The contrast in the Timberwolves last two seasons present how hope remains for the Phoenix Suns

After trading a quartet of future first-round picks to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert in the 2022 offseason,

the Minnesota Timberwolves were projected to take a step toward contention going into the 2022-23 season. Many sites had them improving their win total, and numerous pundits prognosticated a positive outlook.

However, throughout the year, Minnesota’s chemistry looked off and 21 games into the season, Karl Anthony-Towns went down with a calf injury and didn’t return until late March.

The team traded for Mike Conley Jr. at the trade deadline, an upgrade from D’Angelo Russell at the point guard position,

but they finished a lower seed than the year before and lost in the first round in five games to the Denver Nuggets.

There were many doubts that the Wolves would improve heading into the season, but their doubter’s doubts were disproven.

Towns and Gobert proved to be a compatible duo, with Towns stretching the floor and Gobert anchoring his defense on the way to his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award.

Anthony Edwards continued to blossom, making his first All-NBA appearance. Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid starred in their roles, earning All-Defensive honors and winning the Sixth Man of the Year award.

The Wolves finished third in the Western Conference, going 56-26 en route to the franchise’s second conference finals appearance.

The Wolves punked the Phoenix Suns in the first round, sweeping them in four games by consistently minimizing Devin Booker, Bradley Beal,

and Kevin Durant’s offensive effectiveness. In the second round, they got revenge on Denver, beating them in seven.

In the process, they came back from down 3-2 in the series,

destroying them by 45 points in Game 6, and marching into Ball Arena and pulling off the largest comeback in Game 7 history to advance to the Conference Finals,

crushing the hearts of people in the Mile High City who believed Denver was heading towards another title.

Despite being recently eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota’s season is a resounding success. A big reason they had a lot of success is continuity.

The team’s top eight minutes leaders returned from the previous season, helping them stay afloat when Karl Anthony-Towns tore his meniscus in the mid-to-late part of the season.

The contrast of the last two Timberwolves seasons, one an underwhelming outing, another a resounding success,

shows how quickly narratives and situations can change for teams. The Phoenix Suns are no exception to the rule.

The Valley projects the same top-six they did a year ago, just as Minnesota did from their previous season.

Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant will be in their second year as a Big Three.

Booker and Durant can build more chemistry this Summer while playing for Team USA in the Olympics.

Minnesota went 14-6 this year when Towns didn’t play. One of the main reasons their dominance continued when he wasn’t in the lineup was their experience playing without him with the same iteration of the roster.

If Bradley Beal again misses time, Phoenix’s core will be more equipped to play without him. Beal played 53 of 82 games in the regular season.

Grayson Allen knows what spots on the court he needs to be in to get open three-point opportunities better than he did a year ago.

Jusuf Nurkić’s understanding of where Kevin Durant likes to find him in the short roll is better. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have more reps playing off each other than they did a season ago.

As long as there are no surprise trades and Royce O’Neale resigns, Phoenix will go into next season more acclimated to play with each other through the good and bad times, just like Minnesota was ready to.

Anointing teams’ successes or failures after one year leaves them little room for development.

Phoenix’s title chances don’t appear as strong as they did a year ago, but the idea that this past season is an indication that the 2024-2025 one will be

an abject failure and not an improvement from this year can’t be determined, considering continuity, something that has been lacking in the Valley for a few years, appears to be fortifying.

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