Timberwolves must finish the month of December strong
There are three remaining games in the month of December. And the Minnesota Timberwolves need to finish strong with a hard month of January on the horizon.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had an easy schedule so far in the month of December. The hardest three opponents they have seen this month has been the Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s the month of January we need to look at and see what Minnesota has coming their way. Here is the toughest teams the Wolves’ will have to play in January:
- Boston Celtics: 27-10
- New Orleans Pelicans: 17-16
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 24-10
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 19-15
- Portland Trail Blazers: 17-15
- Houston Rockets: 25-7
- Toronto Raptors (2x): 23-8
- Golden State Warriors: 27-7
The matchups are certainly not going to be easy, as you have a date with the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. They’ll play the Raptors twice, whom is now the best in the East. The Celtics are losing games as of late, but they are still dangerous. Not to mention the Cavaliers are red hot after a slow start.
Next you have to play the top two teams in the Western Conference and in the NBA for that matter. The Wolves will have to play the the top five teams in the league, a total of six games in the month of January.
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The only three teams that made the list that are not in the top five of the NBA, is the Pelicans, Thunder and the Blazers. However, we know how talented and tough the Pelicans can be with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Then of course the Blazers are always a tough matchup with Damian Lillard, and C.J. McCollum, as their game has already gone down to the wire until Jimmy Butler saved the day.
Lastly, the Thunder have been figuring things out and are crazy loaded with talent. In every matchup these teams have squared off in, has resulted in wire to wire finish. These three may not be top five in the league, but they’re all talented teams with the ability to create a hard matchup.
Nine of the 17 games Minnesota plays in January will give them a run for their money. The New York Knicks didn’t make the list but they certainly won’t be a pushover. Luckily they will get the opportunity to also play teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets (2x), Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Atlanta Hawks – Minnesota needs to capitalize on games like these.
We know now that they will be seeing a lot of great teams in January, but what does the last few remaining games look like. Let me tell you… it doesn’t get any easier. They will see the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers in their final games in the year 2017.
If the season ended today, those three remaining teams would all be in the playoffs. The Nuggets are 18-15, the Bucks are 17-14, and the Pacers are 19-14. You’re looking at about 50 percent of the Wolves’ schedule from now until January that are playoff teams.
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Things are not going to be easy for Minnesota and if they want to show everyone why they are a playoff team, nd deserve to be respected – then they will need to come away with some big wins.