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Shootaround Report | Every Game Means Something

Looking at the Western Conference standings will give you a headache.

The difference from the three seed and the nine seed is just four games.

Every game from here on out for every team in the middle of the hopeful playoff sandwich is incredibly crucial. That’s especially the case for the Wolves and Blazers on Thursday night in Portland. The Wolves are 38-26, third in the West, while the Blazers are 35-26, sixth in the West. Only 1.5 games separate the two.

“It’s really, really tight,” Wolves wing Jamal Crawford said after Thursday’s shootaround. “It’s the closest race I can remember in years. Every game means something, but I think it’s more fun that way.”

Minnesota’s defensive will have its hands full with Portland’s backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The two are combining for 48 points per game and in the month of February, Lillard averaged 31.4 points while shooting 48.1 percent from the field.

 “He had a huge month,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Great plyer. McCollum is a great player, so their backcourt is very, very dynamic.”

Tipoff tonight is set for 9:30 p.m. on TNT and 830 WCCO AM.