Checking in on the Timberwolves’ playoff standing in the West

The Timberwolves are midway through their tough start to March, made even more difficult by the fact that the Western Conference playoff race is heating up.

The Wolves have started March with a 1-3 record, which seems worse than it sounds as the Wolves are still hanging onto the 5th seed in the West. (They’re essentially in a three-way tie for the No. 4 spot but are tied with Oklahoma City at No. 5 and percentage points behind New Orleans.)

A tough loss to Boston and a gutsy win against Golden State have marked a relatively positive week for the Timberwolves after losses to Portland and Utah started the March stretch off terribly.

The Timberwolves seem to have grasped the importance of winning games — particularly at home — during this stretch and the remainder of the season, with the fourth through tenth seeds in the Western Conference separated by just 2.5 games.

Denver and Utah, in the ninth and tenth seeds, respectively, are entering the week coming off the back of wins with Utah on a six-game winning streak.

The San Antonio Spurs are in the midst of a downhill slide and have dropped down to seventh with two losses in a row and a currently only one game away from slipping out of the top-eight. They’re at risk of missing their first playoff series since 1997.

The Spurs missing the playoffs could be good news for the Wolves (although Kawhi Leonard may return this week and have something to say about that possibility) as it not only takes up one of the two spots of closely knit teams that are going to just miss out on a playoff berth, but removes one of the strongest playoff teams of recent years out of the mix.

With one of the toughest schedules left in the league, the Spurs may just see that happen.

The Wolves themselves have just 14 games remaining in the regular season as they try to stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff race. Four games remain in their tough start to March, before the Timberwolves will spend the remaining 10 games either trying to catch back up to the rest of the contenders, or cementing their place in the playoff picture.

The interview Karl-Anthony Towns gave after the win against the Warriors showed us that the Timberwolves are in the right headspace currently and know the importance of every game left on the schedule.

The Wolves currently share the number of games played, won and lost with Oklahoma City, while the Spurs and Clippers (No. 7 and No. 8 seeds) will get a chance to catch-up having played two and three less games, respectively.

The Pelicans, who sit in fourth and are an impressive 9-1 in their last 10 games, also have three extra games to stay above the Wolves and within the playoff race.

Denver and Utah, on the outside of the top-eight looking in, have both also played two games less than the Wolves.

While the Timberwolves currently sit in a decent position, it’s scary to think that the rest of the league has more of a chance to catch-up, due to the Wolves amount of games played. This makes every single remaining game for the Wolves all the more important to win. Staying afloat in this stacked Western Conference isn’t going to be easy, but the Timberwolves have proved they are up to the challenge.

Luckily for the Wolves, they have an easier remaining schedule than every other team currently involved in the Western Conference playoff race, and hopefully can use this to the best of their advantage.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves have a big challenge ahead of them, but so do the rest of the Western Conference. The Wolves need to be treating every game as a must-win situation, and dig in deep to assert their place in the Western Conference playoff race.