This first-round playoff setback, No. 7 in their streak of futility but No. 1 in their short-term memory, really was a miniseries of reality TV for the Timberwolves.

In the event the Timberwolves weren't watching closely on their big screens the past three springs, they got up close and personal with the Los Angeles Lakers that had dominated, even terrorized, a division's worth of postseason opponents.