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Wolves Playoff Watch Viewing Guide | March 15, 2018

The NCAA Tournament kicks off today, but let me make the case for the NBA.

First off, there are 16 NCAA games over the course of the day. Your bracket will certainly be busted by 6 p.m., when the first NBA game tips off. Besides, you have many weeks of March Madness heartbreak ahead of you, get away from it all for a night!

Second, the Western Conference playoff race is still completely insane! And your Wolves are right in the middle of everything.

Here’s where things sit:

The Wolves are 40-29 and in sixth place in the West. While two great wins over the last week have given them a little more breathing room, nothing is certain.

They are 1.5 games ahead of the Clippers, Jazz, and Spurs (all tied for seeds 7-9), tied with the Pelicans (who are in fifth), half a game behind the Thunder for fourth, and two games behind the Blazers in third.

This is an incredibly close race. Last year, the Blazers made the playoffs with a record of 41-41. This year, the Nuggets are seven games over .500, but on the outside looking in to the playoffs. But things could change so, so quickly. Denver, currently in 10th place, is only 4.5 games back from the third seed. The difference between the 10th and third seed last year? Twenty-one games!

It’s easy to forget how extraordinary this year’s playoff race is, and the depth and talent level in the Western Conference will certainly lead to a finish for the ages. Everything can change every night in this league—you don’t want to miss it.

Wolves fans, here’s your cheering guide for the night.

Clippers at Rockets, 7:00 p.m., NBATV

There’s a lot to talk about with the surprisingly-good Clippers, but let’s focus on one thing for now.

Anyone who says the NBA is moving away from traditional big men should take a look at what DeAndre Jordan has been doing lately.

The man is a rebounding machine. In March, he’s grabbing an average of 19 of them per game, and adding 17.3 points on 63.2 percent shooting. Jordan has no range—he never shoots threes, he can’t stretch the floor at all, and he’s not much of a dribbler, but he’s showing the league how hard it is to deal with a huge, athletic big man.

Notably, the Clippers’ only three losses in their last ten games have come to teams that boast either great defensive and rebounding big men and/or shoot the three incredibly well (Pelicans, Rockets, and Warriors).

The Clippers draw the Rockets again tonight.

Houston has the best record in the league and attempts a league-high 42.2 threes per game. That’s a little over half of their total field goal attempts. They also have a great defensive and rebounding big in Clint Capella (probable to play with a strained thumb). If the Clippers want any chance to win, they’ll need to slow the game down, play tight on the three-point line, pound the ball inside to Jordan, and crush the Rockets on the boards. Trying to outscore this Rockets team is a surefire way to lose.

The Rockets have only lost one of their last 20 games, and Wolves fans should be rooting for them to make quick work of the Clippers. While the Rockets will certainly finish in the top two of the conference, the Clippers are right behind the Wolves. An additional Clippers loss would give the Wolves a little more breathing room.

Pelicans at Spurs, 7:30 p.m., League Pass

New Orleans might be the most relieved city in the NBA right now. After Anthony Davis went down with an ankle injury, Pelicans fans had to be concerned.

Were they really going to lose two All-Star big men to injury this year? Luckily, the answer was no.

Davis only missed one game, and returned to face the Jazz on his birthday. If there’s anyone in the league who can slow Davis down it had to be Rudy Gobert, right? Think again. Davis scored 25 points, gathered 11 rebounds, and blocked a career-high 10 shots!

New Orleans travels to San Antonio tonight to face a Spurs team sitting in ninth place and fighting for its playoff life.

The last time the Spurs missed the playoffs I was two years old. A postseason without the Spurs would be a strange thing, but at the same time, playoff-level Popovich is terrifying, and the rest of the teams in the conference will certainly have an easier time winning if San Antonio watches from home.

Salvation may be on the way for San Antonio, with Kawhi Leonard rumored to return soon. If he can come back strong, the Spurs will be a threat. He won’t be back tonight though, so the Spurs will have to figure out how to stop Davis without him.

This one is a tossup for Wolves fans. If you believe the Wolves will keep winning games, root for the Spurs. If you’re concerned about them making the playoffs, root for the Pelicans.

Pistons at Nuggets, 8:00 p.m., League Pass

Poor Detroit. The Pistons went all in on Blake Griffin and it is not paying off. They’re in ninth place in the East, five games out of the playoffs.

It’s difficult to incorporate a star player in the middle of the season, so it’s too early to make predictions about the Piston’s future, but their last few games have been tough. Despite their recent losses, however, the Pistons still have some talented players, and in the NBA, anyone can win on any given night.

But Denver has more to play for.

A matchup against a struggling Detroit team might be just what the Nuggets need. They’ve fallen out of the playoffs, and haven’t looked the same since Paul Millsap returned from an injury. But Nikola Jokic is still one of the most talented and entertaining players in the league, and guards Garry Harris and Jamal Murray have developed some nice chemistry.

Earlier in the week we were also treated to this incredible revelation about Jokic’s uh, communication strategy, for lack of a better explanation.

As fun as the Nuggets can be, Wolves fans should be hoping Detroit figures out how to beat them. With two excellent big men in Griffin and Andre Drummond, it’s a decent matchup for the Pistons, but they’ll have to contain Harris and Murray. Of the top-ten teams in the Western Conference, the Nuggets are in the worst position. Them falling out of the race completely would certainly ease a bit of pressure on Minnesota.

Suns at Jazz, 8:00 p.m., League Pass

In every playoff preview, we ask for someone to beat the Jazz, and nobody ever does. So, let’s try a little bit of reverse psychology. Maybe if every Wolves fan roots for Utah tonight, they’ll lose to the 19-50 Suns.

Or maybe not.

Utah has won as many games over their last 21 as the Suns have all season and are proving wrong those who doubted their ability to fight their way into the playoffs. There isn’t much to be said about the Jazz that hasn’t already been said; they are playing with the same confidence and the same results as this Donovan Mitchell 38-foot jumper.

However, it’s never a good idea to write a team off, so let me tell you why the Suns could win tonight.

Utah is understandably enamored with Mitchell, but their neighbors to the south have their own insanely talented young shooting guard—Devin Booker. In many ways, Mitchell’s season this year is comparable to what Booker did last year, but perhaps because of the Suns record, Booker has not revived as much attention this season. However, he’s still excellent, averaging 25.2 points and 4.7 assists per game on 43.6 percent shooting from the field and 38.4 percent from three. He’s a threat to go off on any given night, and although the Jazz have an excellent defense, Booker is a truly elite scorer.

The Suns also have Elfrid Payton who is definitely in contention for best hair in the NBA, and is a very good passer, and rookie forward Josh Jackson, who is taking time to develop, but likely has a very bright future in the NBA.

The Suns might not be good, but they’re easy to root for. Give it a try Wolves fans, the Jazz are due for a loss.

Cavaliers at Blazers, 9:00 p.m., League Pass

With respect to the Spurs/Pelicans game, the NBA’s last game of the night will likely be its best.

Lebron James and Co. travel to Portland to take on a red-hot Blazers team that currently holds the longest active win streak in the league at ten games. Damian Lillard’s insanity is well-documented, but Portland’s win over the Heat on Monday reminded the league that Lillard isn’t the only threat on the Blazers’ roster.

Jusuf Nurkic is not terribly consistent, but when he’s zoned in, he is very good. When Nurkic is finishing at the rim, the Lillard/Nurkic pick and roll is terrifying. Throw in the consistency of C.J. McCollum and the hard-nosed defense of Ed Davis and Al-Farouq Aminu, and you have a Blazers team that believes wholeheartedly in their ability to compete with anyone in the league.

But the Blazers might not have a single player on their roster who can guard LeBron James.

After the Cavs beat the Suns last night on Tuesday behind a LeBron triple-double, James compared himself to “a fine wine.” And who could argue with him? At age 33 LeBron is averaging 26.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game. While Cleveland is still trying to develop chemistry after their major trade deadline overhaul, having the best player in the world playing for you is always a plus.

James recently said he doesn’t care if Cleveland has home-court advantage or not, but the Cavs certainly would love to stay higher in the standings to avoid a first-round playoff matchup with the Raptors or Celtics. Besides, Cleveland needs to learn how to earn victories on a consistent basis before it becomes win or go home.

Any time a team in the Western Conference race plays a team in the East, Wolves fans should root for the latter. Let’s hope LeBron turns in another amazing performance and puts an end to the Blazers’ dream run.