Kevin McHale, Minnesota’s VP of Basketball Operations, finally took his team’s temperature on Saturday and decided to call 911. Actually, he called long time Timberwolves coach and longer time friend Flip Saunders to inform him he was being relieved of his coaching duties. Then McHale announced that he had a replacement for Saunders waiting in wings - himself.

Nearly every preseason forecast had Wolves and San Antonio meeting in Western Conference finals, and many felt this would be Minnesota‘s year to win it all. Yet if playoffs started today, Minnesota would be on outside looking in, with Los Angeles - yes Clippers, and Denver only one game back in loss column for 9th seed. How does a team that was #1 seed in West last year, two wins from NBA Finals, and returning all their key players, go so far south so quickly? For starters, their home record is dismal for any team that has playoff hopes. Through Saturday, only five teams in league have lost more games at home than 12 Wolves have dropped, and those five teams (Utah, Golden State, Charlotte, Atlanta, and New Orleans) are five worst teams in league. Their record against Eastern Conference is an equally disturbing 7-13, one of only four teams in West that don’t have a winning record against East (again, see Utah, Golden State, New Orleans). If you can’t dominate at home, and against East, you aren’t going far in West.

The picture’s a bit different in West, though --- battle for No. 8 slot is a tighter affair, and there’s interest from close NBA watchers. Granted, last team in draws either Spurs or Suns, and both are going to be hard to knock off. But --- let’s say Steve Nash’s injuries continue to nag at him. Let’s also take into account that playoff basketball slows down and focuses on half-court sets. The Suns suddenly seem beatable, right? The Spurs are a bit tougher --- they thrive in half-court sets, and they’re definition of consistent.

Still, let’s say Lakers get No. 8 seed --- a possibility we’ll investigate. The Lake Show has reached 4 of last 5 Finals --- granted, with a vastly different chemistry. But Kobe is still a rare player. Let’s say Minnesota gets in just under line --- they were No. 1 seed last year, and possess arguably league’s most game-altering player in Kevin Garnett. And if Nuggets --- a young, eccentric mix of quality players --- get nod, they might have enough firepower to run a full series with either San Antonio or Phoenix.

Since No. 8 seed in West could, theoretically, knock off a potential No. 1, we decided to investigate who’s most likely to come out as No. 8 in late April. We evaluated only Lakers, T-Wolves, and Nuggets, because let’s be honest --- as good as Clippers have played this year, do you honestly see them anywhere near NBA Playoffs? We thought so.

Each team is assigned 3 (highest), 2, or 1 (lowest) points in four different categories: Personnel, Coaching, Remaining Schedule, and Intangibles. Scientific, no?

Personnel: The Lakers have Kobe, who is arguably best player in game. He’s struggled without a presence in middle (no offense to Chris Mihm…), and there’s serious strains on his image following rape trial and tumultuous breakup of championship run Lakers. Beyond Mr. Bryant, though, Los Angeles doesn’t have much. Caron Butler was promising as a rookie, but hasn’t done a ton since then. Lamar Odom is second key to this team --- he needs to play at level he’s capable of playing at, and he hasn’t been doing that. He goes in tank more than Vince Carter claims he went in tank in Canada, especially against higher-level foes.

The Timberwolves have an amazing team on paper. Garnett, reigning MVP, can beat you every which way. Sam Cassell is an experienced, showstopper point guard, and Latrell Sprewell can still score in buckets. Wally World gets injured, sure, but he’s got game. The problem is, entire team has underachieved this year, which creates a need for big games from Trenton Hassell and others. That shouldn’t be necessary given this squad, especially when Sprewell is playing for 14 million per (even though he’s apparently below poverty line).