Conley Gives Honest Admission About ESPN's 10-0 Call Motivating The Timberwolves

The panel of experts picking the Lakers to win went viral on social media. It frustrated the Timberwolves fan base because they knew they could compete with the Lakers on the same level. The term "Lakers in 5," in particular, stuck, but it came back to bite Lakers fans.

They were proven right, but they were not the only ones to see those predictions. The Timberwolves players saw it, which became a source of motivation for players. 

The Timberwolves Proved The Doubters Wrong 

It was surprising to see experts unanimously picking the Lakers. The Timberwolves were only one game off in the regular season record from getting the third seed. It was also clear that the Lakers had problems, especially with their big man depth. 

That was why they wanted to get Mark Williams at the trade deadline, but that trade got rescinded. This meant the Lakers were trying to play small-ball to full effect, but that did not work against the stellar front line of Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid.

It was also a motivated Timberwolves team because everyone predicted their opponents would win the series. Veteran guard Mike Conley Jr. was surprised when no one selected them, which made the win even sweeter.

"When I saw that legitimately everybody chose the Lakers, I was like, I know this guys watch basketball. They got to," Conley said on Bumper To Bumper with Dan Barreiro. "Being able to see that we have the same record... We're probably a better team, a deeper team. Somebody gotta see that right? That was perfect for us because we felt we were a better team."

The Timberwolves Want To Keep Going In The Playoffs

Now that they have beaten the Lakers in the Playoffs, the confidence is through the roof. They will play the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets in the second round.

It will be another tough series for Minnesota, but Chris Finch and his staff are preparing them. This team is ready to keep competing at the highest level, so they will keep themselves motivated. 

That was easy to find during the Lakers series because of the national media attention, but now, they will need to keep that momentum going into the second round and a possible return to the Western Conference Finals.