ATLANTA – This is supposed to be a different Timberwolves team, one that is a more mature group prone to fewer mental lapses, that won't relinquish games it should win and one that can rely on its defense even as the offense fluctuates.
That was the case for the Wolves over the first two games, when they had the second-best defense and worst offense in the NBA entering Monday.
But as center Rudy Gobert put it after Monday night's 127-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Wolves were not just a different team Monday, they were two different teams, and that was not a good thing.
"The first half, we looked like a championship team," Gobert said. "Then second half, we looked like a high school team."
Gobert was speaking about the Wolves' offense, but he could have lumped the defense into that statement as well. After storming their way to a 79-60 halftime lead on the back of their best offensive half of the season, the Wolves gave up all of it in the third quarter, fell behind early in the fourth and never made it a contest again.
Atlanta outscored the Wolves 67-34 in the second half, while guard Dejounte Murray nearly outscored them by himself. He had 30 of his 41 points in the second half and went a perfect 8-for-8 in the third quarter as the Wolves' otherwise strong half-court defense looked vulnerable for the first time all season.
"It might've been too much focus on the past," said guard Mike Conley, whose 2-for-9, six-point effort came as a result of playing through food poisoning. "You hear a lot of people saying, 'Get off to a good start in the quarter.' We gave up leads in the past. You get that in your head and it happens sometimes. I think a lot of us need to play free."
Conley and Gobert pointed to familiar issues with the Wolves' offense being the culprit in the second half. They didn't trust their ball movement, which had been crisp during a first half in which they shot 67% and led by as many as 21 points. They didn't make the easy play and tried to force the issue, and that created a snowball effect for both the offense and defense. Anthony Edwards finished with 31 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16. Jaden McDaniels had 12 points in his season debut, returning from a left calf injury.
