In all likelihood, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n
Sure, you could dream of doomsday scenarios that have Minnesota rising to No. 5 or falling into the play-in tournament. But the betting odds tend to paint the real picture, and anything other than the No. 6 seed would be a massive shock for Minnesota at this point.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Wolves will play an Indiana team currently starting five guys you\u2019ve likely never heard of as the Pacers aim to finish with a bottom-four record for the sake of NBA Draft Lottery odds.<\/p>\n
So Minnesota\u2019s spot in the standings is likely soon to be cemented, which will make the Wolves\u2019 games themselves trivial. Yet with only a week remaining in the regular season, Minnesota has to set itself up to make a playoff run that right now feels unlikely.<\/p>\n
The Wolves are 6-9 over their past 15 games, including three straight losses. They\u2019re currently without Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels \u2014 who are both listed as \u201cout\u201d again for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Pacers \u2014 and are, literally and figuratively, limping to the regular season finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like we\u2019re a million miles away from the team that we can be and that we are,\u201d Wolves coach Chris Finch said after Minnesota was blitzed by Charlotte on Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotta get that back with our connectedness and our spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frankly, they\u2019ve got to find a lot of things over the two weeks between now and the start of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s Minnesota\u2019s to-do list in that time:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not in Minnesota\u2019s DNA to take games off. The Timberwolves play. Prior to this recent rash of injuries, the Wolves\u2019 primary rotation players missed the fewest games of any other team\u2019s core this season.<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s not a good thing. The Wolves look run down. There is no momentum to be found heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n
But there is a full week between the regular season\u2019s conclusion and Game 1 of the first round. In the past, that\u2019s been a transformative period for Minnesota. The Wolves lock in on the game plan centered on their first-round opponent and execute it at a high level from the opening tip.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a critical piece of the franchise\u2019s recent postseason success. Ideally, Minnesota is able to attack that week off head on, rather than having to use it to lick wounds.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, the Wolves should aim to find rest this week. If Minnesota can ensure a finish ahead of Phoenix by Friday, it could potentially sit key players for each of its final two regular-season bouts.<\/p>\n
Alongside the currently missing McDaniels and Edwards, Naz Reid is clearly laboring. Neither Julius Randle nor Donte DiVincenzo has missed a single game this season, while Rudy Gobert has sat out only three.<\/p>\n
No postseason switch will be flipped if the team\u2019s collective battery is teetering on empty. A quick recharge could do the Wolves wonders heading into the playoff marathon.<\/p>\n
Count Reid as one of the guys who could potentially use a few days of rest \u2014 or something. The Timberwolves\u2019 top bench asset has been awful in recent games. Since March 1, Reid is shooting just 38% from the floor and 23% from distance. He went 3 for 14 from the floor in Sunday\u2019s loss to Charlotte.<\/p>\n
Reid missed a couple games amid these struggles with an ankle injury, but a shoulder ailment seems to be a bigger culprit. While Finch said he isn\u2019t \u201c100% sure\u201d about the status of the shoulder, he said Reid is rushing his shot at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to have some guys just play better. Guys are forcing their offense and it\u2019s not going in or they\u2019re not seeing it go in,\u201d Finch said. \u201cIt will go in over time. We\u2019ve got to make all the little plays, the gritty plays, stay in it. Then we start gambling on defense and lose our discipline. That\u2019s when stuff snowballs on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a few additional days off, more accommodations for any shoulder concerns or simply a restoration of confidence, Minnesota has to find a way to get its sharpshooting big man back into a rhythm to provide the scoring burst the Wolves so desperately need.<\/p>\n
Every now and then in recent years, Finch and the coaching staff have taken a break from the consistent harping and instead played cut-up clips of Minnesota playing some of its best basketball during film sessions.<\/p>\n
This might be a ripe time for another of those sessions, because Finch himself noted the vibes are off.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a team, rightfully so, we focus on all the negatives when things happen, like \u2018we\u2019ve got to do this, we\u2019ve got to do that,\u2019 \u201d Wolves guard Mike Conley said. \u201cBut we start trying to bring in positive things like, \u2018We\u2019re stopping them every single time, we\u2019ve just got rebound.\u2019 Or \u2018Donte, keep shooting, Ayo keep shooting, Bones keep shooting.\u2019 \u2026 All this stuff that can get guys in a positive mind frame, because I know guys can get down individually if things aren\u2019t going their way, and we do have an emotional team, and it can spiral if it gets too crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can tell when the team\u2019s spirit is high. The Wolves are at their best when they\u2019re carrying themselves like the most confident collection of athletes you\u2019ve ever witnessed play basketball. These Wolves currently resemble a pack of wounded animals.<\/p>\n
Maybe a quick patch of good play will do the trick, or perhaps the coaching staff will need to get creative in re-installing Minnesota\u2019s swagger.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about trying to keep everybody\u2019s spirits up and understanding that we\u2019re a really good team,\u201d Conley said. \u201cJust because we hit a tough stretch with injuries, or whatever we\u2019re dealing with, (doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t) have a lot in the tank and we have a very deep team and we should still be able to go out here and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
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