Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 Reasons They Can Make a Run to the Playoffs

The Minnesota Timberwolves' season so far has provided plenty of optimism amongst its fanbase. It could be the that the Wolves have looked very promising in the early season. It could be that the rest of the Minnesota sports teams have been so bad that people are willing to step out on a limb, but I'll say this anyway.

The Minnesota Timberwolves could be headed to the Western Conference playoffs come April.

Timberwolves and playoffs haven't been uttered in the same sentence since Kevin Garnett was dominating for the team in the 2003-04 season. Actually, people who have said those two words together have been laughed out of the building.

However, this is a new era for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gone are the days of hoping that Ricky Davis and Mike James could be suitable No. 2 scorers. The Wolves have a new star in Kevin Love and a solid supporting cast to go with him.

I believe that the Timberwoves will make their way into the picture by the end of the season and here is why.

The Wolves Are a Young Team

This is one of the oddities that the 66-game NBA schedule brings to the table. In a previous season, being a younger team would have been a disadvantage, as they need experience to make a run. In this lockout-shortened season, being a younger team is a benefit as teams head into stretches with back-to-back-to-back games.

A team like the Wolves, who have an average team age of 26, should be able to recover quicker than older teams such as the Boston Celtics in these situations.

As the games become more important, the mental grind will surely become a factor for the young Wolves, but they could find themselves at an advantage physically.

Rick Adelman Has Gotten Through to the Timberwolves

Over the past two seasons, Timberwolves fans were forced to watch Kurt Rambis try and jam a triangle peg into a round hole. Rambis tried to mold the Wolves into what he wanted them to be and never adapted to the fact that the players he had were never going to be able to run the famed Triangle Offense.

When the Wolves started looking for a head coach, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor decided that he had enough of bargain basement coaches and decided to bring one in with loads of experience. That's how Rick Adelman became the Timberwolves' head coach.

Although the Wolves have played just 14 games this season, Adelman has done a good job adapting to his players. Adelman realized that he didn't have a training camp to install his full playbook, so he just added bits and pieces along the way until the players found themselves up to speed.

The Wolves Are an Improved Team Defensively

In the past, scoring has rarely been a problem for the Timberwolves. According to basketball-reference.com, the Timberwolves usually found themselves in the top half of the league when it came to points per game.

However, on the other end of the floor it looked like something out of NBA Jam: Tournament Edition. Simply put, the Wolves could not play defense.

Last season, the Timberwolves had a defensive rating (which estimates the points given up per 100 possessions) of 111.1, which was good for 27th in the NBA. After 14 games this season, the Wolves have a defensive rating of 99.8, which lands them at eighth in the NBA.

There are some aspects that the Wolves need to work on defensively, but their improvement may be big enough that they can compete at a high level.

The Wolves Have Given the Best Teams in the NBA Fits

The Miami Heat strolled into the Target Center on December 30 to face the Timberwolves. In recent history, a team like the Heat would have dominated the Timberwolves. Ah, but this wasn't your two-year-old son's Timberwolves. This was your newborn son's Timberwolves.

After a hard-fought 103-101 victory, Dwayne Wade was clearly impressed.

"I'm glad we played them early because later they're going to be trouble," Wade said. "So I think Timberwolves fans will have something to cheer about for a while here."

More teams are starting to find this out the hard way. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently have the best record in the NBA, got a taste of it on December 26, when they defeated the Wolves 104-100 at the Target Center.

The bottom line is that the Wolves are becoming a harder team to handle, and teams who aren't prepared may find themselves on the losing end down the stretch.

The Wolves Have Gotten the Toughest Part of Their Schedule out of the Way

When the NBA schedule first came out last December, there was one thing that jumped out to Timberwolves fans immediately.

While the Wolves would have five of their first six games at the Target Center, they would also be getting visits from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls.

While the beginning stretch of the season was challenging, the Wolves got out of it with a respectable 6-8 record. There were some bad losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, but those teams are currently also contending for playoff spots.

If the schedule loosens up a bit, the Wolves could run into some winnable games and get hot at the right time. It may seem like a formality, but don't forget what happened the last time there was a shortened season in 1998-99.

The New York Knicks entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, but because the schedule was only 50 games long, the Knicks were just starting to gel as a team. The result was an appearance in the NBA Finals.

I'm not going to go completely crazy and predict that for the Wolves just yet, but it's something to keep in mind if the teams the Wolves see continue to play cold.

The Wolves Are Starting to Get Healthy

For the first time in recent years, the Timberwolves have enough personnel to yield a solid starting lineup with a very good bench. All the Wolves have to do is get healthy in order to use it.

Michael Beasley has been out for about a week with a sprained foot. The Wolves have looked a lot better since Beasley's injury, and Kevin Love even joked that there was more ball movement without him on the court.

However, the truth is that Beasley is one of the best players on the team. Even if Beasley still has his occasional attitude problems and poor shot selection, if Beasley is on the court, the Wolves are a better team.

Perhaps the bigger return will be that of Martell Webster, who has been out all season following back surgery in December. While it may not be wise to hang the hopes of the team on the oft-injured Webster, one look at Wes Johnson says that adding a legitimate shooting guard will help.

Along with J.J. Barea, who is recovering from a hamstring pull, Webster and Beasley should help provide some more depth for a team that could possibly make a run to the playoffs.

Ricky Rubio Is Living Up to the Hype

Much was made about Ricky Rubio before he even put on a Timberwolves uniform. Many people were concerned that the fifth pick overall in the 2009 NBA draft wouldn't be able to live up to the hype after two lackluster seasons in Spain.

As it turns out, rumors of Rubio's demise were greatly exaggerated.

After starting the season on the Wolves' bench, Rubio thrust himself into the Wolves' starting lineup after just 10 games. He has become a nightly triple-double threat for the Wolves and is getting his teammates wide open looks thanks to his electric passing skills.

After years of second guessing, it looks like the Wolves have a winner in Ricky Rubio.

Kevin Love Is Establishing Himself as an Elite NBA Player

Last year at the Target Center, when Kevin Love would put together his trademark monster double-doubles, fans would sarcastically chant "M-V-P!" during the game. If Kevin Love keeps his current pace all season long, those chants are going to have more meaning.

Kevin Love's transformation into a top NBA player started with him losing a significant amount of weight in the offseason. With Love also working on several other skills, such as his pump fake and three-point shooting, the result has been a season the NBA has seldom seen.

Love has registered a double-double in all 14 games for the Timberwolves this season. He currently ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (25.2 points per game) and second in rebounds (14.5 per game).

Love is emerging as a guy that could carry his team on his back if necessary. If the young Timberwolves surprise and find their way into the playoffs, Kevin Love will be a huge part of it.