The Minnesota Timberwolves are having arguably their best season in history. They've already reached the Western Conference Finals for just the second time as a franchise, and they may well make it to the Finals this time around. Of course, if they keep making plays like they did at the beginning of Game 2 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks, they might run into some problems.
The opening play was a relatively standard opening move by Dallas. The Mavericks ran a pick-and-roll for Luka Doncic. After defending Dallas well for most of the shot-clock, Dallas ultimately succeeded in scoring on a Doncic lob to Daniel Gafford.
And then, the Timberwolves committed one of the strangest gaffes you will ever see in a game of this magnitude. When Mike Conley went to inbound the ball... none of his teammates remembered to stay on their own side of the court to actually receive the pass. The Timberwolves were forced to waste a timeout 34 seconds into a conference finals game.
Check it out:
First time I've ever seen a team not have anyone to receive an inbounds pass on their first possession of the game. pic.twitter.com/gPeD1wttpZ
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 25, 2024
A mistake like this would be embarrassing under any circumstances. A mistake like this to open a conference finals game is a disaster, especially considering the tone the Timberwolves took before Game 2.
Head coach Chris Finch described a "rough film session" the team had after its Game 1 loss. "I told the guys, 'It's been a long time since I've been this disappointed in your effort and your performance and your attitude, your application, your attention to detail.' It just wasn't there," Finch said at the time. "The Western Conference finals started; not sure if they got the memo. But they got it this afternoon."
Sadly, this isn't even the first major mental mistake of this nature the Timberwolves have had in recent years. In 2022, D'Angelo Russell forgot to check into a game for a full possession, forcing Minnesota to play 4-on-5 until he realized what was happening. Russell is no longer on the team, but apparently his presence was still felt in Minneapolis on Friday.
