Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poll: Western Conference’s First Round Playoff Series

April 15th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

After calling for your predictions for the four first round series in the Eastern Conference earlier in the day, we’re pivoting to the West this afternoon.

Here are the four first round series in the Western Conference:

Denver Nuggets (1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8)

Unlike in the East, where there are a handful of overwhelming favorites at the top of the conference, the Western Conference field appears more wide open as the playoffs begin. The Nuggets are heavily favored in this series, but their betting line (-550, per BetOnline.ag) isn’t anywhere close to the -1200 and -1300 lines we were seeing in the East.

As good as the Nuggets were this season, they weren’t playing their best basketball down the stretch, having lost five of their last seven games and 10 of their last 17 entering the postseason. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, had a disappointing year, but have a lot of high-end talent on their roster, including three-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, and ascendant All-Star Anthony Edwards.

A Timberwolves team playing to its full potential could give Denver trouble, but we haven’t seen that often this season. It would be a major upset if Tim Connelly‘s new team can get past his old one.

Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)

After incorporating their trade-deadline acquisitions on February 11, the Lakers went 18-8 to close the regular season, which would translate to a 57-win pace over 82 games.

Throw in the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are relatively healthy and two key members of the Grizzlies‘ frontcourt (Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke) aren’t, and it’s easy to understand why Memphis is only a slight favorite (-142) over Los Angeles (+122) in this series.

Still, the Grizzlies had the best net rating (+4.0) in the West this season and history is working in their favor — as John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the NBA’s No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds have lost 95 of 100 first round series in the last 25 years. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and company won’t be intimidated by the Lakers’ star power.

Sacramento Kings (3) vs. Golden State Warriors (6)

The Kings‘ reward for snapping a 16-season playoff drought is a first-round matchup against the defending champions, who have won titles in four of the last eight years.

The Warriors‘ impressive track record in the postseason has made them betting favorites (-265) in this series over Sacramento (+225). Golden State has had an up-and-down year, but has a huge experience edge in this matchup and seemed to be hitting its stride at the right time in the season’s final weeks. With Andrew Wiggins set to be available for Game 1, the roster is at full strength and will present a tough challenge for the higher-seeded Kings.

Still, the Kings have been exceeding expectations all season long, and their home crowd should be whipped into a frenzy for the first NBA playoff basketball in Sacramento since 2006. This has a chance to be a very fun series.

Phoenix Suns (4) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (5)

The key for both of these star-studded rosters is staying healthy. Suns forward Kevin Durant and guard Chris Paul have battled multiple injuries over the years, including this season, as have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Suns have the health advantage entering this series, with George considered unlikely to play vs. Phoenix as he recovers from a sprained knee.

Even if PG13 can return to action before the series ends, the Clippers will be in tough against a Phoenix team that has looked incredibly dangerous with Durant on the court. The former MVP has only played in eight games for the Suns since being acquired at the trade deadline, but they’ve won all eight, outscoring opponents by a total of 88 points in those contests.

The Suns are considered strong betting favorites, with a -465 line at BetOnline.ag.

Northwest Notes: Watson, NAW, Saric, Blazers

April 15th, 2023 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets rookie Peyton Watson didn’t play more than 10 minutes in an NBA game until March 31, but he averaged 22.4 MPG in Denver’s last six contests and his teammates were impressed by what they saw, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). More importantly, Watson quickly earned the confidence of head coach Michael Malone.

“If I have to use Peyton Watson in a playoff series, I will, if the situation calls upon it,” Malone said. “He’s shown me he can go out there against some really good players and teams and impact the game in a positive light.”

The 30th overall pick last June, Watson scored double-digit points in two of the Nuggets’ last six games and blocked three shots in two separate games. As Singer writes, the 20-year-old presumably won’t be part of Malone’s regular playoff rotation, but could be a fit in certain switchable, defensive-oriented lineups.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was something of an afterthought in February’s three-team Mike Conley/D’Angelo Russell/Russell Westbrook blockbuster, but the Timberwolves made his development a priority, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. As Krawczynski notes, that work paid off in Friday’s play-in game, when Alexander-Walker filled up the box score (12 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals, two blocks) and helped limit his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a 5-of-19 night. Alexander-Walker will be eligible for restricted free agency this July.
Asked on Saturday about his impending free agency, Thunder forward Dario Saric said he really enjoyed his time in Oklahoma City and would like to return, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter links). Saric went on to use an unorthodox metaphor to praise the organization. “You know, sometimes you can feel it,” he said of the Thunder. “Same like laptops. Some laptops are better than other ones. You know what I mean? Sometimes they have the same controls … but some of them are better, and that’s what I would say.”
This summer appears likely to be the Trail Blazers‘ last chance to make the right roster moves around Damian Lillard to steer the team toward contention, according to Bill Oram of The Oregonian. If that doesn’t happen, Oram writes, a breakup between Lillard and the Blazers could be around the corner.

Injury Notes: Wolves, Murray, Middleton, George

April 14th, 2023 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves will have both of their three-time All-Star big men active for Friday’s final play-in game against the Thunder, Minnesota announced (via Twitter). Rudy Gobert (back spasms) and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) were upgraded from questionable to available and will start, per the team.

Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell, who was previously questionable with left knee tendinopathy, will also be active. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News was first to report (via Twitter) that Nowell would be ready to go.

In an interesting rotational change, the Wolves are inserting Nickeil Alexander-Walker into the starting lineup for the first time to defend his cousin, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“They’re cousins, so there should be familiarity there but we like Nickeil’s ability to go get him full court and his size on him,” head coach Chris Finch said before the game (Twitter link via Alan Horton of Wolves Radio).

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray continues to be hampered by a nagging right thumb sprain on his shooting hand, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “I’m still thinking about it,” Murray said. “I’m full participating (in practice). It’s just sore. Every catch, every shot, I’m always fiddling with it trying to make it feel better, but it’ll be OK.” Denver’s second-leading scorer has been dealing with the injury for a few weeks, Singer adds, but he’s otherwise healthy and feeling ready for the playoffs.
Khris Middleton, a three-time All-Star for the Bucks, was a full practice participant on Thursday, according to an Associated Press report (link via ESPN). Middleton experienced discomfort in his right knee on April 5 against Chicago, causing him to leave the game early. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton were partial practice participants, per The AP — both players are dealing with right ankle sprains, causing them to miss the final few games of the regular season (four for Allen, three for Connaughton). The Bucks will face the Heat in their first-round playoff series after Miami defeated Chicago and advanced as the No. 8 seed in the East.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Law Murray of The Athletic, that star wing Paul George, who has been out since March 21 after suffering a right knee sprain, is making progress in his recovery. However, the team won’t rush him back for its first-round series against Phoenix, with Lue saying the Clippers need George to be “close to 100 percent” in order to prevent a possible re-injury. While there’s no official timeline for George’s return, a source tells Murray the veteran forward is targeting a potential second-round return, assuming the Clippers advance (Twitter link).

Poll: Friday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 14th, 2023 at 7:42am CST by Luke Adams

This is only the third year that the NBA’s play-in tournament has existed in its current form, so it’s not as if there’s a lengthy play-in history to help contextualize this year’s results. Still, the results through the first four games have been unprecedented.

Coming into this year, no No. 7 seed had ever lost a play-in game — Miami became the first team to do so on Tuesday.

Coming into this year, no No. 10 seed had ever won a play-in game — Chicago and Oklahoma City both achieved this feat on Wednesday.

With three upsets in four games, the play-in results haven’t been easy to forecast. Only 11.55% of our poll respondents picked Atlanta and the Lakers to win on Tuesday, and the success rate wasn’t a whole lot better on Wednesday, with 17.88% of voters taking Chicago and Oklahoma City.

Will Friday’s games continue to produce unexpected results, or will the favorites bear down and advance to the first round of the playoffs?

In the East, where the winner will advance to face Milwaukee in round one, the Heat are six-point favorites at home against the Bulls, according to BetOnline.ag.

But Miami is coming off a disappointing home loss and has played inconsistent basketball for much of the season, while Chicago has played some of its best ball since adding Patrick Beverley on the buyout market in February. It’s also worth noting that the Heat went 0-3 vs. the Bulls during the season and were outscored by 32 points in those games.

Out West, the upstart Thunder will visit Minnesota as 5.5-point underdogs against the Timberwolves, with the winner on track to face top-seeded Denver.

The Wolves entered the season last fall with aspirations of making a deep playoff run, while Oklahoma City seemed more focus on player development than making the postseason. But the acclimation of Rudy Gobert in Minnesota hasn’t gone as smoothly as the front office hoped, while rising Thunder stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Josh Giddey are providing a preview of a bright future in OKC.

Entering Friday’s game, the vibes certainly seem better on the Thunder’s side, where no one has punched a wall or a teammate lately (as far as we know, anyway). And perhaps the fact that no one expected them to be here will help the Thunder play freer and more confidently than the Timberwolves, whose season would be considered an even bigger disappointment if they can’t secure a playoff berth.

We want to know what you think. Are we in for more upsets on Friday, or will the higher-seed Heat and Timberwolves claim the NBA’s last two available playoff spots?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts!

Timberwolves Notes: Gobert, Back, Anderson, Offseason

April 13th, 2023 at 6:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert rejoined the team on Thursday after being suspended for Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Lakers, writes Dave Campbell of The Associated Press.

However, Gobert remains hampered by the back spams that he was experiencing on Sunday when he got into an altercation with Kyle Anderson that led to his suspension. He said he probably wouldn’t have been able to suit up on Tuesday either way, and his status for Friday’s matchup against the Thunder is up in the air.

“‘Still pretty sore, still not moving like I would like to be able to move, but small progress every day,” Gobert said.

Gobert, Jaylen Nowell (left knee tendinopathy) and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) are all questionable for Friday’s game, the team announced (via Twitter).

As for his relationship with Anderson, Gobert says they’ve moved past the incident, according to Campbell.

“We both apologized to each other and you move on. That’s life,” Gobert said. “It’s different when you have millions of people all watching videos and have an opinion on things that happened, but that we can’t control. What we can control is the respect that we have for each other and our relationship.

“I still love Kyle. He’s still my brother. I tell people, ‘Sometimes you fight with your family. Sometimes you fight with people that you have a lot of love and respect for.’ It’s life. No one is perfect. Mistakes happen and then you grow and you move on.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Anderson told reporters prior to Tuesday’s game that he and Gobert had moved on by Sunday night, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “We definitely hashed it out,” Anderson said. “That happens all the time in sports. I feel like people are acting like they’ve never seen it before. We’re grown men. We’re able to put it behind us. We both want to win. We spoke about it that night and just seeing how everything is playing out is kind of lame, honestly. We’re teammates at the end of the day. I don’t want it to be a Kyle vs. Rudy thing. That’s never the case. I always got my teammates’ back, and we moved on.”
Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune downplays the significance of Friday’s play-in game against the Thunder, as he doesn’t think the Wolves stand a chance against the top-seeded Nuggets anyway even if they win and advance as the No. 8 seed. However, Souhan does believe it could be a critical moment in Gobert’s career, writing that the center’s “remarkable immaturity” on Sunday was just the latest in a string of questionable decisions the 30-year-old has made over the past few years.
The altercation between Gobert and Anderson wasn’t the only unfortunate incident on Sunday — Jaden McDaniels punched a wall out of frustration after picking up a couple early fouls and broke his hand. Did those events — combined with the team’s inconsistent play and a limited sample size of the Gobert/Towns pairing — make the Wolves’ offseason plans even more complicated? Michael Rand and Patrick Reusse of The Star Tribune explored that topic in a recent podcast.
Anderson’s on-court versatility and strong defense were key factors in the Wolves finishing with a winning record in 2022/23 despite missing Towns for most of the season. Anderson’s blunt yet effective communication style also played a role in the team’s success, as Hine writes for the Star Tribune.

Poll: Tuesday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 11th, 2023 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

By the end of the night on Tuesday, two more first-round playoff matchups will be locked in, with the No. 7 seeds in both conferences having been determined.

The Eastern Conference’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup pits Jimmy Butler and the 44-38 Heat against Trae Young and the 41-41 Hawks. The two Southeast clubs will do battle on Tuesday at 7:30 pm Eastern time in Miami for the right to face the second-seeded Celtics in the first round.

Miami is the home team in this game, won the season series with Atlanta (3-1), and will enter as a 4.5-point favorite, per BetOnline.ag. The Heat haven’t looked as good this season as they did in 2021/22, when they claimed the top seed in the East and came within a couple plays of making the NBA Finals. But they’re as healthy now as they’ve been at any time this season and were far better at home (27-14) than on the road.

Miami has also done a good job defending Young — his 19.8 points per game on .356/.208/.865 shooting in four games this season vs. the Heat were the worst numbers he put up against any Eastern Conference team.

Atlanta, meanwhile, has been the epitome of a .500 club this season. Since going 13-13 in their first 26 games, the Hawks have had a .500 record an incredible 22 more times en route to a 41-41 finish.

Still, like the Heat, the Hawks are healthy entering Tuesday’s play-in game. They’ve been a winning team (38-35) when Young is available and have been a little more effective under head coach Quin Snyder (+1.8 net rating) than they were under Nate McMillan (-0.5). Perhaps Atlanta will also benefit from past play-in experience — the club won two play-in games a year ago to claim the No. 8 seed in the East.

Over in the West, the No. 7 Lakers (43-39) will host the No. 8 Timberwolves (42-20) in the second play-in game of the night to determine which team will advance to the playoffs and face the Grizzlies in round one.

The Lakers are eight-point favorites and it’s not hard to see why. Since their trade-deadline additions debuted on February 11, the Lakers have the NBA’s sixth-best net rating (+4.8) and third-best record (18-8), despite missing star forward LeBron James for 13 of those games. They’re playing their best basketball of the season at exactly the right time.

The Timberwolves, on the other hand, are entering the play-in tournament with their huge 2022 offseason addition – Rudy Gobert – set to serve a one-game suspension after punching a teammate on the sidelines in Sunday’s regular season finale. Meanwhile, breakout All-Defensive candidate Jaden McDaniels, whom the Wolves insisted on keeping when they dealt for Gobert, will be sidelined due to a separate punch — this one, aimed at a wall, broke McDaniels’ hand.

With Naz Reid (wrist surgery) also unavailable and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) listed as questionable, the Wolves will be the shorthanded team on Tuesday, but it’s worth noting that amidst all their drama and injuries, they pulled off an impressive comeback win over New Orleans on Sunday to claim the eighth spot in the West. Maybe the turmoil will help the team come together and pull off an upset victory in Los Angeles.

We want to know what you think. Which two teams will win tonight’s games and claim the No. 7 seeds for the playoffs?

Vote in our poll below, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Wolves Confirm McDaniels Has Broken Hand, Out Indefinitely

April 10th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has sustained fractures of the third and fourth metacarpals of his right hand, the team announced in a press release.

According to the Wolves, the third-year small forward has been placed in a cast and is out indefinitely.

While Minnesota didn’t provide a recovery timeline, Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com notes (via Twitter) that Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III sustained a similar injury in 2022/23 and missed 19 games and 54 days after undergoing surgery (20 total games). Based on that rough timeline, the Wolves will have to make a very deep postseason run for McDaniels to have a chance to return — the NBA Finals tip off on June 1.

The 22-year-old broke his hand on Sunday when he punched a wall in the arena tunnel out of frustration after picking up a couple early fouls. Sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) that McDaniels apologized to the team and took responsibility for his error in judgment. Krawczynski points out that McDaniels went down a tunnel that was covered in a plastic curtain and was unaware of the concrete wall behind it.

McDaniels is the team’s top wing defender and had his best offensive season to date, averaging 12.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .517/.398/.736 shooting in 79 games, all starts (30.6 MPG). He will eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.

In other Minnesota health news, guard Jaylen Nowell is trending in a positive direction for Tuesday’s play-in game against the Lakers, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SkorNorth (Twitter link). Nowell has missed 17 of the past 20 games due to left knee tendinopathy.

Rudy Gobert Receives One-Game Suspension, Out Vs. Lakers

April 10th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

1:23pm: The Wolves officially confirmed Gobert’s one-game suspension in a press release.

12:36pm: Rudy Gobert isn’t traveling with the Timberwolves and will not compete in the play-in game against the Lakers on Tuesday after receiving a one-game suspension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

Gobert is expected to return for the following game(s), whether that’s another play-in contest or a first-round playoff series, Wojnarowski adds.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wolves decided to suspend Gobert after reviewing his altercation with Kyle Anderson on Sunday, when Gobert took a swing at his frontcourt teammate. The two players continued to argue at halftime, with Gobert ultimately getting sent home by the team.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was experiencing back spasms that hindered his mobility, but was pushed to play yesterday due to the importance of the game. Reports indicated that Anderson profanely told Gobert to play better defense, which evidently caused Gobert to punch Anderson in the left shoulder/chest area. The veteran center subsequently privately and publicly apologized, but obviously the team didn’t take his actions lightly.

The Wolves will also be without Jaden McDaniels for the rest of the season after he broke his hand punching a wall. The third-year forward was frustrated after picking up two early fouls. Backup center Naz Reid is expected to miss several weeks as well following wrist surgery to repair a fracture.

Despite being down two starters for the majority of the game, Minnesota wound up defeating New Orleans in a close, back-and-forth game. The victory clinched the No. 8 seed entering the play-in tournament for the Wolves, while the Pelicans fell to No. 9.

The winner of the Lakers/Wolves matchup will advance as the No. 7 seed and play Memphis in the first round. The loser will play the winner of Wednesday’s Pelicans/Thunder matchup on Friday for a chance at the No. 8 seed.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, McDaniels, Grant, Giddey

April 10th, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves haven’t determined if Rudy Gobert will accompany the team for Tuesday’s play-in game against the Lakers, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Gobert was sent home during Sunday’s contest after a fight on the bench with teammate Kyle Anderson that reignited at halftime. Head coach Chris Finch told reporters that he will talk with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly before making a final decision on Gobert’s status.

Krawczynski sheds a little more light on the incident, revealing that Gobert was experiencing back spasms Sunday and Anderson pushed him to play because the Wolves needed a win to avoid falling into the 9-10 play-in matchup. Gobert started the game, but his movement was limited by the back condition. During a timeout, Anderson snapped at him to improve his defense and Gobert responded with a punch that hit Anderson in the left shoulder before they were quickly separated.

Gobert was escorted to the locker room with 4:37 left in the first half, but he and Anderson confronted each other again during halftime. Connelly and assistant GM Dell Demps had to calm down the situation and made the decision to have Gobert leave the arena.

Gobert issued a public apology on Twitter Sunday night, admitting that “emotions got the best of me today.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jaden McDaniels‘ broken right hand was a result of frustration after being whistled for two early fouls on Sunday, Krawczynski adds. McDaniels walked down the tunnel to try to calm down and wound up punching a wall, leaving the Timberwolves to prepare for the Lakers without their best perimeter defender. “Certainly immaturity has been one of our issues all season,” Finch said.
Jerami Grant is pondering a four-year, $112MM extension offer from the Trail Blazers, but even if he opts for free agency it sounds like there’s a good chance he’ll stay in Portland, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I definitely like it here,” Grant said. “I’m looking forward to the talks and trying to figure something out. I definitely feel comfortable here.”
With a play-in spot already wrapped up, the Thunder had the luxury of resting their rotation players on Sunday, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. There’s plenty of optimism in Oklahoma City after a top-10 finish in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. “From where we were last year to this year, it speaks volumes to what we’ve been able to do and how much we’ve been able to improve,” Josh Giddey said. “As long as we stay on this right path, I think this team and this organization is gonna be in good hands for a long time.”

Gobert Sends Apology To Teammates

April 9th, 2023 at 7:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The confrontation between the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson got physical when Anderson profanely told Gobert to shut up during a timeout, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The argument began with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots and Gobert replying that Anderson should grab some rebounds.

The duo also had a heated verbal exchange in the locker room at halftime, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Timberwolves guard Mike Conley played a crucial role in calming things down and getting the team refocused.

After being told to leave the building, Gobert sent an apologetic text message to his Timberwolves teammates in a group chat, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets. Anderson said he’ll talk things over with Gobert. “We’ll speak about it and move on. We’re grown men,” Anderson said.