Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the Wolves’ First-Half record
By Paul Langan
Projected Minnesota Timberwolves February Record: 9-7
February should be slightly tougher than January’s schedule, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a handful of games in which the Wolves will be favored.
Minnesota plays the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder twice. After trading away both Steven Adams and Chris Paul and losing Dennis Schröder in free agency, it’s a thin roster, to put it lightly.
On Feb. 21, the Wolves play the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. New York is still a year or two away from competing for a playoff spot, and it’s one of the few road games that we can say with some confidence that the Wolves will be favored to win.
There are a couple of games at home against Eastern Conference playoff games that are tough, but winnable. On Nov. 17, they play the Pacers before hosting the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 19. Both are solid teams, but the Wolves have played them well in recent years and have a real shot at stealing wins.
The Wolves play the top two MVP candidates in February, facing off against Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 8 and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 23.
Overall, let’s factor in some improvement and greater cohesion that will balance out a tough schedule. The prediction here is that January and February will produce back-to-back 9-7 months.
That means that the Wolves will be 18-18 after three months of basketball, which would certainly put them in the middle of the playoff conversation. Or, the play-in conversation at seeds No. 9 and No. 10 at the very least.
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The Wolves should gradually get better as the year progresses, and once they start to connect on the court, this will be a dangerous team and should be a factor heading into the second half of the season.