The Minnesota Timberwolves Are Too Good for a Top-3 Lottery Spot

The Minnesota Timberwolves went out of body tonight vs the Orlando Magic in a basketball game that was about as competitive as my 1v1 vs my morning cereal. The final score was 128-96 but the Wolves led by 20+ for most of the first half and by 40+ for most of the second.

That’s not an exaggeration.

When you wish upon a staaaaaarrrr ????@StarTribune Highlights ???? pic.twitter.com/lSFV5HyaDx

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 10, 2021

With Sunday’s win, Minnesota moved into a 4-way tie for the third-worst record in the league. Just in case you haven’t heard, the Timberwolves will lose their 2021 first round pick if it isn’t in the top-3 so winning games proposes a problem, in that regard.

With every win the Wolves collect, their odds of keeping that pick get smaller and smaller. But here’s the problem: it’s difficult to tank or lose a lot of basketball games when you’re not that bad of a basketball team. While others around them in the standings pile up losses, KAT, D-Lo and Ant continue to improve and the Minnesota Timberwolves continue to prove themselves competent.

Finch and Co are now 7-5 in their last 12 games and you can literally see them get better on a nightly basis. The new head coach has clearly brought the Timberwolves to another level.

Even without the draft pick, the Timberwolves look like a real operation with Finch as HC and have a fun core to run it back next season with Bolmaro getting added.

Plus, a much higher ceiling from Ant compared to what most of us expected.

— Dane Mosher (@___daner) May 10, 2021

What kind of suite is Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch getting that it’s so much better than one of his player’s?! pic.twitter.com/sZjpFqbnam

— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) May 8, 2021

The teams around them suck

I mentioned the Wolves 7-5 record in their last 12 games. Every team they’re battling for a top lottery position loses pretty much every night out. The team they completely obliterated tonight, the Orlando Magic, have the 2nd-best recent record out of that bunch. They are 3-7 after tonight’s loss.

The Wolves had built themselves a hefty lead in the Loserville standings, while they lost game after game after game, early in the season. But now that those teams above them have caught up in the “L” column, there’s no looking back. It’s highly unlikely, at this point, that Minnesota finishes 2021 with a bottom-3 record.

At this point in the season, they’re just too good to lose as many games as the terrible teams who are tanking around them. But that’s ok… because I’m starting to believe they might be ok without another top pick, which I know is stupid.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan