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The Minnesota Timberwolves have won their first NBA Playoffs series since 2004 with their 4-0 sweep in the first round against the Phoenix Suns. The team has reached the postseason the past two years, but lost in the first round each time to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets, respectively. The Timberwolves will now face the Nuggets in a rematch from last season, and Karl-Anthony Towns dropped a video on social media that will no doubt have fans ready to get this series started.
“Hey listen, round one done,” Towns says in the video. “Stay humble, stay disciplined. It’s a great opportunity we got. Put one foot in front of the other. Take nothing for granted.”
Towns posted the video with caption, ‘Onward’ alongside a wolf emoji. As the No. 3 seed, the Wolves will open the series against the Nuggets on the road. Game 1 is scheduled to tip-off this coming Saturday, May 4.
Timberwolves head into semifinals vs. Nuggets with confidence
While the Nuggets looked quite lackluster throughout their first round series of the NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Timberwolves on the other hand looked quite dominant against the Suns. Each game saw the Wolves gradually enforce their will on the Suns with each game being a rather convincing win.
It will be a rematch of last season’s first round series when the Nuggets dispatched the Timberwolves on their way to eventually winning the NBA title. The Wolves lost in five games, dropping the first three, winning Game 4 and then bowing out in Game 5.
The Wolves should look much different this time around though. Last season they were without both Jaden McDaniels and Naz Redid who were injured. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are better than they were last season. Rudy Gobert has been much more comfortable in the Wolves system.
The Timberwolves are going to need a big series from Karl-Anthony Towns in particular in order to win this series. Towns only played in one game against the Nuggets during the regular season during which he dropped 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals albeit not shooting the ball particularly well. The Wolves split the season series with the Nuggets, 2-2.
Timberwolves face questions surrounding Chris Finch’s availability
The biggest question mark for the Wolves heading into their semifinal series against the Nuggets is the status of head coach Chris Finch. Finch took a fall along the sidelines during Game 4 against the Suns and suffered a torn tendon. He will undergo surgery and it’s unclear whether or not he will be on the bench for the start of the series.
Finch finished third in the NBA Coach of the Year voting. He was named head coach of the Timberwolves during the middle of the 2020-21 season. He’s led the Wolves to the playoffs in all three of the full seasons he’s been at the helm.
Finch got his start in the NBA as the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets. He’s also served as an assistant coach with the Rockets, Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors.
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