Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz
Date: November 1oth, 2025
Time: 8:00 PM CST
Location: Delta Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
“The Wolves Found The Switch — But Can They Keep It On?”
After giving up 83 points in one half at Madison Square Garden, Minnesota needed a reset button. Thankfully, the basketball gods provided one: a four-game “get right” stretch against the NBA’s version of chicken soup, the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings.
Halfway through that stretch, the Wolves have finally looked like the team they keep telling us they are: hungry, connected, balanced, and borderline terrifying when they care. They followed up a 40-point curb-stomping of Utah with a 27-point beatdown of Sacramento on Sunday night.
It wasn’t just the wins. It was how they won. The Wolves didn’t just show up. They asserted themselves from start to finish. For the first time since last spring’s playoff run, they looked like the team that could punch you in the mouth and smile while doing it.
The Defense Has Returned from Vacation
Rudy Gobert looks alive again. The big Frenchman has been anchoring the paint like it’s 2018, swatting anything resembling a layup and vacuuming up rebounds like they owe him rent. The Jazz and Kings tried to attack the rim and test Rudy’s movement, and both times, he turned the paint into a war zone.
Meanwhile, Jaden McDaniels is doing his best impression of the NBA’s answer to a horror movie villain. Every possession ends with some poor wing wondering where he came from and how he’s blocking shots from behind. The defensive communication has suddenly improved. They’re rotating with purpose, helping early, and cutting off passing lanes.
Through the first stretch of the season, this team looked like a middle-school field trip defensively: chaotic, distracted, and probably not listening. Now they’re dialed in.
The Offense Is Finally Making Sense
When the Wolves’ offense hums, it’s like controlled chaos with the ball zipping, cutters moving, shooters spacing, and opponents’ heads spinning. Lately, we’ve been getting that version.
Julius Randle has quietly become the connective tissue. He’s been the perfect hybrid of bully-ball scorer and willing passer, playing a sort of “power forward as point guard” role that unlocks everyone else. His ability to catch on the block, draw doubles, and kick out to open shooters like Donte DiVincenzo, McDaniels, and Jaylen Clark has made the half-court offense flow.
When Randle’s in rhythm, hitting threes, playing unselfish, and mixing in those power moves down low, it turns Minnesota into a nightmare matchup. Throw in Gobert’s efficient finishing, Ant’s three-point flamethrowing, and suddenly this team doesn’t have to force good shots. They’re generating them.
Anthony Edwards, for his part, looks fully back. The hamstring is fine. The jumper is confident. The swagger is loud again. He’s attacking downhill, finishing through contact, and most importantly, trusting his teammates. Edwards has been throwing kickouts like a guy who understands that being a superstar also means making others look good.
They’ve Flipped the Script
What appears to be different these past two games is the mindset. The Wolves used to coast against weaker teams, like they believed style points didn’t count. This weekend, they played like a team that’s sick of moral victories.
They came out full throttle, built huge leads early, and refused to take their foot off the gas. These weren’t games where they “found a way to win.” These were statement games of 48 minutes of businesslike basketball.
Yes, it’s Utah and Sacramento, not Denver or OKC. But you know what? The Wolves haven’t always handled these teams either. They used to let this exact stretch trip them up. That’s growth. That’s maturity.
If there were ever a perfect “Wolves moment,” it’d be walking into Salt Lake City tonight, riding high off two blowouts, and losing a close game at the buzzer because they treated it like a preseason scrimmage.
This is the second night of a back-to-back. The Jazz are still salty from Friday’s embarrassment. The Wolves’ legs aren’t fresh. The conditions are ripe for a letdown.
If the Wolves walk in overconfident, if they assume they can roll out of bed and coast to an easy win, then they’ll be in for a rude awakening. But if they walk in focused, locked in, ready to stomp a team they just humiliated… that tells you something about where their heads are.
This isn’t about beating Utah again. It’s about proving that the New York disaster actually meant something — that it woke them up.
Keys to the Game: The Real Test
1. Don’t Let Utah Hang Around.
Without Walker Kessler, Utah’s frontcourt is undersized. The Wolves’ trio of Rudy, Randle, and Naz Reid feasted last time. That’s the mismatch. The Wolves’ bigs need to pound the interior, rack up easy high-percentage baskets, and take away any belief Utah has in an upset.
2. Control the Boards.
Rebounding has been the clearest indicator of effort for this team. When they swarm the glass, they win. When they stand around and watch, they give up runs. Keep cleaning up everything.
3. Value Every Possession.
The silent killer in New York was the Wolves’ lazy passes, careless dribbles, and turnovers that turned into instant points. They cleaned it up the past two games. Minnesota can’t hand the Jazz easy buckets that allow Utah to stay in the game.
4. Ride the Hot Hands.
Ant’s scoring, Randle’s facilitation, McDaniels’ aggression — this trio has become the team’s identity. When all three players are on, the Timberwolves are next to unstoppable. They need to keep the momentum going.
The Wolves are 6–4 now, finally playing like a team that believes its own hype. If they take care of business tonight and in Friday’s NBA Cup game, they’ll be heading into the Denver Saturday showdown with real momentum.
If they stumble? Well, then maybe that 83-point half wasn’t a wake-up call after all.
Either way, tonight will tell us what this team really is: a contender learning to handle its business, or the same old Wolves just waiting for the next trap door to open.
