Is Game 6 the Timberwolves’ last stand? ‘There’s no one in this group that is a quitter’

It’s last stand time for the Timberwolves – for the series, for the season and likely for this iteration of the roster.

Minnesota sits in a precarious situation in the Western Conference semifinals, trailing 3-2 against a Spurs team that, by all accounts, has been the superior squad in this series. The odds of the Timberwolves rallying back to win the series are low.

National pundits are already sizing up the potential, long-awaited West Finals between the Spurs and Thunder.

After Minnesota was blasted in Game 5, Wolves guard Anthony Edwards said the guys in the locker room were not worried. Rudy Gobert declined to use that word Thursday. But he acknowledged Minnesota is “realistic.” The Wolves know where they stand. It’s certainly not the position they would have picked to be in.

“But we also believe in our chance. We believe in who we are,” Gobert said. “Even if the whole world is not believing in us like we believe in ourselves, as long as we have that belief, anything is possible. That comes from a basketball game or anything in life, in general. We believe in ourself. We know that the role is hard, but I think this group is able to accomplish very hard things.”

They’ve proven it before. The Wolves trailed Denver 3-2 in the 2024 Western Conference semifinals before rallying back to take the series. That’s been brought up multiple times since Tuesday’s Game 5. But Gobert noted that only means Minnesota is “capable of accomplishing incredible things.” It’s far from predictive evidence.

“Now, it’s a different team, different series, different year,” he said. “So it’s on us to not just be happy that we did that two years ago, but understand why we did that and understand how we did that.”

Belief is great, but substance is required.

It’s likely Minnesota believed it could rally from 3-1 deficits in each of the last two Western Conference Finals, but was run off the floor in Game 5 on each occasion to close out the series.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said this is the most resilient team he’s had in his Minnesota tenure. The Wolves have battled through injuries even in these playoffs to reach this point. Past experience has helped Minnesota understand the ups and downs of the season and push through it all to get here.

The Wolves understand Tuesday’s 29-point loss still only counted as one defeat. Now the challenge is to get back up off the mat. Jaden McDaniels expects that resilience to present itself in “full force” Friday at Target Center.

“Everyone’s gonna be ready to play,” he said. “You can tell by (Thursday) just how everyone’s locked in in practice.”

This is the time to run through a wall. This is Minnesota’s third consecutive deep playoff run, and second with this general roster construction. But nothing lasts forever, particularly in the NBA. The Timberwolves entered the campaign with championship aspirations. Should they fall Friday to San Antonio, they’ll both have fallen short of that stated goal and look to be a step or two behind the conference’s elite – the Spurs and Thunder.