NBA Power Rankings: Tier 4, Possible play-in chance
21. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a ton of really interesting pieces – Karl-Anthony Towns is a franchise centerpiece worthy of all the praise, Anthony Edwards is young and an electric scorer, and D’Angelo Russell is… a better-than-average point guard. If Chris Finch is able to turn things around, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Timberwolves make the playoffs – even in a loaded Western Conference.
22. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers really disappointed me last season. Damontas Sabonis started last season on a heater but dropped off relatively quickly. The same can be said about Malcolm Brogdon. That’s not to say that both of those guys aren’t good players, but neither lived up to expectations after a strong start to last season.
23. Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are, well. They’re usually pretty good. Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby is a fun core, and Scottie Barnes is a versatile piece to add to that – but it’s just not as good as when VanVleet/Siakam were in their 2019 form.
24. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic, much like the teams below them, have a variety of young pieces that should make all of their games exciting. They lucked out in the draft, being able to add Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner with their top-10 draft picks – and Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz should be returning this season after both missed basically the entire season in 2020-21.
25. San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have a very bad roster. There’s a few shining points – Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell – but none of those guys are exactly All-Star caliber players. There’s some upside for one of their many project players to explode this season – but until that happens… I wouldn’t expect much from the Spurs.