The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost seven straight games and are free-falling in the standings and power rankings alike.
The Minnesota Timberwolves started the season 10-8 and appeared poised to be in a season-long battle with the likes of Oklahoma City, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, and San Antonio for the No. 7 and 8 seeds in the Western Conference.
Alas, a seven-game losing streak has knocked the Wolves down the standings, although the strangely mediocre bottom half of the West has allowed Minnesota to hang only a single game behind the Thunder in the No. 8 spot.
The Wolves remain without Jake Layman (sprained toe), but are otherwise mostly healthy. They haven’t played since Friday night and are in the midst of enjoying four consecutive off days at home before hosting the New Orleans Pelicans, who have lost 12 straight games entering play on Tuesday, on Wednesday night.
Okay, let’s take a look at where each of the sites had the Wolves this week.
ESPN
Last Week: No. 14
This Week: No. 21
This seven-spot drop will be a common theme throughout our spin around the power rankings, and for good reason. Losing seven games in a row will do that, after all.
NBA.com
Last Week: No. 16
This Week: No. 22
NBA.com dropped the Wolves eight spots and notes that their defense went from squarely middle of the pack over the first six weeks of the season to the league’s worst so far in the month of December.
CBS Sports
Last Week: No. 18
This Week: No. 24
The Wolves slid six spots in CBS Sports’ power rankings. They point out that Karl-Anthony Towns was shooting 44 percent on 3-point attempts for the season prior to the current losing streak and he’s hitting from deep at just a 35 percent clip during the skid.
There’s absolutely some correlation between Towns’ shooting and the Wolves’ struggles, but I’m not sure there’s quite that direct of a line.
SI.com’s The Crossover
Last Week: No. 14
This Week: No. 18
The Crossover has been a bit soft on the Wolves over the past couple of weeks, forgiving some bad losses and only sliding them down to No. 18. The synopsis given by SI.com, however, is only related to Robert Covington’s trade prospects, which will be a common thread over the coming weeks.
Here’s to a more successful next few days, starting with a winnable home date with the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.