West Conference playoff thread

[WildWolf2813]

Fun game:

Predict the next 5 NBA teams Russell will be playing for before inevitably moving onto China.

Bulls
Suns
Sixers
Bucks
Rockets

[kekgeek]

Somehow my general perspective on the Wolves season has been lifted with the Lakers being swept. Go Nuggets!

Yeah, we can take some satisfaction with losing to the Western Conference champs I suppose. And we are responsible for one of their three losses during the playoffs!

I upgrade our season from a C to a C+, but that's as far as I'll go!

Just to think if Mcdaniels doesn’t punch a wall and Naz doesn’t posterize people. This would be the wolves. I kid I kid

[kekgeek]

Congrats to the nuggets. Tim Connelly created a title team.

Going to be so interested to see where the former wolves and up. Will be shocked if Dlo is back in LA. Have no idea how much money he is going to get. I legit think he is going to get like a 1 year/10 million dollar deal from someone and that’s it. Beasley option will be let go and rumors are they might renounce Vando rights to make room for Kyrie. Beasley and Vando would help the wolves but can’t see them coming back to a GM that has traded them both twice

[Monster]

Congrats to the nuggets. Tim Connelly created a title team.

Going to be so interested to see where the former wolves and up. Will be shocked if Dlo is back in LA. Have no idea how much money he is going to get. I legit think he is going to get like a 1 year/10 million dollar deal from someone and that’s it. Beasley option will be let go and rumors are they might renounce Vando rights to make room for Kyrie. Beasley and Vando would help the wolves but can’t see them coming back to a GM that has traded them both twice

Vando and Connelly supposedly have a good relationship. Can you trade for a player you traded away that season? The Wolves have a Vanderbilt salary sized trade exception from trading Vanderbilt to Utah. They also have a 3.6 million trade exception from the Russell trade. Those could come in handy especially if a team lets go of someone and you can claim them on waivers. Having said all that I’m not sure Vanderbilt is the right guy to acquire but of course I love the guy.

[Monster]

Somehow my general perspective on the Wolves season has been lifted with the Lakers being swept. Go Nuggets!

Yeah, we can take some satisfaction with losing to the Western Conference champs I suppose. And we are responsible for one of their three losses during the playoffs!

I upgrade our season from a C to a C+, but that's as far as I'll go!

I’m just happy the Lakers lost. And I take special pleasure in the fact the Lakers were swept.

Denver’s win over the Lakers has no impact on my assessment of the Wolves. Relative to the expectations the Wolves front office obviously set for the Wolves, I can’t give them better than a D. The finished 10 games over .500 the previous season and took the Grizzlies to six games. The acquisition of Gobert coupled with the improvement of Ant and Jaden was supposed to catapult the team to even greater heights. Instead, the finished 3 games over .500 and got knocked out by Denver in 5.

Relative to my own expectations for the Wolves, I’d give them a C because I didn’t expect as much as the Wolves front office obviously did. I think we saw some signs that this Wolves team can be much better next season if KAT and Edwards both stay healthy the whole season.

I think the Nuggets sweeping the Lakers does actually affect how I view the Wolves to some small extent for 2 reasons.

1. That’s the team the Wolves lost to in a series playing without a starter and a key reserve. If Denver wins the whole thing that has to inform how we feel about this team to some extent. How much? Not a ton but a little. Plus I think it’s unfair for you to say the Wolves got knocked out in 5 by Denver without mentioning them being out McDaniels and Naz.

2. Lakers getting swept and the former Wolves players they acquired from Utah and directly from the Wolves didn’t help the Lakers much at all and Russell came off the bench in game 4. This likely shows some signs that Connelly might know what he is doing even if he overpaid for Gobert. Trading Russell is looking pretty damn smart.

Does any of this change the Wolves grade significantly? No but it MIGHT show some positive signs to come.

I think one key thing we haven’t discussed much is Finch. Does Finch and the coaching staff make adjustments and find ways to get the most out of the roster? To some extent this year he didn’t although partly due to injury it was a roster with some legit flaws. He got a lot out of the roster the previous year. This year 2 starting PGs flourished shooting the ball under Finch and his staff. He also utilized Kyle Anderson’s unique skill set even if it may have been mostly out of necessity. There were some real positives this year that happened under Finch. As we have mentioned about other teams coaching matters. If Finch who if the Wolves mostly run things back has time to look back at this season and come up with something that is gonna work on both ends of the ball this team could really take off. Can Elston Turner get the defense to a place that’s top 5? Can Finch and Connelly work together to find the right FA signings to add to the roster? I’m somewhat excited to find out.

[Carlos Danger]

I had created a separate thread about whether it would make us feel better if Denver ends up being crowned champs. For me, it does. There is no shame in losing to the top dog. We knew we were not at that level. Our biggest fault was screwing up the regular season to the point where we were the last seed (thus having to face the top dog right out of the gate).

I'm also pleased that for the second year in a row, Edwards has proven to be the best guy in the big stage. And he didn't have much help in this year's playoffs either (*cough* KAT *cough*):

2022 Positive Playoff VORP (6 games)
0.3 - Edwards
0.2 - McDaniels
0.2 - McLaughlin
0.1 - Towns
0.1 - Beverly

2023 Positive Playoff VORP (only 5 games)
0.6 - Edwards
0.1 - Conley
0.1 - Gobert
0.1 - Anderson

[Q-is-here]

I had created a separate thread about whether it would make us feel better if Denver ends up being crowned champs. For me, it does. There is no shame in losing to the top dog. We knew we were not at that level. Our biggest fault was screwing up the regular season to the point where we were the last seed (thus having to face the top dog right out of the gate).

I'm also pleased that for the second year in a row, Edwards has proven to be the best guy in the big stage. And he didn't have much help in this year's playoffs either (*cough* KAT *cough*):

2022 Positive Playoff VORP (6 games)
0.3 - Edwards
0.2 - McDaniels
0.2 - McLaughlin
0.1 - Towns
0.1 - Beverly

2023 Positive Playoff VORP (only 5 games)
0.6 - Edwards
0.1 - Conley
0.1 - Gobert
0.1 - Anderson

KAT barely makes the first list and he's not even on the 2nd list. It's just really hard to win a series when your second best player doesn't produce. I mean, Ant needs more help!

The irony is that Ant has had some pretty disappointing lulls in production for lengthy stretches during each of the last two regular seasons, hardly the stuff of a top 25 type player. Yet he certainly rises to the occasion in the playoffs. We need him to dominate more when we play Orlando or Detroit on a weeknight evening in February! I'm afraid he gets a little bored and loses his focus.

[thedoper]

Jokic continuing the tradition of having the best player being a good indication of playoff success. He is really operating on another level right now. His team loves to play with him too. That Murray sure has come back with a vengeance too. Hard not to appreciate how they built that team and the success they are having. Just keep chipping away. Gives me hope for betting on Ant and Jaden long term, it will take time but I think if we stay the course and they stay healthy we will be a force when they hit their prime.

[TAFKASP]

Neither Lebron nor the Lakers will be champions, that sadly is enough to qualify as a good season for this Wolves fan.

[Monster]

Fun game:

Predict the next 5 NBA teams Russell will be playing for before inevitably moving onto China.

Bulls
Suns
Sixers
Bucks
Rockets

It will be interesting to see what Russell prioritizes in FA this year. Money? Best opportunity to play? Best chance at winning? Short term deal to cash in if he plays well? Long term deal? How long Russell stays in the NBA probably is tied to whether or not he can make 3’s at a good percentage. This season he showed he could play more of an off ball role. IF…he can keep doing that he could be playing 5+ more years in the NBA even if he is a relative liability on D.

I know he has struggled some in the playoffs but depending on his role a team might be ok with rolling the dice on that depending on how much he costs in terms of salary. If he was one of a few guard options I could throw out there in the playoffs I’d probably be cool with that. I think there is a chance some team gets a pretty good player for the money this offseason when they sign Russell. Some teams may be plenty happy with a relatively good regular season guy.