NBA playoff picture: Anthony Edwards drops 44 points for Timberwolves to set up chaotic final weekend of regular season
Thanks to the Minnesota Timberwolves, we still have no idea what the Western Conference playoffs are going to look like, with only two games left for every team involved.
Behind 44 points from Anthony Edwards, the T-wolves blew out the Memphis Grizzlies 141-125 on Thursday to move into a tie for sixth place in the West. There are now six teams — Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors — within two games of each other in the standings.
Each team will play two more times, on Friday and Sunday, with possible outcomes ranging from hosting a playoff series to the play-in tournament.
The Timberwolves entered Thursday needing a win, otherwise they would have been left on the brink of a play-in spot. After a close first half, Edwards obliged, leading his team on a 29-7 run to open the third quarter.
ANT GETS UP FOR THE PUTBACK SLAM 💥(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/ULzA57GelB
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 11, 2025
Notably, the Grizzlies were playing without rookie Jaylen Wells, their standout rookie who would have likely drawn the defensive assignment against Edwards. Wells is out indefinitely after breaking his wrist in a scary fall on Tuesday.
Edwards got his 44 points on 13-of-19 shooting, while Julius Randle contributed 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Ja Morant had 36 points and six assists for the Grizzlies.
Memphis is now 3-4 since firing head coach Taylor Jenkins, the shock of the NBA season until the Denver Nuggets parted ways with Michael Malone on Tuesday.
Thursday's result leaves the Western Conference playoffs with plenty to figure out this weekend. We know the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets will be taking the top two seeds. We know the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks will be playing each other in the lower play-in game.
After that, well ...
1. Oklahoma City Thunder, 66-142. Houston Rockets, 52-28 (14 games back)3. Los Angeles Lakers, 49-31 (17 GB)4. Denver Nuggets, 48-32 (18 GB)5. Los Angeles Clippers, 48-32 (18 GB)6. Golden State Warriors, 47-33 (19 GB)7. Memphis Grizzlies, 47-33 (19 GB)8. Minnesota Timberwolves, 47-33 (19 GB)9. Sacramento Kings, 39-41 (27 GB)10. Dallas Mavericks, 38-42 (28 GB)
You know the scene in "Glengarry Glen Ross" where Alec Baldwin tells the salesmen that first place gets a Cadillac El Dorado, second place gets a set of steak knives, and third place gets fired? We're basically there for the six West teams with something to play for. The top two teams get to host a playoff series. The middle two teams at least make the first round. And the bottom two teams will be playing each other to decide if they visit Thunder, Rockets or no one.
And those six teams are the ones with LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Morant and Edwards, with the Lakers the only team assured of a playoff spot. The NBA couldn't ask for a better set-up to its final weekend.
With six possible teams, the tie-breaking scenarios are too complex to break down in a prompt manner. The most important part for every team is to just win, and with their remaining schedules, that will be harder for some teams than others:
Lakers: Rockets, @ BlazersNuggets: Grizzlies, @ RocketsClippers: @ Kings, @ WarriorsGrizzlies: @ Nuggets, MavericksWarriors: @ Blazers, ClippersTimberwolves: Nets, Jazz
As you can see, the Timberwolves are on the bottom right now, but are the only squad playing two lottery teams to finish out the season. The Nuggets, Grizzlies and Clippers all have two games against teams who will at least make the play-in, with the Clippers' finale against the Warriors looming as a must-watch between two teams who have been on fire over the past month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
36 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Kyle Lowry says he is ‘kinda' Canadian during NBA Finals watch party
It's been five seasons since Kyle Lowry wore a Raptors jersey, but he's still repping Canada. Lowry spoke about 'kinda' being a Canadian citizen, the country's NBA players and Pascal Siakam during a WhatsApp watch party of Game Four of the NBA Finals on Friday. 'Wait Canada a legitimate country,' the point guard wrote, adding 'we got 4 players in the finals,' referencing Canadians Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin that play for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers He then clarified his use of 'we' when referring to Canada writing 'I'm not a full citizen but I'm kinda like 1.' The GROAT Kyle Lowry is a Canadian at heart. 😭❤️ 'We got 4 players in the Finals playing.' Give him a permanent citizenship right now, @MarkJCarney . 🤧 😂 [via. @WhatsApp ] The watch party was a public WhatsApp group chat with former NBA players Kevin Love and Channing Frye. Fans could tune in for their live reaction to Friday's battle that saw the Thunder squeak past the Pacers in a 111-104 win to tie the series at two games apiece. Lowry also spoke about his former Raptors running-mate and current Pacer Pascal Siakam, saying that he 'got to be a star within 3 years.' 'He worked his ass off,' Lowry wrote. The six time all-star played 35 games for the Philadelphia 76ers this season under former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. Retirement rumours have followed the 39-year-old all season after a disastrous, 13th place finish for his club. Lowry ranks second all-time in games, minutes played and points for Toronto.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Desmond Bane trade grades: Magic, Grizzlies swap guards, but did Orlando give up too much?
Our first big summer move that doesn't involve a coach being fired, or the New York Knicks calling about a coach under contract, just happened. The Memphis Grizzlies have shocked a lot of people by agreeing to trade Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap. Advertisement That's a lot of draft capital for Bane, and the Magic are hoping he'll be a great complement to their young duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. A complement to this trade news is a set of trade grades, where we'll slap down some red ink and figure out if we're complimenting one or all sides of the deal. From a basketball standpoint, I like Bane finding a balance for what Orlando has been lacking. He's a great outside shooter, a very good defender and has turned into a good playmaker from the shooting guard position. The Magic desperately need the shooting and the playmaking, and they don't have to sacrifice defense to get it from him. If you take out his rookie year, Bane's career averages (over four years) are 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 47.2/40.7/88.7 shooting splits. Those are excellent, and he performed well when Ja Morant was out of the lineup. He's also averaged over five assists per game the last two seasons, so we're seeing improvement from him as a passer. Bane will add a true floor-stretcher to give space for Bachero and Wagner to operate. He can run a two-man game with either of them as either the initiator or the screener. And throwing out a lineup of those three with either Jalen Suggs or Anthony Black as the other backcourt member and one of their solid big men in the middle gives the Magic a formidable approach on both ends of the floor. For a team that couldn't score last season, Bane will help out quite a bit. My concern with this deal for Orlando is the cost. Caldwell-Pope and Anthony aren't too much to give up. Those are solid veterans, but Bane is better than both of those guys on your roster. The draft capital, however, is a lot for Bane with four firsts and a pick swap headed out. I have come around to thinking we focus too much on draft picks in trades and overvaluing them, in general. But that's when we're quibbling over a team including a future pick it wants to hold onto. Throwing four at a team for a player who is good but has never been an All-Star or award winner outside of All-Rookie seems like a lot. And the picks are all unprotected except for the pick swap, which is lightly protected. The Magic have to be really sure that Bane is going to be the guy who puts them into that upper tier in the Eastern Conference. Advertisement The East is more open than most assumed it would be. Injuries to Milwaukee and Boston have changed a lot. Cleveland's rough exit brought excitement from others about the Cavs coming back down to earth. New York's coaching search might put its momentum on hold. And Orlando can reasonably look at what it has and believe it is a lot better than Detroit (depending on what the Pistons do this summer) and not far from the Pacers (who might end up NBA champions this week). At the same time, this is expensive monetarily, too. Bane has roughly $162 million owed to him over the next four seasons. The Magic are well over $100 million in payroll for the next four seasons just from Bane, Wagner and Suggs. Banchero hasn't even received his extension yet, which will likely be agreed to in the coming months and kick in after the 2025-26 season. With those four under contract, the Magic will have to start worrying about the first- and second-apron thresholds in the collective bargaining agreement. Until then, maybe they have a small window to capitalize with a young team, similar to the Thunder. It's not exactly the same formula, and it's more costly with picks and money (currently). But they're banking on Bane making them a power in the East. Grade: B Before we get into the basketball side on the court, let's get into the picks headed to Memphis. The Grizzlies are receiving the No. 16 in the 2025 draft, (most likely) Phoenix's pick in 2026, Orlando's pick in 2028, a top-two protected pick swap in 2029 and Orlando's pick in 2030. That is a lot. As for the basketball of it all, the Grizzlies are downgrading on the court. Bane was great for them and integral to what they were able to do with and without Morant. Caldwell-Pope is a good veteran to replace him with some defense and outside shooting, but he's not nearly the scorer and distributor. They'll hope Anthony makes up for that part of it, and he'll be a very good backup guard for them. The Grizzlies are opting for more depth, which has often been a strength of this era of the franchise. Advertisement They're also opting for more flexibility. The Grizzlies probably hit a ceiling with Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Bane as their big three. And they have a contract extension situation coming up for Jackson that will be tricky. He's probably a max-contract guy because of the defense and accolades, and he's also improved as a scorer. But it's not a no-brainer to just slot that into your books in the second-apron era. They received a bit of a reprieve when he didn't qualify for the supermax extension by missing out on All-NBA, because that could be an awkward negotiation session. Memphis is resetting things a little with the structure of its books by sending away Bane. It'll sacrifice on the court for now, but the Grizzlies can now figure out what this team looks like and how that gets structured with Tuomas Iisalo running the sidelines. They get to do that while bringing in all of that draft capital to use either as cost-effective roster additions (and this team is really good at identifying young talent) or in trades to bring in help for Morant and Jackson. It's a step down for now, but it's a good look toward the future. Grade: A- (Photo of Cole Anthony and Desmond Bane: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Grizzlies trade Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies have traded veteran guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, reports confirm. On Sunday morning, it was announced that in exchange for Bane, the Grizzlies will receive guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap. Advertisement The Grizzlies drafted Desmond Bane out of TCU in the first round of the 2020 draft. Memphis Grizzlies Desmond Bane (22) reacts after making a basket in the first half of an NBA game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht) In his five seasons with the team, Bane averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Prior to the start of the 2024 season, Bane signed a five-year contract extension worth over $197 million. During that year, Bane was second on the team in assists per game (5.3) and third in points per game (19.2) and rebounds per game (6.1). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a two-time NBA Champion who signed with the Orlando Magic ahead of the 2024 campaign. In 77 games with the team, Caldwell-Pope averaged 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Advertisement Cole Anthony was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. In his five seasons with the team, Anthony averaged 12.5 points per game, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In addition to the players, the Grizzlies will receive the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Phoenix's first-round pick in 2026, plus its 2028 and 2030 unprotected first-round selections, sources said. The pick swap is lightly protected in 2029. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
