Reusse: Timberwolves are the kings of unpredictability, and that’s what makes them so fun

There was great wailing last fall when the Los Angeles Dodgers met the New York Yankees in the World Series. Baseball’s economics were part of those complaints from fandom, but it was also a sign that we prefer unpredictability and not the chalk in our sports.

That’s right, isn’t it? You go to the arena, you pay your bucks to get in, you buy the high-priced beverages and food items, you listen to loud music, you hoot and holler.

You don’t do that because you know what’s going to happen. You do that because of the mystery that is about to unfold.

Which leads to making this confession: In a lifetime of watching sports with a Minnesota bent, the 2024-25 Timberwolves rate among my all-time favorite sports teams to wear a home uniform.

They are talented, they are fun and they are frustrating. They will explode and they will implode — both game-to-game and quarter-to-quarter.

They have been the kings of unpredictability. They have been all things other than boring.

There were those never-ending seasons with this franchise when there was no upside. This is now Season 4 with an upside, started one year after Anthony Edwards’ arrival. And when we see some of that old-fashioned downside, so what?

Grumble for a few minutes, shake it off, then smile and be happy that we have an entertaining team in the most wonderfully wacky league in major professional sports.

Forty-eight hours, Tuesday night through Thursday night, and how does a twist of emotions get any more enthralling than this?

Our Woofies enter a stretch of four games in six days with one major goal: to finish in the mighty Western Conference’s top six and avoid the play-in tournament.

They take a five-game winning streak to Milwaukee on Tuesday and give the Bucks a shellacking for 38 minutes. Donte DiVincenzo hits a three with 10 minutes left and Wolves lead 95-71. A couple more minutes and Bucks coach Doc Rivers will be sitting down his regulars.

First, Doc decided to throw a zone defense at the visitors. This defense became advanced trigonometry for the Wolves. They were outscored 34-3 over the next 8:22. The final was Milwaukee 110, Timberwolves 103.

This was the team that ended a 16-game losing streak for the Wizards on Feb. 1 at Target Center (an injury excuse can’t be used vs. the Wiz). There were other inexplicable losses during the season.

BUT … nothing to compare to this fourth-quarter abomination vs. the Bucks.

Obviously, coach Chris Finch’s quick postgame message was for the players not to make their disgust over this tremendous choke job public with the media. Talk about looking ahead to a needed victory in Memphis on Thursday night — that became the post-catastrophe theme.

Admit it, Woofies’ long sufferers: You thought that was hogwash.

No team can blow a game in such an astounding manner — 34-to-3 — and put it in the rearview mirror so quickly. Even the great Jim Petersen on the Wolves’ telecast, an analyst dedicated to seeing hope, could not contain his disgust during that fourth-quarter meltdown.

If Jim Pete was that down on ‘em, what belief could there be for the faithful ticket buyers, for the people that stand at home until the Wolves get a bucket, that the best version of their team would show up in Memphis?

Welp, it wasn’t the best version. It was the best-ever version.

Fifty-two points in the third quarter, on 18-of-21 shooting. A 32-8 run, 119-97 entering the fourth. Julius Randle, tremendous. Edwards, 44, with none in the fourth. Threes raining down, Rudy Gobert getting his favorite shots (dunks); eight-deep excellence for the visitors.

And, OK, when it got down to 10 with four minutes left, you were squirming and mentioned the Bucks’ collapse to the person with you in front of the TV — I know you did that, because I was doing the same — but, really, this was a bounceback for the ages.

Final: Wolves 141, Memphis 125.

And that’s why I emphatically state that these Timberwolves are an all-time favorite Minnesota team of mine, because they have a superstar, and a couple of super defenders, and a wily vet to take his turn at the point, and a NAW, a Naz and a couple of Knicks, and they had two games left with non-playoff tanking teams, and we’re sure of this:

We have no idea what that means for this spectacularly unpredictable bunch.

Friday, the Wolves beat undersized Brooklyn 117-91, but a quick technical from Ray Acosta means Edwards will sit out Sunday’s finale. The drama continued on a night when none existed with the outcome.