After a surprising first week, the Minnesota Timberwolves played just two games in Week Two. Splitting the pair has caused all kinds of confusion in the internet’s power rankings.
We’re two weeks into the season, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are still only a half-game out of the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference.
The Wolves only played two games last week, being blown out in Philadelphia and dominating the Wizards in Washington on Saturday despite not having Karl-Anthony Towns at their disposal.
Towns’ two-game suspension continues on Monday night as the Wolves host the Milwaukee Bucks at Target Center. The Bucks are 4-2 and heavily favored to beat the Towns-less Wolves, but even if Minnesota falls on Monday, seven of the next 10 games will be at home and the schedule doesn’t look all that difficult as it stands right now.
This week, we’re adding the power rankings from SI.com’s The Crossover to our list, and following up on the three sites we talked about last week.
In short, the sites are all course-correcting from vastly underrating or overrating the Wolves after a week’s worth of games.
Indeed, a consensus appears to be settling in across the NBA power ranking landscape.
ESPN
Last Week: No. 15
This Week: No. 12
The No. 15 ranking from a week ago was off, leaving the Wolves ranked behind a couple of teams they had already beaten.
But this week, ESPN was the only site to give the Wolves a boost after a 1-1 week that saw Towns get suspended. Things could look a lot different in a week, of course, with four games in the next seven days.
NBA.com
Last Week: No. 5
This Week: No. 7
If we’re being honest, No. 7 still feels a bit too high. The Wolves have only played two surefire playoff teams in Miami and Philadelphia, and are 1-1 against them.
That said, NBA.com points out that the Wolves remain second in the league in pace, and their team defensive rating (No. 8) is actually quite a bit ahead of the offensive rating (No. 16).
CBS Sports
Last Week: No. 3
This Week: No. 9
While it’s hard to get too upset about a No. 9 ranking, dropping the Wolves six spots after going 1-1 and winning on the road by 22 points without their best player seems to be a bit of an overreaction.
That said, we’re seeing some course correction and something resembling a consensus across the board.
SI.com’s The Crossover
This Week: No. 7
The Crossover enters our weekly power rankings tracking with the Wolves at No. 7, following right along with the consensus of the other sites.
So, if you’re scoring at home, that’s a No. 12, a No. 9, and two No. 7s from the four websites that we’re tracking. While it was a bit of a roller coaster ride to arrive in the 7 to 12 range, it feels right.
Let’s see where things end up after a four-game week, including a Monday home game against a championship contender sans Karl-Anthony Towns…