For the first time in months, the Minnesota Timberwolves are starting to resemble the team that reached the Western Conference finals last season.
Riding a season-high five-game winning streak, the Timberwolves welcome the Washington Wizards for a Saturday matchup in Minneapolis.
The lowly Wizards fell to 6-41 with a 134-96 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Washington has lost 16 straight, tying a franchise record.
While the rebuilding Wizards are looking toward the future, Minnesota is eager to climb the Western Conference standings following a perplexing start to the season.
After trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo before training camp, Wolves coach Chris Finch figured there would be a transition period.
With his team currently seventh in the West, Finch said the time for experimenting is over.
“We don’t have that luxury,” Finch said. “We had that early in the season when we were trying to figure out a lot more things.”
If the past two weeks are any indication, the Wolves are back to being one of the league’s most dangerous teams, with guard Anthony Edwards leading the way.
Hours after being named an All-Star for the third straight season, Edwards had 36 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three blocks in a 138-113 win over the host Utah Jazz on Thursday.
Edwards took control after Randle exited the game in the first half with a groin injury and did not return. Randle will miss Saturday’s contest.
Edwards was dominant against Utah, becoming the first player in franchise history to have 35-plus points, 10-plus assists and three blocked shots in a game.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Finch said. “His approach, when he came out after his first shift, I told him, ‘That’s the way to set the tone of what we want out there.’ Both ends of the right floor, making the right play, didn’t force anything, got all his teammates involved, played defense.”
Minnesota has won its last three meetings against Washington, including a 120-106 road victory on Jan. 13.
The Wizards took another step back on Thursday against the Lakers, who led 78-45 at halftime and won by 38.
The Wizards struggled again from 3-point range, shooting 10-for-44 (22.7 percent). Guard Jordan Poole said opponents are giving the Wizards open shots from the perimeter, but the team isn’t capitalizing.
“A lot of people are just kind of sitting on our shots right now,” Poole said, per The Washington Post. “Now we’re just driving into the paint where there are also two or three more people to help.”
Washington has been held under 100 points in four of its last six games, but coach Brian Keefe remains confident in his roster. He pushed back on the idea that his young players are creating a losing culture.
“I just don’t believe that we will do that,” Keefe told The Post. “I believe in the character in the room. I believe in the character of the organization. No one’s running from where we are. We’re not hiding from the disappointment of how we played a little bit lately.”
Washington rookie center Alex Sarr, the No. 2 pick in the draft, will miss his third straight game because of a left ankle sprain.
