After an eventful 2023-24 season, the Phoenix Suns are preparing for their first-round NBA Playoffs matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The sixth-seeded Suns need to bring their all against the third-seeded Minnesota team, and Kevin Durant knows the matchup will be tough.
The Suns swept their regular-season series against the Timberwolves 3-0, but Durant acknowledged that the playoffs will bring a different beast out of Minnesota.
“[The Timberwolves] have been a contending team since day one. They're going to come in here with a different mindset, different intensity. The crowd is going to be different. The game is going to be referred different…we gotta get ready for a dog fight,” Durant said, per Duane Rankin.
Ironically, Phoenix just came off a regular-season finale 125-106 win against the Timberwolves. The Suns were firing on all cylinders.
Most notably, they had a good offensive groove going. Durant contributed 15 points and four rebounds, but Bradley Beal was the real star of the show.
Beal ended Sunday night's game with 36 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Durant got excited when speaking about Beal's offensive flow and how that will aid the Suns in the playoffs.
“With the position he's playing…we want him downhill. We want him to be aggressive and score the ball. He's creating for others as well. I think he's getting comfortable with how Coach wants him to approach the game and how he wants to approach the game, and we just support him the best we can,” Durant added.
The Suns will need Beal's scoring and playmaking against a fiery Timberwolves team. If he can continue his stout production alongside Devin Booker and Durant, Phoenix will be hard to stop. Nevertheless, Minnesota boasts a hard-hitting attack.
The Suns must be locked in to slow the Timberwolves
Minnesota has multiple weapons at its disposal. Of course, star guard Anthony Edwards leads the team's attack. Edwards averaged a career-high 26.1 points and 5.1 assists along with 5.4 rebounds during the regular season. He enters the NBA Playoffs hot after amassing a career-best 51-point game in the T-Wolves' 130-121 victory over the Washington Wizards on April 9.
Phoenix is surely devising a plan to slow Edwards down, but he is not the only one the team has to worry about.
Karl-Anthony Towns returned to Minnesota's lineup on April 12 after missing over a month with a meniscus injury. The star center is still getting back into his groove, but he remains a vital piece to the T-Wolves offense.
Towns' outside shooting and rebounding pose a serious threat. He shot a red-hot 41.8 percent on 3-pointers during the regular season while averaging 22.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He forms a tough interior duo with Defensive Player of the Year contender Rudy Gobert.
Minnesota's squad is tough, but the Suns have what it takes to be competitive. The three-headed offensive monster of Durant, Booker, and Beal is arguably the best in the NBA. If Phoenix can maintain their offensive intensity and up their defense, they will have a chance to get the first-round upset.
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