Timberwolves vs Suns First Round: Initial Thoughts
The lower-seeded Phoenix Suns swept the season series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Can Minnesota buck the trend?
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Sunday was a thrilling day in the NBA with the top-three seeds in the Western Conference up for grabs. Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City all entered the final day of the regular season with 56-25 records. The Timberwolves had the chance to lock up the first seed that they held for much of the season with a victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns still had something to play for. Entering Sunday night just one game back of New Orleans in the standings, a win over the Timberwolves and a Pelicans loss to the Lakers would allow the Suns to jump to sixth. Phoenix won the season series 2-1 over New Orleans.
How did things go? Not great, if you follow the Timberwolves and I am guessing you are if you are reading this.
The Thunder beat the Mavericks by 49 points, the Nuggets unsurprisingly beat the Grizzlies and the Lakers beat the Pelicans by 16. Oh, and the Wolves lost 125-106 to the Suns in a game they were never really in. This result drops Minnesota to third and Phoenix up to sixth and puts both teams on a first-round collision course.
Do The Suns Have The Timberwolves’ Number?
More than anyone, the Suns were the team I felt the Wolves should have avoided most. Phoenix swept the season series and won by double digits in all those games. You can say the first game was the result of three games in five nights as most of us did at the time, dismissing the loss to the schedule.
The Suns just torched, the Timberwolves, the best defensive team in the NBA, this season. In three games against Minnesota, Phoenix shot 53 percent from the field and 48.8 percent on 3-pointers— both marks well above their season averages. The Timberwolves shot just 44.9 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from deep against the Suns. For reference, they made 48.5 percent of their shots from the field and 38.7 percent of their 3-pointers for the regular season overall.
Sure, Phoenix’s rebounding dips against Minnesota but they also don’t create many rebounds when they play the Timberwolves. Whatever it is with the Suns, they seem to throw the Timberwolves off their game. Sunday was not a strong showing by the Timberwolves and Sunday matinee basketball can be ugly. However, there was so much at stake and they still came out flat and sloppy.
Can The Timberwolves Figure Out Phoenix?
Now, it’s not that I don’t believe the Timberwolves can’t beat the Suns. This is a top-heavy roster with nice pieces, but Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and even Devin Booker have been susceptible to injuries. There is a reason that, despite all their talent, the Suns are the sixth seed. Beal has missed 30 games and Booker has missed 15. Durant, impressively at his age and with his injury history, has missed just eight.
The caveat with the Suns all season has been “If healthy…” and they are finally healthy. Even so, Beal did not play in that first matchup in November and the Suns had a commanding victory anyway. The Timberwolves have Karl-Anthony Towns back, which is encouraging, but he was also there for two of the three meetings between the teams.
As of now, it appears both teams will be healthy. Whether the Wolves can adjust or not from their regular season futility versus the Suns will determine this series. Game 1 between these teams will be Saturday, April 20, the NBA has announced.
Certainly an ugly way to end one of the franchises better seasons! I’m not sure why/how Timberwolves faithful could possibly apply any reason to what appears an obvious early exit! I can’t imagine we see the same team trotted out next year unless something unpredictable happens, like a couple wins in this series, you?