Game Preview #79 – Timberwolves at Bucks

As the Timberwolves head into the final week of the regular season, the team has plenty left to play for. Can they rise to the occasion and topple the short-handed Bucks on their quest to secure a playoff spot in 2025?

Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks
Date: April 8th, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM CDT
Location: Fiserv Forum
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM/Wolves App/iHeart Radio

The Final Countdown: Wolves, Bucks, and the Stretch That Will Define a Season

Well, here we are—final week of the NBA regular season. Four games. One hyper-dramatic Western Conference logjam. About 10,000 different seeding permutations. And somewhere in the middle of that chaos are the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that has spent the past few weeks bouncing between looking like a legitimate contender and the living embodiment of a team that might forget to set its alarm for the play-in game.

Let’s get the math out of the way: the Wolves are 46–32. That’s good for seventh in the West right now, but also, somehow, a dead heat with Golden State, Memphis, and the Clippers. You don’t need to be John Hollinger or Nate Silver to understand what that means—this thing is a dogfight. Win out and you secure a top-six seed. Stumble, and suddenly you’re staring down the barrel of a win-or-go-home matchup.

And let’s be honest—this Wolves team is way too talented to be flirting with that kind of fate.

Let’s rewind to Saturday. Wolves vs. the Sixers. No Joel Embiid. No Tyrese Maxey. No reason that game should’ve been anything but a 20-point cruise control win. And yet… of course it turned into a cardiac event. A blown 13-point lead, a dicey fourth quarter, and a desperation dagger from Ant just to escape with the W. It’s like this team read the script for a gritty playoff game and decided to rehearse it in Philly.

But that’s the 2024–25 Timberwolves in a nutshell—more drama than an episode of Succession, more close finishes than a Marvel movie.

So now we pivot to Milwaukee.

Here’s the setup: Bucks are likely without Dame (blood clot), possibly without Giannis (shoulder). Which, on paper, should be great news. But remember the last time the Wolves saw a Dame-and-Giannis-less Bucks squad? Yeah. They lost that one. At home. You know, just one of those classic Minnesota “we had one job” games.

So before anyone starts penciling in a dub, let’s pump the brakes and acknowledge a few things:

1. NBA players, even 10th men, can ball.
2. The Wolves love playing with their food.
3. This is the exact type of game they’ve dropped all season.

That’s why Tuesday night in Milwaukee is a playoff game in disguise. The stakes are enormous. It’s the fourth of five on this season-defining road trip. It’s a revenge game. And it’s an opportunity to not just stay out of the play-in, but maybe—just maybe—climb to the 4-seed and host a playoff series at Target Center.

Let’s talk keys.

Key #1: Defensive Intensity – Show Up From the Jump

This team is elite when it locks in defensively. Rudy Gobert anchoring the paint, McDaniels disrupting everything on the perimeter, Ant causing havoc in the passing lanes—it’s beautiful when it clicks. But against Philly? That wasn’t it. They waited until the fourth quarter to defend like their season was on the line. That can’t happen Tuesday.

No Giannis and Dame? Fine. But don’t let Kyle Kuzma or Bobby Portis channel their inner MJ because you got caught napping.

Key #2: Protect the Freakin’ Ball

20+ points off turnovers against the Sixers. Read that again. That’s not just sloppy, that’s suicidal basketball. You give up 20 points to an injured Sixers team and still need a miracle shot from Ant to survive? That’s not a blueprint for long-term success.

Mike Conley has to keep things steady. And when he sits, Edwards, Randall, NAW—no lazy cross-court passes, no dribbling into traffic. Be smart. Be sharp. Respect every possession.

Key #3: Rudy the Rock

Right now, Rudy is playing like the guy. He’s owning the glass, cleaning up trash buckets, altering shots, and even becoming a low-key option on offense.

After falling just short numerous times, the 20-20 game is coming. Maybe Tuesday is the night. Either way, this version of Rudy Gobert? He’s your second-most important player behind Ant. If he brings that intensity, the Wolves become one of those teams nobody wants to see in April or May.

Key #4: Let Ant Be Ant—But the Smart Version

Anthony Edwards is one of the most electric players in the league. He’s the guy you want in a Game 7. He’s the guy who’s probably going to carry this team in the playoffs. But sometimes, he’s also the guy who turns into 2017 Westbrook and starts jacking up heat-check threes like he’s trying to win a bet.

Yes, he joined the elite 300 three-pointers-in-a-season club (with Curry, Klay, and Harden—not bad). But that doesn’t mean we need 10 three-point attempts a night. Attack the rim. Get to the line. Let the threes come within the offense.

If Ant gives you 30+, Rudy keeps doing Rudy things, and the Wolves take care of the ball? They should win. Emphasis on should.

Bottom Line: Handle Your Business

You beat the Bucks. You head to Memphis with momentum. Win there, and suddenly the path out of the play-in becomes real. Drop either one, and things get dicey. The Wolves control their own destiny. No more excuses. No more sleepwalking through inferior opponents. It’s time to play like a team that believes it belongs in the top four, not clinging to life in a one-and-done bracket of death.

The stage is set. The table is full. All the Wolves have to do now is feast.

Let’s see if they’re hungry.