At the beginning of the NBA season, not many people loved the Minnesota Timberwolves title chances 2024. They had lost in the first round in just five games, and they didn’t seem to be in the same tier as teams like the Denver Nuggets.
Fast forward to today, and they proved to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They flirted with the No. 1 seed in the west, and even though they fell short of that goal late in the season, they proved that they’re the real deal in the first round.
With that in mind, we have to talk about why Chris Finch’s team should be taken seriously. The Minnesota Timberwolves playoff matchup sets the table for a rematch with the very same team that sent them home last season, and while going against one of the greatest centers in NBA history is no easy task, they seem ready for the challenge.
Do They Have A Real Shot?
For starters, we have to acknowledge that the Timberwolves aren’t the same team they were last season. This time, their stellar frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert has finally meshed together, which wasn’t the case last year.
Gobert has made great strides as a perimeter defender, and he wasn’t exposed or taken off the court late in games versus the Phoenix Suns. Now, he can hold his own against smaller and quicker defenders, as opposed to being stuck in the restricted area.
Karl-Anthony Towns has had some well-documented character issues in big games, but the Timberwolves don’t need him to be Batman anymore. With Anthony Edwards in time and as their undisputed best player and leader, he can take a step back and be one of the league’s best Robins.
Edwards is a born leader, and he’s made everybody around him better. He uplifts his players on and off the court, and he’s become a much better on and off-ball defender than he was when these two teams squared off last season.
Even there, Edwards single-handedly willed this team to a big win in the first round to avoid a sweep, and it was even on the road. He’s now more mature and better and has been one of the best — if not the best — players in the playoffs thus far.
Matchup with Denver
The Timberwolves and Nuggets alternated wins in four regular-season meetings this year. They have the best defense in the league by a significant margin, and they have the length to match up with the Nuggets’ starting lineup, which isn’t something many teams can brag about.
On top of that, they currently have the deeper team. Championships aren’t only won one through five but also six through ten, and the Timberwolves’ second unit has been stellar this season, starting with Naz Reid, the recently-crowned Sixth Man of the Year.
The Timberwolves have a better chance to dethrone the Nuggets than every other team in the league. And while the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, or Los Angeles Clippers wouldn’t be an easy rival, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them go the distance.
Should that be the case, then we must point out the fact that both of their matchups with the Boston Celtics — their most likely rival in the NBA Finals — went to overtime, with both teams winning one apiece. They also match up well with them.
The Timberwolves have struggled historically and have only been to the Western Conference Finals once in franchise history. But Nikola Jokic and the 2023 Denver Nuggets proved to us that curses are meant to be broken, and this might as well be their turn to get the monkey off their backs.
