(2)Memphis Grizzlies vs. (7)Minnesota Timberwolves Game 1: Saturday, April 16 Timberwolves at Grizzlies 2:30pm ESPN Game 2: Tuesday, April 19 Timberwolves at Grizzlies 7:30pm NBATV Game 3: Thursday, April 21 Grizzlies at Timberwolves 6:30pm TNT Game 4: Saturday, April 23 Grizzlies at Timberwolves 9:00pm ESPN Game 5* Tuesday, April 26 Timberwolves at Grizzlies Game 6* Friday, April 29 Grizzlies at Timberwolves Game 7* Sunday, May 1 Timberwolves at Grizzlies *All times Central
this is easily my favorite 1st round series…I ultimately want Memphis to win, but I hope the Wolves win a couple of games I really like both of these young teams Wolves home crowd gonna be crazy, and speaking of home crowds, this is still one of the illest things I’ve seen starting at 1:40 and now that’s my kinda playoff scene
I got Grizz in 6 but really I think there's a chance the Wolves even win it, definitely one upset I could see happening this playoffs. As mentioned before, Ja vs Beverly is going to be fun because we know Ja is very chirpy out there and no one enjoys having Beverly pester you for an entire series. In the end, Twolves too inconsistent to win sO I have the Grizz but if they do find some consistency...
Young and talented Grizzlies will win in the end with the help of home court but Wolves will show plenty of fight. Could be Edwards breakout series, kinda like Wade before he burst into superstardom the following season
John Hollinger: https://theathletic.com/3248347/2022/04/15/hollinger-2022-nba-playoffs-suns/ (2) Memphis vs. (7) Minnesota Elvis versus Prince. Winner controls the Mississippi River. This could be the first of several postseason meetings between these two sides, both of which seem poised to become playoff fixtures in the West after bursting onto the scene this season. Underlying it all is the potential for an absolutely epic sh*t-talking battle between Patrick Beverley and Dillon Brooks. Minnesota matched up very well against Memphis during the regular season, winning twice and having one of its two defeats go to overtime. Included in that tally is a 138-95 Minnesota rout in November that marked the turning point of Memphis’ season; the Grizzlies went 48-18 after that point. Another point in Minnesota’s favor is that some of the 10-game margin between these two teams is a result of differences between players who won’t factor in this series. Memphis’ bench was awesome this year; Minnesota’s, not so much. In the playoffs, second units matter less. But there’s a difference between matter less and don’t matter at all; Minnesota still may get smoked in second quarters by the Grizzlies’ Tyus Jones/De’Anthony Melton/Kyle Anderson/Brandon Clarke wrecking crew. Additionally, there’s the little matter of Memphis’ starters also being better. The Ja Morant/Desmond Bane/Jaren Jackson Jr./Steven Adams core group had a plus-8.4 net rating. Replace Adams with Brooks, who thrived late in the year after missing much of it with injuries, and that figure balloons to plus-14.5. Minnesota is talented enough to extend this series, in other words, but still probably a year away from being able to win it. Pick: Grizzlies in six
https://theathletic.com/3250581/2022/04/14/predictions-celtics-nets-grizzlies-timberwolves/ No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves Scout’s outlook: “The Wolves can score. That’s their thing. In the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a total no-show (in the Play-In Tournament win) and was totally out of control and showed his inexperience even though he’s been in the league awhile, they had two other guys, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, who stepped it up big time. So they’ve got three guys, really, who can put the ball in the basket. What the Wolves-Clippers game showed is that offense is so much more important than defense in the playoffs. … I think that game was great for the Wolves’ psyche. … “Memphis is similar. They’re both young teams. I don’t know if Minnesota can sustain that kind of shooting and offensive prowess. Memphis has been good, of course, in the absence of Morant. … Dillon Brooks can guard Anthony Edwards. … Who on the Wolves will guard Morant? Generally, there isn’t a good matchup at all. But Edwards? It’s probably not Russell. So I think Memphis has a huge advantage at point guard. … (Steven) Adams or (Jaren) Jackson Jr. — they match up physically against Towns.” Coach’s outlook: “I would say it’s going to end up going seven games, and it’s going to go to Memphis because they have home-court advantage. But it’s going to be a great series. … “Now if the Wolves can keep Memphis out of transition, that’ll be their calling card, but that’s tough to do when you’re a running team as well. “The Wolves’ matchups are going to be tough with Morant. I think they’re going to have put size on him, which I think they’ll do. I think they’ll put Edwards on him to start. I don’t know that you put D’Angelo Russell there on Morant. … “But Ja, he’s so smart. He finds ways to pick you apart, and now that they have Dillon Brooks back and Jaren Jackson Jr. back, the Grizzlies have got their roster. They were 20-5 without Ja, so they’re capable of winning without him. I really believe Memphis will win the series because of home-court advantage, but I don’t think the Timberwolves are going to be an easy out because of their athleticism, because of their talent, because of their scoring ability. “The question is going to be Steven Adams and Karl-Anthony Towns. When they pull Adams away from the basket, I think that’s the Timberwolves’ advantage. So that’s where I think they’ll gain some headway with their spacing and their ability to attack, because it’s not like they’re out there stopping people. It’s just going to be a scoring battle.” Executive’s outlook: “It’s been good for Minnesota to play itself into this position, and now they have an opportunity with their younger players to experience a regular seven-game series. Memphis has been so fun to watch this year just because they’ve created a team-oriented attack, and they’ve got so many weapons at so many different levels. I think it’s going to be difficult for Minnesota to overcome that despite the fact that Minnesota’s played at a fast pace and they’ve done a great job of establishing themselves on both ends this year. “Once Memphis gets a chance to dig in, I’m not sure Minnesota has a defensive response for Morant, and in the playoffs, one individual player has the ability to lift his team above the opponent. At the same time, I’m sure Towns’ response to what he experienced in the Play-In game will be strong. He has one series of playoff experience … several years ago, and he’ll know what to expect. It’s going to be a fun series.” Scout’s pick: Grizzlies in six Coach’s pick: Grizzlies in seven Executive’s pick: Grizzlies in six Consensus advancing team: Grizzlies
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33720582/nba-playoffs-experts-picks-every-first-round-series Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (7) Kendra Andrews: Grizzlies in 5 Jerry Bembry: Grizzlies in 6 Jamal Collier: Grizzlies in 6 Nick DePaula: Grizzlies in 6 Nick Friedell: Grizzlies in 5 Kirk Goldsberry: Grizzlies in 6 Israel Gutierrez: Grizzlies in 7 Richard Jefferson: Grizzlies in 5 Tim Legler: Grizzlies in 5 Andrew Lopez: Grizzlies in 5 Zach Lowe: Grizzlies in 6 Tim MacMahon: Grizzlies in 6 Bobby Marks: Grizzlies in 5 Dave McMenamin: Grizzlies in 6 Kevin Pelton: Grizzlies in 6 Kendrick Perkins: Grizzlies in 5 Jorge Sedano: Grizzlies in 6 Ramona Shelburne: Grizzlies in 6 André Snellings: Grizzlies in 6 Marc J. Spears: Grizzlies in 7 Ohm Youngmisuk: Grizzlies in 6 Final tally: Grizzlies 21, Timberwolves 0
