There are always quirks in an 82-game schedule, but this upcoming season seems to have even more. For example, the New York Knicks’ first 14 games are against Eastern Conference foes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ first four games are out-of-conference matchups against teams from the East. Minnesota also has a lengthy eight-game homestand early in November, its longest in franchise history.
Twelve of their first 18 games taking place at Target Center could help Minnesota get off to a quick start. That may be important because the end of the regular-season schedule is far from easy and is filled with Western Conference teams. Most of those end-of-year opponents could be teams the Wolves are battling for playoff positioning, making it difficult to take a breather and prepare for the postseason.
Tough sledding to end the regular season
First and foremost, with anti-tanking measures now in place starting this season, every team will have fewer outings in which a win feels like a mere formality. Some games are obviously easier than others, though, and the Wolves’ end-of-regular-season schedule looks challenging.
Starting with the last day of March, each of their final seven games is against a team in the Western Conference. That includes a late four-game road trip during which they will travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks before playing three games in a row in Los Angeles: first against the Clippers, followed by two against the Lakers.
The Lakers will have had a full season to get the new supporting pieces around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves acclimated to their new club. The Clippers will likely be at least in the play-in hunt, with or without Kawhi Leonard. Dallas could be as well, especially if Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg remain healthy.
Before those games, the Wolves have the Kings at home. That is a game that Minnesota should win, at least on paper.
The latter half of March presents a lot of challenging matchups for the Wolves. They have home games against the Pistons on March 22, the Magic on March 26, and the Thunder on March 28. Minnesota also has road outings against what looks like an improved Jazz team on March 18 and the Hawks on March 29.
The last game of the season is at home against the Rockets on April 11. Houston finished three games ahead of the Timberwolves in 2025-26, and that was with Fred VanVleet out for the year. The two teams are viewed similarly, as evidenced by DraftKings Sportsbook’s having Minnesota’s over/under win total just one higher than Houston’s.
Last season, seeds No. 3 through No. 5 in the West were separated by just two games. In 2024-25, it was extremely tight, as seeds No. 2 through No. 8 were separated by only four games. The Western Conference has often shown us how quickly a team can rise or fall two or three spots in the standings.
The Timberwolves won’t get to relax, but in the end, this schedule has the potential to make them more postseason-ready.
Add us as a preferred source on Google