The calendar says the playoffs are right around the corner. Normally, this part of the season is about tightening the rotation, leaning on your stars, and getting everyone ready for the games that actually matter. But for Minnesota, the past few weeks have turned into a live-fire evaluation of everything beyond Anthony Edwards.
Since going down with injury on March 13th, Edwards has been watching from the sideline while the rest of the roster has been forced to answer a question that tends to define playoff runs more than we like to admit: What do you actually have when your safety net disappears?
And to their credit, the Wolves didn’t just tread water. They made it interesting.
They beat a desperate Phoenix Suns team that’s been breathing down their neck in the standings. They walked into TD Garden and knocked off the Boston Celtics, something this franchise hadn’t done since flip phones were still a thing. And then they survived one of the most chaotic, logic-defying overtime games of the season against the Houston Rockets.
Which is why this week’s SB Nation Reacts poll landed a little differently than usual.
If this team is going to make a real run, its third straight deep push into the postseason, who’s the guy that swings it? Who’s the piece that turns them from “tough matchup” into something nobody wants to see in a seven-game series?
And the answers from the Canis Hoopus faithful tell you exactly where the belief, and the uncertainty, still lives with this team.
No. 1: Ayo Dosunmu — The New Toy… or the Missing Piece?
Let’s start with the winner, because this is where things get interesting.
Dosunm”u topping the list feels like one part recency bias, one part “shiny new trade acquisition energy,” and one part we’ve been waiting for this exact type of player all season”. And honestly? All three can be true.
Since arriving from the Chicago Bulls at the deadline, he’s done something Minnesota desperately needed: he’s changed the tempo of their offense. He pushes in transition, he attacks seams, and most importantly, he’s been knocking down threes at a highly efficient clip.
Coming into the season, point guard was clearly one of Minnesota’s biggest question marks. Mike Conley Jr. aged himself out of the starting lineup, and Rob Dillingham didn’t developed quickly enough to solve the problem. Dosunmu doesn’t answer everything, but he answers enough to matter.
And in a playoff series? That’s all you need. One guy who flips a quarter. One guy who swings a Game 4. One guy who turns a 2–2 series into a 3–2 advantage.
That’s how role players become guys.
No. 2: Jaden McDaniels — The Swing Piece
McDaniels finishing second feels right and also somehow still underrated.
We already know what he is defensively. He’s the guy you throw at the other team’s best scorer and say, “good luck.” He did it during that 2024 Western Conference Finals run. He can absolutely put elite players in a straight jacket.
But the real question, the one that defines Minnesota’s ceiling, is what he does offensively.
When he’s just spacing the floor and hitting occasional threes, the Wolves are good. When he starts attacking, really attacking, by getting downhill, finishing at the rim, and becoming that third scorer behind Edwards and Julius Randle… that’s when things tilt. That’s when Minnesota becomes terrifying.
Suddenly it’s not a two-man show. It’s a three-headed problem.
The frustrating part? It’s not always there. It comes and goes. And that’s what makes McDaniels the ultimate X-factor. Because if they can unlock that version of him consistently, the entire equation changes.
No. 3: Rudy Gobert — The Floor, the Ceiling, and Everything in Between
Rudy was my personal answer to this poll.
If you’ve watched this team long enough, you already know the truth: everything they want to be defensively starts and ends with Gobert.
He’s not just an anchor. He’s the entire foundation. When he’s engaged, locked in, and active? The Wolves look like a top-tier defense that can strangle games. When he’s off, in foul trouble, or disengaged? Things unravel quickly.
That’s the Gobert paradox.
We’ve seen the absolute peak in Game 5 against the Lakers, where he basically snatched their souls and ended the series himself. And we’ve seen the opposite like a few weeks later in the Western Conference Finals against OKC where he disappeared, put up minimal numbers, and couldn’t impose himself.
But if Minnesota is going to make a serious run? They need feast Gobert. The version that controls the paint, dominates the glass, and quietly turns every possession into a grind. That’s the version that makes everything else work.
No. 4: Julius Randle — Can He Be Consistent?
Randle landing fourth might be the most revealing result on the list. Not because it’s wrong, but because it shows how expectations shape perception.
We’ve already seen what Randle can be in the playoffs. In 2025, during those first two rounds, there were stretches where he was the best player on the floor, even with Edwards out there. He bullied teams, created offense, and acted as both scorer and facilitator.
That version of Randle? That’s a problem for anyone. But then came OKC. The inconsistency. The drop-off.
Even this season, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster. Strong start. Post-All-Star dip. Then flashes again lately, especially with Edwards out, where he’s stepped back into that primary role and delivered big performances against teams like Phoenix and Houston.
Because with Randle, it’s no longer about “can he do it?” It’s about “will he do it consistently?”
In a weird way, that’s a compliment. He’s expected to show up. He’s expected to be great. The question is whether he can stay at that level for two straight months. If he does? Everything changes.
No. 5: Naz Reid — The Flamethrower off the Bench
Reid finishing last feels fair… but also slightly dangerous to underestimate.
Yes, he’s a sixth man. Yes, his minutes are more limited. But he’s also the kind of player who can swing a game in eight minutes. When he’s hitting threes, spacing the floor, and finishing inside, he turns Minnesota’s second unit into something legitimately scary. When he’s off? It can get inconsistent fast.
We saw both versions in the 2025 postseason.
Every playoff run needs a guy like Reid. The unexpected punch. The bench explosion. The “where did that come from?” performance that flips a game you had no business winning.
He may not be the most impactful player overall. But in the right moment? He might be the most important one on the floor.
The Big Picture: This Isn’t About One Guy Anymore
Here’s the part that matters.
The Wolves are still long shots at+4000 to win the title. The West is brutal. The margins are razor thin. And this team has been anything but consistent.
But this recent stretch without Edwards has revealed something that might matter more than any odds number: They’re deeper than we thought.
They’ve beaten good teams. They’ve survived utter chaos. They’ve shown they can win ugly, win physical, and win connected.
If you’re looking for the blueprint for a playoff run, it’s not just “Ant goes supernova.” It’s this:
Edwards as the engineRandle as the co-starGobert anchoring everything defensivelyMcDaniels as the swing pieceDosunmu and Reid as the wild cards
That’s not just a roster. That’s a formula.
The question, the one that’s going to define the next two months, is whether all of those pieces show up at the same time.
Because if they do? This stops being a “fun team with potential” conversation… and starts becoming something a lot more serious.
And if you’re feeling a little frisky about it, yeah, you could do worse than taking a look at those +4000 odds over at FanDuel Sportsbook.