NBA Power Rankings: Boston Celtics look vulnerable; Knicks rounding back into form?

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

When it was originally reported that Karl-Anthony Towns was going to miss a good portion of the end of the regular season due to an injury, I almost automatically began to pencil in the Minnesota Timberwolves as a team that was going to fade down the stretch in the Western Conference standings. However, to the dismay of perhaps many, the opposite has happened over the last few weeks.

Instead of the Timberwolves fading down the standings in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves have maintained their status as a top-three team in the playoff picture. It's certainly encouraging to see and is something that is only going to help this team as they perhaps welcome KAT back into the lineup.

The big question for the Timberwolves heading into the NBA playoffs, of course, is whether or not they could sustain this level of competitiveness to the effect of winning a series or two in the postseason. That will be the ultimate telling sign for this team.