Wolves Playoff Seeding Race Thread

[Phil Leotardo]

I'm not an NBA follower. Is there a chance the Wolves get KAT back at some point in the playoffs, or no?

[twolves31]

I'm not an NBA follower. Is there a chance the Wolves get KAT back at some point in the playoffs, or no?

Towns is said to be ahead of schedule in his recovery. The expectations was a return in the first or second round of the playoffs. Whenever they show Kat walking around high fiveing players from the bench he looks like he is moving pretty good.

[SKOLMN]

I'm not an NBA follower. Is there a chance the Wolves get KAT back at some point in the playoffs, or no?

Doubt he’s ready for the first round, but I could see him return during the 2nd round, assuming we advance

[PanicWolf]

I'm not an NBA follower. Is there a chance the Wolves get KAT back at some point in the playoffs, or no?

Doubt he’s ready for the first round, but I could see him return during the 2nd round.

Fyp

[Phil Leotardo]

I'm not an NBA follower. Is there a chance the Wolves get KAT back at some point in the playoffs, or no?

Doubt he’s ready for the first round, but I could see him return during the 2nd round, assuming we advance

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-22)
2. Denver Nuggets (52-23)
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (51-23)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (47-27)
5. Dallas Mavericks (45-29)
6. New Orleans Pelicans (45-29)
7. Sacramento Kings (43-31)
8. Phoenix Suns (43-31)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (42-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (40-34)

[focker]

Every single team in the top 10 that was playing yesterday in the west won except for us. Not a great day...

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-22)
2. Denver Nuggets (52-23)
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (51-23)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (47-27)
5. Dallas Mavericks (45-29)
6. New Orleans Pelicans (45-30)
7. Phoenix Suns (44-31)
8. Sacramento Kings (43-31)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (42-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (40-34)

[weimy froob]

Alan Horton
@WolvesRadio
MIN can clinch a playoff spot (top-6) tonight with a PHX win @ NOP.

Spoiler:

[SHAFA]

Denver's got it pretty easy; OKC's still got a bit of an onslaught. Embiid possibly returning tonight could be interesting.

[boxter432]

makes sense, but I just noticed no games on 4/8 to give the focus to the NCAA championship, then no games sat 4/13 so everyone plays on the final day with only 2 time slots (noon and 2:30)

also embiid is out and maxey is questionable, so...OKC gunna win by 17
Edit: ok now embiid is in and SGA out…

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Denver Nuggets (53-23)
2. Minnesota Timberwolves (52-23)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-23)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (47-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (45-30)
6. New Orleans Pelicans (45-30)
7. Sacramento Kings (44-31)
8. Phoenix Suns (44-31)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (43-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (41-34)

[A$$MAN]

If this was the FINAL standings for the playoffs, I would be ecstatic!

[focker]

I hated the idea of the play in tourney when it was pitched initially, but my God is it going to be amazing this year in the West. I do wonder if the Lakers will pass Phoenix here at the end of the year to avoid the dreaded 9 seed.

[BBG]

If this was the FINAL standings for the playoffs, I would be ecstatic!

Same. This would be the ideal path for the wolves to at least get to the semis

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-23)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-23)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-24)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (47-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (45-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (45-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-31)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-31)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (41-34)

[Small Hands]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-23)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-23)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-24)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (47-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (45-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (45-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-31)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-31)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (41-34)

I predict the top 3 will change at least 2 more times

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-23)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-24)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (48-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (46-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (45-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-31)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-32)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (42-34)

[A$$MAN]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-23)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-24)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (48-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (46-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (45-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-31)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-32)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (42-34)

At this point, I just want to see the Kings hold on to that 8th spot so the Lakers and Warriors have to face off as the 9th and 10th seeds. It would be so sweet to see BOTH those teams not make the playoffs!

[boxter432]

if Ingram doesn't return but the standings stay the same...the #2 spot is probably where you want to be to face a Monk and Huerter-less Kings or an Ingram-less Pels. but seems like BI will be ready next week either for last game or 2 or for playoffs.
scary factor for the wolves vs a play in team:
1) healthy Pels
2) lakers with Davis who always dominates us
3) warriors bc they are still the warriors. I think we match up with them the best out of the 4 but stil a hint of Steph magic exists
4) kings, but barely. they have Sabonis and Fox but we can focus Jaden, NAW, Mike and Ant on fox vs spreading to Monk and Huerter, and Rudy and KA and Naz making Soboner work

[SKOLMN]

if Ingram doesn't return but the standings stay the same...the #2 spot is probably where you want to be to face a Monk and Huerter-less Kings or an Ingram-less Pels. but seems like BI will be ready next week either for last game or 2 or for playoffs.
scary factor for the wolves vs a play in team:
1) healthy Pels
2) lakers with Davis who always dominates us
3) warriors bc they are still the warriors. I think we match up with them the best out of the 4 but stil a hint of Steph magic exists
4) kings, but barely. they have Sabonis and Fox but we can focus Jaden, NAW, Mike and Ant on fox vs spreading to Monk and Huerter, and Rudy and KA and Naz making Soboner work

Not sure I agree with this. #2 likely means you’re playing the thunder in the 2nd round as opposed to the clippers who seem to be faltering down the stretch.

[weimy froob]

if Ingram doesn't return but the standings stay the same...the #2 spot is probably where you want to be to face a Monk and Huerter-less Kings or an Ingram-less Pels. but seems like BI will be ready next week either for last game or 2 or for playoffs.
scary factor for the wolves vs a play in team:
1) healthy Pels
2) lakers with Davis who always dominates us
3) warriors bc they are still the warriors. I think we match up with them the best out of the 4 but stil a hint of Steph magic exists
4) kings, but barely. they have Sabonis and Fox but we can focus Jaden, NAW, Mike and Ant on fox vs spreading to Monk and Huerter, and Rudy and KA and Naz making Soboner work

Not sure I agree with this. #2 likely means you’re playing the thunder in the 2nd round as opposed to the clippers who seem to be faltering down the stretch.

not sure the clippers are going to be able to hold off the mavericks for the 4 spot and even more doubtful that they can beat them in a seven game series. not sold on the thunder getting out of the first round either if SGA has that balky quad. wolves will have their hands full with whatever team they get too.

[A$$MAN]

if Ingram doesn't return but the standings stay the same...the #2 spot is probably where you want to be to face a Monk and Huerter-less Kings or an Ingram-less Pels. but seems like BI will be ready next week either for last game or 2 or for playoffs.
scary factor for the wolves vs a play in team:
1) healthy Pels
2) lakers with Davis who always dominates us
3) warriors bc they are still the warriors. I think we match up with them the best out of the 4 but stil a hint of Steph magic exists
4) kings, but barely. they have Sabonis and Fox but we can focus Jaden, NAW, Mike and Ant on fox vs spreading to Monk and Huerter, and Rudy and KA and Naz making Soboner work

Not sure I agree with this. #2 likely means you’re playing the thunder in the 2nd round as opposed to the clippers who seem to be faltering down the stretch.

not sure the clippers are going to be able to hold off the mavericks for the 4 spot and even more doubtful that they can beat them in a seven game series. not sold on the thunder getting out of the first round either if SGA has that balky quad. wolves will have their hands full with whatever team they get too.

The Thunder better find a way where they don't have to face the Lakers in the first round. The Lakers own them.

[boxter432]

OKC going down in Indy

Pels winning early 3rd against spurs. JV 17 pts while wemby is 0/6.
Edit 18 pts for JV, wemby hit a shot now as well.

Wemby took over a bit. Near triple double and block and steal late. No Zion, what’s his status?

[weimy froob]

For those that are afraid of Phoenix, did you catch their loss last night to the Spurs without Wemby??

The Suns are average at best. Top heavy, injury prone roster. No PG at all on the toaster so they turn over the ball a TON and doesn’t play D. Frank Vogel is awful at adjustments.

Of any team, I would want to play Phx. We would trounce them.

i don't know about that.

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-24)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (49-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (47-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (46-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-32)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-33)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (42-35)

[weimy froob]

The Timberwolves lost to the Suns by double-digits for the second time in as many trips to Phoenix this season with Friday’s 97-87 defeat.

So, obviously, the Wolves don’t want to play the Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

But then there are the Pelicans, who, in the two meetings between the two teams that featured Zion Williamson, also beat the Wolves by double figures. You don’t want to see them in Round 1, either.

Then there’s the Dallas Mavericks. The only time the Wolves played against the dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, they dropped a close one in Texas. So, surely that’s not a desirable Western Conference quarterfinal opponent.

And the Lakers — Sunday’s opponent in Los Angeles — I mean, who would want to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis early in any postseason run?

The reality is, in the NBA’s stacked Western Conference, you can talk yourself into any team likely outside of Sacramento — which has beaten Minnesota twice at Target Center this season, but lost two key guards in Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk to injury for the season — as the team you don’t want to face in the first round of the playoffs.

Because they’re all good, and they all present certain challenges. Even the Warriors, for all their struggles at various points of this season, are going to win maybe 46 games. For reference, the Kings were the No. 3 seed a year ago with just 48 victories. Oh, and the Warriors obviously have Steph Curry.

Everyone is good.

Which makes it impossible to attempt to properly position yourself for a potential postseason run. Because there is no way to maneuver yourself in the standings to perfectly chart your path forward. One way or another, you’re going to face a worthy adversary from the get-go in the West playoffs.

You can’t even begin to try to pick the lesser of all the evils given how jumbled everyone is in the standings. The Wolves, who entered Saturday’s action as the No. 1 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker over Denver, could still finish anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 in the West with five games to play.

But teams No. 5-9 are separated by just three games. So you might think you want to fall back to No. 3 to face Phoenix in Round 1, only to have New Orleans finish strong to show up at Target Center’s doorstep for Game 1 of the postseason.

So there’s really no use in sweating potential circumstances. The variance of it all may help explain why Oklahoma City seemingly has accepted the No. 3 seed. The Thunder have lost three straight games, with star guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams sitting out of all three.

Perhaps there isn’t a difference between No. 1 or No. 3. In the first round, that may be true. But the advantage for the top seed would seem to come in the later rounds of the postseason. The playoffs may prove otherwise, but the top three teams in the West appear to be Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City. By finishing with the top seed, you automatically leave the other two to duel it out in the conference semifinals while you get a seemingly lesser foe that round.

And then, of course, the No. 1 seed gets the bonus of home-court advantage throughout the entirety of the West playoffs. Perhaps that’s what is motivating the Wolves to such a high degree to chase as many wins as possible.

The No. 1 seed is the surest way to give yourself a maximum advantage once playoffs begin. So that’s what the Wolves will continue to gun for, potential matchup issues be darned.

Because it’s possible those are overread based on regular-season results, anyway.

“You can only take it for what it’s worth at this point,” Wolves guard Mike Conley told reporters Friday. “(The Suns have) beat us pretty bad the first two times they played us, and I’ve been in seasons where we beat teams — swept teams — and won convincingly (in the regular season) and then lose in the playoffs, just because in the playoffs, matchups change. People throw different things out, and we figure something out, or they figure something out, those things matter.

“We can’t really be thinking about that as far as being a situation we want to avoid or something like that. I think we’ll be ready, and I think we’ll have to make those adjustments with whoever we play.”

[twolves31]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-24)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (49-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (47-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (46-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-32)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-33)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (42-35)

With Sacramento and New Orleans banged up and falling, it feels like Dallas is going to be 5th, Phoenix 6th, Lakers 7th, and New Orleans the 8th seed.

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (53-24)
2. Denver Nuggets (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (49-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (47-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (46-31)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-32)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-33)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (44-33)
10. Golden State Warriors (42-35)

With Sacramento and New Orleans banged up and falling, it feels like Dallas is going to be 5th, Phoenix 6th, Lakers 7th, and New Orleans the 8th seed.

i'll update the standings tomorrow--but the nuggets are back in first with a half game lead over the wolves. the kings probably aren't going to get out of the play-in with their injuries. another good team isn't either. wolves will have a worthy opponent--no matter who they play. we all know that--and are concerned about "matchups" for sure. but this is also true--from the article i posted above. so we'll just have to see what happens.

Because it’s possible those are overread based on regular-season results.

[weimy froob]

updated standings

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (54-24)
2. Denver Nuggets (54-24)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (53-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (50-28)
5. Dallas Mavericks (48-30)
6. Phoenix Suns (46-32)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (46-32)
8. Sacramento Kings (45-33)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (45-34)
10. Golden State Warriors (43-35)