The weekly power rankings are back, checking out the stars and flops over the past seven days of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball.
After a solid week last time around, the Timberwolves crashed back down to earth over the three games this power rankings outing, with the poor defense and road-game deficiency beginning to catch up.
The Wolves finished 1-2 over the last seven days, which is good for 35-25 (fourth in the Western Conference).
Minnesota started off with the return of Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson to Chicago, although former Wolf Zach LaVine would have the last laugh as he hit three free throws to seal the win against his former team. The thrilling game ended in a disappointing 114-113 win for the Bulls.
Next up was the only win of the week, a 111-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Timberwolves didn’t seem in full-sync on either end, but they managed to pull away thanks to an impressive 36-26 last quarter. This unreal defensive play by Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns helped out too:
The final game of the week was always going to be a tough one, as the Wolves came up against a red-hot Houston Rockets, who sit 2nd in the West with a daunting 43-13 record. Minnesota kept pace for most of the game, but an NBA record 10 last quarter 3-pointers helped the Rockets speed off to an easy 126-108 win.
This power rankings edition features a new leader and a debut in the top three, let’s check it out!
*All stats provided by NBA.com. Players must play 10 total minutes to qualify*