Schedule rest of the year does not look good

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yeah, you can't compare Zach and Mudiay. Zach is the far superior player right now.

The issue with Zach is how he fits within our starting lineup. His greatest strength is scoring, yet he's in there with two other guys whose greatest strength is.....scoring. So it's almost too much of a good thing and not enough of other things that we need (defense, rebounding, toughness). Brandon Rush has hardly been ideal either, but he brings a bit more size and toughness, while still being a gravitational pull on the defense to guard the 3-point line. He's sort of a good template of what probably works best playing next to Wiggins. I'd just like a more productive version of him.

[Coolbreeze44]

Yeah, you can't compare Zach and Mudiay. Zach is the far superior player right now.

The issue with Zach is how he fits within our starting lineup. His greatest strength is scoring, yet he's in there with two other guys whose greatest strength is.....scoring. So it's almost too much of a good thing and not enough of other things that we need (defense, rebounding, toughness). Brandon Rush has hardly been ideal either, but he brings a bit more size and toughness, while still being a gravitational pull on the defense to guard the 3-point line. He's sort of a good template of what probably works best playing next to Wiggins. I'd just like a more productive version of him.

Yeah, you make a lot of sense here Q. Zach can be a huge part of our group going forward and I hope he is, I just don't think his best fit is in the starting 5. Not so much because of Zach, but because of the rest of our starting 5. I'd like to see us find a long SF to start with Wig on the wings. Someone in the mold of Ariza would be great.

[MikkeMan]

According to the Klunk-O-Meter the Wolves have two anti-klunkers since the break to put them at 30-52... They need to have a LOT more anti-klunkers!

Especially against Portland, who also has two anti-klunkers, putting them at 36-46. I don't see Dallas in the mix because their schedule is just as tough as ours, but they are not showing any signs of getting hot. New Orleans has also shown no signs of getting hot.

Denver is the other team getting hot with two of their own anti-klunkers, putting them on pace to finish 33-49.

Sacramento, who had been on top for the 8th seed at 35-57, have had 3 klunkers since the break -- it looks like they are falling off the deep end...

TIm, I think that you might need to calibrate your KOM after some injuries and trades that was done before deadline. I guess that away game against Philly is considered to loss. But since Philly will probably play rest of season without Embiid, it could be changed to win. Also Sacramento without Cousins is Brooklyn level bad team. So even away games against them should be considered wins. Miami has been hottest team in whole league during last 20 games, so I think KOM shouldn't assume win against them even in home games.

I'm afraid of Dallas because since Dirk came back from injury they have already beaten both San Antonio (with both Kawhi and Aldridge playing) Cleveland (with James and Irving), Utah and Washington. They also won red hot Miami team that had 16-2 record past 18 games. Dallas also has the best record and net rating since beginning of this year among teams that compete that last play off spot.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Mudiay is very much their Zach LaVine...an exciting player with enormous upside who still ends up hurting his team more than helping. I haven't seen his on/offs, but my eye test tells me they are going to be very bad like Zach's. I attribute some of their bad peripheral numbers to coaching...their coaches recognize their potential and really want them to be stars, but use them in an inappropriate manner for the contribution they are making.

There's no question that Mudiay's return is very good news for the Wolves' slim playoff chances.

LST, Mudiay is much worse than Lavine. While it's at last debatable whether Wolves are better team with or without Lavine, there is no question that Denver is better without Mudiay. Mudiay has -10 on/off numbers that is same level than rookie Lavine had.

Mudiay is very much their Zach LaVine...an exciting player with enormous upside who still ends up hurting his team more than helping. I haven't seen his on/offs, but my eye test tells me they are going to be very bad like Zach's. I attribute some of their bad peripheral numbers to coaching...their coaches recognize their potential and really want them to be stars, but use them in an inappropriate manner for the contribution they are making.

There's no question that Mudiay's return is very good news for the Wolves' slim playoff chances.

LST, Mudiay is much worse than Lavine. While it's at last debatable whether Wolves are better team with or without Lavine, there is no question that Denver is better without Mudiay. Mudiay has -10 on/off numbers that is same level than rookie Lavine had.

Yeah, you and monster are both right...Zach is a much better player than Mudiay. My comparison was a little harsh, especially since Zach is one of my favorite players and a very good offensive player.

But there are some similarities. Both rank dead last on their teams in gross plus/minus, and Zach's -2.4 per 36 is not that much better than Mudiay's -4.2. And in my opinion, both players should be coming off the bench. At any rate, I think we all agree that his return is a positive for the Wolves' playoff chances.

[Monster]

According to the Klunk-O-Meter the Wolves have two anti-klunkers since the break to put them at 30-52... They need to have a LOT more anti-klunkers!

Especially against Portland, who also has two anti-klunkers, putting them at 36-46. I don't see Dallas in the mix because their schedule is just as tough as ours, but they are not showing any signs of getting hot. New Orleans has also shown no signs of getting hot.

Denver is the other team getting hot with two of their own anti-klunkers, putting them on pace to finish 33-49.

Sacramento, who had been on top for the 8th seed at 35-57, have had 3 klunkers since the break -- it looks like they are falling off the deep end...

TIm, I think that you might need to calibrate your KOM after some injuries and trades that was done before deadline. I guess that away game against Philly is considered to loss. But since Philly will probably play rest of season without Embiid, it could be changed to win. Also Sacramento without Cousins is Brooklyn level bad team. So even away games against them should be considered wins. Miami has been hottest team in whole league during last 20 games, so I think KOM shouldn't assume win against them even in home games.

I'm afraid of Dallas because since Dirk came back from injury they have already beaten both San Antonio (with both Kawhi and Aldridge playing) Cleveland (with James and Irving), Utah and Washington. They also won red hot Miami team that had 16-2 record past 18 games. Dallas also has the best record and net rating since beginning of this year among teams that compete that last play off spot.

The Nets have Lin healthy now so that's a big deal. The Kings have plenty of legit NBA rotation players. Tyreke Evans is coming off the bench for them. There aren't any gimmies on the schedule now that The Nets have a more legit NBA PG with Lin back.

[Monster]

Yeah, you can't compare Zach and Mudiay. Zach is the far superior player right now.

The issue with Zach is how he fits within our starting lineup. His greatest strength is scoring, yet he's in there with two other guys whose greatest strength is.....scoring. So it's almost too much of a good thing and not enough of other things that we need (defense, rebounding, toughness). Brandon Rush has hardly been ideal either, but he brings a bit more size and toughness, while still being a gravitational pull on the defense to guard the 3-point line. He's sort of a good template of what probably works best playing next to Wiggins. I'd just like a more productive version of him.

Yeah, you make a lot of sense here Q. Zach can be a huge part of our group going forward and I hope he is, I just don't think his best fit is in the starting 5. Not so much because of Zach, but because of the rest of our starting 5. I'd like to see us find a long SF to start with Wig on the wings. Someone in the mold of Ariza would be great.

Getting an Ariza type would be really nice regardless is Lavine starts or not. I still believe in the progression of Lavine as a defender and Wiggins able to defend SFs. What can I say I'm greedy.

[Monster]

I think it will be really tight race between Denver, Minnesota, Dallas and Portland. I was already almost leaving Portland off from the group but they show last night with a win against good playoff team Oklahoma that they should not be forgotten.

Good thing is that we have still three games left against Portland. If Wolves win all of them, I can't see them ending below Portland in standings.

Dallas and Denver are more problematic since we won't have any games left against them. Maybe now after Mudiay came back from injury, they will hand him starting job again and it will be enough to drop Denver below us in final standings. Wes Matthews might miss still couple of more games because of hip injury, maybe that will help us keeping Dallas behind.

Mik, why would you think we could go 3-0 against Portland? That would be a large deviation from history and probability. Nothing would make me happier, but getting two of those games would be huge.

Cool, I'm by no means sure that we could go 3-0 against Portland. I just meant that since they have those three games left, Wolves won't necessarily need other teams help to get past Portland in standings. Second Portland game will be especially challenging for Wolves since it's second game of back to back for them.

I think that Wolves have been playing better than Portland lately (Wolves have 14-14 record from beginning of the year vs Portland's 10-14 record), so they should have realistic change to beat them even in their house. Portland is also one team that Wolves should be probably better without Zach in starting five. Rush instead of Zach doesn't affect whom will guard Wiggins (it will either Harkless or Aminu all the time) but in defensive end Rush against Harkless and Wiggins against McCollum or Lillard is much better match-up than Wiggins against Harkless and Lavine against McCollum.

Nurkic has been very good addition for them but I don't see that he would have any change to defend KAT. Actually I think KAT is really an impossible match-up for Portland. They don't have anyone in their roster that would have any change to defend him. Wiggins is almost as difficult match-up for them. Even tough both Harkless and Aminu has good size, they don't have enough quickness to defend Wig. I think Dunn and Wiggins have much better chance to slow down Lillard and McCollum.

Also Portland gave up Plumblee to get Nurkic so while Numic may be playing well Plumblee was a good player in his own right. I'm kinda confused the more I think about it how Denver gave up Nikon AND a first for Plumblee when they have so many bigs. I mean I like the fit there but it's a bit odd in some ways too. I guess they aren't paying anyone big money right now so maybe adding a guy like him who won't be a max type when he gets paid this summer fits in with what they want to do going forward.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The Kings just aren't good. They did not add by subtracting Cousins. They already are on a 3 game losing streak. We can pull them from the list of teams we need to compete with down the stretch. If Evans was any good NO would have been a better team the past few years with AD, Holiday and himself.

[kekgeek]

Spurs beat the pelicans in overtime tonight great in many ways. Pelicans are not good. Also I am calling this is a Pop rests everyone game tomorrow. It is a travel game and LaMarcus, Gasol and Kawhi big minutes. Also it will be the 3rd game in 4 days and they play again Monday. Wolves might get lucky again

[Monster]

The Kings just aren't good. They did not add by subtracting Cousins. They already are on a 3 game losing streak. We can pull them from the list of teams we need to compete with down the stretch. If Evans was any good NO would have been a better team the past few years with AD, Holiday and himself.

How many games did those guys play together the last 3 years? Obviously Evans isn't a stud but he is a plenty good NBA rotation player when healthy. All I was saying is the Kings aren't terrible. There are no tanktastic Sixers-like teams this year...unless there are more injuries or some teams start sitting legit players...which could be around the corner. The Suns beat OKC tonight.