Minnesota Sports Forum

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Andrew Wiggins since the beginning of February (11 G):

31.8 MPG
13.9 PPG (41.5 FG%, 36.1 3P%, 42.9 FT%)
3.9 RPG
2.7 APG (1.4 TOV)
1.4 SPG
0.9 BPG

The Warriors are 4-7 over that stretch with three consecutive losses. Some of the fan base is beginning to turn on Wiggins already from what I've seen on social media. This might be something to watch.

Perhaps Draymond Green can return in a couple of weeks and save the day (or the season), but if not Wiggins will have to play a lot better than that if the Warriors plan on moving past the first round in the playoffs.

That completes it. I'm done with this board. I'll miss most of you guys. Good luck.

The Kings are ahead of Dallas by 19 points late in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope the Kings can hang on. We've been focused on Denver as the team to pass to avoid the play-in tournament. But Dallas is only a game ahead of Denver. Luka's out tonight with a sore toe. That team really drops off a lot when Luka's out. Apparently, he's not expected to be out long. But every game he misses is an opportunity for the Wolves to gain on Dallas and enhance our chances of climbing a notch in the standings.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Andrew Wiggins since the beginning of February (11 G):

31.8 MPG
13.9 PPG (41.5 FG%, 36.1 3P%, 42.9 FT%)
3.9 RPG
2.7 APG (1.4 TOV)
1.4 SPG
0.9 BPG

The Warriors are 4-7 over that stretch with three consecutive losses. Some of the fan base is beginning to turn on Wiggins already from what I've seen on social media. This might be something to watch.

Perhaps Draymond Green can return in a couple of weeks and save the day (or the season), but if not Wiggins will have to play a lot better than that if the Warriors plan on moving past the first round in the playoffs.

That completes it. I'm done with this board. I'll miss most of you guys. Good luck.

You're a perceptive guy, Abe...I suspect you can solve this one...

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Andrew Wiggins since the beginning of February (11 G):

31.8 MPG
13.9 PPG (41.5 FG%, 36.1 3P%, 42.9 FT%)
3.9 RPG
2.7 APG (1.4 TOV)
1.4 SPG
0.9 BPG

The Warriors are 4-7 over that stretch with three consecutive losses. Some of the fan base is beginning to turn on Wiggins already from what I've seen on social media. This might be something to watch.

Perhaps Draymond Green can return in a couple of weeks and save the day (or the season), but if not Wiggins will have to play a lot better than that if the Warriors plan on moving past the first round in the playoffs.

That completes it. I'm done with this board. I'll miss most of you guys. Good luck.

Seems pretty irrational to me, but take care in the meantime. Make sure you return before the playoffs.

lipoli390 wrote:The Kings are ahead of Dallas by 19 points late in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope the Kings can hang on. We've been focused on Denver as the team to pass to avoid the play-in tournament. But Dallas is only a game ahead of Denver. Luka's out tonight with a sore toe. That team really drops off a lot when Luka's out. Apparently, he's not expected to be out long. But every game he misses is an opportunity for the Wolves to gain on Dallas and enhance our chances of climbing a notch in the standings.

Welp.

Every damn team from 1 thru 8 is red hot right now except for Golden State and that's despite having key guys out. Our chances are not looking good to move up.

Spencer Dinwiddie is that dude.

Camden wrote:Spencer Dinwiddie is that dude.

Yep. If Dallas hadn't made that deal, I'm pretty sure they would have lost it the Kings last night.

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:The Kings are ahead of Dallas by 19 points late in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope the Kings can hang on. We've been focused on Denver as the team to pass to avoid the play-in tournament. But Dallas is only a game ahead of Denver. Luka's out tonight with a sore toe. That team really drops off a lot when Luka's out. Apparently, he's not expected to be out long. But every game he misses is an opportunity for the Wolves to gain on Dallas and enhance our chances of climbing a notch in the standings.

Welp.

Every damn team from 1 thru 8 is red hot right now except for Golden State and that's despite having key guys out. Our chances are not looking good to move up.

You're right Q. It's really all about holding on to 7th while hoping for a break or two that can propel the Wolves to 6th. It's interesting to see which teams are surging and which ones are faltering down the stretch. This is the point in the season when teams find their true level. Golden State is faltering, which is something I've been expecting. I know Golden State's been missing Green and Thompson. But I've thought all along that they've been playing over their heads this season. Green is still good, but he's not the player he once was and no telling what Thompson is now after what he's been through. I'm not surprised to see the Bulls and Cavs struggling because I've thought all along those two teams, while good, have been playing over their heads. It's interesting to see the Wolves doing well now so far down the stretch. It confirms what I've thought from the beginning when I predicted 46 wins. This is a talented team with KAT, DLO, Edwards at the core and surrounding pieces like Beverley, Beasley, Prince, Naz and others. It's not a great team, but it's a very good one. Interestingly, the Wolves have not been defending as well the last half of the season as they were in the first half. But that's consistent with my view that teams ultimately find their level as the season wears on. This team's personnel is skewed towards the offensive side of the ball with some serious weaknesses on the defensive side. We've seen that fact play out down the stretch in games like last night's. But we're still better defensively than we've been in a long time.

Bottom line is that I think we can expect the trends we've seen recently to continue. And that takes us back to Q's point. With Dallas and Denver likely to continue their winning ways, it's unlikely the Wolves will finish higher than 7th. Meanwhile, the Clippers remain a mystery to me. With Paul George and Kawhi out, they should not be doing nearly as well as they have been. Will it continue? My prediction is that the Clippers will cool off considerably for the remainder of the season unless and until Paul George and/or Kawhi returns. If either or both of those guys come back, then I'll worry a lot more about the Wolves ability to hang onto the 7th spot.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:The Kings are ahead of Dallas by 19 points late in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope the Kings can hang on. We've been focused on Denver as the team to pass to avoid the play-in tournament. But Dallas is only a game ahead of Denver. Luka's out tonight with a sore toe. That team really drops off a lot when Luka's out. Apparently, he's not expected to be out long. But every game he misses is an opportunity for the Wolves to gain on Dallas and enhance our chances of climbing a notch in the standings.

Welp.

Every damn team from 1 thru 8 is red hot right now except for Golden State and that's despite having key guys out. Our chances are not looking good to move up.

You're right Q. It's really all about holding on to 7th while hoping for a break or two that can propel the Wolves to 6th. It's interesting to see which teams are surging and which ones are faltering down the stretch. This is the point in the season when teams find their true level. Golden State is faltering, which is something I've been expecting. I know Golden State's been missing Green and Thompson. But I've thought all along that they've been playing over their heads this season. Green is still good, but he's not the player he once was and no telling what Thompson is now after what he's been through. I'm not surprised to see the Bulls and Cavs struggling because I've thought all along those two teams, while good, have been playing over their heads. It's interesting to see the Wolves doing well now so far down the stretch. It confirms what I've thought from the beginning when I predicted 46 wins. This is a talented team with KAT, DLO, Edwards at the core and surrounding pieces like Beverley, Beasley, Prince, Naz and others. It's not a great team, but it's a very good one. Interestingly, the Wolves have not been defending as well the last half of the season as they were in the first half. But that's consistent with my view that teams ultimately find their level as the season wears on. This team's personnel is skewed towards the offensive side of the ball with some serious weaknesses on the defensive side. We've seen that fact play out down the stretch in games like last night's. But we're still better defensively than we've been in a long time.

Bottom line is that I think we can expect the trends we've seen recently to continue. And that takes us back to Q's point. With Dallas and Denver likely to continue their winning ways, it's unlikely the Wolves will finish higher than 7th. Meanwhile, the Clippers remain a mystery to me. With Paul George and Kawhi out, they should not be doing nearly as well as they have been. Will it continue? My prediction is that the Clippers will cool off considerably for the remainder of the season unless and until Paul George and/or Kawhi returns. If either or both of those guys come back, then I'll worry a lot more about the Wolves ability to hang onto the 7th spot.

Lip I'm not sure about taking the last few games as what various teams are or aren't. You mention the Cavs...they have played a few games without their best guards and started Brandon Goodwin. GS dropped some games because of injury. Are the Bulls healthy or could a pretty strong schedule have anything to do with their slide? Meanwhile the Clippers have been rolling but they have also played the Rockets 3 out of their last 5 games. I simply think there are way too many factors at play right now to make judgements of teams based on the last like 10 games. I get this is what we try and do to make sense of it all but it seems flawed.

There is almost a quarter of the season left and while it's not a ton of games there are sooooo many developments that can happen to teams including injury players returning from injury maybe a team clicking after some of the moves from the deadline bare fruit or...

Like Jester said in another thread maybe let's just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's going to be an interesting finish to the season and it includes the Wolves as a playoff team not fretting about wins and losses affecting what draft picks they will get. There are so many other NBA storylines to follow.

monsterpile wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:The Kings are ahead of Dallas by 19 points late in the 2nd quarter. Let's hope the Kings can hang on. We've been focused on Denver as the team to pass to avoid the play-in tournament. But Dallas is only a game ahead of Denver. Luka's out tonight with a sore toe. That team really drops off a lot when Luka's out. Apparently, he's not expected to be out long. But every game he misses is an opportunity for the Wolves to gain on Dallas and enhance our chances of climbing a notch in the standings.

Welp.

Every damn team from 1 thru 8 is red hot right now except for Golden State and that's despite having key guys out. Our chances are not looking good to move up.

You're right Q. It's really all about holding on to 7th while hoping for a break or two that can propel the Wolves to 6th. It's interesting to see which teams are surging and which ones are faltering down the stretch. This is the point in the season when teams find their true level. Golden State is faltering, which is something I've been expecting. I know Golden State's been missing Green and Thompson. But I've thought all along that they've been playing over their heads this season. Green is still good, but he's not the player he once was and no telling what Thompson is now after what he's been through. I'm not surprised to see the Bulls and Cavs struggling because I've thought all along those two teams, while good, have been playing over their heads. It's interesting to see the Wolves doing well now so far down the stretch. It confirms what I've thought from the beginning when I predicted 46 wins. This is a talented team with KAT, DLO, Edwards at the core and surrounding pieces like Beverley, Beasley, Prince, Naz and others. It's not a great team, but it's a very good one. Interestingly, the Wolves have not been defending as well the last half of the season as they were in the first half. But that's consistent with my view that teams ultimately find their level as the season wears on. This team's personnel is skewed towards the offensive side of the ball with some serious weaknesses on the defensive side. We've seen that fact play out down the stretch in games like last night's. But we're still better defensively than we've been in a long time.

Bottom line is that I think we can expect the trends we've seen recently to continue. And that takes us back to Q's point. With Dallas and Denver likely to continue their winning ways, it's unlikely the Wolves will finish higher than 7th. Meanwhile, the Clippers remain a mystery to me. With Paul George and Kawhi out, they should not be doing nearly as well as they have been. Will it continue? My prediction is that the Clippers will cool off considerably for the remainder of the season unless and until Paul George and/or Kawhi returns. If either or both of those guys come back, then I'll worry a lot more about the Wolves ability to hang onto the 7th spot.

Lip I'm not sure about taking the last few games as what various teams are or aren't. You mention the Cavs...they have played a few games without their best guards and started Brandon Goodwin. GS dropped some games because of injury. Are the Bulls healthy or could a pretty strong schedule have anything to do with their slide? Meanwhile the Clippers have been rolling but they have also played the Rockets 3 out of their last 5 games. I simply think there are way too many factors at play right now to make judgements of teams based on the last like 10 games. I get this is what we try and do to make sense of it all but it seems flawed.

There is almost a quarter of the season left and while it's not a ton of games there are sooooo many developments that can happen to teams including injury players returning from injury maybe a team clicking after some of the moves from the deadline bare fruit or...

Like Jester said in another thread maybe let's just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's going to be an interesting finish to the season and it includes the Wolves as a playoff team not fretting about wins and losses affecting what draft picks they will get. There are so many other NBA storylines to follow.

But it's fun to speculate, Monster. :). I'll stand by my season-long view that the Bulls and Cavs are good, much-improved teams, but have been overachieving. I consider the Warriors a very good team, but also a team that's overachieve so far this season. The Clippers shouldn't even be a good team without Kawhi and Paul George, but they're a lock for the play-in tournament and could finish as high as 7th. Denver's been impressive considering the fact that Jamal Murray has missed the entire season so far. I see all of those five teams - Bulls, Cavs, Warriors, Clippers and Nuggets - as prime candidates to struggle a bit in this last 20% of the season. So far, that's been true for the Bulls, Cavs and Warriors. I see the Clippers hitting a rough patch as they play better teams than Houston. And I see the Nuggets as vulnerable to some struggle ahead. It's just speculation, which might have its roots in some wishful thinking. For me, it's just part of enjoying the ride. Speculating on whether the Wolves end up 6th, 7th or 8th is a lot more fun than pulling for them to lose and wondering how many lottery balls they'll end up with. :)