Just a couple of weeks ago, the Timberwolves were as close to the top-seeded Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference standings as they were to the No. 8 seed. They had briefly overtaken San Antonio for the No. 3 spot in the West, and Oklahoma City was languishing a handful of games behind the Wolves.
But after dropping four of six games heading into Saturday night’s contest against the Nets, Minnesota sat only one game ahead of Oklahoma City, one game behind the Spurs, and only five games in front of the eighth-seeded Nuggets.
How quickly things can change in the Western Conference.