The Minnesota Timberwolves have been on the periphery of greatness for years. The Timberwolves have long had dreams of an NBA title, but they have never played in the championship round.
The likelihood of that happening this season is fairly small because the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder have been playing dynamic basketball for the majority of the season and they have the unstoppable Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. The San Antonio Spurs were expected to climb the ladder with Victor Wembanyama continuing to grow in his third year and they have rapidly climbed the ladder. They are just 2.5 games behind the Thunder and Wembanyama is in strong contention for the MVP award.
The Timberwolves are currently in the No. 5 position in the Western Conference playoff structure, 3.0 games behind the third-place Los Angeles Lakers and 1.5 games behind the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets. On the other hand, the Wolves are just .5 games ahead of the sixth-place Houston Rockets.
They could finish anywhere from third through sixth at this point. While the dream scenario is finishing third, fourth or fifth is more realistic. A matchup with the Nuggets has to be considered as the strongest possibility and head coach Chris Finch has the firepower with Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert to push the Nuggets to the limit.
Timberwolves should be approaching peak efficiency at the start of the playoffs
Edwards recently missed six games because of a right-knee injury. He returned to the Timberwolves' lineup Monday night in the team's 124-94 road triumph over the Dallas Mavericks. The team certainly benefitted from Edwards' return because of the boost of energy and the team's all around sharp effort.
The Timberwolves have seven regular-season games remaining on the schedule and that should allow Edwards to get to top form by the time the postseason gets underway. He looked fairly sharp in his return against the Mavericks and it's clear that the team did not put too much on his plate in his first game back.
Edwards did not even start, but he played 22 minutes and scored 17 points on very solid 7 of 13 shooting from the field. More than his overall statistical contribution, his impact on his teammates was even better. Edwards regularly delivers something of a surge of electricity when he is on the floor, and that was the case against Dallas. The team had a plus-29 point edge when Edward was on the floor and that speaks volumes.
Finch would like to see more from Edwards in the remaining game in terms of minutes and coming out of those games without any physical complaints.
Nuggets are tough but beatable opponent
If that happens, the Timberwolves have a chance to be at their best if and when they meet the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Denver won the season series by a 3-1 margin, but there are no fears when the Timberwolves have their full complement. This is a team that regularly shows off maximum confidence, and that was evidenced in their 102-92 road victory over the formidable Boston Celtics in late March. They beat the Celtics without Edwards even though they fell behind by double-digits early in that game.
The Nuggets attack is centered around big man Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and it would require a maximum effort to beat this team in a playoff series. The Timberwolves will depend on Edwards (29.3 points per game and 49.3 percent shooting percentage), Randle (21.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 5.1 apg), Jaden McDaniels (14.8 ppg and and 51.8 shooting percentage) and Rudy Gobert (11.1 ppg, 11.3 rpg and league-leading .693 shooting percentage).
The ideal scenario in this matchup would have the Timberwolves moving past the Nuggets in the standings so Finch's team could gain the home court edge in the series.
Rising to third place would be even better for Wolves
If the Timberwolves could make up the 3.0-game difference and make up the difference on the Lakers, Edwards and his teammates would rise to third place in the Western Conference. That would most likely give them a matchup with the sixth-place Rockets. There's an outside chance the Phoenix Suns could pass Houston, but the Rockets look fairly secure in the No. 6 spot.
Houston has more than enough offense with Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun leading the way to give Minnesota a challenge. Durant, one of the NBA's all-time great scorers, is leading the way with a 25.9 ppg mark along with a .517 shooting percentage. Sengun is a powerful big man who checks in at 6-11 and 243 pounds. He is averaging 20.7 points and 9.0 rebounds on a nightly basis.
Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith and Reed Sheppard are also making contributions, but Houston's ability to play 48 tough minutes against the Timberwolves is the issue. Minnesota is a more physical team than the Rockets at this point.
The Timberwolves have won six of the last nine meetings between the two teams, and they would appear to have the advantage in this potential series.
