Minnesota Sports Forum

Shams had reported a couple weeks ago that KAT will likely play the final 10 to 15 games. JMac's return was predicted about 2 weeks before he actually returned, so maybe the final 10 to 15 games for KAT will pan out as well.

There is a 3 day break before the Wolves begin their final 8 games, starting with a really tough 3-game road trip at the Warriors, Kings and Suns. It would be fun to have KAT back in the lineup for that stretch!

60WinTim wrote:Shams had reported a couple weeks ago that KAT will likely play the final 10 to 15 games. JMac's return was predicted about 2 weeks before he actually returned, so maybe the final 10 to 15 games for KAT will pan out as well.

There is a 3 day break before the Wolves begin their final 8 games, starting with a really tough 3-game road trip at the Warriors, Kings and Suns. It would be fun to have KAT back in the lineup for that stretch!

Tim, you're probably way behind with your KOM, but my schedule has the Wolves with a 4-game cushion over the 11th place team...and that will become 5 games if they beat Philly tonight (I originally had this one as a loss). So we're going to be in the playoffs...it's just a question of in what place. So the goal has to be to be as intact and healthy as possible, meaning we'd love to see KAT have a few games under his belt to get the rust off.

The lack of news is frustrating for the media...and for the fans.

I did update the KOM, but I am still deciding which teams deserve to be in the Top Tier. The Suns are a clear candidate. If the Wolves beat Philly, I should put them in the Top Tier as well -- that would be 4 straight anti-klunkers!

Most iterations have the Wolves, Mavs, Clippers and Warriors tightly packed for the 5 thru 8 seeds. And the Wolves frequently come out on top with the 5th seed. The head-to-head tie-breaker could prove very beneficial with the Mavs or Clips!

60WinTim wrote:Shams had reported a couple weeks ago that KAT will likely play the final 10 to 15 games. JMac's return was predicted about 2 weeks before he actually returned, so maybe the final 10 to 15 games for KAT will pan out as well.

There is a 3 day break before the Wolves begin their final 8 games, starting with a really tough 3-game road trip at the Warriors, Kings and Suns. It would be fun to have KAT back in the lineup for that stretch!

It's starting to get to that point where I'm not sure about KAT. I thought we'd have reports he was practicing with the team by now. You bring up JMac and I guess that's a good example of how we heard nothing until suddenly he was back (after Rivers suspension I think). Maybe that happens with KAT. But...with each passing day/game, it's starting to feel like he's shutting it down until next year.

We just running out of time for him to get up to speed again. Even JMac didn't look great initially coming back...so at what point is he hurting himself AND the team if he's not fully up to speed? IDK. He's a great player, so maybe KAT at 70% is still better than Naz at 100%. Not sure what the equation is. Would be nice if they would give some sort of update. I haven't seen anything so secret since Joe Mauer's bilateral leg weakness.

The whole Morant/Clarke bit really stinks for the Wolves. That's two straight klunkers against the Clippers and Lakers. I might as well drop the Griz from my top tier of teams, which most often puts the Wolves in the 9th spot. :(

The good news is the KOM has the Wolves going 2-8 over the next 10 games. Lots of anti-klunker opportunities and a chance to move up in the seedings!

60WinTim wrote:The whole Morant/Clarke bit really stinks for the Wolves. That's two straight klunkers against the Clippers and Lakers. I might as well drop the Griz from my top tier of teams, which most often puts the Wolves in the 9th spot. :(

The good news is the KOM has the Wolves going 2-8 over the next 10 games. Lots of anti-klunker opportunities and a chance to move up in the seedings!

It's interesting to hear your KOM updates, Tim, because our spreadsheets are quite different. I try to predict the point spread of each future games (with the knowledge that injuries and load management can change things) and use that to calculate the number of future wins for each team. And it's worked out pretty well for me so far...for instance, my projected standings didn't change with last night's results, as I had both Philly and the Lakers winning (and I had Memphis beating the Clippers the night before). And while you have the Wolves going 2-8 in their next 10, I have them 4-6 with wins over Brooklyn and Atlanta at home, and NY and Chicago on the road (note: I made my spreadsheet prior to the Knicks getting absurdly hot, so I think a 3-7 in the next 10 is more likely now). And with the Celtics suddenly in a funk, we very well might get a pleasant surprise in the home game a week from today.

Further, my schedule still has the Wolves in a 4-way tie for 5th with 43 wins...quite different than your KOM that has us on 9th. The good news is we both have them in the playoffs...I think the playoffs are going to be a lot of fun this year!

FNG wrote:

60WinTim wrote:The whole Morant/Clarke bit really stinks for the Wolves. That's two straight klunkers against the Clippers and Lakers. I might as well drop the Griz from my top tier of teams, which most often puts the Wolves in the 9th spot. :(

The good news is the KOM has the Wolves going 2-8 over the next 10 games. Lots of anti-klunker opportunities and a chance to move up in the seedings!

It's interesting to hear your KOM updates, Tim, because our spreadsheets are quite different. I try to predict the point spread of each future games (with the knowledge that injuries and load management can change things) and use that to calculate the number of future wins for each team. And it's worked out pretty well for me so far...for instance, my projected standings didn't change with last night's results, as I had both Philly and the Lakers winning (and I had Memphis beating the Clippers the night before). And while you have the Wolves going 2-8 in their next 10, I have them 4-6 with wins over Brooklyn and Atlanta at home, and NY and Chicago on the road (note: I made my spreadsheet prior to the Knicks getting absurdly hot, so I think a 3-7 in the next 10 is more likely now). And with the Celtics suddenly in a funk, we very well might get a pleasant surprise in the home game a week from today.

Further, my schedule still has the Wolves in a 4-way tie for 5th with 43 wins...quite different than your KOM that has us on 9th. The good news is we both have them in the playoffs...I think the playoffs are going to be a lot of fun this year!

I don't think they are that dramatically different -- while I show the Wolves in the 9th spot with a 40-42 record, they would only be 3 games out of 5th with the Kings at 43-39...

The KOM said the Wolves should have been 0-5 over the last 5 games. They went 3-2 and really helped their odds at making the playoffs. The KOM forecasts 2-8 over the next 10 games. A 5-5 record would put them on target for the 5th seed. Certainly not out of the question. So bring on the anti-klunkers!

Assuming KAT returns and has a good 10 games for the chemistry to re-develop, the playoffs could be quite fun!

60WinTim wrote:

FNG wrote:

60WinTim wrote:The whole Morant/Clarke bit really stinks for the Wolves. That's two straight klunkers against the Clippers and Lakers. I might as well drop the Griz from my top tier of teams, which most often puts the Wolves in the 9th spot. :(

The good news is the KOM has the Wolves going 2-8 over the next 10 games. Lots of anti-klunker opportunities and a chance to move up in the seedings!

It's interesting to hear your KOM updates, Tim, because our spreadsheets are quite different. I try to predict the point spread of each future games (with the knowledge that injuries and load management can change things) and use that to calculate the number of future wins for each team. And it's worked out pretty well for me so far...for instance, my projected standings didn't change with last night's results, as I had both Philly and the Lakers winning (and I had Memphis beating the Clippers the night before). And while you have the Wolves going 2-8 in their next 10, I have them 4-6 with wins over Brooklyn and Atlanta at home, and NY and Chicago on the road (note: I made my spreadsheet prior to the Knicks getting absurdly hot, so I think a 3-7 in the next 10 is more likely now). And with the Celtics suddenly in a funk, we very well might get a pleasant surprise in the home game a week from today.

Further, my schedule still has the Wolves in a 4-way tie for 5th with 43 wins...quite different than your KOM that has us on 9th. The good news is we both have them in the playoffs...I think the playoffs are going to be a lot of fun this year!

I don't think they are that dramatically different -- while I show the Wolves in the 9th spot with a 40-42 record, they would only be 3 games out of 5th with the Kings at 43-39...

The KOM said the Wolves should have been 0-5 over the last 5 games. They went 3-2 and really helped their odds at making the playoffs. The KOM forecasts 2-8 over the next 10 games. A 5-5 record would put them on target for the 5th seed. Certainly not out of the question. So bring on the anti-klunkers!

Assuming KAT returns and has a good 10 games for the chemistry to re-develop, the playoffs could be quite fun!

There are so many moving parts in the standings, Tim, my year end wins spreadsheet has been more fun than any year I can remember. Oddly, I haven't had many what you would call anti-klunkers with any team other than the Wolves. But since I started tracking (the Washington game) EVERY Wolves game has gone differently than I would have predicted...it's a good thing I'm not gambling! (My spreadsheet actually had the Golden State and Philly games correct, but at game time, the lines had moved toward favoring the Wolves...and I thought they had a good chance of winning both games too).

The tiebreaker rules are going to be interesting and a topic of much conversation here in the final couple weeks. Right now I have the Wolves, Mavs, Clips and Lakers tied for 5th with 43 wins. Tonight I'm hoping New Orleans can beat Dallas...otherwise the Mavs will move ahead of us and be alone in 5th place. And I'd love to see Toronto beat the Clippers, because that would drop the Clips a game behind us.

Go Pelicans and Raptors!!!

Both Dane Moore and Chris Finch have said KAT participated in "basketball activities" at Tuesday's practice. We don't know what that means, but I think it's better than NOT participating in basketball activities!

FNG wrote:Both Dane Moore and Chris Finch have said KAT participated in "basketball activities" at Tuesday's practice. We don't know what that means, but I think it's better than NOT participating in basketball activities!

Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
Chris Finch with @PAOnTheMic today on KAT:

"Today he's going to have some live activity on the floor, the first time in forever. Some controlled, live action on the floor. I know he's looking forward to that."

Still no timetable, but that's notable progress.

The Wolves are not practicing today, so it's unclear what, exactly, the live action will entail. But that's a step in the right direction for Towns. The Wolves do practice tomorrow.