Minnesota Sports Forum

I was going to go with 43 wins, but I saw that Kek beat me to it. I also noticed that Doper locked in 44 wins while Lead came in at 45. Of course, SP has staked out his usual claim to 50. Since I want to distinguish myself from the crowd, my options are limited. 40-43 are taken already by World, Matt and Cam/Rap. I don't see this team winning fewer than 40 games and I can't get myself to top SP's 50. So I'll go with 46 wins. It's the conservative choice in the 46-49 range that remains unoccupied.

The Wolves won 47 games in the 2017-18 with a quality head coach and a roster build around Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford, a late-season added Derrick Rose and a 21-year old KAT. Note also that Butler missed 23 games that season. Once again, the Wolves have a quality head coach. Against the backdrop of 47 wins in the 2017-18 season, it seems reasonable to expect 46 wins this season for a team built around:

- KAT at age 25 and entering his prime;
- D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley, who are also entering their prime;
- Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, two highly talented young players entering their second seasons;
- Patrick Beverley;
- Taurean Prince;
- Naz Reid; and
- Jarred Vanderbilt

Top to bottom, I see our current roster as more talented top to bottom than the 2017-18 roster that one 47 games with its best player missing 23 games. So I'm comfortable predicting 46 wins this season. Meanwhile, I'll be rooting for SP at 50+ and mentally preparing myself for Matt's 41. Anything less than 40 and I'll have a terrible temper tantrum at the end of the season. :)

Here is the latest update:

TheSP - 50
crazysauce, Lipoli - 46
lead01 - 45
thedoper - 44
kekgeek, Phenom - 43
rapsuperstar, Camden - 42
KiwiMatt - 41
worldK - 40
Monsterpile - 38
Bleed, Cool, Abe - 37
Jester - 35
Q - 34
PorkChop - 32
WolvesFan - 29

My way too optimistic prediction is this time 39 wins.

The Wolves won 23 games last year, but were playing better at the end of the season (although still below .500). They clearly has some injury issues last year, but what team didn't? I don't know whether they will be healthier, about the same, or less healthy this season...it could go either way. So I'm discounting that as a factor. I like the Beverley acquisition, but I don't like the departure of Rubio...overall I see our roster not improved over last year. I think the main improvement this year will come from our second year players Ant and Jaden, and also from a full year of Finch. But I don't know if those two factors will be meaningful enough to allow us to move up much i the standings. We were 13th last year, and I see us perhaps moving up to 12th or 11th this year.

I'll go with no Simmons acquisition and 35 wins, which might be the biggest wins increase in the Western Division. Kind of a stretch, but I think we can do it.

I don't know guys. IF this team stays relatively healthy, especially KAT and DLO, and they can't muster more than 34 or 35 or so wins, it's probably time to move on from KAT. My guess is him and his agent would make the same conclusion.

(my prediction anticipates injuries, which is why I'm at 34 wins).

Q12543 wrote:I don't know guys. IF this team stays relatively healthy, especially KAT and DLO, and they can't muster more than 34 or 35 or so wins, it's probably time to move on from KAT. My guess is him and his agent would make the same conclusion.

(my prediction anticipates injuries, which is why I'm at 34 wins).

That's a logical position to have and one that I've shared in the past. Minnesota just can't afford to have another injury-ridden season. If this core as constructed can't show signs of being competitive, they'll have to make the difficult decision of selling top talent and building around Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels for the future.

However, I don't think we'll be talking about trading Karl-Anthony Towns next summer. I think we'll be talking about what moves Minnesota can make to climb into the top-six in the Western Conference. I think we'll be discussing whether or not to re-sign Patrick Beverley. I think we'll also be exploring the market for a veteran big -- 6'9, 240-pounds or bigger -- that can still play. Not to mention, there might be extensions offered to Towns and possibly even D'Angelo Russell.

Anyways, I have a question for you, Q. What would your win prediction be if the basketball gods told you that Anthony Edwards, Towns, and Russell would all play 70 or more games this year?

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I don't know guys. IF this team stays relatively healthy, especially KAT and DLO, and they can't muster more than 34 or 35 or so wins, it's probably time to move on from KAT. My guess is him and his agent would make the same conclusion.

(my prediction anticipates injuries, which is why I'm at 34 wins).

That's a logical position to have and one that I've shared in the past. Minnesota just can't afford to have another injury-ridden season. If this core as constructed can't show signs of being competitive, they'll have to make the difficult decision of selling top talent and building around Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels for the future.

However, I don't think we'll be talking about trading Karl-Anthony Towns next summer. I think we'll be talking about what moves Minnesota can make to climb into the top-six in the Western Conference. I think we'll be discussing whether or not to re-sign Patrick Beverley. I think we'll also be exploring the market for a veteran big -- 6'9, 240-pounds or bigger -- that can still play. Not to mention, there might be extensions offered to Towns and possibly even D'Angelo Russell.

Anyways, I have a question for you, Q. What would your win prediction be if the basketball gods told you that Anthony Edwards, Towns, and Russell would all play 70 or more games this year?

I'd probably be closer to the 40-44 win range. Like I've said, health is the #1 factor for this team being competitive, followed by defense. I'm a bit skeptical on both fronts, thus I land on the Vegas number.

Here is the latest update:

TheSP - 50
crazysauce, Lipoli - 46
lead01 - 45
thedoper - 44
kekgeek, Phenom - 43
rapsuperstar, Camden - 42
KiwiMatt - 41
worldK - 40
Mikkeman - 39
Monsterpile - 38
Bleed, Cool, Abe - 37
Jester, FNG - 35
Q - 34
PorkChop - 32
WolvesFan - 29

Q12543 wrote:Here is the latest update:

TheSP - 50
crazysauce, Lipoli - 46
lead01 - 45
thedoper - 44
kekgeek, Phenom - 43
rapsuperstar, Camden - 42
KiwiMatt - 41
worldK - 40
Mikkeman - 39
Monsterpile - 38
Bleed, Cool, Abe - 37
Jester, FNG - 35
Q - 34
PorkChop - 32
WolvesFan - 29

I switched/edited my prediction to 36.

If anyone is thinking about visiting Las Vegas in the next couple years, I would recommend you book your vacation now because I'm concerned they may have to close down due to bankruptcy by next summer. Why? It's clear to me they have put up a very bad "wins line" for the Wolves, and may not be able to survive the losses they are about to incur. They have put up a wins line of 33.5, and 19 out of 21 members on this board are predicting the Wolves will win more than the posted number...some WAY over...and the two "under" predictors are only a few games under. Even someone like me who is not very optimistic about the Wolves fortunes this season has predicted more wins than the Vegas line!

I can only conclude that this is the death knell for Vegas. Vegas, you provided us with lots of good times, but some things aren't meant to last. R.I.P.