Camden wrote:You all know how there was the "Suck for Luck" tanking slogan for Andrew Luck a couple years ago, and this year there's the "Be Sorry for Jabari" slogan for Jabari Parker... If we slip up again and lose even more ground in the playoff hunt... What rhymes with Stauskas... Hmmm...
I'm not sure I have the pronunciation of Stauskas right, but "Suck Ass for Stauskas" might work! :)
The Wolves blew their shot at being in the playoff mix when they lost those straight home games before the all-star break. And their attempt to climb back into it after the all-star break was derailed against the Knicks.
But they are close enough that it's worth keeping an eye on them. One of the intriguing thoughts about them making the playoffs is they will have to be playing at a very high level to make it -- high enough that any 1st round match-up might be interesting...
BTW, since I last mentioned my re-calibrated KOM standings, the net klunkers have been -1 for MIN, +1 for MEM, -1 for DAL and PHX is a wash. Which means DAL and PHX finish 7th and 8th at 49 wins, and MIN and MEM are tied for 9th at 47 wins.
The Wolves have a chance to impact those standings because they play all three of those teams at their place where the Wolves are slated to lose -- win those games and it makes for a huge swing in the standings. But the Wolves need to win the games they are supposed to win to even have a chance at making things interesting.
These 4 games against West playoff teams - Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Memphis - were suppose to be the Wolves opportunity to firmly place their feet in the playoffs with a couple of wins. But then they went and lost to three Eastern Conference teams before getting here and well, we've all written off the Wolves playoff chances.
But an unexpected winning streak against those four teams, which began with a win last night, would put the Wolves right back in the playoff hunt according to the Klunk-O-Meter.
60WinTim wrote:BTW, since I last mentioned my re-calibrated KOM standings, the net klunkers have been -1 for MIN, +1 for MEM, -1 for DAL and PHX is a wash. Which means DAL and PHX finish 7th and 8th at 49 wins, and MIN and MEM are tied for 9th at 47 wins.
The Wolves have a chance to impact those standings because they play all three of those teams at their place where the Wolves are slated to lose -- win those games and it makes for a huge swing in the standings. But the Wolves need to win the games they are supposed to win to even have a chance at making things interesting.
60WinTim wrote:These 4 games against West playoff teams - Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Memphis - were suppose to be the Wolves opportunity to firmly place their feet in the playoffs with a couple of wins. But then they went and lost to three Eastern Conference teams before getting here and well, we've all written off the Wolves playoff chances.
But an unexpected winning streak against those four teams, which began with a win last night, would put the Wolves right back in the playoff hunt according to the Klunk-O-Meter.
Just sayin'... :)
Not getting my hopes up again. We'll see how it goes. Maybe Gorgui's spark and Ricky's flair get this team those big wins. Or K-Mart goes quiet and the bench goes invisible. Who knows.
60WinTim wrote:These 4 games against West playoff teams - Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Memphis - were suppose to be the Wolves opportunity to firmly place their feet in the playoffs with a couple of wins. But then they went and lost to three Eastern Conference teams before getting here and well, we've all written off the Wolves playoff chances.
But an unexpected winning streak against those four teams, which began with a win last night, would put the Wolves right back in the playoff hunt according to the Klunk-O-Meter.
Just sayin'... :)
Not getting my hopes up again. We'll see how it goes. Maybe Gorgui's spark and Ricky's flair get this team those big wins. Or K-Mart goes quiet and the bench goes invisible. Who knows.
Yeah, this team does not inspire much confidence that it is capable of such a run...
But some interesting things are happening: 1) Deing is filling a need we've lacked all season, 2) Ricky played with a sense of urgency last night, and Adelman gave him the minutes to sustain it. 3) Barea is being used more as a combo guard than a backup PG (e.g. playing along side Ricky). 4) And Bud didn't play in the second half!
Damn, I had boarded this building up, but you trespassers are making me reopen it!
I have been keeping up my model...more to monitor whether the Wolves get their draft pick than assessing playoff chances. But last night's upset combined with getting a break with Dwight out tonight provides a glimmer of hope. It's now all about the Memphis game next Monday...biggest game of the year. Unfortunately, it's the back half of a BTB for us with Phoenix the night before, and it's in Memphis, so it's going to be a tough one for us to win. But we are playing well of late.
Phoenix is having difficulty incorporating Bledsoe back into the lineup, as both he and Green are not playing well. If we win our home game against the Suns, we will own the tiebreaker against them, putting us in real danger of losing our draft pick :sick: .
Here are the updated win projections. Because their remaining schedules are so easy, GS and Dallas have moved away from the pack (even with Dallas' loss last night), so I won't include them here.
Memphis 47
Phoenix 45
Wolves 44
If the Wolves can upset Houston tonight and Memphis on Monday, we will be tied with Memphis at 46 wins. So, I'm saying we have a chance.
longstrangetrip wrote:Damn, I had boarded this building up, but you trespassers are making me reopen it!
I have been keeping up my model...more to monitor whether the Wolves get their draft pick than assessing playoff chances. But last night's upset combined with getting a break with Dwight out tonight provides a glimmer of hope. It's now all about the Memphis game next Monday...biggest game of the year. Unfortunately, it's the back half of a BTB for us with Phoenix the night before, and it's in Memphis, so it's going to be a tough one for us to win. But we are playing well of late.
Phoenix is having difficulty incorporating Bledsoe back into the lineup, as both he and Green are not playing well. If we win our home game against the Suns, we will own the tiebreaker against them, putting us in real danger of losing our draft pick :sick: .
Here are the updated win projections. Because their remaining schedules are so easy, GS and Dallas have moved away from the pack (even with Dallas' loss last night), so I won't include them here.
Memphis 47
Phoenix 45
Wolves 44
If the Wolves can upset Houston tonight and Memphis on Monday, we will be tied with Memphis at 46 wins. So, I'm saying we have a chance.
LST, Wouldn't that just be like the Wolves, to tie PHX in the standing and lose the pick due to a tiebreaking win? In one of the best drafts in years? KAAAHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!!
