Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic have drastically different views of Nuggets-Timberwolves clash

There's a reasonable explanation for why Edwards and Jokic have opposite opinions on the magnitude of the late-season clash.

While Jokic and the Nuggets have been to the playoffs for the past five seasons and won their first championship last summer, the Timberwolves have yet to taste postseason success during Edwards' young career.

Minnesota went just 23-49 during the former first overall pick's 2020-21 rookie campaign, but he's since helped lead the team to back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 2004. The Timberwolves had a postseason drought from 2005-2017 and then again from 2019-2021.

Despite winning Game 1 of their 2022 opening-round series against the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, the seventh-seeded Timberwolves lost the set in six games. They entered last spring's playoffs as a No. 8 seed and bowed out in five games against the eventual champion Nuggets.

Minnesota and Denver enter Wednesday 55-24 and tied atop the Western Conference standings. With only three games left in the regular season and just the Oklahoma City Thunder (54-25) threatening them for the top spot, the Nuggets and Timberwolves are guaranteed a top-three seed in the playoffs.

Minnesota currently holds the tiebreaker with a 2-1 lead in this season's head-to-head matchups, and a victory on Wednesday would give them a virtual three-game edge for the No. 1 seed with two contests left.

The Timberwolves could have All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns back from his torn left meniscus against the Nuggets and it's been reported that he'll at least return by the end of the regular season.

Minnesota hosts the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns on Friday and Sunday to conclude the campaign. If they win all three games, they'll earn the top seed and match their franchise-record 58 wins set during the 2003-04 season.

With MVP big man Kevin Garnett leading the way, the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals that season, which is still the only time they've made it past the first round of the playoffs.