Q-was-here wrote:Here is my take on the Power Rankings/Player Rankings disconnect....the answer is somewhere in between for the reasons Cam cites. Anthony Edwards at #25 is speculative - there is no guarantee he is as good as Donovan Mitchell in his 3rd year. Sometimes guys stagnate early in their careers for a season or two before reaching another tier. Improvement is not always linear.
So if you are hedging against Edwards taking another leap and also believe the remaining upside of McDaniels, Nowell, and Reid is somewhat limited over the course of one offseason, then I can see the logic in may be ranking us at around #10 at worst. But if Ant truly becomes the 25th best player and these other guys make baby steps of improvement, it would be really hard not to put us in the top 8. Some shit needs to go pretty wrong for us to be #12 or worse.
Ya I don't get the disconnect. Like if based in there rankings and everyone team is the same our #1 player (1-30) is slightly above average, our #2 player 31-60) is one of the best in 2nd best players (would be a slightly below #1 player), our #3 player (61-90) is considered by these rankings the best in the league (would be a below average #1 guy) and our #4 option (91-120) is considered an elite #4 option if every team was equal.
The disconnect is each of our players have massive negative narratives that go with them. Also at the end of the day the league is won with top 10 guys
Kek, I tend to think you nailed this. We have 3 top 25 guys, but we don't have an aircraft carrier like the Bucks, 76ers, or Nuggets. One aircraft carrier equals at least two top 25 guys ranked outside the top 5 or 6 guys in the league. The feeling is probably Jokic and Durant would combine to give you more than KAT, Rudy, and Edwards.
Just a fun [meaningless] note, but the beloved Richard Jefferson had the Minnesota "Big 3" of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Edwards as his fourth-best in the league behind only Milwaukee, Golden State, and Boston. That's the kind of discussion surrounding this team right now. It's fun to be in this position as a fan.
Camden wrote:Just a fun [meaningless] note, but the beloved Richard Jefferson had the Minnesota "Big 3" of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Edwards as his fourth-best in the league behind only Milwaukee, Golden State, and Boston. That's the kind of discussion surrounding this team right now. It's fun to be in this position as a fan.
Camden wrote:Just a fun [meaningless] note, but the beloved Richard Jefferson had the Minnesota "Big 3" of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Edwards as his fourth-best in the league behind only Milwaukee, Golden State, and Boston. That's the kind of discussion surrounding this team right now. It's fun to be in this position as a fan.
AND, we have depth
Yeah, the depth is solid this year on paper even though we're admittedly expecting some youth to continue to ascend. Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Nowell, and Jordan McLaughlin have to step up, and I think they will.
Also, at least on the perimeter, Minnesota's roster is deep enough to withstand an injury here or there throughout the season. I can't remember the last time that's been the case for this franchise.
