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The lasting image of Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett's NBA career is of KG, in a moment of delirious exuberance, shouting: "Anything is possible!" after helping lead the Celtics to an NBA title in 2008 after being traded to Boston from the Timberwolves.
Wolves fans with enough historical context know the full story behind Garnett's outburst: It took KG eight tries just to win a playoff series in Minnesota, finally breaking through with the team's lone playoff run to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. Then the arc went down again, until he was traded. The Wolves have won exactly one playoff game in the last 18 years.
To build another sustained winning team has proved to be a monumental task for Minnesota, but this year's squad seems like it is on the right path. A spot in the play-in tournament is assured, as is a winning record. Their best players are young enough to think this is repeatable.
But that is only part of the journey. The other part is understanding just how difficult it is to win when the stakes are raised even higher. And the Wolves got another lesson in that Wednesday against the NBA-leading Suns, as I talked about on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast.
The first half of that game was a lesson in how far the Wolves have come. They led by 13 at the break, and they seemed to be playing with an edge that was serving them well against a very formidable foe.
The second half, though, was a reminder of how far they have left to go. Phoenix had better energy as soon as the half started. They engaged the Wolves in an increasingly hostile and emotional battle, exposing the raw nerves that have been Minnesota's flaw countless other times.
Karl-Anthony Towns descended into foul trouble. Anthony Edwards tried to do too much. D'Angelo Russell scored just six points and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Phoenix out-executed the Wolves and pressed every edge after getting Minnesota rattled.
The Suns, without Chris Paul, won by nine and scored 74 points in the second half.
It felt like a playoff game, which should be both heartening and discouraging for the Wolves and their fans. Minnesota was right there and very easily could have reversed the eventual outcome with more poise.
But can the Wolves do that? Are they ready to consistently channel their emotions in positive directions in single elimination games or a seven-game series against a very good team?
Anything is possible, but sometimes it takes a long time to figure that out.
