The Minnesota Timberwolves could be the perfect team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Over the course of NBA history, it's never happened. In 155 instances in which a team has gone up 3-0 in a playoff series, they've won every time. Four teams have come close, though. After falling down 3-0 in a series, four managed to force a Game 7. In the end, each comeback attempt failed, with the Boston Celtics as the most recent example of this last season against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the next team that is attempting to do the impossible. And they may done the hardest part - avoiding the sweep on the road in Game 4. After winning Game 4, the Wolves have life. With the series back in Minnesota for Game 5, all the Wolves have to do next is to win a home game to put the full pressure back on the Mavs.
Even though there are still many steps that need to take place before the Wolves come back becomes a possibility, this is a team that may have all the ingredients to make it happen. And the Mavs could have their hands full as they attempt to close out this series and punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.
Why the Minnesota Timberwolves aren't done yet
The biggest reason why the Mavs should fear the Wolves is Anthony Edwards. As his star has continued to grow throughout these playoffs, Dallas should not want to fool around with the possibility of Edwards getting hot. He's the type of star player that can take over a series, as we saw against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Against the Mavs, Edwards has been a little off. You can credit Dallas' game plan for getting him to play out of rhythm, but you can only hold a player that talented for so long. And interestingly enough, in Games 3 and 4, two games that the Wolves pretty much dictated, Edwards has looked a little more like his dominant self.
If those two games are any indication, we could see Edwards have a huge Game 5 back on his home floor. Add in that the Wolves have consistently been the best defensive team in the league, and all of a sudden, it may not be that foregone of a conclusion that the Mavs will be able to close out the Wolves easily.
The big question for Minnesota is whether Rudy Gobert can solve the defensive mismatch issues and if Karl-Anthony Towns can fully snap out of his offensive funk. If those two things don't happen, it doesn't matter how good Edwards is, it will be nearly impossible for the Wolves to win three straight games against a team as good as the Mavs.
But, if both Gobert and KAT can rise to the occasion, and if Edwards can continue to trend in the right direction, all bets are off.
Based on pure probabilities, eventually an NBA team is going to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. Will it be the Wolves?