Minnesota Timberwolves lock up 7th seed, first-round matchup with Memphis

The Minnesota Timberwolves lock up the 7th seed and clinch a first-round playoff matchup with Memphis Grizzlies. 

For just the second time in the last 18 years, the Minnesota Timberwolves are headed back to the NBA Playoffs. Minnesota was able to hold off the LA Clippers, who will now play the winner of the Pelicans vs. Spurs, for the eighth and final seed in the West.

A 109-104 victory means a first-round matchup with Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies is in store. That will be a fun series to watch.

The Timberwolves are not a team that the Grizzlies should take lightly. Minnesota has three players who are more than capable of handling a majority of the scoring. This is a luxury for second-year head coach Chris Finch. Give the ball to Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, or Anthony Edwards and let them go to work.

Leading the team in scoring this season was big man Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT), who averages 24.6 points per game. Tuesday night, it was not Towns. He only scored two points in the first half, going 0-7 from the field. and picking up four fouls in the process.

KAT ended the game with 11 points and six rebounds. He fouled out with about seven and a half minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. Luckily, he had Russell and Edwards to carry the team on his off-shooting night.

Second-year pro Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring last night with 30 points in 37 minutes played. He went 5-11 from the deep while also recording five rebounds. Edwards is such a natural scorer in the NBA. He plays downhill and loves to attack the basket, and shoots 34 percent from three for his career.

Assisting Edwards in scoring duties last night was point guard D’Angelo Russell (D-Lo). He racked up 29 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Russell went 3-5 from deep and got three steals as well. D-Lo is having a career-high year in assists (7.1) and has let Towns and Edwards flourish as dominant scorers.

The x-factor for the Timberwolves is one of the smaller players on the court. That would be Patrick Beverley. He’s below league average for height, but his intensity and desire to win all enable him to play bigger than he actually is. The 6-foot-1 Beverley led the Timberwolves in rebounds last night with 11.

Minnesota had not seen the playoffs since the 2017-18 season, and before then, not since 2004-04, when Kevin Garnett was still on the team. Making the playoffs this season was a result of hard work and attention to detail. That is why the T-Wolves led the NBA in so many statistical categories:

• Points per game
• 3-pointers made (3rd all-time)
• Forced Turnovers
• Points off turnovers
• Top 3 in blocks
• Top 3 in steals

The NBA playoffs start this Saturday, April 16. Minnesota will match up with Memphis for a first-round showdown. Game one will air on ESPN at 3:30 p.m., this Saturday. Will the second-seed Grizzlies be able to hold off the Timberwolves, or will there be an upset brewing in the first round?