Timberwolves & Celtics Staking Claim As True Playoff Threats

The Los Angeles Lakers are really struggling and seeing their title hopes from the beginning of the season crash and burn, but the Timberwolves and Celtics have been two of the best teams in the league recently that have emerged as possible true contending threats in both the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively. 

Minnesota has made the playoffs just once since 2005, but the narrative of them being a losing franchise in the NBA is finally changing. Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns make up one of the better offensive-minded trios in the NBA this season and with Patrick Beverley making a difference on the defensive end of the floor, the Timberwolves are a team that no top contender in the Western Conference wants to play in the playoffs. 

They have one of the best home-court advantages in the entire league this season and with Towns playing his way into All-NBA consideration, the Timberwolves suddenly look like a team that could possibly advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2004. 

The Timberwolves are currently the 7-seed in the Western Conference, meaning that they would have to play in the play-in tournament should the season end today, but they are just 1.5 games back from the Nuggets for the 5-seed and will have chances to make up ground in the standings over the next few weeks. 

LATEST NBA NEWS: How Karl-Anthony Towns Reached Wolves’ Record 60 Points

With games against the Bucks, Suns, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Bulls to close out the season, the Timberwolves will have plenty of chances to prove that they are a real contending threat this season.

One of the best teams in the league during the second half of the regular season has been the Boston Celtics and they have only lost three games since the end of January. 

Jayson Tatum has been playing like one of the best offensive players in the league over the last month or so and the Celtics have really stepped things up defensively, as it is starting to become a rare occurrence for them to allow more than 100 points to their opponents in a game! 

LATEST NBA NEWS: How Karl-Anthony Towns Reached Wolves’ Record 60 Points

Their bench is one of the worst in the NBA and production outside of Tatum and Brown offensively can be streaky, but the Celtics have proven that they are going to be a tough team to play in a seven-game series. 

Currently the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics could possibly move into a Top-4 seed by the end of the season and who knows, maybe this is finally the year that they can break through and make their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010.