Way back before the season started, I likened the 2023-2024 Minnesota Timberwolves squad to a movie sequel. Despite a 2022-2023 campaign that contained major injuries, frustrated teammates, and an early first-round knockout — the team showed just enough promise to hope that returning the main cast could lead to a blockbuster success next season.
The All-Star break marks the end of the second act. To help get your bearings on what that means, in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker left Dagobah to save his friends and confront Darth Vader. In The Dark Knight, the interrogation scene with the Joker and subsequent fallout of the trap he laid has left Batman broken.