Timberwolves' ideal first round matchup is becoming increasingly clear

For most of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed to be the preferred first-round matchup for the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, as the Lakers have started to surge, the Houston Rockets have started to falter. This has led me (and other observers) to think that Houston might be the ideal first round matchup for the Timberwolves after all.

Wednesday's 110-108 overtime win all but confirmed that Houston is the best possible first round matchup for Minnesota.

The Timberwolves beat the Rockets despite everything going wrong

Simply put, a million things were working against the Timberwolves in this game, and they somehow found a way to win.

For starters, the Wolves were missing Anthony Edwards and Ayo Dosunmu. Things got worse for the Wolves, though, as Jaden McDaniels, who finished as the team's leading scorer with 25 points, was forced to leave the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Then Rudy Gobert fouled out with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter. On top of all this, Naz Reid was ejected in overtime.

Between some missed shots and bad calls, the Wolves found themselves down 13 points with just under three minutes left in overtime. Yet they somehow put together the largest come-from-behind overtime victory in league history. They did so while playing Kyle Anderson, Mike Conley, and Terrence Shannon Jr. sizable overtime minutes (the latter two have been out of the rotation since the All-Star break).

Minnesota deserves all the credit in the world for a gutsy win. I have to give props to Julius Randle, who was incredible on both ends of the floor down the stretch and hit the game-winning shot.

Much has been made about Randle's play lately, but he showed up in a massive way and helped the Wolves secure a crucial win. Donte DiVincenzo also deserves a shoutout for his clutch scoring and hustle plays.

However, for the Wolves to still win after so many things went wrong for them also highlights some key problems with Houston. Particularly, their decision-making and defensive discipline in overtime were awful.

The Timberwolves can expose the Rockets' flaws in a playoff series

The Rockets' clutch time struggles aren't just specific to this game (although they were magnified against a skeleton of a Timberwolves squad). On the season, Houston ranks in the bottom 10 for clutch time offense, defense, and net rating.

This isn't just bad luck, either. To put it bluntly, the Rockets' roster is fundamentally flawed. Houston ranks in the bottom five for 3-point makes and attempts. As such, teams can double-team Kevin Durant down the stretch of games.

Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson are the team's second and third-best players, but their lack of shooting makes them a poor fit together. In a playoff setting, having two non-shooters to sag off of is a death sentence.

Not having the steady playmaking of Fred VanVleet has clearly impacted the team.

On the other end of the floor, Sengun (while he shockingly had some impressive moments on Wednesday) and Reed Sheppard are clear defensive liabilities that can be exposed in the playoffs. Still, the Rockets need Sengun's overall production and Sheppard's shooting to survive on offense.

In any event, this combination is a recipe for disaster in the playoffs. The Wolves' elite isolation scoring can expose the Rockets' defensive holes. Likewise, Minnesota's physical and versatile defense can punish Houston's poor shooting.

With nine games left in the regular season, the Wolves could still realistically face any of the Rockets, Lakers, or Denver Nuggets in round one. Nevertheless, every Timberwolves fan is rooting for a matchup with the Rockets.