Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves' identity was largely based on their defense, allowing the fifth-fewest points per game in 2024-25 at 109.3 and holding opponents to just 35.3% shooting from beyond the arc. To start the 2025-26 season, it's seemingly flipped, as the Timberwolves' identity is about their offense, averaging 121.2 points per game.

However, trying to get back to that defensive identity is something head coach Chris Finch has addressed over the past few games, with contests against the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings where the team would look to tune things up. They've been able to do that, and star defender Rudy Gobert shared what's been a major reason behind this turnaround.

"I think a sense of urgency and our focus on the little things has been better. I think we realized that for us, it's a non-negotiable if we want to achieve our goals. It's just something we have to do every night, regardless of who's on the floor," Gobert said.

The Timberwolves have made back-to-back Western Conference Finals, and it seems as though the team is looking to get over that and into the NBA Finals. The Timberwolves became a franchise in 1989 and have never made an appearance in the NBA Finals.

"Seems like it," Gobert said, responding to whether the team needed to see a few struggles before making a change. "I think it's always good to come into the season with very high expectations. We kind of expect things to flow naturally, but it's a tough league."

While the Timberwolves lost to the Los Angeles Lakers twice and the Denver Nuggets at the start of the season, it seemed as though the wakeup call was their 137-114 loss to the New York Knicks, where everything that could've gone wrong seemed to have gone wrong.

"Every game is a challenge, and you have to go get it. I think now we realized we need to have that mindset, both defensively and offensively...For us, it's a recipe for success."

The Timberwolves are set to begin a four-game home stand, with their only comparable opponent really being the Denver Nuggets, who are coming off a win against the Los Angeles Clippers where Nikola Jokic posted 55 points.

Gobert and Jokic have gone head-to-head plenty of times in their career, and after Minnesota finishes with the Kings on Friday night, the attention will be on getting a statement win over the Nuggets in the second half of a back-to-back.

However, getting a win and playing well on both ends of the floor against the Kings remains the priority on Friday night in Minnesota, with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m. EST as the Timberwolves will look to improve to 2-0 in NBA Cup Group Play.