Minnesota Sports Forum

The Klunk-o-Meter never lies, and it seems more and more likely that the Wolves are going to participate in the play-in from the 7th position in the standings. We have another thread dedicated to whom we would like to play in the actual playoffs, but the path to get there is just as interesting. The fun news for local Wolves fans is that a 7th place finish makes one home play-in game a certainty, and a loss to the Clippers would still result in a second home game with a chance to qualify as the 8th seed. 2 chances to get in.

But the more troubling news is 2 of the other 3 teams likely to be in the tournament are playing very good basketball...9 consecutive wins for the Clips and the Pels combined despite one team missing their best player and the other missing their two best players. While there has been little news about Kawhi, there has been video in the past couple days of him shooting with his teammates. Still my best guess is that he will not return this season. On the other hand, while there is also no timetable for George's return, I expect that we will see him before the end of March. The most surprising news of the past 24 hours is that Zion has been cleared to participate in basketball activities. The Pels are already playing at a very high level, and adding a load like Zion to the mix will make them very formidable.

So let's all predict how this will go:

If we are interested in the Wolves getting to a 7-game series, I think we have to hope that an effective George and Leonard are not back for the play-in. We beat the Clippers in the one game both were missing, and I think we would prevail again in a home game with both out. But the Clips have beaten us in the three games George has played in by an average of almost 20 PPG with two of those losses at home. Upsets can happen, but we don't seem to match up with the Clips very well if either of their stars is healthy.

So next. The Pels have been playing so well since they picked up CJ, I see them flying by the Lakers in the standings, and handily winning their play-in home game...even if Anthony Davis returns and Zion does not. The Lakers are old, tired and beat up and I think the Pels will run them off the court even if Zion can't play. And that would set up a very interesting one-game play-in for the right to be the 8th seed. The Wolves were 2-2 against the Pels this year, but that was before the CJ trade which clearly made the Pels much better. Still, the Wolves are playing very good basketball, and I think they will be a 2-3 point favorite if they are healthy and Zion is not. But if Zion plays and is anywhere near the player he has been in the past, I don't like our chances to beat them...Joval, Zion, Ingram and CJ combined with defensive savant Herbert Jones will be a handful for almost any team in the playoffs, and a very tough matchup for us.

My predictions, assuming the Wolves are healthy for the play-in tournament:

-George plays and Kawhi doesn't, and we lose to the Clips at home:

-Zion doesn't play or at least isn't effective, and we sneak by the Pels in a very close game to earn the 8th seed.

How do others see the play-in tournament playing out?

Target Center is going to be rocking and the Wolves are going to crush the Clippers, IF they can't catch 6th. Denver has the 7th hardest remaining schedule. The Wolves will be nipping at their heels to the end.

I don't have high hopes for the play in tourney, BUT regardless of the outcome, we have made big strides this season. It will be nice to get a taste of playoff ball, but I'm afraid that's all it will be - just a taste.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:Target Center is going to be rocking and the Wolves are going to crush the Clippers, IF they can't catch 6th. Denver has the 7th hardest remaining schedule. The Wolves will be nipping at their heels to the end.

That's the good thing about finishing 7th, phenom...we're guaranteed at least one play-in game, and you're right...Target Center will be rocking. Like I said, I don't think an engaged crowd will be enough to overcome a Clips team that has beaten us by an average of 20 points when PG has played. But you never know, and it should be fun!

FNG wrote:

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:Target Center is going to be rocking and the Wolves are going to crush the Clippers, IF they can't catch 6th. Denver has the 7th hardest remaining schedule. The Wolves will be nipping at their heels to the end.

That's the good thing about finishing 7th, phenom...we're guaranteed at least one play-in game, and you're right...Target Center will be rocking. Like I said, I don't think an engaged crowd will be enough to overcome a Clips team that has beaten us by an average of 20 points when PG has played. But you never know, and it should be fun!

You keep saying this shit as if it means anything. D'Angelo Russell didn't play in two of those three losses. The loss he did play in Karl-Anthony Towns shot 3-11 from the field. Do you see that repeating? A little more context would be nice.

Not to mention, those games were back in November. It's pretty safe to say that this team is much different now in March -- both in style of play (offense over defense) and rotations.

Memphis has taken over the 2nd seed. Wolves might get the preferred matchup staying at 7.

Some other thoughts about how things might play out for the Wolves the rest of this season. Denver and Dallas have been relatively hot, which suggests it will be difficult for the Wolves to finish better than 7th. Meanwhile, this Clippers have remained hot, which has perpetuated the risk of the Wolves falling to 8th by the end of the season. I think it's worth considering the injury situation of key players on the teams we're competing with for the 6th, 7th and 8th positions.

The Wolves are relatively healthy except for Ant's tendinopathy. And we've seen recently, the Wolves are very good without Edwards with a healthy KAT and DLO on the court together. Meanwhile, young talent like McDaniels and Nowell continue to show why the Wolves front organization has been so high on them. We also see Prince and Beasley progressing up to their respective means. And the good news on Ant is that his issue is tendinopathy, which typically requires some rest and won't require any season-ending surgery.

The Mavs are in a similarly good position when it comes to injuries. The Mavs' most important player, Luka, has a sore toe that caused him to miss the last game. But they still beat the Kings without him, albeit by one point. And it appears that he won't be out long. Therefore, from an injury standpoint, I can't see the Wolves passing the Mavs in the standings.

That leaves the Nuggets and Clippers to discuss.

The Nuggets have Barton back to go with a healthy Jokic. They've been pretty hot lately and will remain formidable down the stretch so long as Jokic stays healthy. However, Jamal Murray remains out and it's highly unlikely he'll return before the end of the season. As the Nuggets hit the grinder of this final 17-game stretch, I can see them faltering. They have the 7th toughest remaining schedule in the NBA and as we saw in last season's playoffs, they do miss Jamal Murray. So I can see the Wolves passing Denver and ending up in 6th, although I acknowledges that's a bit of a long shot given that the Wolves are currently 1.5 games behind them.

The Clippers are an interesting story. They've outperformed what anyone would have predicted with Kawhi out the entire season thus far and Paul George missing so many games. Apparently, Paul George started doing some shooting drills yesterday, but he's apparently unable to shoot from more than 17 feet and has to undergo another MRI. So I'd say he's at least a couple weeks from coming back. Kawhi has passed the 6th month marker when some players have returned from partial ACL repairs like the one he had in July. But as we've seen in the past, Kawhi doesn't rush himself back. I don't see him coming back until perhaps the last week of the season to gear up for the playoffs. I still see the Clippers faltering at some point over these next 17 games unless Kawhi or Paul George makes a surprisingly early return. Therefore, I think the Wolves have a very good chance of hanging on to 7th place. My fear is the play-in tournament against the Clippers when there's a decent chance Paul George and Kawhi will be back. But then again, they both could still be out for the play-in.

Bottom line. The Wolves are likely to finish 7th. But I also see finishing 6th as only a slight long shot for the Wolves.

Lip it's also important to note that the Clippers have the 4th hardest remaining schedule and the Wolves 18th. That's according to tankathon, which monster posted a few days ago. Denver is 7th which leaves the door open for the Wolves to move up.

This thread is dumb just enjoy the ride. If you would asked me that would have two win an in chances to make the playoffs you all would've taken it at the begging of the year.

We've seen it time and time again. A combination of 2 of the 3 McDaniels, Beasley or Prince make there shots. It's very hard to beat this team because they're going to score 125 pts+ Because your going to get consistent scoring from our big three.

I hope we get GSW and knock them out poetic justice to knock Andrew Wiggins out of the playoffs.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:Lip it's also important to note that the Clippers have the 4th hardest remaining schedule and the Wolves 18th. That's according to tankathon, which monster posted a few days ago. Denver is 7th which leaves the door open for the Wolves to move up.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:Memphis has taken over the 2nd seed. Wolves might get the preferred matchup staying at 7.

This is a very good turn of events. Memphis is playing terrific basketball right now, and Golden State seems to be content to rest Draymond and limp to the finish line...knowing they are going to be loaded in the playoffs if healthy. Unlike others here, I see the likelihood of catching Denver remote. While Murray's return is questionable, Jokic and Porter Jr. will be back soon, and the emergence of Cousins makes them all that more difficult. Combine that with some recent injury issues for the Wolves, and I don't see us moving up. But since I really like where the 7th spot leaves us, I'm more focused on winning enough games so we stay ahead of the Clippers. It's important to me that we get two home game chances to win the 7th spot, and especially if Memphis ends up 2nd...I want no part of Golden State. Memphis is really good, but I think almost everyone here would take our chances against them instead of the Suns or Warriors.