Minnesota Sports Forum

Q-was-here wrote:Utah now below .500. Their hot start has proven unsustainable it turns out. And they have just one guy - Colin Sexton - on the injury report, so this is not due to injuries, but perhaps regression to the type of team they started as on paper.

Yeah, and I think they will totally collapse if they incur any injuries like the Wolves have. It's unfortunate that the Wolves' poor start has them outside the top 10 currently and we have to look at which teams we are likely to pass, but I'm convinced we will finish the season well ahead of the Jazz.

Interesting stat last night for Milwaukee:

Giannis was 15 - 16 ft on his way to 55 points.
The rest of the Bucks combined to shoot 1 free throw.

So we have three straight wins against Western Conference teams ahead of us in the standings: Denver, Portland, and now the Clips. And Portland lost again tonight and Phoenix is down in the 3rd, so we are right in the playoff mix with a bunch of other teams.

Q-was-here wrote:So we have three straight wins against Western Conference teams ahead of us in the standings: Denver, Portland, and now the Clips. And Portland lost again tonight and Phoenix is down in the 3rd, so we are right in the playoff mix with a bunch of other teams.

I'm glad the Wolves are in the playoff mix. The bad news is that the Wolves are in 11th place with the Lakers nipping at their heels a half game behind in 12th. Then again, the good news is that the Wolves are only 1.5 games behind the Warriors for the coveted 6th spot to secure a place in the playoffs without going through the play-in tournament. Obviously, this is not where the Wolves front office or the fans who liked the Gobert trade expected this team to be. But the last three games have been a positive sign and KAT will probably be returning some time this month.

I expect the Wolves to pass the Jazz and Blazers in the standings. The talent gap between the Wolves and those two teams is too big for the Wolves to remain behind either one. The Suns really look out of sorts and only a game ahead of the Wolves so I can see the Wolves passing the Suns in the standings at some point this month. The Wolves could pass the Slippers and replace the Warriors 6th position in the standings, but that will depend a lot of the health of Kawhi, PG and Curry. I still expect the Kings to start faltering. Doncic has single-handedly elevated the Mavs into the 4th spot. I question whether that's sustainable given the overall lack of talent on that team.

I don't see the Wolves cracking the top three this season, but the top 4 finish many were counting on is definitely plausible.

Fred VanVleet turned down a four-year, $114-million extension before the season.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:So we have three straight wins against Western Conference teams ahead of us in the standings: Denver, Portland, and now the Clips. And Portland lost again tonight and Phoenix is down in the 3rd, so we are right in the playoff mix with a bunch of other teams.

I'm glad the Wolves are in the playoff mix. The bad news is that the Wolves are in 11th place with the Lakers nipping at their heels a half game behind in 12th. Then again, the good news is that the Wolves are only 1.5 games behind the Warriors for the coveted 6th spot to secure a place in the playoffs without going through the play-in tournament. Obviously, this is not where the Wolves front office or the fans who liked the Gobert trade expected this team to be. But the last three games have been a positive sign and KAT will probably be returning some time this month.

I expect the Wolves to pass the Jazz and Blazers in the standings. The talent gap between the Wolves and those two teams is too big for the Wolves to remain behind either one. The Suns really look out of sorts and only a game ahead of the Wolves so I can see the Wolves passing the Suns in the standings at some point this month. The Wolves could pass the Slippers and replace the Warriors 6th position in the standings, but that will depend a lot of the health of Kawhi, PG and Curry. I still expect the Kings to start faltering. Doncic has single-handedly elevated the Mavs into the 4th spot. I question whether that's sustainable given the overall lack of talent on that team.

I don't see the Wolves cracking the top three this season, but the top 4 finish many were counting on is definitely plausible.

Per Krawczynski... Towns is NOT CLOSE to returning. It sounded more like it's going to be 2x as long of an injury than first reported.

Warriors and Jazz lose tonight (Warriors at home to Orlando - bad loss). Things continue to tighten up in the West with the middle 7 teams within a game or two of each other.

Q-was-here wrote:Warriors and Jazz lose tonight (Warriors at home to Orlando - bad loss). Things continue to tighten up in the West with the middle 7 teams within a game or two of each other.

Pelicans also lost tonight. They have a 5 lead over the wolves but they are without BI and Zion currently

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Warriors and Jazz lose tonight (Warriors at home to Orlando - bad loss). Things continue to tighten up in the West with the middle 7 teams within a game or two of each other.

Pelicans also lost tonight. They have a 5 lead over the wolves but they are without BI and Zion currently

Lakers won last night. They're now tied with the Wolves in 11th place.

lipoli390 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Warriors and Jazz lose tonight (Warriors at home to Orlando - bad loss). Things continue to tighten up in the West with the middle 7 teams within a game or two of each other.

Pelicans also lost tonight. They have a 5 lead over the wolves but they are without BI and Zion currently

Lakers won last night. They're now tied with the Wolves in 11th place.

But on the flip side the Lakers beating the Kings moved the Wolves within 2 games of 5th place! Is your glass half empty or half full?!? ;-)