After a surprising first-round win over the Nuggets, the Timberwolves have already handed the Spurs a loss in their second-round series. And they did it the same way, by throwing their army of bigs at their respective opponent's stars, a strategy that is paying off in a major way this offseason.
Yes, there are still questions surrounding the Wolves in the playoffs. Fans wonder if they've done enough to build a championship contender around Anthony Edwards. Does this roster have what it takes to finally make it past the Western Conference Championship and into the NBA Finals?
So far, it seems like the answer is an optimistic "yes" with more than a little hesitation. Minnesota's first-round victory over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, achieved without Edwards, was impressive to say the least. How they did it has been a hallmark of the Wolves' rivalry with Denver's finest.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' big-men trio is a problem
The Nuggets live and die by the gameplay of Jokic. He is possibly the greatest active player in the NBA, after all. But the Wolves have been able to somewhat neutralize the Joker by throwing big after big at him. These days, that's Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid.
What the Wolves do is put out different combinations to make Jokic's life incredibly difficult. Sometimes, they even run a three big lineup that has the whole trio on the floor, giving them a massive presence for someone like Jokic to get through.
Minnesota also has the option of sending them at Jokic one at a time. Rotating them with some frequency keeps each big fresh for the Wolves while wearing Jokic down. Fans have seen this strategy in the playoffs in three of the last four postseasons.
The Jokic strategy will also work on Wembanyama
Now in round two, the Wolves are taking on the Spurs, a great team featuring one of the top centers in the league, Victor Wembanyama. He is the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year and picked up a triple-double in game one made of points, rebounds, and blocks, which is absolutely nuts.
Yet, the Spurs didn't win, and Wembanyama was held to 11 points. This was the result of the Wolves' triple-big strategy. Once again, they have Gobert, Randle, and Reid to try and keep Wembanyama in check. The key word is "try" because the man is a force of nature on a basketball court.
Being that Edwards is dealing with nagging injuries that could at least slow him down, the Wolves will need this trio operating at full power to stay in the mix. If Wembanyama gets any traction on offense, the series will be over for Minnesota as will their hopes of making the finals.
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