T-Wolves season recap, Free Agency, rumors and draft prospects

Head Coach Chris Finch and the Minnesota Timberwolves started the 2021-22 season rocky but ultimately finished with a record of (46-36). The Wolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 109 to 104 in the Play-In Tournament and earned their first NBA Playoff berth in four seasons.

Well, before we go any further, let’s discuss the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Play-In Tournament was established by the NBA to cast a wider net for potential playoff teams. Rather than end the season with the Top-Eight teams in either conference, the new Play-In formate allows the seventh through tenth-ranked teams to play a mini-series for the right to compete in the NBA Playoffs. Interested in learning more? You can check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) website on NBA.com by clicking on this link.

"“The criticism of Finch’s hire was swift, expect that to change after a notable run back to the NBA Playoffs” – as per Sports Illustrated Michael Shapiro, in his article Tuesday NBA Play-in Betting Preview ‘Less Is More’: How Chris Finch Guided the Timberwolves Back to the Playoffs (Subscription may be required)"

Finch held the team together early and got a solid effort in the second half of the season as a result.

2022 NBA Playoffs

In the first round, the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves squared off against the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. It was a series where a battled-tested Grizzlies team got the best of the Wolves (4-2). The Grizzlies were not newcomers to the postseason but fell in the second round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs to the refueled Golden State Warriors (4-2).

Memphis knocked off Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors a year earlier in the Play-In Tournament in last season’s playoffs, before being shown the door by the Utah Jazz (4-1). In the first round of those 2021 NBA Playoffs, the Grizzlies squared off against the number one seed in the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz. Memphis would steal game one in Utah. But go on to lose the next four games. That experience they gained from this opportunity gave them the motivation they needed to make a run in the postseason in 2022.

Although the Wolves fell to a young Grizzlies team in the first round, the team showed flashes of what they could be in time with more experience. Much like the Grizzlies a year ago, the Timberwolves’ can use this year’s success to build an even more competitive team next season.