The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the cusp of ending the longest playoff drought in the NBA, but they are currently clinging to the seventh seed in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
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Help is apparently on the way for the T-Wolves as their all-star forward Jimmy Butler is gearing up for a return.
Butler has missed close to six weeks with a meniscus injury, he told reporters on Wednesday (AEDT) that he's "this close to returning to the floor," after a full-contact training.
Jeff Teague didn't take contact in practice today, Jimmy Butler did, per Thibs. Here is gold from Butler on how close he is to returning to game actio, defending Thibs, etc. #Twolves #AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/R9httTnBIq
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 3, 2018
When Butler went down with the injury, Minnesota was in the mix for the third seed in the West. Now they're trying to hold off the likes of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers who are desperate to get back in the top eight.
The leader of the young Wolves knows how important it is to have a sense of urgency late in the season.
“We gotta get tougher. We gotta play like some dogs, with a sense of urgency," Butler continued.
"Teams just do whatever they want against us. I don’t like it but there ain’t no coach in the world that can make somebody play hard, ain’t no coach in the world that can make anybody want it.
“Everybody’s playing in the fight of their life, we gotta realize that and as a whole go out there and be the tougher team every single night, every single possession.”
Minnesota doesn't play again till Friday (AEDT) when they visit the Nuggets in Denver.
