Are the Wolves title contenders? Doc Rivers thinks so

Rivers shared his thoughts about Minnesota on 'The Bill Simmons Podcast.'

Are the Timberwolves NBA Finals contenders?

Doc Rivers thinks so.

Rivers discussed the state of the Timberwolves on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Tuesday, and Simmons asked the NBA Finals-winning coach and ESPN analyst whether he believes Minnesota has what it takes to reach basketball’s pinnacle.

“I think yes,” he told Simmons. “But they do have that young factor in them. And they can do some silly things as a group — they did last year. So, I’m gonna say yes.”

But … if you asked Rivers whether he thought Milwaukee or Minnesota has a better chance to reach the Finals?

“I would choose Milwaukee,” he said.

Simmons, however, would pick the Timberwolves.

Rivers’ hang-up goes back to April 9, when the Wolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans to clinch the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament. That victory was overshadowed by Rudy Gobert punching teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout, which resulted in Gobert getting sent home early by the team.

Not to mention that was also the same game Jaden McDaniels punched a wall and broke his hand, forcing him to miss the play-in and the Wolves’ first-round series against Denver.

“Both of (Minnesota’s) starting bigs have emotional meltdowns, both of them,” Rivers said. “That’s the stuff, that’s the intangibles that I don’t think people talk about enough. That stuff wins and loses series for you.”

Rivers did, however, think the Timberwolves showed they’re the real deal earlier in the season when they beat the Golden State Warriors twice in short succession. They beat the Warriors 116-110 on Nov. 12 and followed up with a 104-101 win two days later. 

The latter game became a national storyline when the Warriors' Draymond Green put Gobert in a headlock, which garnered him a five-game suspension.  

“Minnesota just beat them, they played a second game and Golden State thought, ‘OK, let’s show up and be Golden State.’ And it wasn’t working out,” Rivers said. “Anthony Edwards, he didn’t get the message. He didn’t know he was supposed to lay down for (Green). He was talking crap, the team was playing and I loved it. I love seeing stuff like that.

“And it was almost like Minnesota was anointed that night by Golden State and by the reaction by (Green) and their entire team.” 

ESPN analyst Doc Rivers looks on during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Nov. 15, 2023 :: Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports