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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Give me your oft-mocked, your castoffs, your players who were told they couldn’t do it come playoff time.
The Timberwolves just did it. Minnesota finished off the Lakers in five games with a 103-96 win in Los Angeles, about as comprehensive a beating you’ll see a team with LeBron James or Luka Dončić — much less both — take.
- Rudy Gobert, mocked and memed and played off the court in postseasons past, put up 27 points and 24 rebounds while shooting 80% (12 for 15). The only other player to do that in a playoff game is Wilt Chamberlain.
- Julius Randle, part of the blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade after he was deemed expendable by the Knicks, scored 23 points with some big ones down the stretch.
- All this came with Minnesota shooting 7 for 47 (15%) from 3, worst ever in a playoff game with a minimum of 40 attempts. Anthony Edwards went 0 for 11 from deep.
- Still — and this was emblematic of Minnesota as a whole — Edwards finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. What a competitor.
The Timberwolves were simply better. Deeper. Physically dominant. Harder-working. More disciplined. The numbers don’t lie. In this series, Minnesota …
- Outscored Los Angeles by 42 in the fourth quarter
- Outscored Los Angeles 134-55 off the bench
- Outrebounded Los Angeles by 24 and had 17 fewer turnovers, leading to 41 more field goals attempted
Yeah, that’s domination in basically every non-shooting area. Wow.
Listen, I don’t know if the Timberwolves have the requisite firepower, but I do know they have the requisite willpower, one that will make life difficult on any opponent. They are relentless. They get the most out of their talent. And for just the third time in franchise history — and second in two years — they are advancing past the first round.
Earlier in the night, the Rockets beat the Warriors, 131-116, behind big performances from Fred VanVleet (26 points on 8-for-13 shooting), Amen Thompson (25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, five steals, three blocks) and Dillon Brooks (24 points). Houston led by 31 before the Golden State reserves actually got it within striking range, but never any closer.
Stephen Curry had 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting, and Thompson continuing to be an absolute menace is a big reason why, Brad Botkin writes.
👍 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS
For a team that made so much noise the regular season, the Lakers went awfully quietly in the postseason. Despite two of the greatest talents the game has ever seen, Los Angeles cracked triple-digit points in just two of the five games. The Timberwolves exposed a lot of flaws, frankly. Depth was one of them, and JJ Redick was none too happy when asked about it.
Now comes a huge offseason. Dončić will continue to acclimate. James, who has a player option, isn’t getting younger but remains a very, very good player. Austin Reaves can fill out if not a “Big 3” at least a pretty good three.
But three players don’t make a team, and this was always an incomplete roster. The first need is a center. Desperately. Sam Quinn has the offseason primer for the Lakers.
- Quinn: “This should be a good offseason to look for a center on the trade market, which works out nicely, because it’s a pretty limited market in free agency with one exception. … The priorities here are rim-protection and lob-finishing. The ideal Laker center does both. Price matters on a few levels.”
Sam has several interesting targets as the Lakers hope to move forward from their first first-round loss as a top-three seed … There’s also the question of what James decides to do next season.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 Post-draft NFL Power Rankings, plus biggest draft upgrades
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Pete Prisco’s post-draft NFL Power Rankings are in. Here’s the top five:
- Eagles
- Chiefs
- Bills
- Lions
- Ravens
It’s pretty much the usual suspects up top, but I was surprised to see the Seahawks all the way down at 27th. I think Seattle is much improved on the offensive line and, after a 10-win season and a strong draft, should be a little higher heading into Mike Macdonald‘s second season. Time will tell, I suppose!
Staying in the NFC West, I liked the Cardinals‘ draft, and Cody Benjamin noted areas of improvement for every team. For Arizona, it was …
- Benjamin: “Cornerback — Will Johnson might open 2025 as Arizona’s top cover man by a long shot, provided he stays upright after some medical concerns. His ball-hawking isn’t the only addition to Jonathan Gannon‘s secondary, either, with Ohio State‘s Denzel Burke also coming aboard as a late-rounder.”
One fascinating aspect of the draft is how teams fill — or don’t fill — their supposed “needs.” It tells us a lot about if the team actually considers it a need. Tyler Sullivan assessed which teams addressed needs and which teams didn’t, and the Cowboys not selecting a wide receiver was a bit of an eye opener. Instead, they took sturdy guard Tyler Booker in the first round, so Dak Prescott came out both a winner and a loser from Dallas’ draft.
We also have Patriots draft winners and losers, how the Seahawks will use Jalen Milroe and AFC West offseason grades.
🏀 Giannis Antetokounmpo trade destinations
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We’ve determined that it’s probably time for the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo to part ways, with an underwhelming, injury-riddled roster not inspiring much confidence. After all, Milwaukee has won just one playoff series since its 2021 title.
But where would he go? Sam ranked all 29 potential landing spots in an Antetokounmpo deal.
Two teams fall in the top tier, and — spoiler alert — the Nets are No. 1. At first, I didn’t love it, but Sam makes an interesting case.
- Quinn: “The plan would be to divide its assets in half, using some to snag Antetokounmpo and the rest to get him his co-star. If they happen to get Cooper Flagg, then all the better, they could preserve even more assets for the co-star. Would this necessarily be Antetokounmpo’s cleanest path to another ring? No, probably not. But it’s a chance for him to build his own team in one of the NBA’s two most player-friendly markets. This logic got Kevin Durant to Brooklyn six years ago. It could very easily do the same for Antetokounmpo.”
⚽ UEFA Champions League: Lamine Yamal shines as Barcelona, Inter draw 3-3
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Barcelona and Inter produced plenty of magical moments and ultimately left Wednesday’s semifinal first leg where they started: still tied.
Not tied at zero, though: tied at 3.
After Marcus Thuram scored the earliest goal in UEFA Champions League semifinal history inside the first minute, Denzel Dumfries doubled the lead 20 minutes later.
Then Barcelona rallied. After picking up an injury in warmups, wunderkind Lamine Yamal scored a worldie, dribbling past several defenders before a magnificent finish. Ferran Torres tied it up before halftime.
Dumfries wasn’t done, scoring in the 63rd minute, but again, Barcelona had an answer, this time via a thunderbolt of a strike from Raphinha that officially went down as a Yann Sommer own goal.
Yamal and Dumfries shared top marks in Chuck Booth’s player ratings.
- Booth: “Yamal: 9 — How is he still only 17? From his runs to his vision and ability to shoot from anywhere, there isn’t much that Yamal can’t do on a soccer pitch, and his excellence was on display Tuesday with his goal and every step that he took. 9.
- Booth: “Dumfries: 9 — Excellent both on set pieces and from open play, two goals and an assist from a right back is excellent production.”
The things Yamal does almost don’t make sense, but don’t take my word for it: CBS Sports soccer analyst Thierry Henry says “It’s just not normal” for him to be this good this young, and fellow analyst Micah Richards dubbed him “Lamine the Dream.”
Still, it’s 3-3 heading back to Milan. Francesco Porzio has three reasons the Nerazzurri can win next week’s second leg.
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
⚾ Diamondbacks at Mets or Twins at Guardians, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Nationals at Phillies or Red Sox at Blue Jays, 6:45 p.m. on MLB Network
🏒 Maple Leafs at Senators (Maple Leafs lead 3-2), 7 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Knicks at Pistons (Knicks lead 3-2), 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Golden Knights at Wild (Golden Knights lead 3-2), 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Stars at Avalanche (Stars lead 3-2), 9:30 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Nuggets at Clippers (Nuggets lead 3-2), 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Kings at Oilers (Oilers lead 3-2), 10 p.m. on ESPN
