Can the Wolves sustain their success during Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence?

By Mark Medina

The Minnesota Timberwolves sounded tired.

Anthony Edwards conveyed it with his exasperated tone regarding a topic that resulted in teammate Rudy Gobert drawing a league-imposed $100,000 fine. Two days after Gobert flashed a money gesture at a referee and argued that sports betting has influenced the officiating, Edwards pinpointed Minnesota’s 120-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers partly on Anthony Davis receiving as many foul-shot attempts as the entire Wolves’ team (13).

“It’s tough every night when we don’t get to the free-throw line as much as the other team,” Edwards said. “When one player shoots more free throws than your entire team, it’s tough. It’s tough to compete in that fourth quarter when you’re missing a shot and they’re going to the free-throw line all the time down the floor. It’s tough, man.”

The Wolves also looked tired.

Mike Conley conceded that feeling after Minnesota (44-21) slid to third place in the Western Conference standings amid developments that left the Wolves feeling shorthanded. Karl-Anthony Towns missed his second consecutive game after tearing his left meniscus. Gobert sat after nursing tightness in his right hamstring. And the Wolves just finished their third game in four nights after splitting a road back-to-back in Indiana and Cleveland and taking a cross-country flight to LA.

“I’m tired. I’m not going to lie,” Conley said. “I’m completely running in the mud. But super, super happy I was able to get through it. A lot of our guys got through it.”

Can the Wolves get through this turbulence, however, while still remaining at the top of the Western Conference as a viable contender?

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