***OFFICIAL 2021-22 WINS PREDICTION THREAD***

[Crazysauce]

I think Ant blows up this year. Think Bsv really helps turn our defense around. And we finally have a competent, I think great coach. I am going high and going 46 wins, knowing full well I am likely to be disappointed again.

[kekgeek]

I will say this is the 1st I will legit be taking the over in Vegas (aka Diamond Joe's).

Wolves arguably started the worst SF in the league opening day last year in Layman and the worst PF in the league last year in Okogie. (They also started Rubio over dlo last year in the opener).

To think Layman won't be in the rotation and Okogie will be limited minutes is a huge upgrade. Vanderbilt might be a bottom 5 starting PF in the league but he will play a specific role that is huge

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I will say this is the 1st I will legit be taking the over in Vegas (aka Diamond Joe's).

Wolves arguably started the worst SF in the league opening day last year in Layman and the worst PF in the league last year in Okogie. (They also started Rubio over dlo last year in the opener).

To think Layman won't be in the rotation and Okogie will be limited minutes is a huge upgrade. Vanderbilt might be a bottom 5 starting PF in the league but he will play a specific role that is huge

Vanderbilt is a curious case. By some metrics, he was one of our most effective players, BUT to your point, the more you expect of him, the less effective he'd likely be. For now, he's by far the best option to start at PF when you consider he'll be out there with three starters who are defensively-challenged, high usage scorers.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Every year... I try to temper everybody's expectations. And yet, when it comes time to pick the number of Timberwolves victories... I shoot too high.

Yet here we are again. I know the Wolves are the worst franchise in NBA history. I know they just fired their head personnel guy in a weirdly timed move. I know that the Wolves have the league's 3rd worst cumulative record over the past 2 seasons. I know the Wolves head coach recently said that everything has to go right for the team to be "mediocre" on defense considering 4 of the team's very best players are all considered to be bad to embarrassingly bad on defense.

But alas, there is about 24 games of .500 late in a Covid-shortened season staring us in the face! There's the next superstar in waiting who's coming off an awesome two-month stretch. And another 2nd year player who looks like a taller, better shooting Scottie Pippen. And a scrappy older veteran who barks a lot who will force others to follow his reputation, either online with video games or on the court. And a slower, jump-shot-loving PG who will finally find a home and sustained success after being unfairly cast aside by several teams and pedestrian advanced stats. And an ex-con with a sordid history of questionable decision-making who will love sharing shots with others and adding to other parts of his game. And a star center who will show all the naysayers wrong and leave the league's top two MVP guys in his dust.

36 - 46



[Note: Still not good enough. Making it to .500 should not be this difficult.]




[EDIT: Not really a fan of three-ways (in case the gal pal is reading)... so now that I know that two others have chosen 37 wins... I'm officially going with 36. Apologies to the Prediction Thread Talliers That Be if this causes them any inconvenience.]

[Monster]

Every year... I try to temper everybody's expectations. And yet, when it comes time to pick the number of Timberwolves victories... I shoot too high.

Yet here we are again. I know the Wolves are the worst franchise in NBA history. I know they just fired their head personnel guy in a weirdly timed move. I know that the Wolves have the league's 3rd worst cumulative record over the past 2 seasons. I know the Wolves head coach recently said that everything has to go right for the team to be "mediocre" on defense considering 4 of the team's very best players are all considered to be bad to embarrassingly bad on defense.

But alas, there is about 24 games of .500 late in a Covid-shortened season staring us in the face! There's the next superstar in waiting who's coming off an awesome two-month stretch. And another 2nd year player who looks like a taller, better shooting Scottie Pippen. And a scrappy older veteran who barks a lot who will force others to follow his reputation, either online with video games or on the court. And a slower, jump-shot-loving PG who will finally find a home and sustained success after being unfairly cast aside by several teams and pedestrian advanced stats. And an ex-con with a sordid history of questionable decision-making who will love sharing shots with others and adding to other parts of his game. And a star center who will show all the naysayers wrong and leave the league's top two MVP guys in his dust.

37 - 45



[Note: Still not good enough. Making it to .500 should not be this difficult.]

Abe after all that positivity I thought you were going to land on 39 wins.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Every year... I try to temper everybody's expectations. And yet, when it comes time to pick the number of Timberwolves victories... I shoot too high.

Yet here we are again. I know the Wolves are the worst franchise in NBA history. I know they just fired their head personnel guy in a weirdly timed move. I know that the Wolves have the league's 3rd worst cumulative record over the past 2 seasons. I know the Wolves head coach recently said that everything has to go right for the team to be "mediocre" on defense considering 4 of the team's very best players are all considered to be bad to embarrassingly bad on defense.

But alas, there is about 24 games of .500 late in a Covid-shortened season staring us in the face! There's the next superstar in waiting who's coming off an awesome two-month stretch. And another 2nd year player who looks like a taller, better shooting Scottie Pippen. And a scrappy older veteran who barks a lot who will force others to follow his reputation, either online with video games or on the court. And a slower, jump-shot-loving PG who will finally find a home and sustained success after being unfairly cast aside by several teams and pedestrian advanced stats. And an ex-con with a sordid history of questionable decision-making who will love sharing shots with others and adding to other parts of his game. And a star center who will show all the naysayers wrong and leave the league's top two MVP guys in his dust.

37 - 45



[Note: Still not good enough. Making it to .500 should not be this difficult.]

Abe after all that positivity I thought you were going to land on 39 wins.

Ha!

It is funny how most folks are coalescing around that 37-43 win range and yet.....that's basically .500 ball. It feels like such a monumental task - 2 max players, multiple #1/#2 picks, veteran backup PG that's basically only been on winning teams, competent head coach, etc.....yet here we are feeling like we can barely eek out a .500 record and many of us would deem that a success.

Two conclusions from this: 1) The NBA is so fucking good - more talent then ever - so our talent level is only as good as it is relative to our also very talented peers; 2) Defense is by far the #1 thing weighing these predictions down.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Q, I think that's a youth and experience issue. Minnesota's still the third-youngest and the seventh least-experienced roster in the NBA. They're likely to have a 20-year old, a 21-year old, and a 22-year old in the starting lineup playing 25-32 minutes per game. There will be some growing pains along the way that cost them wins, but they're a highly talented, very athletic group that should win more than they lose, which leads us to a record hovering around .500.

Obviously, things can change in a second as we saw last year, but if Minnesota's top-three can stay reasonably healthy, they'll set themselves up for a solid campaign that they can then use as a stepping stone for future seasons.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Q, I think that's a youth and experience issue. Minnesota's still the third-youngest and the seventh least-experienced roster in the NBA. They're likely to have a 20-year old, a 21-year old, and a 22-year old in the starting lineup playing 25-32 minutes per game. There will be some growing pains along the way that cost them wins, but they're a highly talented, very athletic group that should win more than they lose, which leads us to a record hovering around .500.

Obviously, things can change in a second as we saw last year, but if Minnesota's top-three can stay reasonably healthy, they'll set themselves up for a solid campaign that they can then use as a stepping stone for future seasons.

They are young, but it's a bit deceiving. KAT and DLO are still "young" by NBA standards, but by experience standards they are absolutely not young at all. In other words, they are largely the players they are at this point IMO. If they were each 30, our average age and experience would suddenly be tick or two higher, but it wouldn't fundamentally change anything.

I myself will be satisfied with a .500-ish campaign - something in the high 30s to low 40s. But it's freakin' amazing how effing expensive and difficult it will have been to get to that point.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Q, I think that's a youth and experience issue. Minnesota's still the third-youngest and the seventh least-experienced roster in the NBA. They're likely to have a 20-year old, a 21-year old, and a 22-year old in the starting lineup playing 25-32 minutes per game. There will be some growing pains along the way that cost them wins, but they're a highly talented, very athletic group that should win more than they lose, which leads us to a record hovering around .500.

Obviously, things can change in a second as we saw last year, but if Minnesota's top-three can stay reasonably healthy, they'll set themselves up for a solid campaign that they can then use as a stepping stone for future seasons.

They are young, but it's a bit deceiving. KAT and DLO are still "young" by NBA standards, but by experience standards they are absolutely not young at all. In other words, they are largely the players they are at this point IMO. If they were each 30, our average age and experience would suddenly be tick or two higher, but it wouldn't fundamentally change anything.

I myself will be satisfied with a .500-ish campaign - something in the high 30s to low 40s. But it's freakin' amazing how effing expensive and difficult it will have been to get to that point.

Right, Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell aren't necessarily "young" and they certainly aren't inexperienced, but look at the rest of the roster. It's not like they have a plethora of veterans around them or else maybe we'd be projecting more wins from them as a team. It's still a bunch of guys figuring out what they are as NBA players. It's that youth and inexperience around them that will keep them from winning 45 games or more if they were reasonably healthy.

- Anthony Edwards (20, 2nd year)
- Jaden McDaniels (21, 2nd year)
- Leandro Bolmaro (21, 1st year)
- Naz Reid (22, 3rd year)
- Jaylen Nowell (22, 3rd year)
- Jarred Vanderbilt (22, 4th year)
- Josh Okogie (23, 4th year)
- Malik Beasley (24, 6th year)
- Jordan McLaughlin (25, 3rd year)
- D'Angelo Russell (25, 7th year)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (25, 7th year)
- Taurean Prince (27, 6th year)
- Jake Layman (27, 6th year)
- Patrick Beverley (33, 10th year)

I think this is why most of us would be happy with a .500 season. It's because they're so damn young that they should be able to build off of it moving forward. Not to mention, they didn't let youth be the reason for another dismal year. They have to prove it, obviously, but that's why I'd consider it a success.

[Monster]

Q, I think that's a youth and experience issue. Minnesota's still the third-youngest and the seventh least-experienced roster in the NBA. They're likely to have a 20-year old, a 21-year old, and a 22-year old in the starting lineup playing 25-32 minutes per game. There will be some growing pains along the way that cost them wins, but they're a highly talented, very athletic group that should win more than they lose, which leads us to a record hovering around .500.

Obviously, things can change in a second as we saw last year, but if Minnesota's top-three can stay reasonably healthy, they'll set themselves up for a solid campaign that they can then use as a stepping stone for future seasons.

They are young, but it's a bit deceiving. KAT and DLO are still "young" by NBA standards, but by experience standards they are absolutely not young at all. In other words, they are largely the players they are at this point IMO. If they were each 30, our average age and experience would suddenly be tick or two higher, but it wouldn't fundamentally change anything.

I myself will be satisfied with a .500-ish campaign - something in the high 30s to low 40s. But it's freakin' amazing how effing expensive and difficult it will have been to get to that point.

Right, Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell aren't necessarily "young" and they certainly aren't inexperienced, but look at the rest of the roster. It's not like they have a plethora of veterans around them or else maybe we'd be projecting more wins from them as a team. It's still a bunch of guys figuring out what they are as NBA players. It's that youth and inexperience around them that will keep them from winning 45 games or more if they were reasonably healthy.

- Anthony Edwards (20, 2nd year)
- Jaden McDaniels (21, 2nd year)
- Leandro Bolmaro (21, 1st year)
- Naz Reid (22, 3rd year)
- Jaylen Nowell (22, 3rd year)
- Jarred Vanderbilt (22, 4th year)
- Josh Okogie (23, 4th year)
- Malik Beasley (24, 6th year)
- Jordan McLaughlin (25, 3rd year)
- D'Angelo Russell (25, 7th year)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (25, 7th year)
- Taurean Prince (27, 6th year)
- Jake Layman (27, 6th year)
- Patrick Beverley (33, 10th year)

I think this is why most of us would be happy with a .500 season. It's because they're so damn young that they should be able to build off of it moving forward. Not to mention, they didn't let youth be the reason for another dismal year. They have to prove it, obviously, but that's why I'd consider it a success.

I'll add that Jake Layman is the 2 oldest player on the roster by a few days over Prince. He has played in 5 NBA seasons but only 2800 mins. Okogie has played over 4000 in 3 seasons. Beasley (same draft class as Layman) over 5000 mins and Prince also in that same draft class has played 7700 minutes. Even the 2nd oldest guy on the team who hopefully doesn't play much is pretty inexperienced.