Guess next 15 games (December)

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Please make sure that nobody bumps this thread...once again the Wolves disappoint the voters. Actually, with two winnable games remaining this month, two voters are in contention for best prediction. Abe and who?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We really need a win tonight against a hurting Utah team. It's pretty disappointing that given our relatively easy stretch of games earlier this month + good health that we have fared so poorly.

Let's remember that when Mitchell casually excuses our struggles based on just youth that OKC won 50 games with a 3rd year Durant, 2nd year Westbrook, and rookies Ibaka and Harden.

If we're as talent-laden as people think we are, we should be winning more games.

[60WinTim]

We really need a win tonight against a hurting Utah team. It's pretty disappointing that given our relatively easy stretch of games earlier this month + good health that we have fared so poorly.

Let's remember that when Mitchell casually excuses our struggles based on just youth that OKC won 50 games with a 3rd year Durant, 2nd year Westbrook, and rookies Ibaka and Harden.

If we're as talent-laden as people think we are, we should be winning more games.

So you are saying we should hire Scotty Brooks?!? ;-)

They were 13-14 at one point that season, then used a 5-game winning streak to set their season on the right path. Does our turning point begin tonight?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We really need a win tonight against a hurting Utah team. It's pretty disappointing that given our relatively easy stretch of games earlier this month + good health that we have fared so poorly.

Let's remember that when Mitchell casually excuses our struggles based on just youth that OKC won 50 games with a 3rd year Durant, 2nd year Westbrook, and rookies Ibaka and Harden.

If we're as talent-laden as people think we are, we should be winning more games.

So you are saying we should hire Scotty Brooks?!? ;-)

They were 13-14 at one point that season, then used a 5-game winning streak to set their season on the right path. Does our turning point begin tonight?

Heh, not sure if Scotty is the answer or not, but he must have done something right in the early days of that OKC squad.

My larger point is that it appears their collection of young talent was much further ahead than our collection of young talent. Players mature and grow at different rates, so perhaps some of our guys catch up to the level some of the Thunder players achieved at a young age, but right now we are awfully far behind.

[60WinTim]

The comparison is a bit flawed in that their top 2 players were 2nd and 3rd year players, whereas ours are 1st and 2nd year players. Plus Westbrook was actually a year older as he played two years in college.

I wonder what LaVine's path would have been like if he had staying at UCLA a 2nd year like Westbrook did...

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The comparison is a bit flawed in that their top 2 players were 2nd and 3rd year players, whereas ours are 1st and 2nd year players. Plus Westbrook was actually a year older as he played two years in college.

I wonder what LaVine's path would have been like if he had staying at UCLA a 2nd year like Westbrook did...

Fair points, but don't forget we have 3rd year Dieng and Bazz, which I include when thinking about our collection of young talent because they are still on their rookie contracts.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's interesting to see the development of Westbrook and Durant in their first 3 seasons. There were definite clear leaps every year:

Durant:
20 / 4 / 2 / 43% fg
25 / 7 / 3 / 48% fg
30 / 8 / 3 / 48% fg

Westbrook:
15 / 5 / 5 / 40% fg
16 / 5 / 8 / 42% fg
22 / 5 / 8 / 44% fg

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The comparison is a bit flawed in that their top 2 players were 2nd and 3rd year players, whereas ours are 1st and 2nd year players. Plus Westbrook was actually a year older as he played two years in college.

I wonder what LaVine's path would have been like if he had staying at UCLA a 2nd year like Westbrook did...

I agree with Tim. A better comparison to this year's Wolves team is the 2008-9 OkC team which had Durant and Green (Wig and Zach) in their second seasons and Westbrook (KAT) in his rookie year. That's almost an exact duplicate of the way the Wolves are built this year, and that Thunder team only won 23 games! Q, you have just provided a huge reason for optimism for us long-suffering fans, because when Durant and Westbrook got to their 3rd and 2nd years, respectively, the Thunder won 50 games. That's a great example of how NBA players mature and improve. I think the Wolves are going to win more than 23 games this year. Does that mean we should expect them to win more than 50 next year? Hmm...

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

It's interesting to see the development of Westbrook and Durant in their first 3 seasons. There were definite clear leaps every year:

Durant:
20 / 4 / 2 / 43% fg
25 / 7 / 3 / 48% fg
30 / 8 / 3 / 48% fg

Westbrook:
15 / 5 / 5 / 40% fg
16 / 5 / 8 / 42% fg
22 / 5 / 8 / 44% fg

TS% might be the better stat in terms of overall scoring efficiency. In that regard, Durant took a massive leap between Year 1 and 2, while Westbrook was still fairly inefficient overall in his 2nd season. He took a big leap in Year 3.

Unfortunately for us, both Zach and Wiggins have regressed from their rookie years as 3-point shooters (gee, what a shock) and neither have moved the needle much on their TS% as a result.

Luckily, 3-point shooting is something that can be improved upon, but dammit, It's hard to trust this franchise with developing that skill in our young guys.

Whoever ultimately runs this team needs to take a fresh look at the perennial problem of shooting and make that a key focus along with defense. It's absurd that Kevin Love is the only young player we've taken over the past decade that developed into a reliable 3-point shooter.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's interesting to see the development of Westbrook and Durant in their first 3 seasons. There were definite clear leaps every year:

Durant:
20 / 4 / 2 / 43% fg
25 / 7 / 3 / 48% fg
30 / 8 / 3 / 48% fg

Westbrook:
15 / 5 / 5 / 40% fg
16 / 5 / 8 / 42% fg
22 / 5 / 8 / 44% fg

TS% might be the better stat in terms of overall scoring efficiency. In that regard, Durant took a massive leap between Year 1 and 2, while Westbrook was still fairly inefficient overall in his 2nd season. He took a big leap in Year 3.

Unfortunately for us, both Zach and Wiggins have regressed from their rookie years as 3-point shooters (gee, what a shock) and neither have moved the needle much on their TS% as a result.

Luckily, 3-point shooting is something that can be improved upon, but dammit, It's hard to trust this franchise with developing that skill in our young guys.

Whoever ultimately runs this team needs to take a fresh look at the perennial problem of shooting and make that a key focus along with defense. It's absurd that Kevin Love is the only young player we've taken over the past decade that developed into a reliable 3-point shooter.

And that was despite the intended wishes of the coaching staff/team.

Remember, Love forced Rambis' hand into even getting a starting gig...