Timberwolves toughened up to become a playoff team after loss-filled start

Tuesday's play-in tournament game featured everything that would have derailed the Timberwolves in recent seasons — and even earlier this season: frustration with officials, Karl-Anthony Towns foul trouble and an opponent making a fourth-quarter run.

The tension would always fill the air at Target Center and you could often feel a collapse coming.

There were even two games against the Clippers just like that back at home in October. So in a way, it was fitting that the Clippers were the opponents for the play-in game, and the Wolves were able to show just how far they have come as a team since then, especially as a group that took those previous scars, worked to heal them and developed a mental toughness that wasn't there previously.

Scars don't go away, and sometimes wounds can re-open, but the Wolves have done just about all they can to keep them from showing. They are a tougher team than they were not that long ago, both in bouncing back from adversity within games and for not letting one loss spiral into many.

That's one big reason this team is in the playoffs beginning Saturday in Memphis.

"We all just have something to prove," Towns said. "That's what drives all of us from top to bottom. I think everyone is just willing to do whatever it takes to win games and beat the stigmas or narratives about all of us."

The season didn't exactly start the way the Wolves wanted it. They were 4-9, which included those losses to the Clippers and an embarrassing 18-point home loss to the basement-dwelling Magic, a game in which the Wolves actually led after three quarters before it spiraled out of control in the fourth.

It was around this time guard Patrick Beverley gathered the team and asked each player to define his role.

"If you got that one kid who's supposed to take out the garbage who's actually doing the dishes, it kind of [messes] up the rhythm in the household a little bit," Beverley said. "Having roles and getting things in order is big in any relationship, any friendship and you have to just treat your basketball team as such. … Establishing your roles, knowing your roles early will help you in the long run."

Coach Chris Finch admitted he was feeling "a little nervous" around that time, just given all the losing this young Wolves team had done.

"You had to keep them from thinking, 'Well, here we go again,' " Finch said. "It didn't feel like that in the locker room. It felt like we were way more positive about who we were.

"I always thought we were a pretty good team, we just couldn't figure out a way to win games."

The meeting helped get the team back on the right track, and the Wolves recognized the first 13 games did not make or break their season. They could have a winning team if they just became more cohesive, more consistent.

"We call ourselves brothers. We hold each other accountable," forward Taurean Prince said. "All it takes is conversation. A lot of organizations and teams don't have that or don't do that. A lot of things are up in the air, but Patrick and the leaders, we wanted to make sure everybody was on the same page. That way there were no surprises from anybody."

The Wolves won five in a row shortly after the meeting.

Last season, the Wolves went 23-49 and won two or more games in a row only three times.

Losing meant more losing.

"I definitely can tell the difference between this year and last year where you can see the turnaround within the next two games or so," center Naz Reid said. "Where last year I felt like we might not have put up as much fight as we are this year."

When they would actually win a game, they got too happy with even a little bit of success. That would lead to a loss, which led to another loss and it would be three or four games before the Wolves were hungry enough and hunker down and do what they had to in order to win again.

This year's team put together six separate win streaks of four or more games, including a six-gamer in March, the Wolves' longest streak since 2004.

"Last year, sometimes we'd play down to the level of our opponent or win a couple games and get complacent and start playing how we used to play," forward Jarred Vanderbilt said earlier in the season. "This year it's just everybody being accountable, holding each other accountable."

Accountability has been a big word around the Wolves. Finch has been able to hold players accountable, even the stars such as Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell. The players hold each other accountable and nobody seems to take anything personally.

"That comes with being selfless, putting ego to the side, knowing what's best," Prince said. "Obviously everybody has individual things they want to accomplish and do. At the end of the day, it starts with the team. If we get wins, it cures all."

Tuesday was the culmination of all the progress the Wolves have made from last season to now. Even if Towns got down and out, the rest of the team didn't. They picked up their best player on an off night, and found a way to advance past the Clippers.

Finch could feel their hunger in the huddle.

"I never felt in the huddle or on the floor that guys were not willing to claw back," Finch said. "It never felt like that."

Going into the postseason, Finch has emphasized attention to detail being one of the most important traits a team can have. Beverley, who has the most playoff experience on the team, has made it his mission to make sure the Wolves improved in learning game plans and studying opponent tendencies.

"For the most part everyone has been coachable," Beverley said. "That's the biggest thing. You come to these young teams, a lot of young guys aren't coachable. Everyone here is a sponge. They want to get better. They want to get to the next step, go to the playoffs. They want to be successful in the big moments."

The Wolves will have their chance. They earned it by shedding some of their previous bad habits.