Julian AndrewsWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
With the exception of Wolves game days, tonight is about as important as it gets for Minnesota.
The Nuggets and Clippers have been playing for their lives for the past few weeks, but tonight could be the tipping point. If both Denver and LA lose, the Wolves will be playing to clinch a playoff spot when they take on the Nuggets on Thursday. Those are some high stakes.
It’s snowy outside, and the league has a full slate of exciting games; I can’t think of a better night to hunker down and watch some basketball.
Here’s who you should be rooting for:
Warriors at Thunder, 7 p.m., TNT
After a few injury-riddled weeks, the Warriors are slowly getting healthy. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are back in action, and Golden State has now won two in a row after dropping three straight last week. Keep in mind, the Warriors wins were against the Kings and the Suns, but either way they’re undoubtedly happy to put their losing stretch behind them.
The Thunder are holding onto fifth place in the West by the skin of their teeth. They beat the Pelicans on Sunday night, avoiding a fall to eighth, but they lost to the Spurs and Nuggets earlier in the week. It might seem surprising on a team with three great NBA talents, but the Thunder are really struggling to close games. None of their last three losses have been by more than four points.
That might be a problem against the Warriors, who have all but locked up the West’s No. 2 seed but have plenty of personal reasons to want a win. Durant vs. Russel Westbrook is always fun, and the Warriors have dropped two of three to the Thunder so far this season.
Wolves fans should be pulling for the Warriors—the Thunder are one game ahead of Minnesota in the standings, and a Golden State win might provide the Wolves with an opportunity to move up in the standings.
Blazers at Mavericks, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Damian Lillard just won Western Conference Player of the Week. While I personally think Karl-Anthony Towns was robbed, there’s no doubt Lillard is playing well.
Portland got a revenge game win against the Grizzlies on Sunday and beat the Clippers comfortably last Friday. They are three full games up on the Spurs in the West’s third seed.
At this point, the Wolves are highly unlikely to finish higher than the Blazers, but it’s still worth paying attention to their games, as Portland is one of several teams Minnesota could end up playing in the first round of the playoffs.
The Mavericks have the fifth-worst record in the league and have lost eight of their last 10. If Portland is firing on all cylinders Dallas shouldn’t be a threat. But the Mavs have several players that can catch fire, and Dirk Nowitzki has been turning back the clock this entire season. He’s questionable against Portland though—if he doesn’t play this tough game for the Mavs will get even tougher.
Pacers at Nuggets, 8 p.m., League Pass
Wolves fans, if you haven’t been paying attention, this is a big game. A really big game.
The Nuggets are the most likely team to knock someone out of the playoffs. If they get in, it would likely mean the Wolves would fall out, as Denver and Minnesota play each other twice in the next week. The Wolves need a total of three combined wins and Nuggets losses, plus at least one win and a Clippers loss to clinch a playoff spot. It would be great to get a Nuggets loss here.
Let’s be clear, the Wolves control their own destiny. They play the Nuggets twice in their final four games of the season, and a win in either of those games, plus a win against either the Grizzlies or Lakers, would put the Wolves in. We can run the numbers in so many different ways, but the short version is that if the Wolves take care of business, they will be playing in the postseason.
That being said, go Pacers. Indiana will come to play tonight. They’re neck in neck with the 76ers for the fourth seed in the East, and Victor Oladipo is in the middle of a phenomenal run. Wolves fans should be rooting for the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week to down the Nuggets.
Lakers at Jazz, 8 p.m., League Pass
I’d like to take a moment to thank the Celtics, Spurs, and Hawks for doing what I’ve been suggesting teams do for weeks… beat the Jazz! Lakers, it’s your turn now. Don’t let me down.
The Jazz are very frustrating. Utah is too confident, and they are playing too well. The Wolves (and I) would love to see someone beat them. The Lakers have a chance, but they’ll need to play better than they have lately. They played an incredibly ugly game against the Kings on Sunday, shooting 40 percent from the field, and turning the ball over 15 times en route to an 84-83 loss. Yikes. Get it together Lakers.
The Jazz are scary. After their win on Sunday, they are in sixth place, a half game ahead of the Wolves. Ricky Rubio has found a jumper, Rudy Gobert is building a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidacy despite only being on pace to play 56 games this season, and while Donovan Mitchell may lose out on Rookie of the Year honors to Philly’s Ben Simmons, he’ll be a fixture in the league for years to come.
Let’s hope they lose.
Spurs at Clippers, 9:30 p.m., TNT
Moment of reckoning for Wolves fans—how much do you trust your team? If you think the Wolves will take care of business in the next few games, you should pull for the Clippers to upset the Spurs, if you’re concerned about Minnesota making the playoffs, go ahead and root for the Spurs. Remember that losses by both the Clippers and Nuggets would give the Wolves a chance to clinch a playoff spot when they play the Nuggets on Thursday.
The Spurs are 1.5 games ahead of the Wolves, sitting in fourth place in the West. A couple losses from teams above them could put the Wolves right back in the mix for home-court advantage.
It goes without saying that this game will be competitive; the Spurs are fighting to maintain home court, and the Clippers are fighting for their playoff life. It’s hard to imagine the Clippers making it in—they’d need to win the rest of their games and get a very precise combination of losses from the Wolves, Pelicans, and Nuggets. Don’t tell the team that though, they’re playing with purpose. San Antonio better come prepared.