Photo: Jazmine Moering<\/b><\/p>\n

Matthew Adams
\n<\/b>Managing Editor<\/b><\/p>\n

The NBA has been pretty interesting this season. There are teams that I didn\u2019t think would make the strides they would make.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Timberwolves are one of those teams. They are the first in the Western Conference which is surprising because I would have thought the Lakers would be in this position but looking at their record, they don’t look to be a team that is thriving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though they have Lebron I’m not sure what it was to come with this Lakers team. In all honesty, the West looks good. I knew the Nuggets would be somewhere in the top 5.<\/span><\/p>\n

The way the standings are looking right now I have a good feeling they are going to look like this at the end of the season. There may be a couple of changes with with one through 4 spots but everything else will be the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 1st seed is The Minnesota Timberwolves which is surprising. The 2nd seed is the Denver Nuggets. The 3rd seed is the Oklahoma City Thunder which is surprising to me. I haven\u2019t paid attention to them recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

They can go deep into the playoffs but it just depends on who they go against. That’s the only thing about the playoffs your matchup matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if some way the Spurs were able to make the play-in or even somehow the playoffs and their matchup was the Nuggets that would be a very boring and easy win for the Nuggets.<\/span><\/p>\n

The East also has surprises as well. The Knicks are a team that I would not expect to be in the top 3. It is interesting to see that even after the R.J. Barrett trade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I have to look at their lineup and they have a solid lineup with Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, O.G. Annunoby, and a solid backup squad.<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing with the Knicks is that they always have a solid lineup and don’t do too bad during the regular season then they end up not being great in the post-season. It’s kind of disappointing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Playoffs can be very interesting this year. I would love to see the Clippers play the Timberwolves.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only disadvantage that the Clippers may have against the Timberwolves would be the two bigs Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns. Also, the Timberwolves have a solid player in Naz Reid who I feel can play both the 3 and 4.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another matchup that I would want to see is the Bucks and the Celtics. That would be a game that will go to 7. Granted Giannis and Dame will be unstoppable but the Celtics for the past 3-4 years have a solid team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the Bulls aren’t doing that well I would love to see them make the playoffs. They have a couple of things to work out and once they get that done I believe that will be a top team in the East.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t see the Warriors making the playoffs off the simple fact that Klay is not as effective as he used to be. It’s like players have found ways to stop him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong he is still one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen but he\u2019s pretty inconsistent.\u00a0 With the regular season halfway through the playoffs are closer than we think.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the teams that are in the top 5 to 6 spots, I don’t see these spots changing too much. The only change that may occur is the Clippers just based on how injury-prone some of the players are. In the East, I have a feeling the Knicks may fall off.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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