Why Spurs Were 'Real Winners' of Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, According to Minnesota's Coach

SAN ANTONIO - After the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves knocked off the Denver Nuggets in Game 6, coach Chris Finch gathered the troops in the locker room to deliver a message to his team.

The punctuation and emphasis felt like a rallying cry, or a chant that had been repeated many times over the course of the first-round series.

"and They. Chose. to Play. Us!"

As he brought the guys in to break it down, he added a sentence enhancer as he repeated the apparently-useful bulletin board material. Finch had good reason to be fired up after advancing over a recent champion and three-time MVP, and there can be a tactical benefit to turning a perceived slight into a competitive edge.

THEY CHOSE US. pic.twitter.com/tmpsXp9KM3
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 1, 2026

But like a lot of bulletin board material, it's probably not true. Just like Shaq invented from whole cloth an entire villain origin story in which David Robinson big timed a young, autograph-seeking Shaquille, the idea that the Nuggets wanted Minnesota in the first round is most likely a complete fabrication, or at least a complete misunderstanding of what really happened.

It's actually much more likely that Denver preferred to avoid Minnesota and face off against Houston, and the way the first-round has played out it's easy to see why.

Recall that in the regular-season finale, the Nuggets would have clinched the No. 3 seed in the West with a win over the Spurs, who were already locked in at No. 2. San Antonio gave Victor Wembanyama the night off to rest a bruised rib, but everyone else played with the chance to knock Denver down to Oklahoma City's side of the bracket and set up a scenario where if they made it to the Conference Finals, they'd likely face whoever had just survived a grueling seven-game series between the Thunder and Nuggets.

Denver, meanwhile, knew they'd have to get through San Antonio and Oklahoma City in some order if they wanted to win a title. What they could control was who they played in the first round. A win would set up a date with the No. 6 Timberwolves, and a loss would drop them down a spot for a matchup against the No. 5 Rockets.

Nikola Jokic needed to play 15 minutes in this game to qualify for regular-season awards, and he sat down for the whole second half after checking that box. Other than that, Denver rested basically their entire rotation. That doesn't sound like an organization that desperately wanted to win the game and "choose" Minnesota.

Was the game 82 collapse a 3D chess move orchestrated by Mitch Johnson, or El Jefe Gregg Popovich himself? Did the Spurs see the same soft defense that Jaden McDaniels saw and decide they really weren't all that scary? Did they understand why the Nuggets wanted to avoid the pack of hungry Wolves and instead attack the failure-to-launch Rockets?

No, it's far more likely that the Spurs wanted to win that game and simply failed to on a night when they played like it was the last day of school before finals and Julian Strawther and David Roddy went bananas.

But whether it was a 500 IQ play or simply a happy accident, there's no denying that the way it all shook out has played directly into San Antonio's hands.

"Before the series started here, I figured the real winner of this series was gonna be San Antonio, cause both of these teams were gonna take a lot of pieces out of each other, and they did," Finch said after the game. "I'm not sure what we have left standing before we go down there."

Aaron Gordon's injury no doubt played a part in Denver's demise, but the Timberwolves are even more banged up as they advance to a matchup that would be daunting even at full strength. Donte DiVincenzo ruptured his achilles in this series, and Ayo Dosunmu stepped up in a big way but missed the clincher with a sore calf.

Minnesota's superstar Anthony Edwards appeared to hyperextend his left knee in Game 4 and suffered a bone bruise in the knee. He's likely going to miss the first two games in San Antonio.

“Certainly the hope [is he’ll return] as the series goes on, but I’m told Anthony Edwards will be out to start the second-round series,” ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Friday morning. “It starts early next week. That’s just over one week since the injury. This is a multi-week, minimum two-week injury. So you’re looking at at least a few games before you hope [he comes back].”

That timeline means Game 3 in Minnesota would probably be a bit early, and Game 4 on May 10 would be right around that two-week mark.

Ant and Victor Wembanyama have a ton of mutual respect and love going head-to-head on the court, a dynamic that was on full display as the two battled at the All-Star Game. Edwards emphatically called Wemby the face of the league and credited him with reviving the competitive spirit within the exhibition.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives to the basket and shoots the ball past Anthony Edwards. — Dec 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives to the basket and shoots the ball past Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Neutral basketball fans around the world have already lost out on a potentially classic series between Wembanyama and Jokic after the only regular-season matchup delivered fireworks and an overtime duel. That same neutral fan again loses every single game that Edwards misses in this series, robbed of a battle between two of the game's brightest stars.

Spurs fans on the other hand might be relieved that San Antonio doesn't have to go through Jokic and Murray, or a full-strength Timberwolves team. The players and coaches, however, understand that Minnesota played them tough during the regular season and finished Denver off despite their injuries for a reason.

"Looking forward to a very competitive series," Mitch Johnson said at Spurs practice on Friday morning after Minnesota advanced. "Obvioulsy last night they showed the type of character and resolve and competitiveness that they have, and they've played us well this year, and since I've been here, so, very competitive team that's playing with a lot of confidence."

The Spurs handled business against the Blazers in five games, avoiding a return flight to Portland and giving them five days off in a row to rest up and prepare for the next round. They had the luxury of watching Minnesota and Denver duke it out in Game 6, while the Timberwolves had to focus on the task at hand.

"Haven't thought too much about San Antonio to be quite honest," Finch said after the game. "I know they have a really good player, generational talent, and they're playing with a ton of attitude and look like they're playing with a lot of fun and confidence."

He's absolutely right about that.

Add us as a preferred source on Google