Minnesota Sports Forum

WolvesFan21 wrote:I'll start.

29 Wins (No Simmons, roster is mostly the same)

43 Wins (Simmons is acquired pre/during season)

Camden wrote:Minnesota won 23 games last year in a 72-game season, which equates to a measly 32-percent of their games -- or a 27-win pace over an 82-game season.

We know that Karl-Anthony Towns missed 22 games. We know that D'Angelo Russell missed 30 games. Malik Beasley also missed 35 games. The duo of Towns and Russell played a whopping 24 games together, but the Wolves were 13-11 in those games, which is something to build off of.

This is all to say that last season was lost primarily to injuries and that the team never had a chance to blossom. You can't expect to lose your top talent for large portions of the season and be in the playoff hunt. However, when the team's two best players were active together, they were clearly much more competitive and a positive force on the court.

None of this mentions the upgrade at head coach in Chris Finch, the improved play from Edwards and Jaden McDaniels as starters, and the additions of Patrick Beverley and Taurean Prince who are substantial improvements over Ricky Rubio, Juan Hernangomez, and Jarrett Culver.

The sum of all of these factors given reasonable health leads me to believe that the Wolves are a team that can and will win 40-44 games this season as currently constructed. It's a flawed roster, but it's a talented roster with some serious top end talent in Towns, Russell, and Edwards, which is what drives winning in the NBA. There's legitimate reason for optimism here.

TheSP wrote:50

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I'm going to go with Bleed here, 37 wins.

Q12543 wrote:Nice write up, but you gotta pick a number or be ineligible for this year's prize!

(although the ever-popular Enjin logo coffee mugs are all out....supply chain problems....sigh).

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:Minnesota won 23 games last year in a 72-game season, which equates to a measly 32-percent of their games -- or a 27-win pace over an 82-game season.

We know that Karl-Anthony Towns missed 22 games. We know that D'Angelo Russell missed 30 games. Malik Beasley also missed 35 games. The duo of Towns and Russell played a whopping 24 games together, but the Wolves were 13-11 in those games, which is something to build off of.

This is all to say that last season was lost primarily to injuries and that the team never had a chance to blossom. You can't expect to lose your top talent for large portions of the season and be in the playoff hunt. However, when the team's two best players were active together, they were clearly much more competitive and a positive force on the court.

None of this mentions the upgrade at head coach in Chris Finch, the improved play from Edwards and Jaden McDaniels as starters, and the additions of Patrick Beverley and Taurean Prince who are substantial improvements over Ricky Rubio, Juan Hernangomez, and Jarrett Culver.

The sum of all of these factors given reasonable health leads me to believe that the Wolves are a team that can and will win 40-44 games this season as currently constructed. It's a flawed roster, but it's a talented roster with some serious top end talent in Towns, Russell, and Edwards, which is what drives winning in the NBA. There's legitimate reason for optimism here.

Nice write up, but you gotta pick a number or be ineligible for this year's prize!

(although the ever-popular Enjin logo coffee mugs are all out....supply chain problems....sigh).