When this homestand started, questions surrounding whether the Timberwolves would even grab three of five wins was a serious concern.
With games against exclusively playoff-contending competition, the Wolves are now 4-0 with every win of this homestand being by double digits.
As good on paper as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder are, the Portland Trail Blazers – Sunday night’s opponent – might be playing the best basketball of the entire lot.
And it’s against a team the Wolves beat on Dec. 18, in a game many say was the signature win they needed to get them where they’re at right now. Prega
The Blazers have played some tough competition of their own, with their last two losses coming against the Pelicans and Rockets, but then have three wins against a couple quality opponents right before that – San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
The Blazers have struggled to get their feet under them defensively over the past month, and have been spotty offensively when Damian Lillard has been out of the lineup.
But even with him now back, the Blazers have struggled to guard. They’re 25th in defensive rating since Jan. 1, 22nd since Dec. 1, but have still managed to mostly make up for it with an impressive offensive attack.
Of course, the attack starts with Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Both of them hover around 40 percent from the 3-point line, have an excellent attack to the lane, and are good at playing off of each other.
One of their bigger advantages offensively is the way Blazers head coach Terry Stotts is able to run action that involves both of them. Instead of constantly playing “your turn, my turn” basketball (which they still do from time to time), Stotts incorporates action that has both of them touching the ball on the same possession for a practical purpose.
This offense – rounded out by Jusuf Nurkic inside, who is having a nice year of his own – is extremely dynamic often very difficult to stop. Teams have still managed to beat them by way of simply outscoring them, and it’s why they’re only 22-20 on the season.
Still, with the Western Conference as competitive as it’s been this year, that still puts them at the six-seed in the Western Conference standings right now.
In order to get out of that lower-middle area, the Blazers will need to start winning games like Sunday’s against the Timberwolves.
And for the Timberwolves to continue pushing for that third spot in the West, piling on wins against division foes like the Blazers is the way to do it.
Sweeping the homestand would be an added bonus.
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