The Timberwolves lost a tough one at home to the Suns on Wednesday, which is nothing really to be ashamed of. Phoenix has been one of the league’s nicer surprises in the first half of the season, and now sits at seventh in the West with a 21-13 overall record.
Minnesota has struggled, and the loss dropped them a game below .500, which is below expectations for the way the season would play out.
It’s beginning to frustrate Kevin Love, who lashed out at teammates after the loss for showing a lack of personal investment on the sidelines.
From Nate Sandel of 1500ESPN.com:“We can’t have two guys sitting at the end of the bench, who play good minutes, just sitting there and not getting up at timeouts,” Love said. “We all need to be in this together. That kind of pisses me off. We’re supposed to be a team.”
Although Love did not use specific names in the interview, based on the fourth quarter scene on the bench all indications were that his frustrations were aimed at J.J. Barea and Dante Cunningham. ...
“It’s to a point that where those two guys, if and when I did that last year when maybe I didn’t sit out for the game for 48 minutes and so on and so forth, they would have killed me,” Love said. “They would have aired me out. It’s two guys we expect more from them, and I think they expect more from themselves.”
This may not end well for the Timberwolves, but they have plenty of time to turn things around.
Love can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent after next season. There’s already a bit of tension between Love and the front office for the way his last contract was negotiated, and if he feels his teammates aren’t the right ones to get the franchise into regular postseason contention, his decision to leave will be made that much easier.
This is the second time this week a team has come undone after getting beaten by the Suns. The Bucks similarly expressed postgame, inner-team frustration after losing in Phoenix, to the point where a public argument broke out in the locker room in front of reporters that involved Gary Neal and Larry Sanders.
