The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. You might wonder if qualifying for the play-in-tournament qualifies you for the playoffs. The answer to that question is no. Only the teams that win the 7-8 game, and the game between the loser of the 7-8 game and the winner of the 9-10 game are officially playoff bound.
On Tuesday, the Timberwolves qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 10th time in the history of the franchise with a 109-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the 7-8 playoff game. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves in scoring with 30 points.
It was a sweet victory for Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley. The Chicago native spent four seasons with the Clippers before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, and then the Timberwolves in the offseason.
One area of concern for the Timberwolves going forward however is the play of star center Karl-Anthony Towns. On Tuesday, he only had 11 points, fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, and was even called out by Reggie Miller on the TNT broadcast for “not playing smart.” With the win, the Timberwolves will now play the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
Minnesota previously qualified for the NBA playoffs for eight straight years from 1997-2004 in the Kevin Garnett-era, and then in the 2018 NBA playoffs where they lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round. Minnesota’s playoff series wins both came in 2004, when they beat the Denver Nuggets in five games in the Western Conference quarterfinals, and then the Sacramento Kings in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Do you like the NBA Play-In tournament? Should it be scrapped? You can have your chance to vote through twitter.
