What a homestand. On Friday night, the Timberwolves celebrated “Naz Reid Towel Night.” On Sunday night, it was “Team Trowel Night” as they spent the first half throwing up enough bricks to build a new arena.
This has been a season of strange sentences for the Wolves, from “Fans worry about losing the first seed,” to “Naz Reid Towel Night” to “Timberwolves become Team Harmony.” Sunday night, they displayed their newfound maturity by coming back to defeat Golden State 114-110 at Target Center, in a game that reunited Rudy Gobert’s neck and Draymond Green’s forearm.
Green is proof that immature humans can thrive in pro sports, to a point, but maturity has its benefits, as the Wolves have demonstrated all season.
Before the game, Golden State coach Steve Kerr raved about Green’s reformed behavior, after reprising his criticism of Green’s worst acts.
When was the last time the Wolves had to worry about a player’s anger management? Last April, when these events occurred in a span of 16 days:
— Gobert punched teammate Kyle Anderson in the chest during a timeout.
— Forward Jaden McDaniels punched a wall, breaking his hand.
— Star Anthony Edwards flung a chair, striking arena employees in Denver, after his last-second miss ended the Wolves’ playoff series against the Nuggets.