Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Date: December sixth, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM CST
Location: Goal Middle
Tv Protection: FanDuel Sports activities Community – North
Radio Protection: Wolves App, iHeart Radio
There’s a really particular form of Timberwolves optimism that ought to in all probability include a warning label.
On one hand: four-game successful streak, child! After that brutal three-game skid to Phoenix, Sacramento, and OKC, the Wolves have lastly strung collectively some good vibes. They beat a short-handed however nonetheless legit Boston Celtics group to lastly notch their first win of the yr in opposition to a group with a successful report. They adopted that up by caring for the Spurs (additionally lacking their high guys, however nonetheless technically above .500). Then they went all the way down to New Orleans, grabbed two wins in three nights, and got here house 4–0 for the reason that mini-collapse tour.
However: if you happen to truly watched these Pelicans video games, you in all probability aged six years.
Recreation 1 within the Massive Simple required last-minute heroics simply to get to time beyond regulation. The Wolves spent three quarters taking part in like they’d been given a health care provider’s word excusing them from defensive exercise, noticed the worst group within the league 103 factors by way of three quarters, and wanted an Anthony Edwards cape second to outlive. Recreation 2 seemed like a cushty blowout on the ultimate scoreline… however if you happen to lived by way of it in actual time, you noticed them mud off the previous “play along with your meals” routine, cough up a double-digit lead, path within the third, then lastly slam the door as soon as Ant checked again in after foul hassle and the starters determined to behave like grown-ups.
So yeah: 4 straight wins, however two of them got here in opposition to a Celtics group lacking Tatum and a Spurs group lacking Wemby and Fortress. The opposite two required various shades of drama in opposition to the group at the moment dwelling within the Western Convention basement. This Minnesota group isn’t precisely the 2017 Warriors but.
Nonetheless, context issues. Anthony Edwards misplaced time early within the yr with that hamstring harm and was clearly not himself in spots. The Wolves have handed away two video games with boneheaded late-game execution in opposition to Phoenix and Sacramento. They dropped two every to the Lakers and Nuggets, the very groups they’re making an attempt to chase down within the standings. And but… they’re nonetheless not that far off from the coveted 2–3 seeds out West.
Catching OKC at this level in all probability requires some form of black-swan occasion, like a Shai/Jalen/Chet group alien abduction, however attending to that 2 or 3 spot and, extra importantly, staying on the alternative facet of the bracket from the Thunder in April? That’s completely nonetheless on the desk. If the Wolves need to get there, that is the stretch the place they must act prefer it.
The schedule between now and December nineteenth, when OKC involves Goal Middle for Spherical 2, is tailored for a run. You get the Clippers at house. Then Phoenix rolls again into city for what must be a extremely cathartic revenge sport. Then, whereas everybody else is taking part in for that shiny in-season match trophy you’re not invited to, you get a bizarre little reset. After that, it’s at Golden State, house for Sacramento, house for Memphis. That’s 5 very winnable video games lined up in a row. When you’re being grasping, you’re already doing the maths: win all 5 and also you stroll into the Thunder sport on a nine-game heater along with your season narrative flipped on its head.
However that’s the place the Timberwolves Warning Label kicks in: you’ll be able to’t fast-forward to OKC.
The one manner you get to 9 straight is by dealing with what’s immediately in entrance of you. And what’s immediately in entrance of you is a Clippers group that principally lives on the intersection of Chaos Avenue and Dysfunction Boulevard.
Final spring, the Clippers took Denver to seven video games and really seemed like an actual basketball group with actual continuity and an actual ceiling. It felt like they may have another actual run in them. Since then? It’s been a automotive crash in sluggish movement. The Kawhi–Balmer summer season scandal detonated no matter good will was left. They got here out of the offseason trying previous, sluggish, disinterested, and totally disorganized. The flyers on Bradley Beal has already ended with him out for the yr. Kawhi has accomplished his standard “out and in of the lineup” dance. Harden stays elite on one facet of the ground and principally a rumor on the opposite. Chris Paul confirmed up for the reunion tour, then promptly obtained reduce after locker room conflicts. When you have been making an attempt to construct a case examine on how to not keep a contender, you’d simply splice collectively Clippers footage from the previous eight months.
And now that mess is strolling into Goal Middle. For as soon as, the Wolves are the steady grownup within the room.
Minnesota is aware of dysfunction. We’ve lived dysfunction. However proper now? The Wolves have a coherent id, a respectable core, and a transparent path ahead. The Clippers are a half-baked nostalgia act with title recognition and no actual route. That’s why this sport can’t be a coin flip. If the Wolves need to be taken significantly as a top-tier Western Convention group, they don’t simply must win this sport. They should deal with it.
You’ve received 4 in a row. You’ve lastly crushed a few successful groups. You’ve survived your personal worst habits. Now comes the half the place you show you’ve discovered one thing.
If the Wolves are going to deal with the Clippers and stretch this to 5 straight, right here’s what has to occur.
1. Run Them Into the Floor
The Pelicans simply gave the Wolves a real-time reminder of what youth, hustle, and fixed strain can do. These New Orleans youngsters turned each video games into observe meets and compelled Minnesota to work manner tougher than they need to have. Now the Wolves get to flip that script.
No person on the Clippers needs this to be a 48-minute dash. That’s not the place Kawhi is at this stage. It’s not the place Harden has been for some time. It’s undoubtedly not how the corpse of this roster needs to play. The Wolves aren’t precisely the youngest group within the league, however between Ant, McDaniels, Clark, TSJ, DDV, and Naz operating the ground, they’ve brisker legs and extra juice than this L.A. group.
Minnesota ought to deal with this like a conditioning drill. Push each rebound. Run off each miss. Punish them in transition. Make Harden and Kawhi truly bend their knees on protection. The extra the sport turns right into a tempo battle, the extra Minnesota’s athleticism and depth turn into the deciding issue.
If the Wolves come out aggressive by searching early offense, turning stops into quick breaks, and forcing the Clippers to chase, this may look much more like an expert dismantling and rather a lot much less like one other “why is that this a two-point sport with three minutes left?” coronary heart assault.
2. Deal with Strain Like a Actual Contender
If the New Orleans sequence revealed one uncomfortable fact, it’s this: when groups determine to crank up the warmth, Minnesota can look fairly shaky dealing with the ball.
The Pelicans principally went full chaos mode with traps, strain, and aggressive doubles on Ant, and the Wolves responded with precisely the form of turnovers, rushed passes, and panicky choices you’d count on from a group with no regular main ball handler on the ground. Even with Conley, issues can get dicey when opponents promote out to get the ball out of Edwards’ arms.
Ty Lue is just too good to not see that on movie. Sure, the Clippers are older and should not have the legs to full-court press just like the Pels did. However you’ll be able to wager they’ll take a look at Minnesota’s composure by sending further our bodies at Ant, loading up on his drives, and daring the Wolves to beat them with fast, appropriate reads.
Meaning Edwards can’t dribble into lifeless ends. Julius can’t go into “pound the air out of the ball” mode. The wings can’t stand there watching the double group and hoping for a bailout whistle.
If Minnesota needs to behave like an precise contender, that is the place it begins: recognizing traps early, transferring the ball earlier than the strain arrives, making the easy cross, and turning doubles into open threes or cuts as a substitute of live-ball turnovers. You’ll be able to’t hand this Clippers group free runway in transition. Their halfcourt offense could also be clunky, however they nonetheless have sufficient shotmaking to punish each careless mistake.
3. Don’t Let Kawhi and Harden Beat You
For all of the dysfunction, for all of the drama, on any given evening, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden can nonetheless prepare dinner you if you happen to allow them to really feel too snug.
That is the place the Wolves’ perimeter arsenal has to matter. Jaden McDaniels, Jalen Clark, and Anthony Edwards give Minnesota the uncommon skill to throw a number of elite or borderline-elite defenders on the perimeter. That needs to be the id on this sport.
McDaniels ought to get first crack at Kawhi, utilizing his size to contest every little thing and make each catch a chore. When he’s on the court docket, Clark can hound Harden, flip his dribble right into a negotiation, and attempt to put on him down bodily. Edwards must toggle between carrying the offense and taking pleasure in possessions the place he blows up actions defensively.
And behind them? Rudy Gobert lurking on the rim, erasing errors and making drives a much less interesting possibility.
If Minnesota accommodates L.A.’s two headliners, it’s exhausting to see this model of the Clippers producing sufficient offense to maintain tempo for 48 minutes. The purpose isn’t to carry them to eight factors every. The purpose is to make each bucket really feel earned and deny the 15-point swing quarters that these guys can nonetheless produce.
4. Let Ant and Julius Be the Higher Duo
When you’re taking part in pickup in 2025 and somebody says, “You get Ant and Julius otherwise you get Kawhi and Harden,” you’re not hesitating. You’re rolling with the Wolves’ pair.
Edwards and Randle ought to be the higher duo at this stage. Youthful, brisker, extra versatile, extra locked-in. However New Orleans was a reminder that “must be” and “truly are” might be two various things relying on the evening.
Within the first Pelicans sport, Randle principally took the primary 4 quarters off offensively earlier than waking up in time beyond regulation. In sport two, Edwards, who had been on a profession heater, snapped his 30+ level run with a reasonably pedestrian outing. The Wolves win that New Orleans journey much more comfortably if each guys are buzzing on the identical time.
Again at Goal Middle, in opposition to an opponent this fragile, there’s actually no excuse.
The Wolves want Edwards attacking downhill, attending to the rim, placing the Clippers in early foul hassle, and sprinkling in simply sufficient threes to maintain the protection trustworthy. They want him to strike that stability between killer scorer and prepared passer, particularly if L.A. begins sending further our bodies his manner.
They want Randle to be the most effective model of himself – the bully ball finisher who additionally acts as a second initiator, studying assist, kicking to shooters, and protecting the ball hopping. Not the man who dribbles into crowds and invitations live-ball turnovers.
When Ant and Julius are synced up, the Wolves’ offense appears like one thing out of a Western Convention Finals spotlight reel. After they’re out of rhythm, you get these lifeless possessions that permit dangerous groups cling round. Towards this Clippers group, the Wolves’ stars ought to dictate the tone. Full cease.
Backside Line: No Excuses, No Drama
That is precisely the kind of sport this franchise used to lose. Opponent in chaos. Nationwide narrative leaning your manner. Schedule softening. A giant showdown with Phoenix looming. It has all of the makings of a basic “we didn’t take them significantly” letdown.
That model of the Timberwolves doesn’t get the two or 3 seed. That model finally ends up again within the play-in, drained, aggravated, having to persuade themselves for the third straight yr that “we are able to beat anyone in a sequence if we simply get there.”
The model that belongs on the contender tier? That group wins this sport by simply performing like an expert basketball group. They reap the benefits of previous legs. They don’t flip the ball over 20 occasions. They use their defensive weapons. Their stars outplay L.A.’s stars. They deal with the Clippers like what they’re proper now: a reputation model with a clearance-rack soul.
4 in a row is good. 5 in a row begins to really feel like one thing. You need OKC on December nineteenth to imply one thing greater than “right here’s one other measuring stick we would fail to reside as much as”? It begins with nights like this.
Go clip the Clippers. Then we are able to begin speaking about what this run actually means.
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