Wolves final win total will be...

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Wow, 8 out of 11 voters say we finish worse than 9-20...even though the club is 5-5 in games Rubio has finished, despite a tough schedule in those 10 games (2 against Memphis, and one each against Atlanta, Golden State, Dallas and Chicago)! And 4 of the 5 losses were by a total of 14 points (the only blowout being the 12 point loss to Atlanta). What about those 10 games do the voters think was a mirage and can't be duplicated in the last 29 games?

As I mentioned before, though, it seems the board has been overly optimistic every time we have run a poll like this, so I understand the pessimism. But again, assuming no ridiculous spate of injuries, I'm convinced this will be the first time the optimists win!

Stay tuned. This thread will be updated periodically as long as we stay healthy, to see if the winning percentage is tracking closer to the 25-30% the pessimists are predicting, or the 50% I am predicting.

[thedoper]

I think you have to factor in that Flip is going to do some interesting lineups to evaluate his roster and he could still make another move before the deadline. I find it hard to believe that he wont get some calls about Martin. I would take Martin over Ray Allen at this point if I was a contender.

[Papalrep]

If we cannot muster more than 8 wins over the remainder of the season, isn't it time to blow it up and rebuild?

NO! We just need one more lotto pick! (lol).

[60WinTim]

Jon Krawczynski ?@APkrawczynski 6m6 minutes ago
Rubio: "I talked to the guys. ... We are playing for the future, for next year. The future starts right now." Wants to be .500 over 2nd half

Just sayin'...

[zigzag22 [enjin:6591633]]

We are still 1 REALLY great player (looking at you Towns!) away from having a remote chance to contend on a regular basis in the West, so while I love these competitive fun games, finishing .500 on the season would not be awesome.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Jon Krawczynski ?@APkrawczynski 6m6 minutes ago
Rubio: "I talked to the guys. ... We are playing for the future, for next year. The future starts right now." Wants to be .500 over 2nd half

Just sayin'...

Somebody convince Ricky to join the forum and vote in the poll...we need a few more on the wins train!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

We are still 1 REALLY great player (looking at you Towns!) away from having a remote chance to contend on a regular basis in the West, so while I love these competitive fun games, finishing .500 on the season would not be awesome.

There are times that I have felt the same way, zig, and actually preferred to see the team play well but lose close games. I'm not there now though...I'm all about wins now. Let's face it...there's no chance Philly, NY and the Lakers don't pass us. Look at their rosters...we're going to blow by all three of them and end up with the 4th most pp balls at best. The real risk is the next tier of lottery teams. We're 6-8 games behind those teams, and it seems unlikely that we can pass any of them in just 29 games. But strange things happen at the end of a season, and I think the Wolves are still going to win 25...so there is some risk of losing out on the Big 5.

Wait, ignore all that. I just remembered that Cool has guaranteed a lottery win his year, so ping pong balls are irrelevant!

[60WinTim]

I've always thought we are gonna fall out of the top 5. :(

But how many super star players can one team have? Especially if those individuals need playing time and touches to develop?

And we've heard many times how this is a guards league. The Wolves have been a bit shot-heavy by their bigs in recent years. No wonder our guards never seem to light it up -- they really don't get the shots. Martin can shoot. I've been blown away with how well Wiggins can shoot. I would like to see us move to a pecking order where our wings are getting a decent amount of shots.

And this is one of the reasons I like Payne. He his tall, he is thick, he has energy and he is athletic. He can contribute in many ways without needing a lot of shots. I'm thinking I see a lot of Taj Gibson in him, but with the potential to stretch the floor.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Jon Krawczynski ?@APkrawczynski 6m6 minutes ago
Rubio: "I talked to the guys. ... We are playing for the future, for next year. The future starts right now." Wants to be .500 over 2nd half

Just sayin'...

I love the competitive zeal of Ricky - good on him.

(not sure if he's looked at the schedule of games yet or realized we just barely beat a Phoenix team reeling from trading its best player. His heart is bigger than his head and that's probably a good thing).

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Q. you're correct that the Wolves' schedule the rest of the way is tough, and they also should beat a depleted Suns team by more than 2 points. But I'm also fairly certain that Ricky knows the Wolves are 6-5 in games that he has been healthy enough to finish, and that those 11 games have included 2 games with Memphis and one each with Chicago and Atlanta...the remaining schedule isn't any tougher than that. Unless Ricky believes Thad Young and Mo Williams were key components in that 6-5 record, and I don't expect he does, he has every reason to believe the Wolves can finish the season over .500...provided they stay healthy. To think differently, he would have to look at those 11 games as an aberration.