‘The stomach is not full’: Timberwolves won’t be satisfied with less than NBA Finals

Jaden McDaniels was questioned how it felt to dispatch the Warriors in five games in the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday Straight faced the wing replied it felt like the rest of them That was the Timberwolves fourth playoff series win over the last months They have become old hat by now Plus there was nothing remarkable about the series win over the Warriors Minnesota caught an unwanted break with Steph Curry going down with a hamstring injury in Competition and took full advantage by winning the next four games in dominant fashion Just a business-like approach Really liked that Timberwolves coach Chris Finch declared We were the better gang We felt we were the better group We just had to go out and play like it every night I thought we d accomplish that Those are things that we ve drawn upon from our previous experiences for sure Now onward This stage the Western Conference finals which will open with Meeting on Tuesday in Oklahoma City or Denver is the one on which Minnesota saw its season end at the hands of Dallas a year ago Finch and the coaching staff have challenged players to recount their feelings after that defeat being denied on the doorstep of the NBA Finals and recall what they need to do differently Try to tap into that now individually to put themselves in the right frame of mind for what it s going to take to keep taking these actions Finch revealed While getting back to the conference finals in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history is a feat it was never Minnesota s goal It s to make it to the finals McDaniels reported I feel like it ll feel different if we advance to the finals I think we re super confident We re all together being a good gang and we just ready for whoever we play next already We just got to stay the program Anthony Edwards disclosed there is no satisfaction in where Minnesota is at the moment noting the Wolves haven t did anything yet Minnesota seemed to feel a sense of relief and accomplishment after its wild Tournament win over Denver a year ago Perhaps that made it complicated to reset for the West finals just a couple days later Now Minnesota is armed with time there are six days between Meeting against the Warriors and Event of the conference finals and experience Plus the end against Golden State was so expected after Curry went down that there was no real emotional high from which to come down It feels good to get to that step but the stomach is not full Not at all It s just one step Rudy Gobert stated Last year it felt different because it was a Meeting and we were down I don t know how a great number of at half and we came back and won Obviously the adrenaline was different but this year it s kind of like we say it we sat down early in the season we say we re going to get back right where we left last year We want to achieve our goal Now we are halfway there We know it s not going to get easier at all We focus on that Gobert noted that in his mind last year s West finals came down to approach It s not about talent It s not about us wanting to win or not We want to win But it s about staying level-headed he noted After a win like we had last year against Denver in Competition I felt like you get the whole world praising you All the sudden you went from being the underdog to being the favorite We weren t mature enough to handle that yet We were aware of it This year we re mature enough I feel like we understand where we re at That s the lesson It s about us and our approach It s not about who we face It s about mindset our work our attention to details When our level of urgency is right we know we can play with anyone Keep the focus on the task at hand until there s truly a reason to party There s really nothing to celebrate yet McDaniels noted We still got two more rounds winning eight more games I want to say so you just got to stay confident keep being humble and just be ready to play Related Articles Frederick Can the Lynx be the Spurs If so look out Mizutani All aboard the Julius Randle bandwagon From Are we even going to have a chance to make the playoffs to another West Finals for Timberwolves Frederick Timberwolves bypassed lottery balls in are better for it Timberwolves aim to maintain urgency with chance to close out Curry-less Warriors