NBA standings: One sleeper team in the West that could give Lakers, Nuggets fits in postseason

Just like every year, the NBA's Western Conference is a total bloodbath. With just a few weeks to go in the 2024-25 season, teams out in the Western Conference are jockeying for position.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder continues to run away with the No. 1 seed, there is a heated battle going for the second seed between the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Houston Rockets. Each team is just one win away from the other in the standings.

Elsewhere in the conference, the Golden State Warriors have been the hottest team in the league since the NBA trade deadline, acquiring Jimmy Butler, having gone 13-3 throughout that stretch.

And now it seems that the Minnesota Timberwolves have found life just two weeks before the playoffs playing some of their best basketball of the season.

The Timberwolves are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won eight straight. They are making a strong push as the season unwinds and could possibly be a huge threat to some of the top teams in the Western Conference.

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Western Conference Standings

With only a few games remaining on the schedule this season, the Timberwolves are heating up at the right time and looking to build some momentum. They could be making some noise in hopes of upsetting a top seed.

All-Star guard Anthony Edwards has continued to play really well this season; he recently had his seventh 40-point game of the season, and Julius Randle has played well since returning to the lineup, which only bodes well for the Timberwolves chances.

The battle for second place in the Western Conference between the Lakers, Nuggets, and Rockets heated up. If the Warriors maintain the No.6 seed, the last and guaranteed playoff spot, we could get a Timberwolves match-up against any of those two teams.

The Timberwolves would still need to take care of business in the Play-In; however, considering their recent play, it is hard not to see them making a run and possibly pushing the Nuggets and Lakers in a series if they meet either team in the playoffs.

The Timberwolves have continued to outperform the Nuggets in all three matchups this season, including their recent 115-95 victory on March 12. Edwards dropped 29 points in their previous matchup and has continued to torch the Nuggets in each of their games this season, dropping 29 points or more in each matchup.

While Ant-Man continues to be a menace against the Nuggets, the same can't be said about his matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers and Timberwolves have split the season series two apiece. However, three of those games, of course, came before the trade for Luka Dončić.

The Timberwolves have played well against the Lakers throughout Edwards's tenure in Minnesota, and a potential playoff series could be an enticing matchup; the Timberwolves can give the Lakers a problem with their size up front with Gobert, Naz Reid and Randle.

On the other hand, the Lakers still have a thin frontcourt, with Jaxson Hayes playing most of the minutes as center.

Dončić could be an X-factor in a potential Lakers–Timberwolves seven-game series. He shredded the TImberwolves in last year's Western Conference Finals, averaging 32.4 points,9.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. However, the Timberwolves have enough defensive firepower on the wing to slow him down.

Either team they face would make for an exciting matchup in the postseason.