D’Angelo Russell forgot to check into the game and made Wolves play shorthanded

The Minnesota Timberwolves made an incredibly bold trade ahead of this season, acquiring star center Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz in exchanged for what was essentially five first round picks, one pick swap, and a decent group of role players headlined by Jarred Vanderbilt. After falling in the first round of the playoffs last year, the all-in move for Gobert was supposed to be push the Wolves up Western Conference standings. It hasn’t happened so far at the start of the season.

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Wolves, 129-117, on Wednesday night to drop Minnesota to 5-7 on the young season. It’s just feels like Wolves haven’t been locked in all season. Never was that more apparent than when starting point guard D’Angelo Russell forgot to check into the game during a free throw against the Suns.

The Wolves’ defense played almost an entire possession 5-on-4 because Russell didn’t come into the game. The Suns missed a wide open three early in the possession, but still came away with three points as Russell frantically ran onto the court. Watch the full clip here:

Here’s a tip for when you are waiting to check into the game: if another player runs off, you run on. It’s really that easy. Watching Russell hurry onto the court with a confused and frustrated look on his face at the end of the defensive possession feels like something you’d only see in a middle school game. It’s legitimately shocking to see that at the NBA level.

Russell actually had one of his better games of the season, finishing 20 points and six assists in the loss. While the Wolves struggled down the stretch, Russell’s 2015 draft colleague Devin Booker dropped a sick burn on Minnesota.

That’s like trash talk with a Parental Advisory Warning. It’s corny but endearing.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that the Wolves have gotten off to a slow start. Integrating Gobert next to another center in Karl-Anthony Towns was always going to be an adjustment. This roster just isn’t built to chuck three-pointers the way Chris Finch would ideally like. At the same time, it just feels like the Wolves have had bad vibes the entire season. From KAT calling out Anthony Edwards’ diet to Edwards’ painfully honest press conferences after every loss, Minnesota is certainly a team that’s still search for its identity. It’s never good when you’re losing games and talking about quality practices.

Edwards called the team soft earlier this week.

The Wolves need to find some cohesion quickly before they are in a big hole in the Western Conference. It’s still early, but there aren’t a lot of reasons to feel good about Minnesota right now.