Last season the Minnesota Timberwolves finished the regular season 42-40, falling into a difficult matchup with the Denver Nuggets in the first round. They lost to the eventual NBA champions, 4-1, a year after losing a winnable first-round series to the Memphis Grizzlies. Another early exit from the playoffs may sound like a sign of stagnancy. However, one game, in particular, contributed to Minnesota’s inability to advance past the first round in Year 1 of the Rudy Gobert era.
Before the regular season even began, the Timberwolves faced some adversity. The NBA fined Anthony Edwards $40,000 after he posted an Instagram story on his account where viewers heard him using homophobic language in a video. It quickly spread throughout social media, and Edwards’ comments received national criticism. There was nowhere to hide for the 21-year-old. Additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns played only 19 regular season games with Gobert before missing 51 games because of a calf injury he suffered against the Washington Wizards. Things weren’t going to be easy a year after they had won 46 games and reignited the fanbase’s passion.
However, in Towns’ absence, Minnesota’s players found a rhythm with more touches. Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Edwards were instrumental in the Timberwolves’ efforts to stay in playoff contention. They grew their game alongside Gobert, who also got more comfortable with the team. In February, the Wolves acquired Mike Conley through a 3-team trade involving D’Angelo Russell. Conley was able to work his “Jazz magic” and unlock sides to Gobert’s game that Russell was unable to. But just as the team was getting comfortable in their roles, Towns returned from injury. The Timberwolves had to hit the reset button again.
On top of that, Reid and McDaniels suffered injuries at the end of the season. The team also suspended Gobert after an altercation with Kyle Anderson, where he threw a punch during a timeout. Despite all the adversity to this point, the Wolves made the play-in tournament. However, it was their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers that ultimately set them back.
The Timberwolves were in control for a large portion of the game. Towns was playing his best game of the season in this always-anticipated matchup against Anthony Davis. Minnesota’s surrounding cast was making key plays. However, their offense became stagnant in the fourth quarter, and the momentum shifted. The Wolves only scored 12 points in the final 12 minutes, reminiscent of their late-game lapses in the 2021 playoffs.
The Lakers stormed back from a 15-point deficit and won the game in overtime. As a result, they earned the 7th seed and a first-round matchup against the shorthanded Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Minnesota had to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to get into the playoffs. The Timberwolves dominated the Thunder to earn the 8th seed and a first-round matchup with the eventual champions.
What does this have to do with the Wolves being a Finals contender? We’re getting there.
Despite being the lower seed against Memphis, the Lakers controlled the series and won in six games. The Timberwolves lost to Denver in five. In the second round, the 7-seeded Lakers played the Golden State Warriors fresh off a seven-game series against the Sacramento Kings. Although the Warriors had their own season-long struggles, they probably shouldn’t have allowed Sacramento to take them to seven games.
The Lakers beat the Warriors in six games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals to play Denver. The Lakers struggled to get anything going all series and had no answer for Denver, who swept them to advance to the Finals.
If the Timberwolves had just secured their second-half lead against the Lakers in the play-in, they would have swapped playoff paths with Los Angeles. There’s no doubt it would have been a significantly more favorable route for any team to go through.
For starters, the Grizzlies battled plenty of adversity last season. Desmond Bane missed part of the regular season due to injury, and Ja Morant missed time when the league suspended him after the All-Star break. Additionally, two key rotational pieces, Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams, went down with season-ending injuries. Minnesota wanted Memphis in the first round. The Grizzlies were giving their rookies minutes in the playoffs, Morant was still getting acclimated after his return, and the Timberwolves would avoid seeing a familiar foe in Clarke on the court.
On top of that, the Timberwolves had every chance to upset the Grizzlies last postseason. Unfortunately, like many Minnesota teams, they beat themselves. The Wolves gave up multiple double-digit leads, and Memphis won the series in six games. Of all the leads Minnesota gave up, the most gut-wrenching one came in Game 3, where the Timberwolves blew two 20-point leads.
Hypothetically speaking, if the Timberwolves beat the Lakers and won their first-round series against Memphis, they would play the Warriors. And if not for Stephen Curry’s 50-point performance in Game 7 against Sacramento, who knows if they make the second round. The Warriors struggled all of last season with their performances on the road, and that continued in the playoffs. They also missed Andrew Wiggins, who was a large part of their run to a championship in 2021-2022, for a two-month period during the season due to personal reasons. Jordan Poole didn’t offer much help either. He was a shell of himself last season after they extended his contract.
Could the Wolves have knocked off the defending champions in the second round? Probably. Just look at how they played Denver in Round 1. Former Nuggets guard Bruce Brown said the Timberwolves were their toughest opponent in Denver’s championship run. If Minnesota could put up the fight they did against the Nuggets, imagine what they could’ve done against a reeling Warriors team despite Golden State’s playoff acumen.
Now if the Timberwolves had met the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, the butterfly effect ends. They would stand no chance against Denver. However, I’m sure we can agree they would put up a better fight. Believe it or not, a conference finals appearance was within reach in Year 1 of the Gobert era, but it didn’t happen that way for the Wolves. With a fully healthy roster and growing camaraderie, I’m confident Minnesota is closer than people think to being an NBA Finals contender.
