The fine folks at NBA.com (written by our boy John Schuhmann) released their Week 16 NBA Power Rankings.
The Wolves didn’t have the best week. They went 2-2, but were without Jimmy Butler for three of the games, including both losses.
Minnesota sits at 32-20 overall, fourth in the West and sixth in the NBA.
NBA.com ranked Minnesota third in the power rankings, behind just the Warriors and Rockets, respectively.
Here’s what was written about the Wolves:
The Wolves' offense didn't skip a beat, scoring 116 points per 100 possessions, when Jimmy Butler missed four games with a sore right knee. Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague combined for 70 points against the Clippers on Monday, Jamal Crawford had a couple of efficient games last week, Karl-Anthony Towns score 31 against the Warriors on Thursday, and Nemanja Bjelica was a solid fill-in starter. But the defense has generally been bad without Butler, who returned on Saturday and helped the Wolves wina game (against Brooklyn) in which they made just four threes. The biggest difference between Butler's minutes on and off the floor has been in how well the Wolves' opponents have shot from outside the paint.
This week isn’t exactly the easiest for the Wolves. On Monday night, they have the Hawks, who are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but the very next night, they travel to play the second-place Raptors in Toronto. That wraps up a nightmarish scheduling month for the Wolves.
After that, they’ll host the Bucks on Thursday and the Pelicans on Saturday.