Despite entering the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament and without home-court advantage, the Minnesota Timberwolves are through to the Western Conference semifinals after a resounding 4-1 gentleman’s sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, sealed by Wednesday night’s 103-96 win at the Crypto.com Arena.
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The stakes will only get higher for Minnesota, as it now awaits the winner of the Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets series. While the Timberwolves split the season series with Houston 2-2, the Rockets would have home-court advantage if they were to progress, and Minnesota lost the season series against the Warriors, 3-1.
However, the Timberwolves already proved the doubters wrong against the Lakers. And if Anthony Edwards needed any extra motivation, the 23-year-old could add Stephen Curry to his growing list of playoff scalps if Golden State were to advance.
On the latest episode of “The Athletic NBA Daily,” Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni discussed Rudy Gobert’s dominant performance, the Timberwolves advancing despite their poor shooting night, Julius Randle stepping up in Game 5, and whether Houston or Golden State is a better match up for Minnesota. Watch the full discussion below.
Watch the full episode of “NBA Daily” below or on the YouTube channel, or via the “NBA Daily” podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
(Top photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
