A range of possibilities exists for Timberwolves on final day of the season

The Timberwolves will host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in what is effectively a play-in game for the honor make the Western Conference playoffs.

While Wednesday brings us the closest thing to a play-in game that the NBA offers, it isn’t exactly a simple win-and-get-in formula.

Although that turn of phrase is technically still appropriate here, there are a surprising range of possibilities regarding where the Timberwolves — or Nuggets, for that matter — will be sitting come late Wednesday night.

The Jazz win over the Warriors on Tuesday meant that the Wolves can no longer finish as high as the No. 5 seed, but the No. 6 seed, and a likely matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, is still in play.

However, ESPN pegs the Wolves’ chances at the No. 6 seed at just five percent, as they would need the Spurs to win in New Orleans and Memphis to somehow beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City in addition to a win over the Nuggets.

Chris Long at KSTP in the Twin Cities breaks it all down below.

Interestingly, the above-linked ESPN piece claims that the Wolves’ most likely seed as No. 7, and gives them a 65.2 percent chance to defeat Denver in this virtual one-game playoff.

In terms of the matchup, well, the Wolves have beaten Denver both times they’ve faced off with Jimmy Butler in the lineup, once at home and once on the road. And they only lost by four last week at Pepsi Center with Butler still sidelined with a chance to take the lead multiple times down the stretch.

Of course, Nikola Jokic was an uncharacteristic 6-for-20 from the field six days ago against the Wolves and the Nuggets had to lean on 20 points from veteran guard Devin Harris off the bench. The Timberwolves were led by Karl-Anthony Towns‘ efficient 26-point, 13-rebound performance.

All things considered, the Wolves are the better team, their best player is back on the court, and they have the all-important home court advantage on Wednesday. But the Nuggets are playing better of late and certainly have momentum as Minnesota has slowly backed their way into play-in position instead of securing a berth days or even weeks ago.

We can’t forget Wolves history and the collective sense of dread that continues to hang over the Timberwolves fan base. Butler and Towns and company are supposed to be bringing change, and Wednesday night is their first true opportunity to do just that.

And while it is certainly far from ideal that the Wolves have allowed themselves to be in a win-or-go-home situation, there can still be a silver lining in winning the only truly must-win game of the season to this point.

Next: Jimmy Butler's post-injury performance

With all that said, let the games begin.