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The Spurs have advanced to the second round of the playoffs and face an unexpected opponent. The Timberwolves didn’t play great for most of the season, finishing sixth in the Western Conference, but used their size and physicality to outperform the Denver
Nuggets, despite losing key players during the series. Donte Divencenzo is out for the rest of the season, but he’s already back on the bench cheering on his teammates. Anthony Edwards suffered a scary looking knee injury with a hyperextension and bone bruise in the third quarter of Game 3 in the first round, but he could be back on the court as early as tonight, an unbelievable 9 days after what looked like it could be a season-ending injury.
The Wolves were able to survive through the defensive efforts of Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle, who bothered Nikola Jokic so much that he lost his composure more than once, and terrific performances from Jaden McDaniels, and a rotating cast of super subs—Ayo Dosunmu with a record-setting 43 points off the bench in game 4, and Terrance Shannon Jr. with 24 in Game 6.
This should be a much tougher test that the first round matchup against the Trail Blazers, who don’t have the wealth of talent and size on Minnesota’s roster. The Spurs nominally have five players on the roster who can play at the center spot, but it’s pretty apparent that they only want to play Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet when the game is on the line, except in smallball lineups, where Carter Bryant has been playing well. Bryant is dealing with a foot sprain, so it’s imperative for the Spurs that VW1 and LK7 stay out of foul trouble tonight. Rudy Gobert is notably bad at offense, so maybe the Spurs could hide a bad defender on him part of the time, but you still would hate to see Mason Plumlee out there unless the game is already decided.
It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments that Mitch Johnson will make to the Spurs offensive and defensive sets for the Timberwolves. Victor could take advantage of Gobert’s ineptness as a scorer to roam a bit more and create zone of exclusion in the paint for the Timberwolves, which would force them to rely heavily on hitting their outside shots. They’re a pretty good three point shooting team, so that wouldn’t necessarily work out in the Spurs’ favor, unless the perimeter defenders can quickly close out around the three point line.
Game Prediction:
The Spurs go wild from beyond the arc, with Champagnie, Vassell, and Wembanyama all hitting at least eight triples.
San Antonio Spurs vs Minnesota Timberwolves, Second Round, Game 1
May 4, 2026 | 8:30 PM CT
Streaming: Peacock
TV: Peacock, NBCSN
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