The Minnesota Timberwolves, 42-30 and will finish over .500 for only the second time in 17 seasons. They are heading to the playoffs — fivethirtyeight.com gives them a 94% chance to make it — and tonight (Monday), the Wolves start a series of games that will determine if they have to go through the play-in to reach the playoffs, or can skip the extra game thanks to a top-six seed. Minnesota sits as the No. 7 seed currently but:
The Timberwolves control their destiny to getting the 5 seed.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 20, 2022
- They are 1.5 games behind the Mavs -- but play Dallas twice in the final 10 games (3/21 + 3/25)
- They are .5 games behind the Nuggets -- but play Denver once on 4/1
Minnesota is healthy and on a roll, having won 10-of-11 entering tonight, and over those 11 games Minnesota has a +17.2 net rating with the best offense and the best defense in the league. No wonder Karl-Anthony Towns is feeling confident, via Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods.
Karl-Anthony Towns after tonight's win:
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 20, 2022
"Any time we step on the court, we should win... We feel we can beat anybody."
Fueling that confidence is the team’s defense. Minnesota is 11th in defensive rating, a solid number and far ahead of where they were expected to finish. Chris Finch was brought in as an offensive-minded coach, but Towns credits him for the team’s defensive play.
72 games into the season the Wolves are 10th in the NBA on defense
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 20, 2022
Karl-Anthony Towns: "I just think Finch is doing a great job of utilizing everyone’s strengths and what they’re really good at. And things that they’re probably not the best at, we do a great job of hiding them."
All of this has Minnesota fans buzzing — their arena has been loud and energized of late. They believe what Towns believes, that this team can beat anyone. After years of watching struggling teams in Timberwolves jerseys, the fans are flocking to see a winner playing with swagger.
