Here’s how the Timberwolves can make the playoffs

Prior to the Jimmy Butler injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves were as high as the third seed in the Western Conference. That is no longer the case in Minneapolis.

The Wolves may continue their fourteen year drought from playoff contention – currently being tied with the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed.

It’s difficult to find the words to describe the emotions of Timberwolves’ media and fans right now. The first analogy that comes to mind is – your first sip of black coffee, by itself, no sugar, nor cream. The bitterness of that coffee overwhelms your senses, but you can’t help to go back for more.

There is a lot of self-loathing going on throughout Timberwolves’ social media. Luckily, there was a glow of light this morning through the form of a tweet.

These are the three things that need to happen on the, mostly uncontrollable, to-do list for the Timberwolves to make the playoffs.

Minnesota defeats Memphis

The Minnesota Timberwolves are still in agony from one of the worst losses in NBA history, the Memphis Grizzlies were the beneficiaries of that loss.

Now only two weeks ago, the Wolves lost to the Grizzlies by a score of 101-93. Memphis was the best ‘tanking’ team at the time and the Wolves desperately needed that win to separate themselves from the bottom tier of the Western Conference playoff standings. The Grizzlies outscored the Timberwolves 23-11 in the fourth quarter, with the Wolves shooting 3-17, making a mockery of their season in front of their home-court fans.

Timberwolves’ point guard, Jeff Teague, explains the feeling of the Wolves after that loss.

"VIA, ESPN “This is the worst loss, by far,” Teague said. “This was a must-win for us. Every game down the stretch is a must-win. Against a team, take nothing from them, but they’re not playing for anything right now. They’re playing for heart and pride, and they came out and kicked us.”"

The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Target center once again tomorrow night, which will be their second game of their back-to-back (playing the Detroit Pistons today). The Timberwolves are on their second day of rest, and are hoping to cross off the first line of their to-do list.

San Antonio defeats Sacramento

The San Antonio Spurs are 44-5 (currently 13 wins in a row) against the Sacramento Kings since the Timberwolves playoff drought began.

The Spurs are 44-5 against the Kings since the 2004-2005 season.

I apologize for repeating that record, but it’s incredible. The Timberwolves are fighting for a playoff spot just as the Spurs are, but a win tomorrow for San Antonio would push Denver back a bit farther.

This would be the second cross of the Wolves to-do list, which is now more like a to-hope list.

Denver loses to Portland

The Denver Nuggets are the antithesis to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now. The Nuggets are on a five game winning streak and just eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers from playoff contention last night, 134-115.

Denver is 2-1 this season against Portland, winning the past two match-ups. If that isn’t enough for Denver to be confident tomorrow, the Trail Blazers are on a three game losing streak – but are looking to lock up home-court advantage with a win.

Expect this last to-do/to-hope part of the list be the most difficult.

The outcome

To summarize, the Minnesota Timberwolves need their fans and media to be side by side with them down this agonizing stretch. The players are extremely exhausted, Coach Thibs looks like he’s one scream away from passing out, Jimmy Butler is essentially playing on one leg, the Wolves are seemingly giving it their all.

The problem is, their ‘all’ might not be enough – it’s to be determined.