Lottery Teams Most Likely to Make the Playoffs

[Lipoli390]

Question posed on ESPN Insider was which lottery teams from last season will most likely emerge as playoff teams this next season. The question was posed to George Karl, Chad Ford, and several others. The only one who mentioned the Wolves was the NBA's player personnel consultant, David Thorpe. Here's what he said:

" The Minnesota Timberwolves are my dark horse out West, a team that based on expected win-loss record was a playoff team last season, despite massive injuries, a tired (and now retired) coach and some incredibly bad luck late in games. If they strike it rich with their trade plans for Kevin Love and Flip Saunders can do a great coaching job, they could make a big leap this season" Other teams mentioned were Phoenix, Cleveland and the Lakers. The Lakers? Well, that's par for the course on ESPN.

Thorpe's point about the Wolves, at its core, is that there are two huge keys to how well the Wolves will do next season: (1) What the Wolves get in return for Love; and (2) how well Flip coaches.

What do we need to get out of the Love deal? Without getting into a debate about particular players, I think the general aim is to get a return that, as a package, does not substantially diminish our overall talent level and that simultaneously improves our team chemistry. How well does Flip need to coach? At a minimum, he needs to coach better than Adelman did last season. I think that's a fairly low bar. But I think Flip can do far better than Adelman. Flip's record speaks for itself. Except for a couple seasons coaching a Washington team in turmoil, Flip has a superb regular season record. When he coached here, he seemed to get the most out of the players he had until the end of his tenure when he seemed to lose the locker room. Flip has the best winning percentage of any current NBA head coach in games decided by 4 points or less. I think the group we have now and those we're likely to bring in will respect and play hard for Flip. As a basketball mind, Flip is very good.

I have complete confidence in Flip as head coach. How he performs in his other role in handling the Love situation will be critical. I though he should have dealt Love before the draft, but I now see the wisdom in Flip's decision to wait. I think it's true that Chicago offered Gibson, Snell and their two first round picks for Love. Assuming that was the best deal on the table, Flip was wise to wait and allow the Melo sweepstakes to end, leaving at least several rejected brides at the alter and ready for a quick rebound wedding with Kevin Love.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Of course a lot will depend on free agency signings and trades, but at the moment, I'd have to go with Cleveland. They were 5 games out and they added Wiggins and Blatt as coach. I also see the Nets falling out of the playoffs so there is a spot up for grabs. Even if the Wolves retain Love, the West is so tough they will have a hard time making the playoffs. I frankly think its going to be tough for any of the lottery teams in the West to crack the playoffs despite improvements.