When Anthony Edwards went down against the Chicago Bulls, it seemed like disaster had struck what was already a turbulent season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota’s Iron Man was writhing on the floor in pain. He has been so durable to start his NBA career, and as the Wolves are scrapping for a play-in spot in the West, his presence on the court is necessary.
However, there is some good news on the injury front for the Timberwolves. Shams Charania reported that Edwards is no longer wearing the walking boot.
As for Towns, he appears to be anxiously awaiting his medical clearance to take the court.
With injury relief quickly on its way, what do the beleaguered Timberwolves have to do to stave off the competition in the West? They’ve just got to be better than the bottom of the Western Conference. So far this season the bottom of the West hasn’t been the gauntlet that I thought it would be at the beginning of the year. While I expected that the West would be more of a Salty Spitoon-type establishment, it has proven to be more like a Weenie Hut Jr.
If the Wolves can just be better than two of the three teams below them in the standings, they should be able to stay in the play-in race. By the time the play-in rolls around, Minnesota should be healthy and have a solid shot at making it through the play-in and into the playoffs. But can the Timberwolves outplay the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Utah Jazz?
Since the trade deadline, the Lakers are the only team below the Wolves in the standings to play above .500 basketball. Still, even they have had their struggles. LeBron James is currently on the shelf with an injury, which looks like it may sideline him through the end of the regular season. The timeline for James’ return is unclear. On Friday, Brian Windhorst reported on his podcast that LeBron is “not close to returning.”
“I know everybody said the three weeks,” Winhorst said. “But I think it was very clear three weeks is when he will get an official reevaluation. It didn’t mean he was coming back in three weeks.”
Though this weekend, the verbiage surrounding James changed. The timeline may be shorter than anticipated, though there is no clear date.
After last night’s win against the Orlando Magic, the D’Angelo Russell Lakers are 6-5 without James on the court. Before Minnesota’s win over the New York Knicks, they had tied the Wolves’ record at 35-37. The Lakers have a few days off before they take the court on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. I can’t even speculate whether James will be back by then, but the Lakers have a challenging slate of games. They play the Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by two games against the Chicago Bulls, who are also fighting for their season. All this before the Lakers and Wolves face off for the final time in the regular season on March 31 at the Target Center. That game will certainly have massive play-in implications. It already figures to be a must-win for the Wolves.
If you thought the Minnesota Timberwolves were having a disappointing season, let me introduce you to the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans got off to a great start to the season. By January, the team was just a game back from the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Pelicans looked like they could be a legitimate contender. But Zion Williamson hasn’t played since January 2, and the Pelicans are on a mammoth skid. Without Williamson in the lineup, New Orleans has a 10-23 record over the last few months.
There is some optimism that Zion could be returning as soon as this week. Adrian Wojnarowski reported on March 9 that Williamson would be out for at least two more weeks. The two-week mark from that report is on Thursday. Even if the Pelicans star is ready to return on Thursday, we can expect a minutes limit as he returns to form.
The Utah Jazz are in an interesting position. They traded away some of their best players at the trade deadline but haven’t taken too much of a step back. I’ve been amazed at how well they’ve been playing with Laker send-off Talen Horton-Tucker running the point. But can they sustain their modicum of success through the end of the regular season and into the play-in? Luckily for the Wolves, the Jazz have the two hardest remaining schedule this season. They play the blazing hot Sacramento Kings twice, the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Denver Nuggets before the season’s end.
Even if the Wolves take a skid with Towns and Ant out, the teams directly below them in the standings have their own bounty of struggles. Ending the year in the 10th seed certainly isn’t ideal, but injuries and inconsistency got the best of Minnesota this season. With Towns and Ant on the verge of returning, there is a chance the Wolves could put a small run together to end the year. If they can make it through the play-in, do you think that Denver or Sacramento will be thinking that Edwards, Towns, and the Wolves are an easy out? Anything can happen in this Weenie Hut Western Conference, and I don’t think any Minnesota fan should be giving up hope.
