Running through the Timberwolves’ potential first-round playoff options

Should the Timberwolves beat Utah as theyre heavily favored to do on Sunday, Minnesota secures a top-six seed in the West and its fourth straight playoff berth.

But where the Timberwolves would open in the playoffs, with what seed and against which opponent, is entirely not up to them.

ADVERTISEMENT Here are the scenarios for the other games Sunday Denver playing in Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers playing in Golden State that will determine Minnesotas first-round setup.

The scenario: Denver wins, Clippers win: Wolves are the 6 seed vs.

the 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers The skinny: Viewed widely as the worst setup for Minnesota, there is nothing overly enticing about a first-round matchup against two greats in Lebron James and Luka Doncic.

The Lakers may struggle to find ways to defend Anthony Edwards without contributing numerous resources to the cause.

And Los Angeles doesnt possess the size necessary to keep Rudy Gobert off the glass.

So Minnesota has a couple of matchup advantages.

But its difficult to envision a best-of-seven series against two of the leagues most cerebral players breaking in Minnesotas favor.

The scenario: Denver wins, Golden State wins: Wolves are the 5 seed vs.

the 4 seed Nuggets The skinny: On paper, this looks like the best possible scenario for Minnesota, who would get to square off with a team it swept in four regular season meetings this season and knocked out of last years playoffs.

ADVERTISEMENT Denver simply doesnt have the personnel to defend the Timberwolves, and Minnesotas wings have proven they can slow down and frustrate Denvers No.

2 and No.

3 scoring options in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.

Certainly, its always a scary proposition to go against the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic, but Jokic has to exert himself to no end to give Denver a chance on the defensive end.

And its asking a lot, even against a player in as good of physical condition as Jokic, to play such a key role in the teams defensive scheme while also having to carry the offensive burden.

The scenario: Denver loses, Clippers win: Wolves are the 5 seed vs.

the 4 seed Clippers The skinny: A Nuggets loss feels unlikely given the Rockets whove secured the No.

2 seed in the West rested numerous starters in each of their previous two games and figure to do so again Sunday.

But should Houston pull the upset, this would be an intriguing first-round matchup for Minnesota.

The Wolves swept the Clippers in three regular season meetings and have had success against Los Angeles in the past.

But it should be noted the Clippers werent entirely healthy for any of those regular season matchups, and they are one of the hottest teams in the NBA entering the postseason.

The Clippers play an isolation brand of offense that plays directly into the strengths of Minnesotas defense, but the Clippers also have the personnel necessary to give Minnesotas offense issues if the Wolves dont generate enough offense with their defense.

This series could be a potential slog.

ADVERTISEMENT The scenario: Denver loses, Golden State wins: Wolves are the 4 seed vs.

the 5 seed Clippers The skinny: This would be Minnesotas one path to earning home-court advantage to open the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Should Minnesota lose to Utah, it will be in the play-in tournament as the No.

7 or No.

8 seed.

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