The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the midst of their most successful era in franchise history. Before last season, they had only won a playoff series in a single season, 2003-04, when league MVP Kevin Garnett led them to the Western Conference Finals. Now, they are a back-to-back Conference Finalist. There’s stability in the front office and coaching staff, and a young core leading the charge. The Timberwolves are primed to keep winning. But in the moment, a second straight unceremonious loss to end their season stings. After the game, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, and head coach Chris Finch reflected on the game, the season, and what lies ahead for the future of the Timberwolves.
Timberwolves Look to the Future After Devastating Playoff Elimination
Edwards: “It’s exciting for me, I’m 23, I get to do it a whole buncha times.”
A year ago, after bowing out in five games to the Dallas Mavericks, Edwards promised the team would be back. He kept his word, but after losing again in five games, culminating in another closeout game blowout, his tone was a little different.
He again repeated, “we’ll be back,” noting his youth as a reason for optimism. However, he also mentioned there was definitely disappointment for him, less for himself, more “for Mike [Conley], we came up short for Mike.”
Conley is a leader in the locker room and has never had the opportunity to play for an NBA Championship. As Conley’s career winds down, Edwards is clearly upset at letting down his veteran point guard.
He concluded the thought by musing, “Hurting is a terrible word to use, I’m good.” With Edwards at the helm, the ceiling is still immensely high for the future of the Timberwolves.
Conley: “To be back in this situation again says a lot about our team, our coaches.”
Conley knows that winning in the NBA is extremely difficult. His teams in Memphis were elite defensively, tougher than any squad in the league. Never reached the Finals. It was a similar story in Utah, with a league-leading defense that couldn’t put it all together in the playoffs. This was Conley’s first time in 18 seasons making the Conference Finals two seasons in a row.
When asked about what was missing to beat this Thunder team, his answer was simple: “their connectivity, their IQ…they were like on one string…we got a lot of room to grow.”
Outside of Minnesota’s Game 3 shellacking, the four Thunder wins were a masterclass in defense from OKC. The Wolves pride themselves on that end of the floor, but the Thunder took it to a new level, with physicality and help defenders at every turn.
Conley acknowledged Minnesota’s high-level defense, but conceded that, “at this stage, I think it was more the details that we were slipping on.” If they hope to advance beyond this point next season, there will be no room for mistakes.
Finch: “We struggled to find a rhythm, everyone just kind of trying to do it by themselves.”
Although Finch was talking specifically about Game 5, that quote applies to all three games played in Oklahoma City. While in Minnesota, the Wolves were much more unselfish, finding each other and knocking down open threes. In the three games at Paycom Center, Minnesota averaged just 18 assists, while in the two games played back home at Target Center, the assists skyrocketed to 30 per game.
Finch knows that this Thunder team is built to last, and if he hopes to lead Edwards and the Timberwolves to the Finals in the future, it will likely go through OKC, admitting, “they’ve got an identity and a style of play that suits them,” but also made it clear that parity in the league is at an all time high, citing recent teams, “it looked promising for Boston a year ago, it looked promising for Milwaukee for a few years…that’s why you gotta go for it now.”
Minnesota has some important offseason decisions to make if they hope to break through and make the NBA for the first time in franchise history. However, there is a strong foundation. This season represented a new chapter in the Timberwolves’ legacy, a chapter that starts with consistency. Making the final four in two straight seasons is impressive, but the future holds promise of even more.
Featured image: © David Gonzales-Imagn Images
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