Timberwolves

The team struggled significantly in the closeout game, exposing glaring roster holes and poor individual performances.

“the hardest thing for a young team to do is close out in the way that they closed out, close out on the road, and set the tone early. And this looked like a ver- a championship level closeout that you see from veteran groups, that you see from a team led by an…”

The team that lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs.

“What's popping, Real Ones? Logan Murdock here, Howard Motherfucking Beck there. Real Ones After Dark. Let's fucking go. I'm excited. And the night of semifinal game sixes, we got a tale of two different types of teams, right? We had the championship-level team…”

The hosts discuss the team's recent playoff runs and the need to evaluate their roster moving forward.

“... and just, like, everything goes wrong, and then they bu- the Butler thing goes haywire, and then you're back to not quite to square one, but back to, like, "We gotta figure out what the hell we're doing with this team." And now you've been in two straight …”

The team that was broken down by the Spurs during their playoff series.

“I think Minnesota was really good, and I think San Antonio just kind of broke them as the series went along. Specifically Randall, who just, his brain broke during that series. Um-”

Discussed as a team that lost to San Antonio in the second round and faces difficult roster decisions.

“... it's, I mean, that's like har- And, and again, like, what are you gonna tear down a, a conference finals team 'cause... Now, you have decisions to make, and the salary cap forces you to make decisions and all that kind of stuff, but it's, it's hard to get …”

Mentioned as a team that had a notable series against the Nuggets.

“It was great, and it just immediately was over for, for two plus years. We never had the awesome Nuggets kind of, oh my God, Nuggets series either bec- and, and probably the closest was that, that first battle with the Timberwolves when the Timberwolves ended …”

Mentioned alongside the Vikings as a team whose championship would be significant for Minnesota.

“I th- Well, look, I mean, outside the arena is already a complete shitshow after every game. And I mean that mostly affectionately, but also, like, leave J.R. Smith alone, and leave poor Brian Windhorst alone this year if he comes to town. Um, it's already ins…”

Used as an example of a team falling short in their series and the resulting pressure.

“So one thing I was thinking about with the Knicks and the Cavs, and it's, it's off of Minnesota falling short in their series about these little windows that teams have. The, the can't-get-over-the-hump teams. The teams that they win a few playoff series, they…”

The team currently struggling to maintain their physical energy and offensive flow in the playoffs.

“They should've, they should've probably lost that game. Uh, uh, but they have been, they've been very resilient. And Ant has been great, um, in spurts. He goes through spurts of the game, and I don't know if it's like the knee. Um, y- you know, because you're,…”

Noted as a strong team that takes on the personality of their star player, Anthony Edwards.

“... chucking up his own shots, and he's done a really good job of that. Um, but you're right. I mean, they, the Lakers were just outmatched and outclassed in, in all those ways. No shade to them, but you know, OKC is just a juggernaut. I do wanna say, though, …”

Mentioned as a potential playoff opponent for San Antonio.

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A highly confident and dangerous team that has successfully disrupted the Spurs' rhythm in recent matchups.

“Okay, I wanna talk about, uh, Wemby. We can talk about the, the elbow, but what I really wanna talk about is, um... We talked about the Spurs this season, and one of the things that I thought was like, yo, they're really talented, and they're really good, and …”

Discussed as a team that has exceeded expectations and is heading into a crucial game five.

“Um, before we get to, uh... I wanna get to Minnes- I wanna get to Minnesota. What have you thought about them, um, and... I mean, they ha- they just still have a chance. They have a big... This, this series is tied up, right? Like-”

Praised for their defensive intensity against Wembanyama.

“I fully expected them to have won that game, um, until that happened. And they still almost won that game. Like, they came out in the third quarter, they were cooking. They stopped making shots. Kudos to, to Minnesota for, like, bowing up defensively. And then…”

Noted for their resilience and ability to perform as underdogs in the playoffs.

“I don't know that they will, but I think that they can because I'm done, I'm done, um, doubting the Timberwolves after everything they've done in, it feels like the last three playoffs.”

Described as a team of 'dogs' for their defensive intensity.

“The, the Timberwolves are just dogs. They, everyone on the Timberwolves is a dog. So-”

Lost to the Spurs in the playoffs and are noted for their consistent presence in postseason upsets.

“A scramble would've been awesome. Um, okay, other news. We got, uh, the Spurs won game six convincingly against the Timberwolves. We now have Spurs-OKC in the Western Conference Final starting Monday night. Gonna be awesome. Uh, and then we also had the fallou…”

The team that struggled against the Spurs and was ultimately outmatched in the series.

“Not being able to get over that hump Correct. Correct. And I- they would've lost the series if Anthony Ether- Edwards was 100% healthy, I believe. Mm. But it would've been maybe more competitive, because when you see, like, they won game one, which was a littl…”

The team lost to the Spurs by 30 points and faced locker room criticism.

“I am sure we will talk about this more at length as the season approaches. Remember, he will reunite with Mike McCarthy, who now is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. We go back to the NBA, and we go back to Friday when the Spurs closed out the Timberw…”

Discussed in the context of needing to trade players like Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert.

“And so when you hear those comments, it's only highlighting one individual. And so if you're, if you're the Minnesota Timberwolves, number one, Naz Reid should be a starter in the near future. And I'm talking about next year. I'm tired of him coming in off the…”

Mentioned as a previous opponent in the playoffs.

“Oh, Wemby. Wemby. Because of the rivalry between him and Chet Holmgren. Like, we... Listen, when they first started battling it out, it was like, uh, uh, eye to eye level, and now this year it's been a separation. And we know Wemby hates Chet and Chet hates We…”

The team is in a difficult position due to the league's decision not to suspend Wembanyama.

“And if you try to take him out of the game [laughs] they gonna take you out of the game. So Minnesota is in a dicey situation, there's no question about that. But that still doesn't mean that Draymond Green is wrong about anything that he said, or the question…”

The team involved in the playoff series against the Spurs.

“... it was the elbow that helped the Wolves win game four, but Wemby was not suspended. Why Draymond Green has a big problem with that, and is he right? [upbeat music]”

The team playing against the Spurs in the current series.

“Timberwolves offense in series verse Spurs, Wemby on the court, 15.2 average field goal attempts. 43% of field goal attempts in the paint. Wemby on the bench, 11.4 average field goal attempt, 62% in the paint. Shout out to Genius IQ, says Hembo. That means don…”

The team the Spurs must defeat to advance in the playoffs.

“So they are the favorites to do it, obviously, 'cause they were the best team, uh, in the NBA this season. Um, but when you look at it, OK- or sorry, um, the Spurs were four and one against OKC this season. They were literally the only team that OKC had a prob…”

Mentioned as part of the current NBA playoff matchups.

“Timberwolves-Spurs, Cavaliers-Pistons.”