All-Star break gives Wolves time to get healthy and learn about themselves

The Wolves are coming off their best win of the season, beating OKC Thursday night while severely short-handed.

Minnesota Timberwolves guards Anthony Edwards (5) and Terrence Shannon Jr. (00) and center Naz Reid walk off the court for a timeout in the first quarter of the game with the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 13, 2025. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves go into the All-Star break in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 31-25 record.

It hasn't entirely been the start that was expected, but the Wolves are still in strong position to make the postseason, and they're coming off their best win of the season, knocking off the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night while severely short-handed. After the break, it's truly go time, and the Wolves will need to play their best basketball.

"I mean, there’s always like, with anything else, when you detach yourself from something, there’s some clarity there. And sometimes those things reveal themselves to you, and that’s probably how I’ll approach it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said before Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

One thing going for the Wolves is they should get healthier soon after the break. Mike Conley (finger) is likely the first to return after missing the past few games, while Julius Randle (groin) and Donte DiVincenzo (toe) will both be re-evaluated soon. And when they return, they'll return to a team that features more depth than before with a lot of the younger players like Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. getting extended minutes in their absences.

The Wolves are who they are now, but they haven't reached their full potential. Just when it seemed like they were starting to figure some things out with the new pieces, DiVincenzo got injured. Despite his absence, the momentum kept rolling, but then Randle got injured, too. With a very undermanned roster, Minnesota has still figured out how to stay competitive.

The time should only be valuable to the Wolves. It'll allow them to get healthier and get more perspective on what's gotten them to this point. There's still time for a stretch run, and there's reason to believe this team could do something special.

"I wouldn't say I look at it differently (over the All-Star break), but I think you are who you are at that point in time," Finch said. "One thing I do enjoy about the break is you come back, I think, hyper focused on the things that you know you can improve on, or that you can change. Then there's a lot of things that you might not be able to affect at this point in the season, and those things, if you double down on them, should pay dividends."