After a devastating 153-128 loss to the Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped to the sixth seed in the Western Conference, which places the team under tremendous pressure. 

Minnesota recently had a five-game winning streak following the Wolves’ trade with the Chicago Bulls to get rid of Rob Dillingham and reacquiring Mike Conley off waivers. The Wolves also got rid of Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to get guards Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips.

Now the Wolves are in a three-game drought and are struggling to stay afloat, as their star player, Anthony Edwards, has struggled on defense as of late, which is out of the ordinary for him.

Rudy Gobert has stepped up for the team in an attempt to keep the team moving, scoring, and finishing, as his teammate Jaden McDaniels has not been producing as much as he usually does. 

The team has severely struggled to shoot the three-ball, and when placed in isolation heavy sets, they have struggled to generate any offense. 

In their most recent match against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Clippers’ star player, Kawhi Leonard, scored 45 points, which is not a mark Leonard hits all the time, as he is past his prime. This helps outline the struggles the Wolves have had on defense. 

Bradley Beal is still out with an injury and will not return at all for the season.

The Timberwolves can still pull back into a comfortable spot in the playoff seeding as Edwards is averaging 29.1 points per game. Their real difficulty is playing defense, though they should get a shooter as well. 

The Wolves should consider cutting Mike Conley again so younger players can gain more experience playing against NBA teams. Conley is 38 years old, and his production is on a fast decline. 

The Wolves should give more playing time to Bones Hyland and Naz Reid because they have been good players over the last few games. 

They should also consider adding to their coaching staff, as Head Coach Chris Finch has done an okay job, but it can still be improved.