Wolves record: 1-15
Even Wolves starting guard Jonny Flynn saw it on a night when his team trailed by 10 points after a quarter, by 21 at halftime and by as many as 32 in the second half.
He saw it on the scoreboard. He saw it on his teammates’ faces. He probably even saw it in himself.
“Losing is like a form of depression that wears on you,” Flynn said afterward, echoing the words of his coach in a postgame news conference. “It draws energy out of you. You can see it all on your face. I think tonight it really started getting to us. This seemed like the 100th game in a row where we were down big like that.
A recurring theme surfaced in Friday’s loss. The Wolves got down early, their spirits sank and the opponent was off to a double-digit win. Only four of their losses have been by 10 points or fewer. The latest defeat brought more frustration and deep analysis, as well as the harsh reality that things could get worse if the players can’t find that inner strength Wolves coach Kurt Rambis is looking for to get out of this early season funk.
“In a game like this, guys get into a panic mode,” Rambis said. “They get depressed. When any little thing doesn’t go right, it’s like, ‘Here we go again.’ ”
Al Jefferson was big for the Wolves, scoring 20 points, and backup point guard Ramon Sessions made 10 of 13 shots for a season-high 23 points. But Minnesota was undone by the rest of the bench’s 5-for-20 shooting, the 1-for-5 contribution of Gomes, and especially Corey Brewer’s 1-for-11 helplessness.
“We’re really not connecting,” Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. “We get guys open and we just can’t see them. That tells me we don’t connect yet as a team.”