The Timberwolves had two practice days over the weekend to prepare for their second-round playoff series, with no opponent for which to prepare because the matchup won’t be determined until late Sunday after Houston and Golden State play their Game 7.

Regardless, Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series is Tuesday.

“Yeah, it’s weird,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said of the time spent in limbo. “It’s definitely weird, for sure.”

Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

And perhaps not as productive? Minnesota’s super power as a team over the past couple of years has been using playoff prep time to prepare for an upcoming opponent. With a week off to scout and get ready, Minnesota swept Phoenix, won Games 1 and 2 against Denver and then blitzed the Lakers in Game 1 of this year’s first-round matchup.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch credited the scouting work his staff does and the team’s ability to create and convey game plans to players. That extends beyond team-wide practices.

“I think some of the work that you do individually with your players in player development is just as important, going through what Ant’s going to see, going through what Julius is going to see, the reads that they’re going to have to make,” Finch said. “I think that’s really important. Our staff has done an amazing job in the time that I’ve been here in preparing our guys for those moments.”

But not knowing an opponent means you don’t necessarily know what things for which you’ll have to prepare and be ready. Finch said the practice plans over the weekend required thought.

“You wanted to be targeted in your approach,” he said. “We looked at the commonalities between both teams, highlighted those and tried to work on those. Just some other things that we haven’t been able to work on in a little bit. It’s been good.”

In terms of self assessment, Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker noted how many open shots Minnesota missed on the perimeter, particularly in Game 5, against Los Angeles. He said this weekend provided a chance for Minnesota to further familiarize itself with such shots, anticipating similar looks will arise down the road as teams resort to the same schemes the Lakers utilized in an attempt to slow Anthony Edwards.

Rudy Gobert said emphasizing offensive and defensive transition as well as rebounding is always key for Minnesota to be the team it wants to be.

Finch also noted it’s always an advantage to be the rested team coming into a series. Regardless of who wins Sunday, that team will have fewer than 48 hours between the end of Game 7 and the start of Game 1. And the rounds tend to only get more physical and draining from here.

So, Minnesota understands the importance of using this time as a mental and physical reset.

“I think you have to have time away from it,” Finch said. “Put the work in, prepare accordingly, but I think there’s times you have to step away from it, and a lot of times that frees up your mind for fresh ideas or a fresh approach.”

From a player’s perspective, that means putting an equal amount of emphasis on rest.

“Obviously, we’re excited, we’re ready to play. But whoever we play, we’ll be ready for,” Randle said. “The coaches will have us prepared. But in the meantime, try to recover as much as you can, get in the weight room, get your body prepared or just try to stay prepared and focused.”

As Gobert put it, “Prepare our bodies and our minds.”

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Generally speaking, Gustav Nyquist prefers it when officials let play continue, and there are fewer whistles in a game. But if they had called offside on the ice late in Game 5 of the Minnesota Wild’s playoff series with Vegas, the veteran forward would be looked at much differently — or be an afterthought — today.

To recap, a potential Ryan Hartman go-ahead goal with 1:15 left in Game 5 was eventually negated after video review showed that Nyquist crossed the blue line maybe an inch ahead of the puck that Hartman was carrying. Instead of a likely win, which would have given Minnesota a 3-2 lead in the series, the Wild lost the game in overtime, and lost the series 48 hours later.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the costly offside, Nyquist took ownership of the gaffe. He noted that with Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev in between him and Hartman on the play, his view of when the puck crossed the line was obstructed.

“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate play,” said Nyquist, who came to Minnesota for a second time at the trade deadline after starting the season in Nashville. “At the end of the day, it’s on me to stay onside there. And from my view, there’s a guy in between, and I can’t really see the puck. And I was a thousand percent sure it was over the line, obviously, and it wasn’t. So, obviously, that’s unfortunate.”

Nyquist added that if the linesman on the blue line had whistled him for offside initially, before Hartman cut to the net and scored to briefly give the Wild a 3-2 lead in the game, the play would soon have been forgotten among the bigger picture of the series.

“I’m not blaming the linesman, but if he calls it right away, the right call, which is a hard call to make, but the play blows dead, then no one’s talking about this,” Nyquist said. “It’s just like an offside like 20 other times during the game. But it’s unfortunate, obviously. That was a tough moment in the game, when you have a chance to go up one with a minute left in a big game there.”

Nyquist spent nine games with the Wild in 2023, then signed with Nashville where he had a career-best 75 points a year ago. But like so many others on the Predators, who missed the playoffs despite some big offseason acquisitions last summer, Nyquist’s numbers did not match expectations. After the trade to Minnesota, for which general manager Bill Guerin gave up a second round draft pick, he scored twice in 22 regular-season games and was held without a point in the playoffs.

Nyquist was not making excuses on Sunday.

“Frustrating season for me, with the way everything worked out in Nashville,” he said. “I think going into the season we had pretty high hopes of our own team there. We were supposed to have a good season, and obviously that didn’t happen. And I think that hit hard on a lot of those guys in Nashville. We set a high standard of ourselves.”

He played for Team Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and found himself back in a Wild jersey a short time later, but the offensive struggles continued. And like everyone in Minnesota, he felt the playoffs were a disappointment for a team that was healthy and had high expectations.

His skate being an inch offside at a critical time was just one small thing that ended up being costly.

“Small margins throughout the series. I thought it was a well-played series by us, tight series,” Nyquist said. “They played well, too. It’s a hard-fought series, and all six games are tight. And 50-50 games, to be honest with you, I think. In the end, we come up short and (it’s) disappointing.”

Nyquist will be 36 by the start of training camp in September, and is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he could sign anywhere over the summer.

“We’ll see what happens. Obviously, I love it here,” he said. “I think the guys are great, great group of guys. But you never know. We’ll see. July 1st, we’ll know more, obviously.”

If nothing else, another season in Minnesota would be a chance for him to give Wild fans a better memory of Nyquist’s time in St. Paul.

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NONPROFITS

Pakou Hang

Northwest Area Foundation, a St. Paul-based organization providing grants to Native American community nonprofits, announced the appointment of Pakou Hang as vice president of program. Hang is a founding member and executive director of the Hmong American Farmers Association. Northwest Area Foundation targets communities in eight northwest U.S. states, from Minnesota to Oregon, generally following the route of the former Great Northern Railway.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

The American Council of Engineering Companies announced that Barr Engineering, Minneapolis, has earned a National Recognition Award for its work on the Morningside Neighborhood Flood Risk Reduction project in Edina.

DEVELOPMENT

Kraus-Anderson Cos., a Minneapolis-based multi-disciplined real estate developer, announced Audra Williams as general counsel, succeeding Tom Wratkowski, who is retiring. Williams previously served as in-house counsel at Ryan Cos. US.

EDUCATION

Minneapolis College of Art and Design announced the appointment of Gwendolyn Freed as president, effective June 1. Freed has held higher education leadership roles at Gustavus Adolphus College, Cornish College of the Arts and Wallin Education Partners.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, announced the election of Chad Trench as chair of its board of directors, as well as the election of Isaac Durant as a board member. Trench currently is director of operations at Special Olympics Minnesota. Durant is a software engineer.

HEALTH CARE

AMADA Senior Care Twin Cities, a Golden Valley-based in-home care agency for seniors and families, announced Kelly Merriman has joined the company as executive director of operations. Merriman previously was at PRESS Premium Alcohol Seltzer and was founder and president of Lice Lounge Hair Care Center in White Bear Lake and Duluth.

HONORS

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it has recognized Jules’ Bistro in downtown St. Cloud as the 2024 Minnesota Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. The business is owned by Donella Westphal. … The Performance Excellence Network announced the recipients of its 2023 Minnesota Performance Excellence Award: Benedictine, Duluth; State of Minnesota Department of Human Services Direct Care & Treatment divisions of Ambulatory Services, Community Based Services, Forensic Services, MN Sex Offender Program, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Services; and River’s Edge Hospital, St. Peter. The award is based on the Baldrige Framework, a recognized business achievement criteria.

LAW

Dorsey & Whitney announced attorney Laura Morgan has rejoined the firm as a partner in the Healthcare Transactions and Regulations practice group in Minneapolis. Morgan previously was a senior counsel with the inspector general’s office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Morgan previously was with Dorsey from 2016–2022.

MANUFACTURING

Sleep Number Corp., a Minneapolis-based maker and retailer of specialty beds and mattresses, announced the following internal executive changes under the new leadership of CEO Linda Findley: Melissa Barra has been appointed executive vice president, chief product and enterprise strategy officer, a new position; Chris Krusmark, appointed executive vice president, chief retail and people officer; Tanya Skogerboe, appointed senior vice president, chief supply chain and transformation officer, and Amber Minson joins the company as executive vice president, chief marketing officer. Findley joined the company last month.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Lifecore Biomedical, a Chaska-based contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical equipment, announced that it has appointed Thomas (Tom) Salus as chief legal and administration officer and corporate secretary. Salus previously held a similar role with Viatris Inc., an international pharmaceutical company.

OPENINGS

Rosedale Center in Roseville announced Legendary Spice & Boba X has joined its Potluck Food Hall. The owner is Grace Huang. … The team behind Mr. Paul’s Supper Club and Mothership Pizza Paradise in Edina announced the opening of Carnival Bar, also located in the 50th and France commercial district of Edina. Tommy Begnaud is the chef/owner.

POLITICS

The Minnesota DFL Party announced Jim Heighington will become executive director in June, succeeding Heidi Kraus Kaplan. Charlene Briner will serve as transition director. Heighington most recently worked as chief of staff to Google’s chief diversity officer.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a bomb at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro.

The Rio event on Saturday was the biggest show of the pop star’s career that sent more than 2 million fans flooding Copacabana Beach.

Rio de Janeiro’s state police and Brazil’s Justice Ministry presented the bare outlines of a plot that they said involved a group that promoted hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community, among others, and planned to detonate homemade explosive devices at the event.

“The plan was treated as a ‘collective challenge’ with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media,” the police said. The group, it added, disseminated violent content to teenagers online as “a form of belonging.”

Authorities arrested two people in connection with the alleged plot — a man described as the group’s leader in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager in Rio on child pornography charges. Police did not elaborate on their exact roles in the plot or on how the group came to target Lady Gaga’s beach concert.

“Those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” police said.

The Justice Ministry said that it determined the group posed a “risk to public order.” It said the group falsely presented themselves online as “Little Monsters” — Lady Gaga’s nickname for her fans — in order to reach teenagers and lure them into “networks with violent and self-destructive content.”

During a series of raids on the homes of 15 suspects across several Brazilian states, authorities confiscated phones and other electronic devices. Even as police said they believed homemade bombs were intended for use in the planned attack, there was no mention of the raids turning up any weapons or explosive material.

Lady Gaga’s publicists and concert promoters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Police said they carried out the raids quietly Saturday in the hours leading up to the concert while “avoiding panic or distortion of information among the population.”

The ministry said there was no impact on those attending the free concert.