Timberwolves New Year's Resolutions

The Wolves are 4-3 in their last 7 games. Their most recent game resulted in a 24-point loss against the Atlanta Hawks. Like the rest of us, this team has many things they can improve for the rest of the season. So here are 3 of the Timberwolves' 2026 New Year's Resolutions:

Improve Bench Scoring

A huge issue for this Timberwolves team has been inconsistency coming from the bench, specifically in the scoring department. After losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the bench has seemed to lose its spark, despite still being projected to be one of the deeper teams in the NBA.

Besides Naz Reid and occasionally Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves don't have a solid second unit like they did last year. This results in the starters having to carry more minutes on their shoulders, often leaving them exhausted in crunch time.

How to fix this

Many people believe they need to make a splash trade in order to fix this problem. However, another way the bench can thrive is if Chris Finch and the coaching staff give their young players more playing time to develop. Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark are perfect examples of this. Dillingham has shown signs of improvement; he just needs the opportunity. Although he's still struggling to score, he's been picking up the slack by becoming more of a facilitator for the offense and making hustle plays when nobody else will. Jaylen Clark is in a similar situation. He's been reliable on defense for Minnesota, but if he's able to become a scorer and consistently knock down threes, he will earn more minutes in the Wolves' rotation. Resulting in better bench play.

Improve Consistency and Effort

Something that always surprises me about this team is how inconsistent they play. For example, they played a good game and got a crucial win against the Thunder, handing them their 3rd loss of the season. Then, 4 games later, they lose to a 9-18 Nets team. If the Wolves want to be contenders, they have to be able to win consistently and win games that they're supposed to.

How to fix this

This is more of a mental fix. This is something that Finch needs to remind his guys before every game. When your star players start showing more passion and care for these so called "trap games," the energy reciprocates.

Improve Physicality & Defensive Tenacity

There are many games I watch where I see the defensive intensity and hustle just disappear. The Wolves will do things like get out-rebounded easily on both sides, let other teams go on huge runs, and get lost during other teams' screens. If Minnesota wants to go far in the playoffs, they must address and fix these issues.

How to fix this

Playing more physical doesn't mean hitting guys harder or fouling more. What I'm talking about is doing things like winning rebounding position early in the play, fighting through screens instead of switching by default, and staying balanced on all contests. There are too many possessions that end up in tip-outs to an open shooter that become second-chance points for the other team. Players like Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels need to make sure to set this tone early on in games. The defense needs to step up in 2026 and try to get back to what they were just 2 years ago.

As we all know it’s hard to stick to New Year’s resolutions, but the Wolves will have a great shot in the playoffs if they close out the rest of the regular season doing these things.

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