AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 15, 2026 10:20 am
I count 6 win em or you're not serious games left for the wolves, and 8 for the Lakers.
If LA gets to 52 they're completely out of reach, but 51 might be enough given the tie breakers.
Houston has.... 9 of those games yikes. Plus, for the wolves to leap both teams they likely need the Rockets to sweep the Lakers, but sweep the Rockets themselves.
The Timberwolves have done themselves zero favors with the cluckers they've had
They certainly were playing like chicken shit and hopefully these losses won't come home to roost.
Major developments with the Lakers having back to back anti-klunkers in Houston and Denver having a klunker against Memphis. The Lakers own the tiebreaker with Denver, so they have jumped all the way up to 3rd in my forecast. Houston has dropped into a tie for 5th with the Wolves, but own the tiebreaker. Only two games separate the 3rd through 6th teams.
You're correct, Tim...that was a klunker for Houston. And it follows the 2 klunkers they had against the Lakers last week. They are really struggling now, and it bodes well for the Wolves who play them twice in their final 10 games. I haven't had many klunkers in my spreadsheet other than the Rockets (the Wolves had one against Portland, but they offset it with an anti klunker against Boston, and their klunker last night dropped them below the Wolves in my forecast. Here's my latest:
I've had the Wolves 6th for several weeks, but fading Houston now has us 5th and playing Denver in the first round. Unfortunately that means we would play OkC in round 2 if we beat Denver. Finishing 6th might actually be better.
Tim, I see you have us in a 3-way tie for 4th. Have you looked at how the tiebreaker would work? I know our two remaining games with Houston will be meaningful.
Last edited by FNG on Wed Mar 25, 2026 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You're correct, Tim...that was a klunker for Houston. And it follows the 2 klunkers they had against the Lakers last week. They are really struggling now, and it bodes well for the Wolves who play them twice in their final 10 games. I haven't had many klunkers in my spreadsheet other than the Rockets (the Wolves had one against Portland, but they offset it with an anti klunker against Boston, and their klunker last night dropped them below the Wolves in my forecast. Here's my latest:
I've had the Wolves 6th for several weeks, but fading Houston now has us 5th and playing Denver in the first round. Unfortunately that means we would play OkC in round 2 if we beat Denver. Finishing 6th might actually be better.
Tim, I see you have us in a 3-way tie for 4th. Have you looked at how the tiebreaker would work? I know our two remaining games with Houston will be meaningful.
With the way this team has hit a wall in the WCF the last 2 playoffs, it might be better to take on OKC in the 2nd round since it will be a high energy series. It will be beneficial to have Ayo and Bones energy this time around.
Anyone but the Lakers for me. Though we can obviously beat them, I have a miserable time watching that team complain and whine night after night. Especially knowing they get the best whistle in the league.
Based on some comments Kerr made about Curry today, I no longer think he is coming back this season. So I have made some adjustments to my forecast...I now have the Rockets and Lakers winning their road games at Golden State. My forecasted standings remain the same, with the 6th place Wolves still playing the 3rd place Lakers in the first round...same as Tim. But while OkC and the Spurs has narrowed to one game, there is now a 2 game gap in the 3rd through 7th place teams. Here is my latest:
The chasm between the haves and tanking have nots continues to lead to very few klunkers and changes in the forecast. I did make one change in my forecast based on an error of mine...for some reason I had Houston losing to Philly, and I don't think they will. So I now have the Rockets 3 games ahead of the Wolves for 5th place. A win for us in Houston would close the gap to one game, assuming no other klunkers or anti-klunkers. And the Wolves do have a couple chances at anti-klunkers this week, as I have them losing both games in Detroit and Philly...both games are winnable, and we may even be favored in Philly...although they are finally healthy and playing well.
But I continue to wonder if I really want the Wolves to finish 5th with the likely opponent being the Nuggets. Dane Moore and Chris Hine discussed this very topic on their pod this week. They suggested that neither the Wolves nor the Rockets want to finish 5th and face the Nuggets, and said that game on April 10th could be a very odd one if it is going to determine who gets 5th place. They didn't go so far as predicting the Wolves might bring Mark Madsen out of retirement to put up some 3-pointers, but they did suggest there might be a few unexpected DNP-CDs.
Zach Harper predicted in the Athletic both what the first round matchups will be, and who will win...and I agree with both his conclusions. He has the Wolves playing the Lakers in the playoffs, and has us winning in 7 games...the only first round "upset" he is predicting. His reasoning is while the Lakers have played decent defense in the past month, their defense would be exposed in a playoff series...it's difficult to defend when you have three poor defenders in your starting lineup. Further, he said the Lakers have nobody to defend Ant. My recollection is the Lakers were heavy favorites going into last year's series...I don't think we would be this year.
A week ago Zach Harper predicted the first round matchups, and had us beating the Lakers in the first round. Well, things have changed with the 2 big Laker injuries, and he now has us playing the Nuggets in the first round in a 3/6 matchup. (By the way, if Portland could have held on to a 17 point 4th quarter lead last night, the matchup with the Lakers would have been likely again. So anything can happen). But Harper has us winning the series with the Nuggets 4-3. He cites the injuries the Nuggets have had, but doesn't mention Ant and Jaden. I'm not as confident if we end up playing Denver.
