Expected Improvement

[ChuckDurn [enjin:6663487]]

I can definitely see the Wolves battling for one of the final couple of playoff spots. I see 3 tiers in the West:

[list]
[*] Top 6 (in some order): OKC, San Antonio, Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors, Rockets
[*] Middle (in some order): Minnesota, Denver, Portland, New Orleans
[*] Bottom (in some order): Lakers, Jazz, Suns, Mavericks, Sacramento
[/list]

I realize that I have New Orleans higher than most would think, but I think they have a lot of upside this year. Likewise, I probably have Dallas and the Lakers lower than some would suggest. However, no matter how I slice it, I think Minnesota is in that middle group of about 4 teams which is going to compete for the 7th and 8th spots, and I wouldn't be surprised if (depending on health of the teams above them - injuries to 1-2 key players on each team could knock them down) somehow they worked it up even higher.

Rubio and Love are pretty special players, and Pekovic and Martin are also pretty solid. The Wolves also have a lot of promising "next level" players such as Williams, Budinger, Shved, etc...... who can develop and play solidly. To me, the biggest question is going to be whether the team is going to be able to stop anybody on defense - the only starter who is even average on defense is Rubio (he's above average defensively), everybody else is subpar. There's a lot of offense, but will the Wolves stop anybody? As a Warriors fan, it feels strange to question another team's defensive capabilities, but in this case, it seems fair.

[60WinTim]

Hey, Chuck! Glad to see you over here...

I am the resident opTIMist, but haven't felt a need to fan the flames of enthusiasm since Lip was doing such a good job all by himself! :)

But it's time for me to come back. I think the Wolves are going to surprise a lot of people, despite the defensive question marks. Your tier 1 will be a bulging Top 7, unless some other teams drop out. Assuming any modicum of health, the Wolves offense should mask most any defensive deficiencies. Pek and Love rebounding is a defensive help, and the Wolves have some players that DO play defense. It remains to be seen which ones get prominent roles, but Brewer, Turiaf, Cunningham, Johnson and Dieng all bring some defense to the floor. And you already mentioned Rubio...

I expect the Warriors to be pretty good. A healthy Bogut is a boost, and Iggy does a lot of things well (like AK did for us). But I can't help but wonder how much the loss of Jack will affect the team, especially at the end of games. He was awfully damn clutch for you guys last year!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I actually think it boils down to health, pure and simple. If Love/Pek/Martin/Rubio can all play around 65+ games, we should land a playoff spot.

Defensively, We have to remember that it's not just about opponent eFG%, but also the number of possessions and FTs that are allowed. If we create more turnovers than we commit; shoot more free throws than we give up; and limit second chance points on misses, we could be at least average-ish on defense. And I believe the make-up of our roster points to us doing well in these areas. We'll definitely lag on opponent eFG%, but that's not the only key to playing good defense.

Offensively, the Pek-Martin-Love trio is one of the most efficient volume scoring units in the league. As long as those guys are getting 60%+ of the shots and free throws, we should be alright.

The key, just like last year, will be health. Because on paper, this is a playoff team.

[bleedspeed]

Health is key. I think it is more important then a player having a coming out party.

[60WinTim]

Oh, I'm sure a "coming out" party would go over real big!!! :lol: