Let's go on the record. By the end of January...

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Cam, I picked all the games exactly as you did except for two. I had us beating Dallas and losing to Chicago (although I really think we will beat the Bulls...that's my cushion game). Why do you pick Dallas, who is 4-8 on the road, to beat us on our home court?

It's not a great answer, but it's just a game I could see us losing. We've defeated them twice already and have them on our home court, so it's a game we should win. Last time we needed great games from Pek, Martin and Rubio to get the W. I'm just betting on us slipping up for that one and Monta/Dirk going off.

I listed it in my handful of coin flip games, though. Games that I could see going the opposite way of how I picked it.

Also, I would be surprised if we couldn't beat the Bulls. They just can't score points. I've watched probably 75% of their games this year (buddy's a die-hard Bulls fan) and it's hard to watch them on offense. Injuries have killed Chicago much like they did last season.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

I'm in for 26-20. Hopefully we will continue to grow as a team as we have in the past 20+ games.

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

I'll go with 25-21 but honestly nothing about this team seems predictable at this point. But the schedule, at least on paper, gets a lot easier. Will they take advantage? As a long suffering fan I sure hope so, but games like last night make you wonder.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Here's the thing, last night was against a well-coached team in Boston, in Boston, on our second game in two days. Yes, we definitely should have won that game, no doubt about it. Looking at the next month or so of games, we have three back-to-backs.

12/27- vs WAS
12/28- @ MIL

1/17- @ TOR
1/18- vs UTA

1/24- @ GS
1/25- @ POR

So assuming that we can win the 'easy' games that aren't B2B, and take care of the horrendous Bucks and Jazz on the back end of B2Bs, we shouldn't be let down too much. Obviously the GS/POR days are likely to be losses, but that's just two hard games both on the road.

[Lipoli390]

11-10 over the next 21 games assuming Love and Rubio remain healthy, giving the Wolves a 23-23 record and probably putting the Wolves 11th in the West a little past the halfway point of the season.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

11-10 over the next 21 games assuming Love and Rubio remain healthy, giving the Wolves a 23-23 record and probably putting the Wolves 11th in the West a little past the halfway point of the season.

Please tell me the 10 games we're going to lose, Lip.

[maelstrom11 [enjin:6599701]]

Cam I'll go with 27-19. I pretty much agree with the schedule breakdown you post earlier.

[WildWolf2813]

I'm saying 23-23. Until this team sniffs 4 games over .500 (they haven't done this in nearly 7 years), I can't assume they will.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

13 entries in, and we remain clustered around 25-21. There are a lot of great Wolves' basketball minds on this board, so I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the answer. I hope not, because 25-21 likely leaves us 2-3 games out of the playoffs. It's vitally important for our playoff chances that we take advantage of the soft schedule coming up.

Some of us on this board gravitate toward a more optimistic view of the Wolves (including yours truly) and some tend to be more pessimistic, and the picks generally reflect those attitudes. Each of us, though, would describe his projection as "realistic"!

When Tim returns from South America, I will be able to record his 33-13 prediction!

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

This may be stating the obvious, but for the Wolves to get something going, even when the schedule gets weaker, Rubio needs to get his mojo back. And I'm not just talking about shooting: his assists lately are down, he's gambling too much on defense, and he's been sloppy with the ball. Main reason for his funk: I really feel his confidence level is at a career low.

Rubio took good shots against Boston, and most of them were right on the rim but wouldn't go down. Then he compounded things by missing a layup a junior high player would make, resulting in his confidence gone (you could see his frustration when he pounded the ball after Boston scored the next possession). So Adelman makes the obvious move and sits him down for the last 14 minutes of the game--especially since JJ was having one of his (few) good games of the season.

But intuitively I think this is actually the wrong move to make. First off, for a guy who is obviously struggling with confidence, this sends a terrible message. Second, even when JJ is running good he is prone to stupid decisions at the end of games. Three, as bad as Rubio had played, if Adelman had gone with him and he managed to make a big play or two resulting in a win, the psychological boost could have been invaluable going forward.

Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with Adelman's decision to sit Ricky, but at some point I think he needs to say to himself: you know what, the only way we're going to be better than mediocre is if Ricky Rubio raises his play. And the only way that is going to happen is if he is allowed to play in crunch time even when his shot is not falling.

I predicted 25-21, but honestly if Rubio doesn't get some joy back in his game, and soon, I could see us being nearly buried in the West--almost out of the playoff picture completely--by the mid-point of the season.