1. Experience Factor

While the NBA Play-In Tournament technically doesn’t count as a playoff game, for all intents and purposes, this is the postseason. Teams are playing to advance and not go home, and they will have a distinctly different feel than regular-season games.

While neither franchise has participated in the NBA Play-In Tournament yet, the LA Clippers hold a distinct advantage in postseason experience. They are a veteran-laden team that knows what it takes to win in the postseason.

Patrick Beverley has 59 games of postseason experience, but the next most on the team is Greg Monroe with 27, who isn’t a rotation regular. Malik Beasley has 14, Jake Layman, another non-rotation player, has nine and Taurean Prince has six. Paul George nearly has more than that by himself, with 108 playoff games under his belt.

This Clippers team is battle-tested, as they went 4-4 in the postseason last year without Leonard in the lineup. They won two consecutive games against the Utah Jazz after the injury to win their second-round matchup before pushing the Suns to six games in the Western Conference Finals.

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Anyone on the roster last season alone for the Clippers would have the second most playoff experience in the Minnesota Timberwolves rotation and third-most overall. They hold a distinct advantage in the experience category not only on the roster but the coaching staff as well.

Tyronne Lue has more championships, one, than Chris Finch has playoff games coached at this point. Can the Timberwolves overcome their lack of experience against an LA Clippers roster and coaching staff that has pretty much experienced it all in the postseason?