Minnesota Timberwolves: Consistently being ranked too low in the West

As we draw closer to basketball, plenty of outlets and individuals are releasing their playoff predictions, and it’s been surprising to see the Minnesota Timberwolves not make it into the top eight of many rankings.

In case you’d already forgotten, may we remind you that the Minnesota Timberwolves made the playoffs last season and were only three games away from home court advantage in the first round. Oh, and their entire starting lineup is intact and will be back this fall.

But you wouldn’t guess it based on the predictions that are beginning to be rolled out. Of course, predictions vary greatly between outlet, so let’s take a look at some examples.

ESPN’s August forecast has the Wolves ranked eighth in the West, while Bleacher Report has them sitting ninth and tied with the eighth-placed Pelicans.)

CBS ranks the Wolves 10th based on Sportsline data, while the majority of predictions I’ve seen on Twitter seem to have the Wolves missing the playoffs.

Here’s a quick sampling:

To be fair, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has the Wolves Timberwolves as the projected fifth-seed in the West, however this is one of very few that rank the team high.

So why, after a strong season that saw the Wolves finish eighth in the West despite 21 games lost to injury for Jimmy Butler, are we seeing such low predictions?

A lot of it stems around the offseason drama — it has to, as there really isn’t any other explanation. Rumors of unhappiness, Butler’s rejection of a contract extension, Towns’ current contract situation, and perhaps a lack of any big-name additions to the roster could all play a big part.

It still seems hard to peg the Wolves as a team that would miss the playoffs entirely. Sure, the Western Conference is tough, but almost everyone is ranking OKC, a team the Wolves beat three out of four times last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who despite the addition of LeBron are a playoff bubble team in my mind, above the Wolves.

A finish in the No. 3 to 5 range doesn’t seem crazy for a team that sat third until the injury to Butler. Of course, things might start to look a little different if Butler is moved prior to the season, but that’s a big ‘if’.

Tell me this doesn’t at least look like a playoff team.

With a season under their belts to allow the starters to gel with each other, the Wolves are likely to be even more competitive this upcoming season. Let’s enjoy the season before getting too far ahead of ourselves and worrying about next summer.

Remember, training camp starts in just one week. Let’s get it going.