"Wolves in five" has become a rallying cry for local fans.

It also has been the reality of their first two playoff series, with Minnesota dispatching first the favored Lakers and then the Stephen Curry-less Warriors four games to one to reach their second consecutive Western Conference finals.

Just as was the case one round ago, the Wolves now have the luxury of resting and waiting to see who, when and where they play next.

They could know as soon as Thursday night, pending the outcome of Game 6 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. For now, let's look at the scenarios:

  • If Oklahoma City wins Thursday at Denver to win that series, the Wolves would play Game 1 of the conference finals Sunday in Oklahoma City and Game 2 on Tuesday there. There would be three days of rest before Games 3 and 4 at Target Center on Saturday, May 24, and Monday, May 26.
  • If Denver wins Thursday to force a Game 7, the Western Conference finals will start Tuesday either in Oklahoma City or Denver, pending the outcome of Game 7 and the winner of the series. Either way, the Wolves would be the road team as the lower seed. The rest of the schedule would have the Wolves on the road for Game 2 on Thursday and back at home Saturday, May 24, and Monday, May 26 for the next two games of the series.
  • All games in the Western and Eastern Conference finals are slated for either 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Central time starts. Western Conference games are set for ESPN or ABC, not TNT.

Several Wolves fans have asked which team Minnesota would prefer to play. That's more subjective, but here are some pros and cons on each side:

  • The Wolves know they can beat Denver, having knocked off the Nuggets (who were then the defending NBA champions) in seven games to reach last year's conference finals while also going 4-0 against Denver this year during the regular season. That said, Denver made a late-season surge after firing head coach Michael Malone and replacing him with David Adelman. The Nuggets have a strong postseason pedigree and arguably the best player on the planet (Nikola Jokic).
  • Oklahoma City was far and away the best team in the West during the regular season, winning 68 games (16 more than any other team and 19 more than the Wolves). They have the depth and size to match the Wolves as well as likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But they also lack playoff experience and have shown considerably vulnerability in this series with Denver after breezing through the first round vs. Memphis.

Either team would be a difficult matchup, and almost certainly the biggest test the Wolves have faced in this year's playoffs.

One thing is for sure: Oklahoma City or Denver would put the "Wolves in five" mantra to the test.