The Minnesota Timberwolves are headed to their second consecutive Western Conference Finals, and they're still waiting to find out their opponent. With Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets set to take place on Sunday afternoon, Wolves fans will want to be rooting for the Nuggets due to the unfortunate question marks around Aaron Gordon's health.
For those that maybe didn't see Game 6 between OKC and Denver, Gordon appeared to pull a hamstring late in the final minutes of the contest. On Friday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that AG had been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, and The Athletic's Tony Jones announced that the Nuggets' wing would officially be listed as questionable for the all-important Game 7.
Most think that Gordon will probably play in this game, even if he shouldn't. A hamstring is a nasty injury, and not one you want to go playing on while it's injured, as it can get significantly worse if not given proper time to heal. It would be perhaps not the smartest decision health-wise for Gordon to play, but if he does suit up, it will be because he knows his team needs him.
The Nuggets are much more banged up than the Thunder
With all that said, this should increase the desire of Wolves fans to cheer for Denver in Game 7. Pulling off the feat of winning a deciding game at Paycom Center will be extremely difficult, even more so if AG is hobbled, and obviously if he can't play at all. But should the Nuggets pull this one off, they would come into the West Finals with the Timberwolves a lot more banged up than the Thunder.
That's basically the gist of this situation. Minnesota can earn a matchup with a Denver team that would be severely undermanned if Gordon is not able to play. But even if Oklahoma City pulls it out, the Wolves will still have a rest advantage against a team that just played a seven-game series, and that's true no matter who Sunday's winner is.
All in all, the Timberwolves are in a solid position headed into what will be just their third conference finals appearance in franchise history. Drawing the Nuggets may or may not be a better outcome from a matchup/X's and O's perspective, but it certainly would be from a health perspective.