NBA Playoff Picture 2023: Final West Bracket After Timberwolves Beat Thunder

The Minnesota Timberwolves used a play-in tournament victory to get into the NBA postseason field for the second straight season.

The Wolves needed an extra play-in game this time around, as they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-95 on Friday after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime on Tuesday.

A year ago, the Wolves won their first play-in contest and took two first-round games against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Minnesota will try to bank on that experience to challenge the Denver Nuggets in the first-round series that tips off on Sunday night in Colorado.

However, the challenge in 2023 is far steeper than it was against Memphis. Minnesota has to travel to Colorado on a single day of rest and must deal with the altitude that comes with playing road games against the Nuggets.

Denver has all the pressure on it to take care of the Wolves in four or five games to earn some time off in a loaded Western Conference playoff field. Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers or Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns await the Nuggets-Wolves winner in the second round,

Game 1 between Minnesota and Denver will be the final first-round series opener to be played in the NBA. Three of the four Western Conference series start on Sunday. The Golden State Warriors' visit to the Sacramento Kings is the only West opener on Saturday.

Western Conference Bracket

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SALT LAKE CITY UT - APRIL 8: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets runs up the court against the Utah Jazz during the first half of their game on April 8, 2023 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement(Photo by Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 8 Minnesota

No. 4 Phoenix vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers

No. 3 Sacramento vs. No. 6 Golden State

No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers

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Game 1 Schedule

Saturday, April 15

Golden State at Sacramento (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Sunday, April 16

Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis (3 p.m. ET, ABC)

Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix (8 p.m. ET, TNT)

Minnesota at Denver (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

Full series schedules can be found here on NBA.com.

Minnesota Looking to Pose Another 1st-Round Challenge

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LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 11: Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2023 Play-In Tournament on April 11, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

Minnesota can draw on its first-round fight from last season to deal with Denver.

The Wolves came into Memphis with more rest than they will have entering Colorado, but they do have the advantage of playing two games in the last week.

Denver's core players have an eight-day layoff between their last regular-season game together and Game 1 against Minnesota. The Nuggets rested their starters in the regular-season finale on April 9.

Results from the last two seasons do not suggest the Wolves will be close to the Nuggets in the series.

The New Orleans Pelicans in 2022 were the only No. 8 seed to win multiple games in a first-round series after participating in two play-in contests.

The Atlanta Hawks from last season and the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards in 2021 all lost by a 4-1 margin in their first-round series.

Memphis was the only team in that group to win their series opener, so there is a glimmer of hope that the Wolves can come away with a victory on Sunday.

Minnesota needs its pair of star scorers, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, to be at their best in Denver not just to win Game 1, but to come away with multiple wins in the series.

Towns produced 28 points in Friday's win over the Thunder, while Edwards contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds. All five starters and Kyle Anderson reached double figures in the points column. That scoring depth is necessary to compete with the Nuggets.

The big worry for the Wolves is how Rudy Gobert matches up with Nikola Jokić.

Jokić has 10 straight 20-point games against Gobert, and he has averaged 20.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 21 matchups with the Wolves center, per StatMuse.

Nuggets, Wolves Split Regular-Season Series

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DENVER, COLORADO - FEBRUARY 07: Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives against Ish Smith #14 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter at Ball Arena on February 7, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The Nuggets and Wolves split their four regular-season contests.

All of the four games took place between January 2 and February 7, so Minnesota has not faced the Nuggets with its current roster configuration.

Minnesota received 18 points from D'Angelo Russell in one of its two wins on February 5.

The Wolves also got 35 points out of Jaden McDaniels in their two victories over Denver. McDaniels will not be available for the Denver series after he fractured his hand in the regular-season finale.

The Wolves will attempt to replace McDaniels' scoring output and defensive impact with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anderson.

Alexander-Walker started on Friday night. He will be tasked with limiting either Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. if he features in that role against Denver.

Anderson produced 11 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench. He needs to match what Bruce Brown does as Denver's sixth man to even out the matchup. Brown averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season.

Minnesota's defense could be its downfall if Denver lights up the scoreboard. The Nuggets put up 146 and 122 points in their pair of wins over the Wolves.

The Wolves allowed 3.3 more points per game than Denver in the regular season and held one opponent under 100 points on the road since March 1.

Edwards, Towns and others can score all they want, but if Minnesota's defense can't deal with the challenge posed by Jokić, Murray, Porter and others, it will be a long series for the No. 8 seed.