Here they go. A three-game stretch against their closest Northwest Division rivals: The Jazz, Nuggets, and Trailblazers. All within a stretch of 5 days. At the end of the year when Minny ,Houston, Utah, Denver, Portland, and maybe Utah are all jockeying for that final playoff position these next three will kind-of-sort-of-really-matter.

The Jazz come into tonight's game last in the NW Division. However, they have a solid frontcourt that hits the offensive boards well and they can get to the line. In other words, they can Timberwolves it up and we could see a slow game with a ton of fouls.

Things I will be looking for:

• Extended minutes for Derrick Williams. Play him or trade him, there is no try. #yoda
• No fouling + solid rebounding = good enough defense to win against the Jazz.
• Will Ricky Rubio look like he actually performed any sort of cardio during his rehab and will he be able to give Shved a break with solid production in his stead? (UPDATE: Never mind. Ricky will not be making the trip because of back spasms.)