Success has been hard to come by in Minnesota over the last decade or so, as since the 2004-05 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have made the playoffs just once in 2018. The Timberwolves have not been a successful NBA franchise over the years, but that narrative is beginning to change.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell make up the Timberwolves new “Big 3” and these three talents have their time lined up to make the playoffs this season.
Currently 32-28 on the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves hold the 7-seed in the Western Conference and they are just 2.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the 6-seed in the conference after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 119-114 on Thursday night.
In this game, the Timberwolves “Big 3” combined for 64 points, led by D’Angelo Russell and his season-high 37 points. Scoring 23 of his 37 points in the fourth-quarter, the Timberwolves rallied late to defeat the Grizzlies, who currently hold the 3-seed in the Western Conference.
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“They can’t stop all of us. I think that’s the hardest thing for any team, to stop all three of us,” Russell said after the game. “If something’s not working, we see the next plan working.
“It’s never me. I’m never thinking, ‘How can I dominate? It’s more, ‘How can I keep this unit alive?’, when the other team may have a dominant group out there that’s looking at us like we’re about to take advantage of this group.”
Throughout the regular season, the Timberwolves have faced many challenges and they have never been more than four games above .500, which is where they are currently at on the year.
However, Minnesota has been making the most of their opportunities at home this season, as they have posted an 18-11 home record, the third-most home wins in the Western Conference this season.
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Perhaps the biggest improvement this Timberwolves team has made this year is their ability to stay in games and fight for all 48 minutes.
The Timberwolves have overcome double-digit deficits in eight of their wins this season and their offense has led the way late in games, as Minnesota ranks ninth in the league in offensive rating.
“We got some killers out there so anytime I can become a spot up shooter, cutter or screener, it allows the game to be easier for myself,” Russell said. “I try to think the game as much as I can so whenever the game’s coming that fluid for me, it just makes it that easier.”
Since their win over the Jazz on Jan. 30, the Timberwolves are 8-3 and are now 2.5 games in front of the Los Angeles Clippers for the 7-seed in the Western Conference.
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It will not be easy for the Timberwolves to do, especially since they have a tough schedule down the stretch-run of the season, but this team could potentially avoid the play-in tournament altogether.
The Timberwolves are a very tricky team to play simply because of how fluid their offense is. Karl-Anthony Towns is their main catalyst on offense, but both D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards are capable of leading the offense on any given night.
Plus, Patrick Beverley has been a key contributor for the Timberwolves this season, as has Malik Beasley off-the-bench.
The Grizzlies and Timberwolves have played some very tight games with one another this season and they could very well end up playing each other in the first-round of the playoffs as the 3-seed versus 6-seed matchup.
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These two teams have split four meetings this season and the average margin of victory in these four games is very slim, with one of the meetings being a 43-point outlier.
All-time, the Grizzlies-Timberwolves series is close, as the Timberwolves now have a 51-50 all-time edge over Memphis. These two teams seem destined to meet each other again in the postseason and the Timberwolves are definitely a team to keep watch for in the Western Conference both this season and moving forward.
