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Timberwolves Power Rankings Update: Week 21

This may not be as pleasant as the early weeks.

By Tim Faklis

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The last couple weeks, I've been pushing for hope in these rankings updates. While the odds were stacked against the Wolves' favor, there was still a chance. They just had to, as Rick Adelman would phrase it, "win some games we're not supposed to win."

Coming off back-to-back losses to Phoenix and Memphis, that hope is all but gone, unfortunately. Still, for the sake of intrigue, we will keep these rankings going.

Let's see how they stack up:

Average Ranking: 17.71 (Last week: 16.86)

No. 15 (Last Week: 16): Jason Patt, SB Nation

The Wolves have given up 126 points per game over the last three games. Quite the feat.

No. 19 (Last Week: 17): Marc Stein, ESPN

Squandering all of a 22-point lead in Dallas and still finding a way to eke out an OT win had us buying into the notion that the Wolves might still have time to change their playoff destiny. Which is another way of saying: Gullible us. Blowing a 22-point lead at home to Phoenix took care of that.

No. 16 (Last Week: 15): Marc Spears, Yahoo! Sports

Minnesota is now 6½ games out of the West's eighth and final playoff spot. Kevin Love has never played in the postseason.

No. 20 (Last Week: 19): Matt Moore, CBS Sports

Their favorite Beastie Boys song is 'Sabotage.' Has to be.

No. 16 (Last Week: 17): USA Today Writers' Poll

Rookie center Gorgui Dieng actually grabs more rebounds per minute than Kevin Love.

No. 20 (Last Week: 17): Matt Dollinger, Sports Illustrated

The Wolves didn't just blow their biggest lead of the season Sunday, but also likely their last hope at making the postseason. ''That was our playoffs right there, and we lost," said Kevin Love, who finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the loss to Phoenix.

No. 18 (Last Week: 17): John Schuhmann, NBA.com

The Wolves blew two 22-point leads last week, on Wednesday in Dallas and on Sunday against Phoenix. They managed to pull out one of the two games (thanks to a tough shot by Kevin Love), which is another reason the Mavs and Suns are tied in the loss column. With two more games against the Grizzlies, the Wolves will continue to play a role in who gets the seventh and eighth spots in the West.