Minnesota Timberwolves schedule: Breaking down the crucial stretches

Minnesota Timberwolves schedule: The brutal stretch

If the previous entry on this list was about thriving, this one is about surviving.

Fifteen of the 16 games here come against 2021-22 playoff teams, including five against expected West powers in the Jazz and Lakers. You’ve also got crucial away games in-division against the Trail Blazers and Nuggets and a home-and-home with the Mavericks. If it comes down to tiebreakers for the Wolves’ playoff hopes, this stretch will likely be the determining factor.

Barring injury, the Nets game is almost definitely a loss, but the silver lining here is that most of the Eastern matchups are at Target Center. Of course, the back-to-back with the Celtics and Knicks kicks off a scary five-games-in-eight-days stretch, so silver linings only go so far.

This is just how it goes as a Western Conference team; you’re going to hit these rough patches where good teams come at you in seemingly endless waves. Even if the Wolves were to somehow miraculously become a top-four seed, they’d drop games in this stretch. As it is, fans should be ecstatic if Minnesota can approach .500 over these games.

Minnesota Timberwolves schedule: The put-up or shut-up stretch

The difference between good and great NBA teams is the ability to beat above-.500 teams consistently.

Luckily, no one is expecting the Wolves to be great in 2021-22, but they still have to show progress by consistently defeating bad teams. Eight straight games against non-playoff teams is the perfect opportunity to display that growth.

This comes on the heels of 10 straight games against playoff teams, so it’s crucial the Wolves get some wins here. This stretch isn’t quite as easy as it appears, though — all of these teams added lottery picks except the Bulls, who significantly raised their floor with their free agency additions. Add two back-to-backs, including two straight road games in Sacramento, and there are potential pitfalls here for an unestablished team.

But the optimism that surrounds the Wolves is built around internal development (assuming they don’t trade for Ben Simmons, that is). Minnesota is hoping that better injury luck, Karl-Anthony Towns’ improved mindset, and another year for Anthony Edwards will elevate their performance.

Given the Wolves’ talent and 7-5 finish to last season, it’s not a crazy position to take.

However, the Wolves built their offseason around making periphery changes and relying on improvement from the incumbents at the top of the roster. If that’s the bet, it has to be right. These are the games that playoff hopefuls win in spite of scheduling factors that add some difficulty.