It's been nearly two decades since the Minnesota Timberwolves last received national attention in the NBA playoffs. Their last series victory came during the 2003-04 campaign, when they advanced to the Western Conference finals as a No. 1 seed, and dating back to that time, they've only produced two winning seasons and made the playoffs once. In 2018, it was a quick first-round exit.
But Minnesota's drought as playoff pretenders could reach its end this spring, if the effort on Sunday against the heavy-favorite Memphis Grizzlies was any indication. Behind stellar performances from stars Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves pulled off a Game 1 upset in their opening-round, proving that they didn't accidentally win 46 regular season games.
"We're ready for war and not scared of anybody. We've been through a lot of adversity, and we're ready to fight for what we deserve," Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley told The Zach Gelb Show on Monday. "I feel like people don't understand what we've been through as an organization. With the new guys coming in, I feel like people don't respect who we are as a team.
"Going through identity, figuring out each other's roles, going through COVID. Having a new coach and new GM. People just don't see the Timberwolves as a top-tier team, and we definitely are. We didn't come into the playoffs just to get in the first round -- we're going for a championship. Honestly, it takes one game at a time, that's what we're focused on. Not looking at the long run."
Off the bench, Beasley recorded 23 points with four three-pointers in 30 total minutes against Memphis. As for Edwards, he scored a team-high 36 points in his first-career playoff game, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, he's one of four players to ever post 35 points in a postseason contest before turning 21. Towns has also recorded double-doubles in 13 of his last 18 games.
Minnesota, which clinched the Western Conference's seventh-seed, will play Game 2 on Tuesday night (8:30 ET tip-off) inside FedEx Forum. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Timberwolves currently have a 53-percent chance to reach the semifinal round. Back in 2004, when the franchise last appeared in the West finals, nearly every player on the current roster was in elementary school.
The entire Timberwolves conversation between Beasley and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
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