Could a starting five made out of the best players in Timberwolves franchise history win a best-of-seven series against the soon-to-be NBA champion Golden State Warriors?
Golden State’s starting lineup is arguably the best ever. Four of five are All-NBA caliber – Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. And Zaza Pachulia (or JaVale McGee) is a decent option at center.
Minnesota’s all-time starting five (we’re not talking about role players in this fantasy) would probably be a big lineup highlighted by Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Love. Sam Cassell or Stephon Marbury would be the starting point guard and Andrew Wiggins would finally get a chance to play more shooting guard.
The matchups
Curry would probably eat Cassell/Marbury for breakfast, lunch and dinner, although Cassell would get his on the offensive end.
Wiggins and Thompson would come close to neutralizing each other over the course of a seven-game series – but Thompson is a great defender and all-time great shooter, so he gets the slight edge.
The matchup at small forward – Durant vs. Garnett – would feature one of the best pure scorers in basketball history against one of the most versatile defensive stoppers to ever play. Garnett is one of the few players in NBA history who, in his prime, would have been capable of holding Durant in check while still providing some offense.
At power forward, Love’s all-around game is about equal with Green’s, with maybe a slight edge to Green because of his defense. But Towns would make up for that small gap by killing Pachulia.
Recap:
- Curry > Cassell/Marbury
- Thompson > Wiggins (but it’s close)
- Durant = Garnett
- Green = Love
- Towns > Pachulia
Who do you think wins?
