The countdown clock started around 5 p.m. Sunday and expires Saturday afternoon, a protracted gap between games that must feel like an eternity in the NBA's rhythm of life.
The playoff format grants the Timberwolves five full days to prepare for the Phoenix Suns, a Monday-through-Friday workweek that is the most important time of Chris Finch's tenure as coach.
He's got a lot to figure out.
"A coach's dream, really," Finch said Wednesday of the extra prep time. "You get a chance to tear it apart and start putting it back together and come up with some answers.