Everyone knows that the Western Conference is a blood bath, and winning the conference will be a grueling task. By all accounts, the West is more difficult than the East. Despite the undeniable challenges the West provides for the Minnesota Timberwolves and other teams, one clear blessing is that the top six teams are seemingly locked up nearly halfway through the season.
With a 20-10 record, the Wolves are sitting at fifth in the conference. However, they’re just two and a half games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 2 seed, and a full five games ahead of the No. 8 seed Golden State Warriors.
Barring anything drastic happening, the Wolves, along with the Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets, will remain the top six seeds. Sure, the Phoenix Suns are just two games back from the sixth seed, and they’ve been an amazing story. However, with all due respect, they aren’t in the same class as these six teams.
Of course, the order of these top six seeds is unclear, other than the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed. Regardless, being able to avoid the Play-In Tournament and earn a top-six seed will be a massive benefit to the Wolves. Last year, it came down to the wire as the sixth-seeded Timberwolves avoided the Play-In by just one game. This year, they likely won’t have this same pressure as the season winds down.
The Wolves’ playoff seeding could set them up for success
I can’t guarantee another deep playoff run for the Wolves, but it’s something that wouldn’t shock me. Frankly, when you have a star like Anthony Edwards, you always have a chance, and the Wolves’ back-to-back conference finals runs add evidence to this possibility.
Julius Randle is also a worthy co-star for Ant, and Jaden McDaniels has reached a new level offensively. With a top 10 offense and defense, the Timberwolves have the two-way balance that’s needed to make a deep playoff run.
The Wolves could easily get the best of any of their possible first-round opponents. Minnesota beat the Lakers last year and could once again do so, given LA’s lack of defense. The Spurs don’t have any playoff experience. Houston has quietly been underwhelming. The Nuggets would be the toughest opponent of the bunch, but the Wolves have had a ton of success against them in recent years.
It’s far from a certainty that the Wolves would beat any of these four teams, but it’s a strong possibility.
Ultimately, being able to (likely) avoid the Play-In Tournament and have a more favorable first-round matchup is a clear benefit to Minnesota despite the rigors of the superior Western Conference.