1 year ago

[Phenom]

Wolves were 19-17 and 8th in the West. They even dipped to 9th before finally elevating to 7th on January 25th with a record of 24-21. They climbed to 6th on February 6th at 29-23 for 4 nights and dropped below 6th until the final day of the season.

Today they are 5th in the West, percentage points behind the Lakers with a record of 24-13.

When I have been thinking about this team with a lens of last years team I have been thinking about things like less depth, losing NAW, a huge drop off from Mike, missing a point guard, poor Rudy-off defense but I hadn't thought about how much of a grind it was last season. Last season was a successful one because of the playoff run but man, things sure do look better today than they did a year ago.

[60WinTim]

That puts you in Q's "cautiously optimistic" club!

[FNG]

Wolves were 19-17 and 8th in the West. They even dipped to 9th before finally elevating to 7th on January 25th with a record of 24-21. They climbed to 6th on February 6th at 29-23 for 4 nights and dropped below 6th until the final day of the season.

Today they are 5th in the West, percentage points behind the Lakers with a record of 24-13.

When I have been thinking about this team with a lens of last years team I have been thinking about things like less depth, losing NAW, a huge drop off from Mike, missing a point guard, poor Rudy-off defense but I hadn't thought about how much of a grind it was last season. Last season was a successful one because of the playoff run but man, things sure do look better today than they did a year ago.

Dane Moore and Robson talked about how Chris Finch teams are always much better in the second half of the season than the first. One reason is you see a lot more teams that have given up late in the season, but more importantly, his teams start to "get it" as the season goes on. You can see it in the last three games...more cohesiveness, moving without the ball and cutting. If we can stay healthy, there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic right now.

[Lipoli390]

Wolves were 19-17 and 8th in the West. They even dipped to 9th before finally elevating to 7th on January 25th with a record of 24-21. They climbed to 6th on February 6th at 29-23 for 4 nights and dropped below 6th until the final day of the season.

Today they are 5th in the West, percentage points behind the Lakers with a record of 24-13.

When I have been thinking about this team with a lens of last years team I have been thinking about things like less depth, losing NAW, a huge drop off from Mike, missing a point guard, poor Rudy-off defense but I hadn't thought about how much of a grind it was last season. Last season was a successful one because of the playoff run but man, things sure do look better today than they did a year ago.

Dane Moore and Robson talked about how Chris Finch teams are always much better in the second half of the season than the first. One reason is you see a lot more teams that have given up late in the season, but more importantly, his teams start to "get it" as the season goes on. You can see it in the last three games...more cohesiveness, moving without the ball and cutting. If we can stay healthy, there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic right now.

I agree, FNG. That developing cohesiveness is another reason why the Wolves should be cautious about making any trades. Tim’s comment last night about maybe bringing in a “connective tissue” guy aligns with the thinking that this is not the time to do something disruptive. If we can add a guy who fits in seamlessly with the guys we have and maybe further the team’s developing cohesiveness that could make sense. Otherwise, this team is very talented and seems to be getting it together for the second half of the season.

[KiwiMatt]

The success and ceiling of this team depends on the effort and intensity of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. When they play hard we win. We they don't we often lose.

[FNG]

The success and ceiling of this team depends on the effort and intensity of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. When they play hard we win. We they don't we often lose.

That's so true, Kiwi...and they both seemed to have picked up the intensity in the past three games, especially Ant. And we have seen how Ant puts in a lot more effort once the playoffs start, so my optimism about postseason is rising.

[rapsuperstar31]

The success and ceiling of this team depends on the effort and intensity of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. When they play hard we win. We they don't we often lose.

I would put Jaden in there as well, he checks out often in first half's often. A lot of the times, my brother will comment when a player looks a bit stoned and its' it's often Jaden or Randle when it happens but sometimes Ant or Naz. I'm not worried about Ant or Jaden in the playoffs though. We have seen Julius give up in the OKC series. The success also depends on making shots, when Donte or Naz go big stretches especially in the playoffs that can really hurt. Denver would have beaten OKC last year if it's role players hit their shots while Caruso and Dort focused on fouling Joker every play in the post and dared the refs to call it.