The young Timberwolves have reason to be optimistic about their future. They have finally rediscovered their rhythm and are putting together a good little run to conclude the regular season. This comes after they had a dismal middle of the season, which brought them to the bottom of the play-in standings.
The Minny team has been victorious in their last four games. Yet these victories aren’t only over teams that finished worst in their respective divisions. These four victories were against clubs vying for a spot in the playoffs. The most important of these four games was when they faced off against the Golden State Warriors. Because of this, they could not only narrow the gap between themselves and the sixth seed, but they could also leapfrog the Warriors in the standings briefly.
The Timberwolves are making sluggish but steady progress toward reuniting the group. Karl-Anthony Towns has returned to the lineup after being sidelined for most of the season with a calf injury. His presence has been a significant morale booster for the squad. In the game against the Atlanta Hawks, he scored 22 points to help his team overcome a considerable deficit, and in the game against the Warriors, he scored the basket that put his team ahead for good. Anthony Edwards also returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined for a few games with an ankle injury.
Rudy Gobert has been the most valuable player in their four recent victories. During that time, the much-maligned center had a double-double average of 13 and 13, respectively. He has maintained his dominance in the paint and has performed well on the boards. He has also received a low usage rate, which indicates that even with KAT and Ant’s returns, there will still be plenty of opportunities to shoot the ball.
The Warriors are now ahead of the Wolves in the standings, having done so once again. If the Minnesota Timberwolves want to guarantee themselves a position in the playoffs, they have to come out on top in this matchup against the Suns.
With a record of 40-35, the Suns are currently clinging to the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They are right in the thick of things. Yet, their location is not risk-free. They presently hold a slim lead over the fifth seed, which is only a half-game, and they are only 1.5 games removed from the play-in round. They only need a few terrible losses to fall further down the standings.
When Phoenix moved to acquire Kevin Durant in February, they did not anticipate having to fight this war. They believed that by acquiring Durant, they could challenge for a position as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Due to an unfortunate ankle injury that occurred at the beginning of the month, Durant has only participated in three games with his new squad.
Devin Booker has given his all to shoulder the team captain responsibilities for the Suns. Throughout the ten games that Durant has been sidelined, his team has outscored their opponents by an average of 31.7 points per game, including two blowouts of 44 and 46 points, respectively. Because of this, the Suns have maintained their position in the standings while also winning four of the ten games that Durant has missed due to injury.
The excellent news is that. The report that Kevin Durant will not be able to play against the Timberwolves has been raised to a questionable status, which is fantastic news for the Suns. This is a positive development, raising the possibility that he can play in the next match. The Suns’ prospects of extending their winning streak to three games could improve if he returned to the team.
