically, the Wolves have had his number. In the 2024 playoff sweep, Minnesota’s defense took away his driving lanes, smothered his rhythm, and basically forced him into a straight jacket.
The formula hasn’t changed. And now, with no KD and no Beal, this is the simplest defensive assignment of the four-game stretch. Don’t let the one guy who can beat you beat you. Easy.
2. Jaylen Clark Must Be a Capable Villain
The Wolves playing defense without Jaden McDaniels is the equivalent of taking the guardrails off Rainbow Road in Mario Kart. Suddenly everything becomes slippery chaos. The Wizards game was a perfect example. Minnesota traded buckets early with Washington, because without McDaniels, there is no perimeter police presence.
And then Jaylen Clark checked in.
Instant difference.
Washington went from “Oh hey, this is fun!” to “Wait, why is everything so hard now?”
Clark is the perfect understudy to McDaniels, and if Jaden can’t go Friday, Clark needs to step into the starring defensive role and be the foil to Devin Booker that we outlined above. Whether it’s McDaniels, Clark, or a tag-team approach, Minnesota cannot let Book find his early rhythm.
3. The Bench Must Continue Its Revenge Tour
Remember the Wolves bench in the first two weeks? Of course you don’t. You blocked it out like a childhood trauma. Terrence Shannon Jr. couldn’t finish at the rim, Naz Reid forgot he was Naz Reid, and the second unit had the offensive cohesion of a middle school pickup game.
But now? Naz has rediscovered the best version of himself with 20+ point explosions, timely threes, putbacks, all of it. We’ve already discussed how Clark’s defense has been elite. And usually at least one of the bench point guard trio of Conley, Dillingham, and Hyland get in a good run at some point.
Against Phoenix, where the Suns bench is paper thin, Minnesota’s second unit should feast. The Wolves’ depth is one of the clearest advantages in this matchup. If the bench wins their minutes by double digits? This might be another blowout.
4. Anthony Edwards Needs to Find His Superstar Form Again
Let’s just say it: Ant hasn’t looked right since the hamstring.
Sure, he had the two 30-point flamethrowers against Utah, but outside of that, he hasn’t had that “Top five player in the league” aura that we all know is there. The three-ball has abandoned him. The legs don’t look fully spring-loaded yet. And while slumps happen, the Wolves ceiling is directly tethered to Anthony Edwards’ powers.
The Wolves need MVP-adjacent Ant back. Soon.
Phoenix is the perfect place for it to happen: Winnable game. Road environment. Cup stakes.
If Edwards is going to shake off the rust, this is the game to do it.
5. Julius Randle Must Remain the Team’s Floor
Through the first 20% of the season, Julius Randle has been the adult in the room, the rock, the stabilizer, the human version of a weighted blanket. Every night: points, boards, assists, controlled bully ball, kick-outs, calm offense, structure.
Julius is the baseline. The constant. The guy who keeps the floor high.
With Ant recovering, with McDaniels sidelined, Randle has been the thing Minnesota can depend on every single night. If he remains steady, the Wolves have their guide rail.
This Is the Big One
We’ve already discussed the NBA Cup implications of this game, but more importantly, beating a semi-good team for once would stop this quietly growing existential dread that the Wolves might look like a contender… but only when the other team is actively terrible.
A strong win on Friday gets them to 11–5, essentially locks them into tournament position, and finally—FINALLY—gives them the elusive “we beat a team with a winning record” badge that every contender should have by Thanksgiving.
No excuses. No sleepwalking. No letting Book drop 47. No pretending the Suns are still the joke of last year.
Go to Phoenix. Handle business. Punch your ticket. Make the Cup. Win the first big-boy game of the season.
And maybe, just maybe, the monkey’s paw curls in a good way for once.