For all the obsession over advanced metrics and numbers in the NBA, the Timberwolves’ season has boiled down to simple math and one number: five.
That was how many games under .500, at 4-9, the Wolves sank during a murky start to the season before finally trading the volatile Jimmy Butler. They climbed above .500 just once after that, but almost the entire season has been spent a couple games short of the half-good mark.
They’ve been back at five games below .500 a few times — but no worse than that — including now, at 30-35.