5. Minnesota Timberwolves
Can the Timberwolves sneak into the playoffs? We’re talking about the actual postseason and not just the play-in tournament. Will they surprise everyone?
Once the cellar-dwellers of the West, the 32-29 Timberwolves are right in the thick of things as they sit just three and a half games back of the sixth seed. They are now healthy, and more importantly, the stars have settled into their roles.
The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and Anthony Edwards are finally clicking. And what’s interesting about them is they all feel like they have something to prove. KAT thinks he should be considered the best shooting big man of all time, Russell wants to be an elite guard, while Ant believes he should be MVP one day.
It would take a lot for Minnesota to get into the top six, especially with the Nuggets and the Mavericks being heavy favorites. But a small chance to get into the playoffs or a spot in the play-in tournament is a good thing if you’ve been a struggling team. Surprising their way into the playoffs is a long shot, but they’re in a good place right now. The Timberwolves' ascent from the depths of the West is no small feat.
4. Boston Celtics
After a slow start to the season, the Celtics are coming around. The biggest key for them, as they’ve risen to the sixth seed with a 36-26 record, is their defense.
The Celtics are long, feisty, and most of all, incredibly smart on the defensive end. Their starting unit of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III is daunting for any team. They switch a ton on the perimeter, leaning on their versatility and length to bother any kind of pick-and-roll action. When every line of the defense crumbles, Time Lord is there waiting to block the shot. And there’s minor slippage when they go to the bench with Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, and Grant Williams.
Boston has a defensive rating of 104.9, second only to the Warriors. It holds opponents to a league-best 42.9 percent shooting from the field and only allows 103.5 points (tied for second with Dallas).
The Celtics have always been fun to watch with Tatum and Brown. Their defense is another reason to keep an eye on them.
3. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets went from a “Nikola Jokic literally does everything, and he’s not getting enough help” into “Nikola Jokic still literally does everything, but it’s okay because he’s getting enough help.”
Denver still doesn’t have its two key players in Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, but it sits sixth in the West with a 35-25 record. They’re riding a five-game winning streak and on pace to be a force in the playoffs.
How have the Nuggets remained competitive? The easy answer is Jokic, who still leads his team in all statistical categories. But there’s more to it than just a strategy of dump-the-ball-to-Jokic. Somehow, the team has settled into their life with Jokic being the lone superstar. From Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, Monte Morris, Bryn Forbes, Jeff Green, and Bones Hyland, it’s like everyone realized what each needed to do. They don’t just simply lean on their best player, but they also do a terrific job maximizing their respective roles.
Jokic still does everything for this team. However, it’s not the case of a frontman with a ragtag group of bandmates. This is more of Jokic being the conductor and everyone making beautiful symphony.
1-2. Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers
Honestly, this is a toss-up. How do you choose between two teams each owning a deadly combination of talent, drama, and high stakes? This is must-watch basketball. Choosing a game between the Nets and the Sixers is like trying to pick a ribeye and a porterhouse. They’re two really good kinds of steak and it will boil down to preference.
On one hand, you have the Nets with all kinds of layers of spectacle. What kind of Ben Simmons will we see once he makes his debut? When will Kevin Durant come back? Will Kyrie Irving finally be able to play all the games if New York lifts its vaccine mandate? If he only plays road games the rest of the way, how will that affect Brooklyn’s chances? How do you even stop a Simmons-Irving-Durant fastbreak?
Even without Simmons and Durant, plus a part-time Irving, the Nets have somehow remained afloat thanks largely to the additions of Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. Curry’s great shooting and off-ball movement have sort of been an open secret out in Philly. His two-man game with Joel Embiid shredded defenses. Drumond, meanwhile, might just be the defensive big man Brooklyn is looking for. With his heft and strength in the paint, he brings in a different look from what Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldrige offers.
On the other hand, you have the Sixers and their explosive potential. We all know how dominant and intimidating Embiid can be. Add somebody like James Harden who can not only score, but also pass with ease and create shots, and Philly has the makings of a legendary 1-2 punch.
The early parts of this new relationship between Embiid and Harden will obviously take time. Everything won’t run perfectly smooth. Yet, this is the good and exciting phase. They’ll be learning on the fly where each one likes to be on the floor. Think of all the possibilities of pick-and-roll actions, dribble handoffs, or even isolation situations. Each player attracts a ton of attention and both are willing passers that can open up different looks for the Sixers’ offense. Or who knows, maybe they’ll click right away and blow everyone out of the water. Either way, the excitement is palpable.
With roughly 20 games left in the regular season, NBA League Pass just got a shot in the arm with these two teams.
