Quick breakdown of the TWO ways Wolves can advance in the in-season tournament

Hi y’all! Since there are a lot of questions about this, here’s a breakdown.

Source: https://x.com/JaceFrederick/status/1728291917463740688?s=20

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WAYS TO ADVANCE IN IST:

Clinch group by becoming the team with the best record in the group (point differential is the tiebreaker).
Become the wildcard team from your conference: team with the best record among teams who did not clinch their group (point differential is the tiebreaker).

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CURRENT STANDINGS RELEVANT TO US:

- Wolves are 2-1 with a -3 point diff.

- GSW 2-1, +5

- Kings 3-0, +29

- Suns are the wildcard team with 3-1 record, +34 point diff

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SO WOLVES CAN ADVANCE BY:

Clinching group by beating OKC by 21 or more, and Kings lose to GSW by 12. This makes Wolves 3-1 with +18 point diff, and Kings and GSW are 3-1 with +17 point diff
Becoming the Wildcard team by beating OKC by 38. This makes Wolves 3-1, +35 which beats Suns 3-1, +34

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QUICK NOTES:

- OKC struggles against big teams and don’t rebound well. They lost to the Nuggets by 32 this season. We beat them by 28 in the play-in (although there was no Chet then). On the flip side, OKC as a team shoot very well: 50% FG and 41% from 3.

- Warriors beating Kings by 12 may be a challenge for GSW unless Steph goes crazy.