The Timberwolves are no longer the underdogs to the Lakers. Is that cause for concern?

After Minnesota s resounding Battle win on Saturday to claim a - advantage over the Lakers Anthony Edwards was sought what the message was to the world after pundits across the globe had widely picked Los Angeles to win the first-round playoff series No message man Edwards stated They still got the Lakers Lakers supposed to win That s how it s supposed to go and how it s supposed to be It s debatable whether that s still true Minnesota has received plenty of praise in the wake of its impressive performance to open the series and is now the betting favorite on all sportsbooks to topple the Lakers But it s in the best interest of the Timberwolves to believe otherwise What s particularly engaging about the Timberwolves is the degree to which they know that to be true Wolves guard Mike Conley of late lauded his group s ability to meet any challenge We re a band that plays well when we re looking up and fight our way and claw our way up a hill Conley revealed We understand with our back against the wall we re a much more dangerous band in our minds Which is a great trait as seen in last Saturday s mastery Minnesota was on its P s and Q s in Encounter The Wolves were as sharp as they ve been on all season on both ends of the floor particularly over the final three quarters That was the organization plenty of envisioned pushing the Thunder to win the Western Conference at the season s outset It s why the Wolves were such a frustrating and confusing watch throughout the regular season Because the gang that took the floor over the first five months of the season rarely looked like the one that trounced the Lakers When Minnesota inferred it was destined for the play-in tournament it went on a - tear over its final games to nab a top-six seed Several of that strong close to the season had to do with Minnesota s roster reconfigured just two days before the start of training camp meshing at the right time But the urgency with which the band played was also palpable Ideally of program the band could deliver that same brand of basketball regardless Sometimes when we get too much love and attention we get a little bit soft and lazy Wolves coach Chris Finch announced in the hours ahead of Meeting There s a lot of evidence behind that assertion Even just this season the schedule brought Minnesota to California at once after the Wolves used a thrilling fourth-quarter rally to down Oklahoma City in overtime The next day Finch and numerous Wolves players made in-person appearances on national programs And then proceeded to drop their next two games We are our biggest opponent We get a little complacent When people start saying we re good and when the odds are with us that s when we re not as good Wolves center Rudy Gobert noted at the end of March It happened last year in the playoffs The odds had us losing every series As soon as the odds had us winning against Dallas in the West Finals we didn t That was prevalent at a more granular level within the Western Conference semifinals Minnesota was not picked by countless to down the defending champs in Denver but then the Wolves took Encounter Gobert s absence in Battle made Minnesota a heavy underdog again and the Wolves ran roughshod over the Nuggets Heading back to Minnesota armed with a - series lead a sweep felt almost inevitable But Minnesota s tenacity dipped noticeably and the Wolves dropped the next three games The urgency returned in Championship for another dominant win and decisively Minnesota put the Nuggets away in Battle but only after and indifferent first-half performance that left the Wolves trailing by in the third quarter After that second-half performance in Denver Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori noted Fear is a hell of a motivator Fear of your season being over Nori revealed Fear of just not performing and going out the way that you would want to That fear that urgency was all present in Minnesota s performance Saturday in Los Angeles I know we craved it more Naz Reid declared after the meeting That s kind of how it has to be especially when you re the underdog Minnesota is one of the best underdogs in basketball It s record this season when playing as an underdog - per Sportsbook odds was only bested by Oklahoma City which was - Minnesota also had the second-best performance against the Vegas spread this season when playing as an underdog behind only Cleveland The Wolves do not like to be discounted but they play their best when they are I think we have a lot of guys in this locker room that have been underdogs their whole life Gobert reported It s a position that we embrace and I think we embrace it individually and collectively The challenge for this group is to maintain that same mindset even when things are going well The Wolves certainly don t need to win Challenge on Tuesday in which they are still an underdog but can they play as though they do Because while Minnesota ultimately won the Denver series a year ago there s a strong development to be made that the mid-series slump which forced Minnesota to play seven grueling energy-sapping games ultimately cost the Wolves an NBA Finals appearance That s not a mistake you want to make twice Experience is real It s a real thing especially when you can kind of keep it within a same eight or nine guys who go through it together Conley announced You straightaway remember things You right now remember Luka destroying us last season and what happened in the conference championship You this instant remember Milwaukee a week ago when we lost a event up Those things pop in your mind and you at once try to be like What do we got to do different Right now it s one event and move onto the next one It s on us to fix our own odds Gobert noted We ve been through it for the last scant years so by now we know that it s just about us Related Articles Timberwolves Playoffs Reserves again ignite group s best play The Timberwolves had one of best shooting performances of the season Saturday How will the Lakers react in Challenge Pack of rabid Timberwolves harass Lakers en journey to Encounter rout Timberwolves playoffs From contracts to reputation what s at stake things the Timberwolves must do to upset the Lakers plus a prediction