Timberwolves Look To Reset After Frustrating Road Trip

The Timberwolves lost three close games to the Rockets, Spurs, and Jazz over the past week. Two of those losses came after Minnesota took a lead into the fourth quarter, including a 12-point lead over the 15-29 Jazz on Tuesday. Defensive letdowns and mental lapses were the biggest focus for Gobert on Thursday.

"Just mental focus," said Gobert when asked how the Wolves get back to their defensive best. "Too many letdowns defensively. We can talk about a lot of things, but I think that's what is going to allow us to be great. When we don't have that, we don't put ourselves in a position to win. So, it's pretty important that we keep that in our mind. Regardless of who we face, we've got to compete and stay locked in defensively."

In the three losses, Minnesota allowed its opponents to shoot 46% (Houston), 50% (San Antonio), and 55% (Utah) from the field. With a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth, the Wolves nearly staged an epic comeback against San Antonio, forcing the Spurs to shoot a dismal 38% from the field in the fourth quarter. Three nights later, Minnesota led Utah going into the fourth but allowed their opponents to shoot a red-hot 68% from the field in an extremely disappointing loss.

Now back home, Conley says there is an energy in the group to respond and get back on track.

"I think you feel the urgency a little bit this morning from coach, feel it from our players," said Conley. "Very disappointing to have that game, have a 12-,14-point lead going into the fourth quarter and find a way to lose that. So, I think we're going to be ready to go tonight and try to refocus on Chicago."

"I hope so," Gobert said when asked if the three losses were a wake-up call. "Losing one is tough. Losing two is like, 'OK, we got to get back to who we are.' But we didn't do that against Utah. So, I hope after three there is a reaction."

While the losses to Houston and San Antonio were more acceptable due to those two teams being in the race in the West, the loss to Utah was the opposite. The Jazz have once again floundered at the bottom of the conference and were previously 0-10 without their best player, Lauri Markkanen. It was a recurrence of an issue from previous seasons, with the Wolves losing to a team they should be beating easily if they are to be viewed as a true title contender.

"Those are situations we find ourselves in time and time again," said Conley when asked about the Wolves' propensity to play down to opponents. "We just got to continue to grow and mature. It's a maturity thing. It's a thing about taking advantage of every opportunity you get. Sometimes I think we just find a way to drop the ball at that end of the game."

With the series of losses, the Wolves dropped from fourth in the West all the way down to seventh and are currently in a play-in spot. But just as easily as they fell down the standings, they can quickly climb back up. Only two games separate the five teams from third to seventh place in the West. For their part, the Wolves aren't worried about the standings just yet.

"I'm not even looking at them," said Gobert. "I'm more worried about the way we play. If we play the right way, we'll be where we're supposed to be and we'll have an opportunity to play for what we want to play for, which is a championship."

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