A Wolves’ comeback came up just short on Sunday night against the Rockets. Luckily for Wolves fans, the team doesn’t have to wait long for another chance to solidify their playoff position; Minnesota will face the 10th-place Clippers tomorrow night.
But before tomorrow comes today! While the NBA has a full slate of games, there are only two that have the potential to impact the Wolves. They are important ones, though, here’s what you need to know:
Nuggets at Heat, 6:30 p.m., League Pass
The Nuggets are not in a good spot, and that is welcome news for the rest of the conference.
Denver has slipped to ninth place—2.5 games behind the Wolves—and lost on Saturday to a Grizzlies team that had previously dropped 19 straight.
The Nuggets are talented, but they’ve struggled to put the pieces together, especially since the return of Paul Millsap. Continuity is important, and while Denver will certainly be a player in future playoff races, it’s looking more and more like this just isn’t their year.
The Heat are in eighth place in the East. They have a 5.5-game cushion on the ninth-place Pistons (who have not been playing like they will be making a push), but Miami would love to move up in the standings to avoid a first-round matchup against the Raptors.
Miami will be playing without Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade, so it’ll be up to Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk to keep Nikola Jokic contained.
Wolves fans should be rooting for Miami in this one. As we’ve said before, whenever a team from the East has a chance to beat a team in the West, it’s good for the Wolves.
Warriors at Spurs, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
A week ago, things didn’t look good for the Spurs. Now San Antonio, winner in three straight, has fought its way back to seventh in the conference.
LaMarcus Aldridge has been lights out, and the rest of the roster has been solid. In their win against the Pelicans last week, 11 Spurs players saw meaningful minutes. The Spurs are no longer waiting for Kawhi Leonard to return—they’re taking control of their own fate.
This is bad news for the Wolves.
The Spurs, the Pelicans, and the Jazz all have the same number of wins as the Wolves and are locked in a tight race for seeds 5-8. Minnesota fans should be rooting for these teams to lose every night.
While a Spurs matchup against the Warriors might normally seem like great news, this isn’t the Golden State team that won the championship last year.
Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are all sidelined with various ailments, so it’ll be up to Draymond Green, joined by the recently returned Andre Iguodala and Jordan Bell, and second-year guard Quinn Cook, to challenge the Spurs.
The Warriors have only won two of their last five games, but with their playoff seeding all but locked up, they are not panicking, and will certainly be careful bringing their stars back.
With the majority of their offensive attack sitting on the bench, the Warriors will likely have to rely on their defense to beat the Spurs. Draymond Green is an incredible defender, so it’s certainly possible. Wolves fans should be rooting for Green to shut down Aldridge tonight and help the Warriors claim a victory.