I'm Not Kekgeek's grades G13 Nuggets@Wolves

[rapsuperstar31]

I think it's safe to say,

Right now OKC is on DYNASTY tier.

Denver is on ELITE tier.

Wolves are on GREAT tier (3rd tier team).

We need to jump not one tier, but two to reach OKC if we are going to do anything chip wise, seems like a super long shot and I do think they are clearly one step and two steps better RIGHT NOW. Key RIGHT NOW. We'll see how it plays out.

If we were ever to have a down year and get some lottery luck which has been happening more since they changed the lottery odds, this would be the best year to do it. Last year Dallas, Philly, and San Antonio all jump way up, with Dallas jumping after just missing the playoffs losing in the play in. Atlanta jumps from the play in loss to the first pick the previous year. Obviously we all want to have another playoff run again, but if we do have some injury issues this year, it wouldn't be the worst thing if we get some luck. We do have a pick swap with Utah so if we did win the lottery we would swap with Utah so we can't get the first pick. But the top 5 or so guys in this draft are considered cant miss, and I see some saying Cooper Flagg wouldn't be a top 5 pick in this draft. You get Cam Boozer at pf in the draft, and you can trade Naz or even Julius for a stud point guard and time line 2.0 begins.

Yeah the only way we miss the playoffs is a lot of injury or key injuries. Like if Ant and Rudy went down for 20 games (knock on wood), We'd be pretty rough.

We have to beat some of these better teams, beating every team under .500 isn't going to be enough. Last year we were a game out of the play-in where anything can happen if a team gets hot against you. NAW won us at least a few games last year like that Denver game, so we do need some of the young guys to step up. Hopefully TSJ was playing injured and that's why he was so bad, and when he comes back he looks more like last years version.

[Lipoli390]

No disagreement with Q’s grades except that I might be inclined to give Randle a B+ because of his poor three-point shooting, pretty weak defense and those two terrible back-to-back turnovers.

[60WinTim]

I don't buy the "3rd tier" team bit. I put OKC AND Denver in the 1st tier. And a whole bunch of teams in the 2nd tier that are fighting to avoid the play-in.

So, losing on the second night of a back-to-back against a team that is a tier ahead of us with ANT having a terrible shooting night is not something that gets me worried. With the exception of the home loss to the Lakers (which was without ANT), the Wolves have won all the games you would expect a tier 2 team to win. Let's see how the next 4 games go before taking on OKC in OKC.

[AussieWolf3]

I think it's safe to say,

Right now OKC is on DYNASTY tier.

Denver is on ELITE tier.

Wolves are on GREAT tier (3rd tier team).

We need to jump not one tier, but two to reach OKC if we are going to do anything chip wise, seems like a super long shot and I do think they are clearly one step and two steps better RIGHT NOW. Key RIGHT NOW. We'll see how it plays out.

I believe this is correct, the silver lining however is that I think about 70% of the answers to making the jump to the 2nd tier are at least potentially on the roster in Joan, Dilly, Clark and Shannon.

Thus far the starting 5 is playing at a really high level this season, sporting roughly a top 5 net rating among starting units (+13).

The bench is really holding this team back, but perhaps in season development of the back 5 can make a difference by the end of year.

Either way this team will ultimately only go as far as Ant goes. Early on this season shows a lot of promise for him, but I'm still concerned about his consistency on defense and is ability to diagnose and manipulate an opposing defense

While I picked Ant for MVP he's clearly not through the first dozen or so games. Sure injury, but thats part of it.

I agree, IF the Wolves were to make a legit run, Ant would be playing at MVP type level (SGA and Jokic obviously).

On a side note, we miss NAW I think, his consistent defense and solid 3P shooting was huge last season. He was probably our most consistent player. Not best, just was at a steady high level most nights. We haven't really replaced his production yet, though with the young guys like you say, they will also be key.

He clearly isn't so far, I agree, but I am seeing the glimmers that will take him there. He's making faster decisions, shooting better from the mid-range, and playing making from the middle of the floor.

If he keeps doing that and improves throughout the season, he'll get serious consideration.

My bet is he'll do that

[FNG]

I think it's safe to say,

Right now OKC is on DYNASTY tier.

Denver is on ELITE tier.

Wolves are on GREAT tier (3rd tier team).

We need to jump not one tier, but two to reach OKC if we are going to do anything chip wise, seems like a super long shot and I do think they are clearly one step and two steps better RIGHT NOW. Key RIGHT NOW. We'll see how it plays out.

I believe this is correct, the silver lining however is that I think about 70% of the answers to making the jump to the 2nd tier are at least potentially on the roster in Joan, Dilly, Clark and Shannon.

Thus far the starting 5 is playing at a really high level this season, sporting roughly a top 5 net rating among starting units (+13).

The bench is really holding this team back, but perhaps in season development of the back 5 can make a difference by the end of year.

Either way this team will ultimately only go as far as Ant goes. Early on this season shows a lot of promise for him, but I'm still concerned about his consistency on defense and is ability to diagnose and manipulate an opposing defense

While I picked Ant for MVP he's clearly not through the first dozen or so games. Sure injury, but thats part of it.

I agree, IF the Wolves were to make a legit run, Ant would be playing at MVP type level (SGA and Jokic obviously).

On a side note, we miss NAW I think, his consistent defense and solid 3P shooting was huge last season. He was probably our most consistent player. Not best, just was at a steady high level most nights. We haven't really replaced his production yet, though with the young guys like you say, they will also be key.

I mentioned in another thread how our PnR defense has gone from top five last year to bottom five this year, and thar has a lot to do with missing NAW. Nobody on the current roster except Clark is as good as NAW at busting through screens.

[Wolvesfan21]

I believe this is correct, the silver lining however is that I think about 70% of the answers to making the jump to the 2nd tier are at least potentially on the roster in Joan, Dilly, Clark and Shannon.

Thus far the starting 5 is playing at a really high level this season, sporting roughly a top 5 net rating among starting units (+13).

The bench is really holding this team back, but perhaps in season development of the back 5 can make a difference by the end of year.

Either way this team will ultimately only go as far as Ant goes. Early on this season shows a lot of promise for him, but I'm still concerned about his consistency on defense and is ability to diagnose and manipulate an opposing defense

While I picked Ant for MVP he's clearly not through the first dozen or so games. Sure injury, but thats part of it.

I agree, IF the Wolves were to make a legit run, Ant would be playing at MVP type level (SGA and Jokic obviously).

On a side note, we miss NAW I think, his consistent defense and solid 3P shooting was huge last season. He was probably our most consistent player. Not best, just was at a steady high level most nights. We haven't really replaced his production yet, though with the young guys like you say, they will also be key.

I mentioned in another thread how our PnR defense has gone from top five last year to bottom five this year, and thar has a lot to do with missing NAW. Nobody on the current roster except Clark is as good as NAW at busting through screens.

100% NAW was elite at getting through screens and only Clark can do it up to that level. We're all seeing the same things.

[60WinTim]

Yeah, but NAW was barely on the floor for half the minutes. It’s more than just NAW.

[Wolvesfan21]

Yeah, but NAW was barely on the floor for half the minutes. It’s more than just NAW.

The second unit was a winner though (NAW, DDV and Naz combo platter), of course DDV was mostly part of that too and he's starting. Our starting lineup has been great, it's the backups without a NAW stepping in giving up a ton of points and simply not scoring enough. No NAW with a bunch of meh defenders has hurt, Naz, TJ, Conley and Dilly.

We just can't defend adequately off the bench anymore has been the biggest story to start the year. Clark should be playing more IMO.

[Wolvesfan21]

I don't buy the "3rd tier" team bit. I put OKC AND Denver in the 1st tier. And a whole bunch of teams in the 2nd tier that are fighting to avoid the play-in.

So, losing on the second night of a back-to-back against a team that is a tier ahead of us with ANT having a terrible shooting night is not something that gets me worried. With the exception of the home loss to the Lakers (which was without ANT), the Wolves have won all the games you would expect a tier 2 team to win. Let's see how the next 4 games go before taking on OKC in OKC.

I think if I were to grade them right now 1-100 I'd have-

OKC-99
Denver-97
Wolves-94