Entering the first round of the NBA Playoffs, no one wanted to pay much attention to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sure, they'd gotten all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season, and Anthony Edwards was a rising star who'd earned everybody's respect. But, well, they were up against the Los Angeles Lakers in the No. 3-No. 6 matchup, and good luck to anyone trying to compete with LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the NBA's attention economy.
No one's ignoring them now, though. The Wolves didn't just dispatch the Lakers in five games; they came into L.A. for Game 5 and took their spirit: as they were all series long, Minnesota was too big, too strong, too fast for a Lakers team whose dynamic duo looked run ragged by series end (and who never managed to find enough viable pieces around them after acquiring Doncic back in February).
A 103-96 win at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night means the Wolves are moving on the second round for the second straight year, becoming the fourth team to punch their ticket to the conference semis so far in these playoffs. Just how far can Edwards and Co. go this time around? Let's take a look at the updated bracket.
Updated NBA Playoffs bracket after Wolves eliminate Lakers
Here's how things stand after Wednesday's results, in which the Wolves clinched and the Houston Rockets staved off elimination with a Game 5 win of their own over the Golden State Warriors.
Who do the Timberwolves play in the second round?
Minnesota now gets a precious few days of rest, while they wait for that Rockets-Warriors series to conclude. If Golden State takes care of business in Game 6 back at Chase Center on Friday, Game 1 of the conference semis will head to Minneapolis on Sunday. If the Rockets manage to win two more in a row, they'll host the Wolves in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Minnesota lost the season series with the Dubs this season, going 1-3 against Steph Curry and Co. (The lone win came back in early December.) Houston, meanwhile, split its four regular-season games against the Wolves this year. A lot has changed since then, though, and with the way these Timberwolves are playing — Ant-Man as composed as ever, Julius Randle blossoming, depth and tenacity for days — it's not hard to imagine them beating anybody but OKC in this bracket.