***OFFICIAL 2020-21 WINS PREDICTION THREAD***

[KiwiMatt]

Might be tricky year to pick a win total as games will inevitably be postponed due to Covid and it will be tricky to reschedule.

But lock me in for 36 wins (or .500).

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Updated (thanks Cam for holding the fort down):

TheSP; 50...I think
60WinTim: 44
Phenom: 43
kek: 42
leado: 37
FNG: 37
Kiwi, D'Natagal: 36
mrhockey: 35
Mikkeman: 35
Cam: 34
doper: 33
Volans: 32
crazysauce: 31
WildWolf, Pork: 30
BizarroJerry: 29
bleedspeed: 28.5 (exception allowed, although he has no chance now with 28 & 29 taken!)
monster: 28
khans: 26
Cool: 23
ItsJustSoSab: 22

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm going to go with 24 wins, just above Cool.

The reason is the same one he mentioned and that I believe Khans (26 wins and former winner) mentioned as well and that's KAT's state of mind.

We all know that KAT's emotions and mental state affect him, for better or for worse. I don't know if he is literally suffering from depression right now (in which case he should be put on a leave of absence and get help) or if he's just being pouty and miserable because that's how he feels he is supposed to act (which also wouldn't surprise me). Either way, it's not good. I am very concerned that he is indeed checked out and it will translate to his leadership of the team and his play on the floor.

[Wolvesfan21]

38 wins. No tanking = more wins.

[FNG]

There are some very good points here about the Wolves' prospects this season hinging on KAT's emotional situation. I still think he will do what almost all athletes do when they lose someone close to them- elevate their game by dedicating the season to their loved one. But KAT is not the typical pro athlete, and he could go in exactly the opposite direction. I know he missed the voluntary practices, but I haven't seen him in any of the video of Wolves' practices this week either. I haven't heard any reports of his being absent, but it's odd we don't see him in any of the video. We see a lot of Culver (who by the way looks much bigger and more confident), Edwards, Russell, Okogie, Rubio, Layman, Juancho et al, but nothing of KAT. I just watched today's B-roll and looked closely for KAT, but saw no sign of him. I guess we'll find out on Saturday in the first preseason game, but I'm concerned he's not practicing yet. I'll predict right now that KAT doesn't play Saturday.

I note that 11 of the 16 predictors here have the Wolves going over the 28.5 win total, and some are predicting way over. And the under predictions aren't that far under. Obviously this board is much higher on the Wolves than Vegas is. My question is this: is this typical for this board, or might we know something that Vegas doesn't? Personally I can tell you that I love playing the wins total lines in Vegas, and I have done quite well in the past betting the under for the Wolves. So it's unusual for me to bet the Wolves over like I am doing this year- because I think the line is way low for them this year. As I look at everyone's predictions, it doesn't seem like I am alone here in my optimism.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

FNG,

Yes, the optimism is normal around this time of the year for this board. We usually have a few that get it right, but the vast majority of us that are predicting the over are wrong annually for one reason or another. Sometimes it's unforeseen circumstances and other times it's expecting player improvement that never materializes.

Also, I saw Karl-Anthony Towns doing some drills and some highlights of him in practice. He's there and participating. I think the Wolves social media put out a video of him catching a lob from Ricky Rubio not too long ago.

[Big O [enjin:13874644]]

27 for no other reason than it is still available

[Monster]

27 for no other reason than it is still available

Ryan Saunders has been preaching about the importance of availability!

[KG4Ever]

I'm with WildWolf, 30 wins. That's being generous!
I look at every team in the West and can't make an argument for being better than any of them without wearing rose colored glasses.

Go check out the Kings, Spurs, Thunder, and Grizzlies rosters and tell me how they're better than the Wolves. There's no logical way. I'm comfortable throwing in the Pelicans into that group as well.

Rosters aside, Minnesota probably has the worst head coach in the league, but high-level talent should offset that a bit.

Cam, you won't stop with your unbridled hatred of Ryan. What did Ryan do to you? Please get some professional help.

It's not unbridled hate when it's a fair observation. I actually think Ryan Saunders is an awesome guy from what I've seen, but that's not enough. Butterflies and rainbows are not viable reasons for hire -- neither is someone's family name. The facts are that Saunders is inexperienced and unqualified to be an NBA head coach and his results (36-70 W/L; .340 W%) through 106 games do not support his case either.

I challenge you as well as this board to name head coaches in the league that Saunders is unquestionably better or more qualified than. Good luck to those that take on this challenge.

I don't recall you talking about how unqualified Thibs was to take on a front office roll. Instead you were pimping the Turd. The Wolves had to clean up the mess that Thibs left and Ryan was pretty much the consensus guy to take over mid season and Ryan stepped up. Rosas chose to keep him and he's had one full season with a depleted and inexperienced roster. Ryan gets an incomplete grade from me, but I don't think many coaches could win with the roster Ryan had since he took over and this season the Wolves are expected to be one of the worst teams in the West. https://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/futures/

[Monster]

FNG,

Yes, the optimism is normal around this time of the year for this board. We usually have a few that get it right, but the vast majority of us that are predicting the over are wrong annually for one reason or another. Sometimes it's unforeseen circumstances and other times it's expecting player improvement that never materializes.

Also, I saw Karl-Anthony Towns doing some drills and some highlights of him in practice. He's there and participating. I think the Wolves social media put out a video of him catching a lob from Ricky Rubio not too long ago.

If you want to see Towns Has been around there is videos and pics of him on Timberwolves Twitter page.