At 27-30, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a tough climb ahead of them if they want to reach the playoffs. What remains to be answered during the 2018-19 season?
While sitting under .500 and 11th in the West is probably not where the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted to be at the All-Star break, it’s miraculous that the team’s 2018-19 season didn’t derail before it even started. From Jimmy Butler‘s antics and gaslighting to the toxic atmosphere under Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota has dealt with a lot of adversity off the court.
On the court, things haven’t been fortuitous either. Since Ryan Saunders took over as head coach in early January, the team has suffered a rash of injuries. Robert Covington hasn’t played yet this year, the point guard rotation — Derrick Rose, Tyus Jones and Jeff Teague — has been decimated and even the usually reliable Andrew Wiggins missed a few games before the All-Star break.
As a result, the Timberwolves are only 8-9 under Saunders, but you can’t judge a guy for losing when he’s forced to play Luol Deng, Anthony Tolliver and Jerryd Bayless big minutes in 2019. The final third of the season won’t present the Wolves with many easy opportunities to impress either, as the team has the fifth-hardest remaining schedule in the NBA. Fivethirtyeight’s CARMELO model gives them just an 11 percent chance of making the playoffs.
With all that being said, what questions loom largest as the team prepares to fight those odds and make a second straight postseason appearance?