Did Minnesota Timberwolves get best matchup for NBA Play-In Game 3?

From the moment that the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament, the team has been circling the wagons and regrouping. After all, that was the only option open to the team, right?  The Timberwolves struggled to close out another game, and Timberwolves can only do so much in a win-and-in scenario when players decided to take themselves out of the running with poor decisions about throwing punches.

Timberwolves Coach Finch talked about the Timberwolves’ troubles, which can be summed up by foul trouble for the team’s two top scorers, power forward Karl-Anthony Towns and point guard Mike Conley Jr.:

And then there was this very scary play by Anthony Edwards, a tumble that seemed to impact his shoulder and neck area.

The Timberwolves must now face the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that the Timberwolves managed to defeat three times out of their four meetings.  That lone loss came in a game at Target Center in which Rudy Gobert was ejected after a technical foul. That game had eight technical fouls called throughout the contest.

The Thunder have not won against the Timberwolves this season with Karl-Anthony Towns on the basketball court. And the Thunder did not yet face seasoned veteran PG Mike Conley Jr. in a Timberwolves uniform before.

No more tomorrows for Timberwolves

Whether they are aching, bruised, or stiff and sore, this is a game where the Timberwolves face oblivion. Unlike every other game played so far, all 83 NBA contests, the Timberwolves knew that there would be one more game on the schedule. That is no longer the case. Now, in Game 3 of the NBA Play-In Tournament, the loser is done. No more basketball.

Winning is everything now. If the Timberwolves do defeat the talented Oklahoma City Thunder, the Timberwolves will at least reset the board and have a best-of-seven series with the Denver Nuggets. And there is that added pressure of the Timberwolves adding a bit of hot sauce to their 2022-23 season by trading four first-round picks and five players to the Utah Jazz to acquire Rudy Gobert, and then doubling down at the NBA Trade Deadline by cashing in the value of PG D’Angelo Russell’s final contract year, and getting PG Mike Conley Jr, SG Nickel Alexander-Walker, and three second-round draft picks in return.

If the Timberwolves do fail to make the NBA Playoffs after those moves, then the tsunami of trolls and second-guessing will devour any goodwill and respect earned by an oft-injured Timberwolves roster clawing their way to remain in the hunt for postseason play all season long.

Win or lose, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s future is quite bright. But the dawn of a new day for the Minnesota Timberwolves needs a win, needs to compete in the NBA Playoffs, and may even need a solid showing against the Denver Nuggets.