Conley still believes in the upside of the Timberwolves when they are whole.
The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a 113-108 game to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, and while it's easy to chalk this one up as a late-season loss against the best team in the East, Mike Conley wasn't really interested in brushing it off.
He had something a little more honest to say about where this team is right now.
"It's interesting because we're doing a lot of good things, but we're just not all healthy," Conley said after the game. "We need everybody back to really get a good gauge on where we're truthfully at. It would've been nice to have Ant tonight against a team like this and kind of get that barometer check on how good we can be."
That's the frustrating part for Minnesota.
They keep showing flashes, keep winning games they probably shouldn't win, and then you get a night like this where you can feel the ceiling being held down by who's not available.
Conley Sets the Tone Early
Conley actually came out aggressive against Detroit, scoring all 14 of his points in the first half and helping the Wolves hang with a 56-21 Pistons team that had already clinched the Central Division.
The problem was everything after halftime.
Minnesota's offense went sideways, and an 18-3 Detroit run in the fourth quarter blew the game open in a way that felt all too familiar for a team missing its best player.
Julius Randle finished with 27 points and both Ayo Dosunmu and Naz Reid added 19 apiece, so it wasn't like nobody else showed up.
Guys were competing.
But there's a difference between competing and having the closer who can flip a run in your favor, and right now that closer is sitting out with a bad knee.
The Bigger Picture
Anthony Edwards has only suited up for 58 games this year because of the knee issues, and he was ruled out Thursday with a combination of right knee soreness and an illness.
He did come back Monday against Dallas and dropped 17 in 23 minutes off the bench, which was encouraging, but then he sits again two days later and you're back to wondering how much runway this team actually has to get healthy before April 18.
Minnesota sits at 46-30, locked into the sixth seed in the West right now, which would line them up against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Edwards is averaging 29.5 points per game when he plays, and with Jaden McDaniels also out with a knee problem, this roster hasn't been at full strength for a while.
The depth has been solid all season and they proved they can beat good teams without Edwards when they went into Boston and won last week.
Dosunmu and Bones Hyland have given them real juice off the bench. Rudy Gobert is still anchoring the defense.
There's plenty to feel good about if you're a Wolves fan.
They don't actually know what this team looks like at full strength right now, and with six games left before the postseason, the window to figure that out is getting smaller by the day.
You can't just flip a switch in the playoffs and expect everything to click. That's not how it works, and Minnesota knows that better than most.