As of Friday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves stood a game and a half back of the Denver Nuggets for the final Western Conference playoff spot, with one team sandwiched in between the two of them: the Portland Trail Blazers.

Well, the 'Wolves will have a chance to hop over the Blazers in the standings when they travel to Portland for a Saturday night match-up. It won't be easy, of course, as Portland is a strong home team, and it's also happened to have won 16 straight games against Minnesota. Both teams have Friday night off, so fatigue shouldn't be an issue for either.

Speculation will also continue surrounding the future of Michael Beasley over the weekend, as the mercurial forward is seen by many as a potential trade target. Recent talk has surrounded around both Boston and New Jersey as potential landing spots for Beasley, who is viewed as expendable because of Minnesota's depth at the small and power forward spots. While it's unlikely he'll be moved this weekend, it's worth keeping an eye on his situation as the March 15th trade deadline approaches.

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