Minnesota Timberwolves: Updated Northwest Division power rankings
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t done much this offseason.
The rest of the Northwest Division has been all over the map, from the tumultuous last few weeks for the Portland Trail Blazers to the measured approaches of the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets.
Believe it or not, the Wolves didn’t finish in last in the division last year. Where will last year’s cellar-dwelling Oklahoma City Thunder end up?
Minnesota Timberwolves: Northwest Division power rankings, No. 1
No. 1: Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz won the division with a 52-20 record before an unceremonious exit in the second round of the playoffs at the hands of the LA Clippers. Yes, there were injuries that impacted the end of their season, but it was nonetheless a disappointing close to a fantastic regular season.
The Wolves actually matched up extremely well with the Jazz last year, sweeping all three contests.
The first, of course, was the fully healthy version of the Wolves in the second game of the season that saw Karl-Anthony Towns injure his wrist in the closing moments.
The other two matchups came in consecutive games on April 24 and 26, both without Donovan Mitchell available for the Jazz and with both Towns and D’Angelo Russell healthy and on the court for the Wolves, although Malik Beasley was out due to injury.
The Wolves were able to neutralize Rudy Gobert to some extent with a combination of Ttowns’ versatility and strong pick-and-roll play from Russell and Anthony Edwards. there’s reason to believe that the Wolves will match up well with the Jazz and play them tough moving forward as well, even with a healthy Mitchell.
So far this offseason, the Jazz traded away Derrick Favors and replaced him with Hassan Whiteside and Rudy Gay in free agency, theoretically giving them more flexibility and depth. They also brought back Mike Conley on a three-year deal.
The Jazz certainly haven’t gotten worse, and there’s no reason to think they won’t win the division again next year with the teams beneath them largely standing pat as well. Even if the Wolves give them rouble in head-to-head matchups, the Jazz should be able tto hold off the Denver Nuggets and others to win the division once again.