Julian AndrewsWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
As the Wolves make their playoff push in the final games of the season, we’re taking a look at possible scenarios for their final position in the Western Conference. As of Wednesday morning, the Wolves are in seventh place. We’ll be starting with what it would take for the team to simply clinch a playoff spot and working our way up to how Minnesota could earn home-court advantage. In this race, things can change every single night, so we’ll also be updating you daily on where things sit.
What would it take for the Wolves to finish in sixth in the Western Conference?
If Minnesota takes care of business in their remaining games, not much.
If the Wolves win out they would finish with a record of 48-34. They hold tiebreakers over the Jazz and Thunder, but not against the Spurs. Good things happen when you win; if both the Wolves and the Thunder won the rest of their games, the Wolves would move up to sixth by nature of their head-to-head record against OKC.
Things get a little trickier if you spot the Wolves a loss, but it’s still very possible for them to move up. If they go 3-1 in their remaining four, and finish with a record of 47-35, they’d need one Thunder loss, two Jazz losses, or three Spurs losses, plus one Pelicans loss, to move up.
The Thunder play the Rockets on Saturday, and the Jazz close out their season against the Warriors and Blazers, so it’s certainly possible the Wolves could get a little help here. However, it would be unwise to expect it—lately things have not been going Minnesota’s way.
If the Wolves go 2-2 or worse in their remaining games, it’s very unlikely they would finish in sixth. They’d need a lot of losses from their competition, all of whom are motivated and playing well.
As is always the case, it’s better to focus on what the Wolves can do for themselves rather than looking at their competition. Especially in the case of the six seed. Minnesota controls their own destiny here—they just need to finish the job. All the work the team has put in so far this season has put them in this position, now they need to take advantage of it.