Bill Simmons had Ringer staffer Rob Mahoney on his latest podcast, and they did a deep dive into the Western Conference playoff picture. The Minnesota Timberwolves came up following a debate over which team will finish first and second in the West.
According to Simmons, the perk of getting the 2-seed is that you get to play the Wolves.
The thing with the 2-seed, though, you have to play Minnesota. Minnesota is 17-10 in their last 27. But watching them, and I’ve watched a bunch of them recently, I’m not gonna be too afraid of that team in a playoff series.
He pointed specifically to D’Angelo Russell’s late-game play as an issue for the Timberwolves.
I don’t like their decision-making, and the Russell piece of it is just paralyzing with them. You can see it. You can see Edwards in the corner now in some of these crunch times, where he’s just like, ‘Uhh, this fucking guy.” Really? Is he gonna do it again? The 25-foot step-back? Alright, that’s what we’re doing.
I just don’t trust them. I would want to see them in a playoff series.
Mahoney focused on Minnesota’s defense, which has slipped recently.
They’ve had a bit of a crisis defensively, too, in terms of what they’re doing, how they’re covering. Because of the system, they were super aggressive out of the gate the first couple months of the season, until teams started figuring it out.
And that’s when you get worried. Do you have the personnel to deal with, once the teams have kinda solved what you want to do?
I don’t think Minnesota really has that. They have some talented players, they have some explosive scorers, a lot of guys you would expect. But not a lot of guys who would force you into really challenging second- and third-level decisions.
They left things on a positive note, at least.
Well, with all that said, they are by far the best play-in team we’re gonna have, it looks like, out of those West teams. Because you have – I mean, they’re gonna be the 7-seed, unless something dumb happens.
I’m not sure how many Wolves fans will take Hey, they’re a tough play-in team as a consolation, especially when the 6-seed is still in play. And most of the fanbase is divided on Russell’s late-game play. But sometimes it’s interesting to hear a national perspective on the Timberwolves.
The fact that Simmons and Mahoney were talking about the Wolves at all is a good sign that things are looking better for a previously moribund franchise.
