The Minnesota Timberwolves 2020-21 season was a disappointment, but there’s a lot of optimism heading into this year.

The biggest thing for Minnesota was always having some sort of continuity. They’ve had their fair share of coaching and front office changes. There’s also been a lot of players who have come and gone. There was little roster change this offseason, and having Chris Finch return will be beneficial.

The good news is the Gersson Rosas firing doesn’t look to be affecting the players. Minnesota is entering the year fully healthy, and a few players have an incentive to play harder ($).

The Western Conference was, and still is a gauntlet, but the Eastern Conference isn’t that far off from being just as competitive.

Western Conference predictions:

1. Utah Jazz (60-22)
2. Phoenix Suns (55-27)
3. Denver Nuggets (53-29)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (52-30)
5. Dallas Mavericks (47-35)
6. Golden State Warriors (46-36)
7. Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)
8. Los Angeles Clippers (43-39)
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (41-41)
10. Memphis Grizzlies (40-42)
11. Sacramento Kings (36-46)
12. New Orleans Pelicans (35-47)
13. San Antonio Spurs (33-49)
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (27-55)
15. Houston Rockets (24-58)

At first glance, people might wonder how in the world the Timberwolves end up winning 41 games. Yes, that would be an 18-win difference from last year, but the 2020-21 season was cut short, and they weren’t fully healthy.

And hey, they went 3-1 in the preseason; that’s worth something, right? Just let us have this one.

Under Chris Finch, the Wolves had a respectable 16-25 record. Five of those losses came after Ryan Saunders’ firing. Finch essentially used those five games before the All-Star break as a trial-and-error situation.

Finch has the makeup to be a great coach in the NBA, and if Minnesota stays healthy, there’s no reason they can’t make the playoffs. When D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns played together, Minnesota went 13-11.

Mix that in with high expectations from Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley and Jaden McDaniels, and you have a really nice core.

The biggest question marks this season will be how the Kings, Pelicans, Grizzlies and Spurs perform. All four will be lobbying for a spot at the play-in. San Antonio is expected to regress after losing DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills, but you can never count out Gregg Popovich.

The Kings aren’t expected to make any sort of drastic improvement unless first-round pick Davion Mitchell plays well, and Tyrese Haliburton takes another step forward.

The Pelicans are an interesting team, but Zion Williamson reportedly had foot surgery this offseason, and given his physique, you never know how this might impact his status. The Grizzlies are the best team of the four, but the addition of Steven Adams is questionable.

Minnesota has a great chance to make the playoffs for the second time since 2003-04. If everyone stays healthy, there’s no question this team can play .500 basketball.

Bonus!

Eastern Conference predictions:

1. Milwaukee Bucks (61-21)
2. Brooklyn Nets (59-23)
3. Boston Celtics (57-25)
4. Miami Heat (53-29)
5. Atlanta Hawks (48-34)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (46-36)
7. New York Knicks (45-37)
8. Indiana Pacers (42-40)
9. Chicago Bulls (40-42)
10. Charlotte Hornets (39-43)
11. Washington Wizards (36-46)
12. Toronto Raptors (31-51)
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-55)
14. Detroit Pistons (23-59)
15. Orlando Magic (22-60)