The Western Conference playoff chase is shaping up to be both unprecedented and mediocre, as far as team records go. The Minnesota Timberwolves are right in the thick of the mess between fifth place and 12th place, a gap that spans just three games in the standings while each team has less than 10 games to play.
The variation of possible outcomes for Minnesota trends from very promising and favorable to extremely disappointing. Finishing outside the Play-In tournament would be less than ideal, even with the fact in hand that Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 52 games this season.