D'Angelo Russell is back, and the Timberwolves' final 21 games suddenly matter (2024)

The Timberwolves, owners of the NBA’s worst record, were trailing the perpetually struggling Sacramento Kings 17-13 at the first timeout. It was the first game they allowed more than a select few fans into Target Center, and a funny thing happened when the team broke the huddle to returned to the court.

A standing ovation.

That’s because D’Angelo Russell was inserted into the game in his return from a 26-game absence after having surgery on his left knee. Public address announcer Shawn Parker announced to about 1,400 fans that Russell had checked in and what followed was one of the largest cheers of the night. The Wolves have been mired in another loss-filled, injury-plagued season, one that has caused many fans to turn away from a franchise that needs every last one that it can get.

As some fans express their angst and others their apathy, it was striking to see such a high percentage of the fans in the arena on their feet. Russell is an imperfect player returning to a team that has been a mess, but the juice that he delivers to a wide swath of the fan base was undeniable on Monday night. It was clear from that first warm welcome back he received, and it was clear when he was raining 3-pointers on the Kings’ heads in the fourth quarter of a 116-106 win.

Maybe it’s the 3s, maybe it’s the “ice in my veins” swagger, maybe it was that All-Star appearance in Brooklyn a couple of years ago. Whatever it is, there is a gravitational pull that Russell has with a vocal section of the fanbase, a palpable D-Lo hive out there that believes in him, and boy do the Wolves need someone to inspire belief at the moment. Anthony Edwards is having an encouraging rookie season and is captivating fans with his charisma even if he induces winces with his shot selection. Karl-Anthony Towns is having another season where he is approaching the hallowed 50/40/90 threshold, but the wins have not been coming with it.

Through it all, the one thing the most optimistic Wolves fans, and the organization as well, have to cling to was a simple, mind-numbing statistic. In the 13 months since Gersson Rosas traded Andrew Wiggins to the Golden State Warriors to unite Russell and Towns, the two friends had played five games together. Rosas is certain that the two will unlock the best in each other and fans are placing their hopes in a franchise that has let them down over and over again.

For those who want to believe, Monday night was a good start. Russell scored a team-leading 25 points in just under 25 minutes, 13 of them coming in the deciding fourth quarter. Towns had 23 points 13 rebounds and five assists and Edwards had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists (with seven turnovers) and was a plus-15 in 37 minutes. Together, with nice complementary efforts from Juancho Hernangomez and Naz Reid, they were too much for the Kings.

“It’s exciting. They’re both really clever,” Finch said of Towns and Russell. “They’re able to read the defenses well. They’re able to get to their own shots and create them. It’s a glimpse into what we can be.”

They saw Towns back down Richaun Holmes in the second quarter, lock eyes with Russell for a moment and see him cut to the basket, then drop a scoop pass to him for a layup.

Reminder: KAT & DLo have only played a handful of games together.

There's a WHOLE lot more of this to come. 🐺 pic.twitter.com/p05hGEZJBt

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 5, 2021

They saw Russell miss nine of his 13 shots while trying to knock the rust off through the first three quarters, then hit 3 of 6 shots in the fourth, including 2 for 3 from long distance, and all five free throws in a 34-24 fourth. Towns and Russell combined to score the final 20 points of the game for Minnesota, giving the Wolves their first back-to-back wins at home since Jan. 2020.

been missing this 🥶 pic.twitter.com/MHt5iRAK5N

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 6, 2021

And just when things started to look dicey again, when the Kings had trimmed an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to four with 2:30 to play, Towns and Russell lingered as the timeout huddle broke. Towns was sitting in his chair and Russell came up to Towns and bent over at the waist and spoke emphatically into KAT’s ear. Towns had yet to score in the quarter, and it appears the Russell was telling him to take charge.

Towns came out of the timeout and took the ball right at the undersized Holmes to draw a shooting foul. He knocked down both free throws and then drilled a 3 for a 112-105 lead with 1:44 to play, essentially icing the game.

Big KAT, Big Bucket 🪣 pic.twitter.com/4JNNLlc8fW

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 6, 2021

“As long as we continue to work, work the way we want it, we can do something special,” Towns said. “We just got to work. Obviously, first, we got to be healthy enough to stay on the court with each other.”

Russell was subdued after the game, which was probably the right tone to take after beating an underwhelming opponent.

“When you put players out there that just know how to play basketball and try to take advantage of the opportunity each possession, more likely than not it’s going to be a nice a little vibe out there so it was cool,” he said.

One of this team’s most maddening habits is to take one sliver of positive, one victory, and act like they just won a Game 7. There should be no parades for handing the Kings their fourth straight loss. Sacramento is doing what Sacramento always does, it is fading. The Kings were abysmal defensively, giving the Wolves anything they wanted as long as one of their players would make a basic cut off the ball or put his head down and drive to the basket. The Kings took the Wolves for granted like the Wolves have done so many times before.

“It felt really good,” Russell said. “Just watching the guys progress as fast as they have, the young guys, coach coming in and adding what he wants and his philosophy and not really having a training camp or summer league, I think he’s done a hell of a job so far. I couldn’t wait to get myself back involved and see where I can help as well. It’s been smooth.”

In many ways, Russell has returned to a different team than the one he left before he had surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee. He wasn’t seeing eye to eye with Ryan Saunders before the surgery and now Finch has replaced him. The two are in the very beginning stages of getting to know one another, but the conversation has flowed in the early going, and Russell was much more active off the ball on Monday night than he had been in Saunders’ system.

“He doesn’t know me. I don’t know him, personally. So I’m just trying to be as smooth sailing as possible,” Russell said. “Nothing was forced. He’s a real dude. From the time he got here, I try to be as real as I can so it comes natural. He knows his sh*t. I kind of know mine and we meet in the middle.”

Edwards was more of a role player and third option when Russell was on the trigger, and over the past two months, but has emerged as a prominent part of the offensive attack in Russell’s absence. Finch said that there will be some adjustments that need to be made now that another scorer is being added to the mix, but he was confident that roles could be defined to make it work.

“He’s a high IQ guy,” Finch said of Russell. “He’s a basketball junkie. He studies the game, he’s always watching games around the league. He loves to see what the trends are and always likes to talk hoops. Guys who have a high IQ cut well and they pass well and he does both of those things and that’s just kind of things that every team needs. And that’s not even talking about the scoring and the clutch shot making.”

To the Wolves’ credit, they did what they were supposed to do and took a victory from an opponent that deserved to be beaten. They made big plays down the stretch, hit shots and, for the most part, made good decisions. They are now 3-3 in games featuring both Towns and Russell. For a team that is 13-38 this season, and 32-83 over the last two seasons, that certainly is something.

A much better barometer of where the Wolves stand will come now. Games at Indiana and Boston followed by a homestand against Chicago, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami will give them a real test and perhaps offer some conclusions to draw.

One thing Russell’s return is doing is giving them a reason to play these final 21 games and the fans a reason to watch. Most teams in the Wolves’ position, buried at the bottom of the Western Conference and 11 games behind the 10th seed, would be on the death march to May 16. The Wolves have to use these games to see what they have, to see if they can get more glimpses of what Russell and Towns can do together and what the pair can do collectively for Edwards.

“Kat and D-Lo score the ball,” Edwards said. “I don’t feel pressure when they’re gone or they’re back, I don’t feel pressure, I never feel pressure, I love this game, this is what I’ve been doing my whole life, I feel like I’m pretty good at it. I never feel pressure on the floor. I just have fun and blessed to be out there to have fun with my brothers, that’s it.”

Russell has plenty of detractors, for his struggles with defense and his reputation for not getting to the free throw line chief among the criticisms. There are observers across the league who believe his pairing with Towns is destined to produce a ton of points and not a whole lot else. The trade with the Warriors would be especially fraught if the Wolves fall outside the top three in the upcoming lottery and lose their draft pick to Golden State.

They need Russell-Towns to work, and work at a high level. And they know it.

“With me and D-Lo on the court, you can see the vision that we all had,” Towns said. “Just got to go out there and execute. I think when we’re on the court, we can do special things. We can open the floor up for everyone else. We can make Ant’s job easier as well, give him a chance to have more lanes, more chances to do what he does and be special. It’s up to us to lead the charge offensively. Especially for me defensively, setting the standard of what we need to do and how we need to get it done, and how hard we got to play.”

Towns and Russell have always been able to talk about the vision they have for playing together. Now the time for talk is over. It’s time for them to go out and do it.

The hive is out for Russell now that he’s back, and it’s been that way since he arrived from Golden State. The Wolves finished 29th out of 30 teams in attendance last season and announced a crowd of 10,779 fans in the game against Atlanta the night before the trade was consummated. Once Russell was in the fold, the Wolves announced sellouts of 18,978 in the next three home games and another robust crowd of 18,058 against Dallas. There was energy in an arena that had little of it for much of that season.

That was the case on Monday night as well, as small as the crowd was. Is it all sizzle and no steak? Or can Towns and Russell summon chemistry and cohesion that can provide this roster with a sturdy foundation? What the Timberwolves need now more than anything else is a sample size large enough to truly find out one way or another. Maybe 22 games isn’t enough. But it’s four times larger than the five games they had played together before Monday night.

As Russell left the court victorious, assistant coach Pablo Prigioni came up behind him and wrapped him in a bear hug. The Wolves are happy to have him back on the court, and now we get a chance to see what they’re made of.

(Photo: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jon Krawczynski is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA and the Minnesota Vikings. Jon joined The Athletic after 16 years at The Associated Press, where he covered three Olympics, three NBA Finals, two Ryder Cups and the 2009 NFC Championship Game. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonKrawczynski