The Minnesota Timberwolves will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday afternoon in a game that will determine seeding in this year’s NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Timberwolves are locked into the play-in tournament after the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, but they can finish anywhere from seventh to ninth depending on the outcomes of Saturday’s games.
Seventh Seed
The seventh seed is the most unlikely result out of Sunday’s games, but it would be the one that benefits the Wolves the most. This not only would move the Wolves into the No. 7 vs. No. 8 bracket, but they would be playing the first game of the tournament at Target Center.
The Wolves can clinch the seventh seed by beating the Pelicans and also having the Utah Jazz defeat the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon. This scenario would create a three-way tiebreaker scenario with the Pelicans and Lakers, which would put the Timberwolves into the top spot in the play-in tournament.
Unfortunately, the Jazz have nothing to play for and are among a throng of teams looking to get more lottery balls for top draft prospect Victor Wembanyama, so there’s a better chance that the Timberwolves will finish as the eighth or ninth seed.
Eighth Seed
The eighth seed is also beneficial to the Wolves as they would have to win just one play-in game to make the playoffs. Minnesota can move into the eighth seed by defeating the Pelicans on Sunday, but that’s no easy task against a team that has an 11-5 record since Mar. 6.
This also carries a layer of intrigue as Timberwolves fans wouldn’t know who their opponent would be – although all of Sunday’s games are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT.
A Lakers win over the Jazz would lock them into at least the seventh seed, but they could make their way into the top six if the Golden State Warriors lose to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite Portland’s win over Minnesota last Sunday, the Blazers have lost 14 of their past 16 games, which means the Timberwolves would probably face the Lakers in the play-in tournament if they can get into the No. 7 vs. No. 8 bracket.
Ninth seed
This is the simplest scenario for the group. If the Wolves lose to the Pelicans, they’ll be locked into the No. 9 seed, which means a play-in game with the 10th-seeded Thunder.
The Timberwolves would host this game, but it would also require them to win a second game on the road against the Lakers, Warriors, Pelicans or Clippers.
This is the worst path for the Timberwolves to take but maybe realistic after Rudy Gobert was added to the injury report with back spasms on Sunday morning. With a frontcourt that is already missing Naz Reid, the Timberwolves would be fighting an uphill battle just to make the playoffs.
If your head isn’t hurting from all of these different scenarios, here’s a graphic of everything going on Sunday and what it means in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Updated Western Conference Playoff and Play-In scenarios through today's games.
Seeds 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RBf48BWeHP
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 9, 2023
