Timberwolves 128, Magic 96: That Was Fun

Without being too hyperbolic, I genuinely cannot remember the last time I watched a Timberwolves game anything like the one I just saw. The Wolves came out a little slow the first few minutes, but then absolutely obliterated Orlando on their way to a xx point victory.

One of the most fun parts about tonight was that everyone contributed, and you could really see how lethal the Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell trio could be. To that point, Edwards poured in 16/10/5, Towns had 27/9 and Russell contributed 27/6/8. All three guys came to play and they made it look incredibly easy tonight, which earned them all a nice rest on the bench for the fourth quarter.

To be fair, it was easy for them. Orlando is in full-on tank mode after their trade deadline fire sale, and they are doing a wonderful job of following that plan. With all due respect to the players on the floor, most of the night Orlando was playing with a glorified G-League roster.

And you know what, it was awesome to see the Wolves come in and dominate the game just like they should have. Too many times we’ve seen them inexplicably lose games like this.

Tonight, though, was just fun. It was fun for those of us who have stuck around with this franchise forever, even while they’ve given us little reason to do so. It was fun to see our beautiful son Anthony Edwards continue to look like a legitimate stud with superstar potential. It was amazing to see and be reminded of just how fantastic of a player Karl-Anthony Towns is. Tonight was just fun, and that’s something we can all get behind these days.

Aside from Minnesota’s big three, it was also really nice to see Ricky Rubio have a good night shooting the ball. The Spanish Unicorn put up 18 on 6 for 11 shooting, and looked like he’s starting to get into a better rhythm alongside Russell. Maybe the trick is just to never separate Rubio from Ant and all will be well?

As for Orlando, I don’t know man. They’ve got so many guys out with injury, and they’re so ferociously tanking that it’s hard to even say anything about them. I like Cole Anthony, and I couldn’t stop thinking during the game how poor Gary Harris went from playing with Nikola Jokic to dealing with this. Life comes at you fast.

Truthfully, I’m thankful that Minnesota continues to look like a team who will be competitive moving forwards. I’m thankful that Minnesota’s 2020 draft class continues to look awesome, headlined by Anthony Edwards, who is truly a gift. I’m thankful that there are beginning to be some positive returns from all of the emotional investment we’ve made into this team.

Lastly, I’m just thankful that Minnesota is ending the season strong. Maybe, just maybe this thing might actually work.