Another season has come and gone, leaving fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves feeling deflated. However, true optimism grew at the end of the season as Chris Finch’s squad finished 7-5 in their last 12 games and 16-20 in the second half. It doesn’t sound like much, right? Well, this team started the season 7-29, so the finishing act wasn’t too shabby.
After Finch took over for the departed Ryan Saunders mid-season and settled in, his blueprint for the Timberwolves started to fruition. Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the lineup, and he and Anthony Edwards formed a heck of a one-two punch. D’Angelo Russell returned from surgery and was seemingly okay with coming off the bench — in fact, he flourished in that role. Minnesota’s second half even included back-to-back wins against the No. 1-seeded Utah Jazz. How would they have fared as the No. 10 seed in the play-in tournament with the playoffs upon us?
The NBA play-in tournament started on Tuesday night and featured two blowout victories in the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers dismantled the Charlotte Hornets en route to putting up 144 points. In the nightcap, Jayson Tatum thought it’d be cool to drop a 50-spot on the Washington Wizards’ heads as Boston pulled away to clinch the No. 7 seed.
There are two matchups in the Western Conference as well, with one getting far more attention. The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Golden State Warriors in a game that has Adam Silver foaming at the mouth over the ratings. On the other end, the No. 9-seeded Memphis Grizzlies will welcome in the No. 10-seeded San Antonio Spurs.
Enter the Timberpuppies.
Minnesota went 0-3 against the Grizzlies this year, which is obviously not great on the surface. Most recently, the two teams battled on May 5th in a game where absolutely no defense was on display, and Memphis won 139-135.
Although the Timberwolves went 0-3 against Ja Morant and the No. 9-seeded Grizzlies, they would stand a chance in the play-in game. Memphis would be favored, but likely by somewhere between three to five points.
Minnesota finished the regular season strong and found a nice, healthy balance on the floor as one by one the key pieces returned from absences and injuries. The lone constant all year in the lineup was rookie sensation Anthony Edwards. To say he enjoyed the last two matchups against the Grizzlies would be a gross understatement.
Edwards combined for 64 points in the last two games against Memphis. He had 42 on May 5th alone. Add the 30 points Towns had against Memphis in the second matchup and the 14 assists from DLo on May 5th, and all three top Wolves players experienced a level of success against the Grizzlies.
Memphis sputtered a bit to close out the year, finishing 6-7 in their final 13 games, including head-scratching losses to teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic.
While the Grizzlies got the better of Minnesota in the regular season, they aren’t some next-tier juggernaut that would dispose of the Timberwolves with ease. Considering how the two teams closed out the year, Minnesota played the better basketball down the stretch. Let’s say the Timberwolves stroll into Memphis and squeaked out a 118-114 win. Because we can all dream, can’t we? On to the next matchup, see ya later, Ja.
We know that all good things come to an end at one point or another. And if the Timberwolves were the 10-seed in the Western Conference, that’s exactly what would happen after a win against the Grizzlies.
The Lakers and Warriors feature the No. 7 against the No. 8 seed. The winner gets the 7-seed in the playoffs, and the loser plays the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup. That’s correct: If the Timberwolves were the No. 10 seed, it would take two wins in two games to get invited to the dance.
The Wolves went 0-3 against L.A. this year, and Anthony Davis played a grand total of zero minutes combined in all three games. If they were to lose to the Warriors, do you really believe that Minnesota would eliminate LeBron James in your heart of hearts? The headlines that would come from that are almost unfathomable. That’s why this remains a fairytale story — because it isn’t real.
If it were Lakers vs. Timberwolves in the battle for the No. 8 seed, give me the Lakers. If the spread is -27 in favor of LA, I’ll eat the points.
The Wolves went 1-2 against the Warriors but did beat them less than a month ago in their last matchup. While Minnesota would have a better shot against Golden State, it still isn’t happening. Thus, the Timberwolves would go 1-1 in the play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed before gracefully bowing out.
Things are trending in the right direction for Chris Finch and the Timberwolves. It’s hard to predict whether momentum can carry over from one year into an offseason, but if it can, the Wolves established a strong tone to finish the year. The pieces appear to be in place, the front office has tagged the coach they wanted, and now Minnesota needs to put the final pieces of the puzzle in place to be in the mix next year for a postseason spot.
