“ External criticism or external praise never really had an impact on me. » Thus expressed Tim Connelly last February, when he was precisely targeted by a burst of negative comments for having mounted this massive exchange around Rudy Gobert.
Less than a year later, the criticism has evaporated and the trend has reversed. The current record of his team proves him right. With 16 victories, including a current series of five in a row, for 4 defeats, the Wolves have the best record in the league. The president of the franchise has reason to be enthusiastic, but without getting carried away.
“ We're only 19 games in (editor’s note: he was speaking earlier in the week), we haven't won a playoff series in two decades, so we haven't accomplished much », he puts it into perspective, while his team remains on two consecutive eliminations in the first round of the playoffs, and has not passed a round since 2004.
He adds : ” But I think there is something special about this group. » “Special” in the sense that this training was able to bounce back after a very mixed first exercise, far from the expectations placed on it. Like Rudy Gobert who raised the level compared to last year.
Patient but not too much
“ Rudy had a good year, but it wasn't a good year by his standards. He heard me say it several times. This is what happens when you have a reputation for being elite. He questioned himself. 'What can I do better? How can I have more of an impact on winning?' », Reports the manager.
The Frenchman was one of the beneficiaries of a strategic exchange carried out during last season: the arrival of Mike Conley, replacing D'Angelo Russell. Imperial at the end of the match in particular, the veteran leader is, according to Tim Connelly, “ fantastic. Everything went as planned, if not better. I can't imagine our team without him. »
What has been “planned” from the start, beyond this strategic adjustment to the leader position, is to trust the Rudy Gobert – Karl Anthony Towns association. While he might have been tempted to press the “transfer” button again this summer, the Wolves decision-maker advocated patience.
“ I'm a pretty patient person. I think patience can be harmful sometimes, so I don't want to be too patient and fall asleep. But if you have the ability to be patient, it is often rewarded in this environment », concludes the leader who will not be contradicted by the reigning champions.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Anthony Edwards | 18 | 35.2 | 45.4 | 37.8 | 86.5 | 0.8 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 25.7 |
| Karl Anthony Towns | 20 | 33.4 | 51.0 | 42.6 | 90.2 | 1.1 | 8.0 | 9.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 21.8 |
| Rudy Gobert | 20 | 32.6 | 61.6 | 0.0 | 62.3 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 12.1 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 13.4 |
| Naz Reid | 20 | 21.8 | 50.3 | 37.9 | 90.6 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 12.7 |
| Mike Conley | 20 | 29.6 | 43.4 | 41.1 | 96.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 6.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 10.8 |
| Jaden Mcdaniels | 11 | 23.6 | 58.2 | 37.9 | 100.0 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 9.5 |
| Kyle Anderson | 20 | 24.1 | 49.1 | 16.7 | 68.8 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 7.3 |
| Nickeil Alexander-walker | 20 | 23.3 | 40.8 | 33.3 | 45.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 6.7 |
| Shake Milton | 20 | 16.1 | 35.4 | 21.1 | 80.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 5.3 |
| Troy Brown, Jr. | 16 | 14.5 | 40.7 | 35.0 | 85.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4.9 |
| Luka Garza | 4 | 3.1 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 62.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| Daishen Nix | 5 | 3.9 | 37.5 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Josh Minott | 9 | 2.6 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Jordan McLaughlin | 5 | 3.8 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| Leonard Miller | 3 | 2.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Wendell Moore, Jr. | 1 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
