Minnesota Sports Forum

I agree on the difficulty of becoming a title contender. But is there any team out there that has had so much difficulty becoming mediocre over the past decade?

60WinTim wrote:I agree on the difficulty of becoming a title contender. But is there any team out there that has had so much difficulty becoming mediocre over the past decade?

No. Definitely not in the NBA.

How about other sports though? Is there another team in another major sport on this sort of run of crappiness?

60WinTim wrote:I agree on the difficulty of becoming a title contender. But is there any team out there that has had so much difficulty becoming mediocre over the past decade?

Ouch! Tim, you cut right to the core plight of a Timberwolves fan. :(

Believe it or not, Golden State was in our exact position about 10 years ago. From the mid-90s to mid-00s, they had a miserable run of 12 seasons without a playoff appearance.

That doesn't excuse the sheer ineptitude of our situation, but there are other examples....and probably more from other sports.

Q12543 wrote:Believe it or not, Golden State was in our exact position about 10 years ago. From the mid-90s to mid-00s, they had a miserable run of 12 seasons without a playoff appearance.

That doesn't excuse the sheer ineptitude of our situation, but there are other examples....and probably more from other sports.

1 playoff appearance in 18 seasons for GSW. It's one of the reasons the Warriors championship was so cool. Those are some legit solid fans out there.

Although they weren't as bad as the Wolves... think more hapless Sacramento Kings type records for the most part...

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

60WinTim wrote:I agree on the difficulty of becoming a title contender. But is there any team out there that has had so much difficulty becoming mediocre over the past decade?

No. Definitely not in the NBA.

How about other sports though? Is there another team in another major sport on this sort of run of crappiness?

Raiders, Browns have missed playoffs 13 consecutive seasons. Jaguars have missed playoffs last eight seasons. Marlins haven't been back in the playoffs since their WS win in 2003 (12 years ago).

I'm with Cam on Thibs being a good choice for the Wolves. The Wolves can blame some of their woes on youth, but it is no excuse for the horrid team defense this team has displayed. And team defense is Thibs' calling card.

60WinTim wrote:I'm with Cam on Thibs being a good choice for the Wolves. The Wolves can blame some of their woes on youth, but it is no excuse for the horrid team defense this team has displayed. And team defense is Thibs' calling card.

Yeah, it's interesting because Sam made a statement very early on when he first became interim head coach that his focus was going to be on defense - that the natural talent of his players would put up enough points offensively and it was just a matter of getting enough stops. I actually agree with that sentiment. I've always felt that GMs make great offenses and coaches make great defenses when it comes to the NBA.

That being said, a coach shouldn't be completely exonerated for running a crappy offense and a GM shouldn't be completely exonerated for picking players that can't defend.

But here we are....Ranked 13th in offensive efficiency and 29th in defense. So Mitchell was right. He runs a sub-optimal offense, yet we still manage to score enough points on most nights. Yet the thing he was supposed to emphasize, teach, cajole, and mentor - defense - hasn't panned out.

Camden wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

60WinTim wrote:

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Camden wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

60WinTim wrote:

No. Definitely not in the NBA.

How about other sports though? Is there another team in another major sport on this sort of run of crappiness?

Raiders, Browns have missed playoffs 13 consecutive seasons. Jaguars have missed playoffs last eight seasons. Marlins haven't been back in the playoffs since their WS win in 2003 (12 years ago).

While all those are nice comparisons... and each is very crappy in its own right:

- Only 12 out of 32 NFL teams make the playoffs and 10 out of 30 MLB teams vs. 16 out of 30 in the NBA.
- Oakland has two .500 seasons and a 7 - 9 season. Finished dead last once.
- The Marlins had 4 winning seasons in that stretch.
- Cleveland seems to be the closest... but even there... they had a 10 - 6 season tossed into the mix and only finished with the worst record once.

Yet the thing he was supposed to emphasize, teach, cajole, and mentor - defense - hasn't panned out.

Sam Mitchell-coached teams' offensive/defensive efficiency:

2004-05: TOR ranked T-6th in OFF EFF at 91.8 / T-23rd in DEF EFF at 92.0
2005-06: TOR ranked 4th in OFF EFF at 93.8 / 28th in DEF EFF at 95.4
2006-07: TOR ranked 6th in OFF EFF at 91.9 / 13th in DEF EFF at 89.1
2007-08: TOR ranked T-6th in OFF EFF at 95.7 / T-13th in DEF EFF at 90.7
2015-16: MIN ranks 15th in OFF EFF at 103.0 / 26th in DEF EFF at 106.3

So, Mitchell's head coaching history shows that his teams have been better offensively than defensively, but for some reason this guy has a track record of being more of a defensive coach... Man, that makes little sense to me. How does someone get that type of reputation with relatively nothing to back it on?