MN Timberwolves Playoff Odds Entering Warriors Series That Has ALL the Storylines
On Tuesday night, the 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves will host the 7-seed Golden State Warriors in game one of the Western Conference semifinals, after round one victories over the (3-seed) Lakers and (2-seed) Rockets, respectively. And boy oh boy, does this series have storylines. In fact, it has ALL the storylines.
We’ll get to some of those momentarily. But first, let’s take a look at the current betting odds for the NBA Playoffs, after the Oklahoma City Thunder were shocked Monday night, in game one vs the Denver Nuggets, who now lead the series 1-0.
Sportsbooks like Minnesota Timberwolves in the West…?
Even after taking the upset haymaker in game one, OKC remains the betting favorite, not just in the West, but to win the entire thing, after Boston was also upset in game one of their round two series vs Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks.
| Sportsbook | West Champ | NBA Champ |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | +325 | +1000 |
| FanDuel | +360 | +1100 |
| DraftKings | +350 | +1100 |
Entering tonight’s tip at Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves currently hold the second-best odds (~3/1) to win the Western Conference and fourth-best odds (11/1) to win it all, according to major sportsbooks — DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM.
Aside from the Oklahoma City Thunder, only the East’s Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have better championship odds than Minnesota. All three teams lost their first game of their second round series on Monday.
| West Champ | Odds | NBA Champ (series) | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | -135 | Thunder (0-1) | +175 |
| Timberwolves | +350 | Celtics (0-1) | +210 |
| Nuggets | +600 | Cavaliers (0-1) | +500 |
| Warriors | +650 | Timberwolves (0-0) | +1100 |
| Nuggets (1-0) | +1800 | ||
| Warriors (0-0) | +1800 | ||
| Knicks (1-0) | +3000 | ||
| Pacers (1-0) | +3500 |
The Timberwolves are -6.5 favorites to beat the Golden State Warriors in game one and -180 favorites to win the series. They started out their playoff journey underdogs against the Los Angeles Lakers, and Vegas made a fortune on uneducated Lakers/Yankees/Cowboys fans.
Obviously, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and the gang in Oakland have been there and seen it all. But this is another older team with plenty of superstar power, but no depth. Not to mention, neither Steph Curry nor Jimmy Butler are anywhere near 100% physically.
Now, let’s talk about these storylines…
Storylines galore for MN Timberwolves vs Warriors
Draymond Green will have to face the Rudy Gobert music, after years of bad mouthing the 7-foot Frenchman publicly whenever given the opportunity. He’ll have to prove everything he said during last year’s playoff run where he and the TNT crew mocked and ridiculed Gobert night in and night out. Oh, and there was the time he Draymond nearly choked Rudy out during a scrum a couple years ago.
"I'm a truth teller and right now the truth is, Rudy Gobert don't stand a chance against Joker."
— Covers (@Covers) May 15, 2024
Draymond Green absolutely laid into Rudy Gobert at halftime 😳
Facts or sour grapes? 🤔pic.twitter.com/E66wly4OqD
Draymond Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock and was ejected 😳 pic.twitter.com/ub7ZT34WiL
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 15, 2023
Then… there’s Jimmy Butler, who has to face the Minnesota Timberwolves fan base for a seven-game series. Tuesday marks the first time the now 35-year-old has played in front of the Target Center crowd… since 2021.
Minnesota traded Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers in November of 2018. Initially, Butler had no problems coming back to Target Center. The Sixers beat the Wolves in his first game back, in January 2019.
Jimmy Butler afraid to play the Minnesota Timberwolves?
But after being traded from Philly to Miami, Butler lost his next two games back in Minneapolis (Apr. 2021, Nov. 2021). That’s when he must have decided he no longer likes playing at Target Center anymore. Because every time his team has been back since November 2021, Jimmy has found a way out out of the lineup.
Whether the excuse has been rest, illness or injury, Butler has refused to play basketball in MN against the Wolves for 3.5 years. That’s four full seasons of avoiding the Target Center fans. But really, he doesn’t like to play the Minnesota Timberwolves at all anymore.
Since November 2021, Jimmy Butler has only played the Wolves one time. It came in Miami back in December, 2023. That too ended in a Timberwolves win. Hmm, I am starting to understand why Jimmy doesn’t like playing against his former team. But starting tonight, there’s nowhere for Butler to hide.
| Date | Team | Target Center | Winner | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/15/2019 | PHI | 76ERS | 28 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 80.0 | 4 | 75.0 | +21 | |
| 3/30/2019 | PHI | TC | 76ERS | 36 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 23.5 | 2 | 50.0 | +4 |
| 2/26/2020 | MIA | WOLVES | 35 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 40.0 | 0 | +4 | ||
| 4/16/2021 | MIA | TC | WOLVES | 39 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 47.4 | 2 | 0.0 | +4 |
| 5/7/2021 | MIA | HEAT | 36 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 46.7 | 1 | 0.0 | +3 | |
| 11/24/2021 | MIA | TC | WOLVES | 39 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 55.6 | 3 | 0.0 | -16 |
| 12/18/2023 | MIA | WOLVES | 34 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 41.7 | 3 | 33.3 | +5 |
Anthony Edwards onto his next superstar funeral…?
Anthony Edwards has already sent plenty of superstars packing in the NBA playoffs. His list includes Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James. He would be adding Steph Curry to that group with another series win, and Minnesota would make consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder are the clear favorite at every sportsbook, and they are projected to be on a collision course with the Boston Celtics. However, the Towns-led New York Knicks knocked off Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night. The Nuggets did the same in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Anthony Edwards taking out legends one-by-one:
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) May 1, 2025
❌ Kevin Durant
❌ LeBron James
Stephen Curry next? pic.twitter.com/rxTePjrIEe
The Timberwolves can’t afford to get too far ahead of themselves. However, if they can advance another round and make things interesting against the Thunder, a ring doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.
Can the Timberwolves really do it?
Any assumptions that the MN Timberwolves will float easily by Golden State is a dangerous one. Even as slight favorites, they are in a similar spot as Los Angeles was prior to coming up short in round one. And we don’t have to mention how good we felt this time last year, entering the West Finals vs Dallas.
Related: MN Timberwolves President Pushes Back Against Rumors
If they can get it done, however, Vegas seems convinced that their next round opponent will be the Thunder. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the rest of Mark Daigneault’s roster is scary. They have seven players that averaged double-digits this season, and SGA is always a threat to be handed 30 free throws in a game.
The Wolves did split the season series vs OKC, but that would all go out the window if they meet in the Western Conference Finals. Again, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. All we know now is that this Minnesota Timberwolves team is coming together at the right time. It’s still a long shot, but why bet against them now?
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