Minnesota Sports Forum

Good game. That was a tough Pacers bench.

Wolves came out flat for the 100th time this year. That is why they lost

DVR catch up-

I thought that last DLO 3 was going to get the cover for the +2 and up guys. Not that I would bet on the Wolves.

Dang if DLO was avg or even just bad on D instead of terrible he could be a nice player. His passing and shooting at times are top notch.

A good night for my tanking strategy. The Wizards got their 18th win tonight while the Wolves stayed at 13.

Unfortunately, the Wizards beat the Magic who remain stuck at 17 wins. The Magic have a really terrible roster and I don't see them winning more than one more game this season. I'm predicting that the Magic will end up with 18 wins, the Cavs with 19 and the Wizards with 21. So the key for the Wolves to maximize their lottery chances will be finishing with no more than 17 wins. I don't see how the Wolves can possibly finish with fewer than 17 wins. This roster has its flaws, but the overall talent should ensure at least 5 more wins in the final 20 games. I think the Wolves are capable of winning 10 of their remaining 20 games. I'm guessing the Wolves end up winning 7 of those games, which will result in 19 wins at the end of the season and a tie with the Cavs for the 5th worst record. Then it's up to chance and the lottery gods.

I think if Finch can strategically split the point guard minutes three ways so none of them get into a rhythm we should finish in an advantageous spot

lipoli390 wrote:A good night for my tanking strategy. The Wizards got their 18th win tonight while the Wolves stayed at 13.

Unfortunately, the Wizards beat the Magic who remain stuck at 17 wins. The Magic have a really terrible roster and I don't see them winning more than one more game this season. I'm predicting that the Magic will end up with 18 wins, the Cavs with 19 and the Wizards with 21. So the key for the Wolves to maximize their lottery chances will be finishing with no more than 17 wins. I don't see how the Wolves can possibly finish with fewer than 17 wins. This roster has its flaws, but the overall talent should ensure at least 5 more wins in the final 20 games. I think the Wolves are capable of winning 10 of their remaining 20 games. I'm guessing the Wolves end up winning 7 of those games, which will result in 19 wins at the end of the season and a tie with the Cavs for the 5th worst record. Then it's up to chance and the lottery gods.

Wolves: 13-39
Rockets: 13-37
Pistons: 15-36
Magic: 17-34
Wizards: 18-32
Cavs: 18-32

The Magic are up four wins on the Wolves in a race for ping pong balls. I don't see Minnesota making up that ground in the next 20 games. Keep in mind that every team listed above are 3-7 in their last 10 games besides the Rockets who are 2-8. They are winning/losing at comparable rates lately. That would have to change considerably for the Wolves to fall out of the bottom three.

Rosas wont let anyone outtank him and Glen is king of the tank.

Camden wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:A good night for my tanking strategy. The Wizards got their 18th win tonight while the Wolves stayed at 13.

Unfortunately, the Wizards beat the Magic who remain stuck at 17 wins. The Magic have a really terrible roster and I don't see them winning more than one more game this season. I'm predicting that the Magic will end up with 18 wins, the Cavs with 19 and the Wizards with 21. So the key for the Wolves to maximize their lottery chances will be finishing with no more than 17 wins. I don't see how the Wolves can possibly finish with fewer than 17 wins. This roster has its flaws, but the overall talent should ensure at least 5 more wins in the final 20 games. I think the Wolves are capable of winning 10 of their remaining 20 games. I'm guessing the Wolves end up winning 7 of those games, which will result in 19 wins at the end of the season and a tie with the Cavs for the 5th worst record. Then it's up to chance and the lottery gods.

Wolves: 13-39
Rockets: 13-37
Pistons: 15-36
Magic: 17-34
Wizards: 18-32
Cavs: 18-32

The Magic are up four wins on the Wolves in a race for ping pong balls. I don't see Minnesota making up that ground in the next 20 games. Keep in mind that every team listed above are 3-7 in their last 10 games besides the Rockets who are 2-8. They are winning/losing at comparable rates lately. That would have to change considerably for the Wolves to fall out of the bottom three.

You make a good case on the arithmetic. But when I look at the Wolves roster now with DLO back, as well as both KAT and Ant playing consistently well, and compare that to Orlando's roster, I can't help but believe that the Wolves have a good shot at passing them in the standings.

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:A good night for my tanking strategy. The Wizards got their 18th win tonight while the Wolves stayed at 13.

Unfortunately, the Wizards beat the Magic who remain stuck at 17 wins. The Magic have a really terrible roster and I don't see them winning more than one more game this season. I'm predicting that the Magic will end up with 18 wins, the Cavs with 19 and the Wizards with 21. So the key for the Wolves to maximize their lottery chances will be finishing with no more than 17 wins. I don't see how the Wolves can possibly finish with fewer than 17 wins. This roster has its flaws, but the overall talent should ensure at least 5 more wins in the final 20 games. I think the Wolves are capable of winning 10 of their remaining 20 games. I'm guessing the Wolves end up winning 7 of those games, which will result in 19 wins at the end of the season and a tie with the Cavs for the 5th worst record. Then it's up to chance and the lottery gods.

Wolves: 13-39
Rockets: 13-37
Pistons: 15-36
Magic: 17-34
Wizards: 18-32
Cavs: 18-32

The Magic are up four wins on the Wolves in a race for ping pong balls. I don't see Minnesota making up that ground in the next 20 games. Keep in mind that every team listed above are 3-7 in their last 10 games besides the Rockets who are 2-8. They are winning/losing at comparable rates lately. That would have to change considerably for the Wolves to fall out of the bottom three.

You make a good case on the arithmetic. But when I look at the Wolves roster now with DLO back, as well as both KAT and Ant playing consistently well, and compare that to Orlando's roster, I can't help but believe that the Wolves have a good shot at passing them in the standings.

They were down 20+ points in the 1st half to a team without 4 of its 5 best players.

And Indiana was only 22 - 27.

This loss was about as bad as the Houston blowout. Both are inexplicable. In a thread about gambling... how about betting against the Wolves after a win. Every time. It's amusing at this point how complacent this squad looks after even the smallest signs of "success." Pathetic.

No, I did not bet on the Wolves last night, but managed to lose enough baseball bets to have a negative night.

The interesting thing about the game last night was the brutal honesty we received from the broadcast team. They usually don't vent their frustration like that. Both Benz and JPete were clearly annoyed that the Wolves couldn't handle a depleted Pacers group. I guess I'm so used to these performances that one doesn't stand out from another.

Until defense becomes a higher priority we are not going to win consistently. You can have 4 players executing on D, but NBA teams will attack the one that isn't and get easy baskets. Problem is the Wolves sometimes have 3 or 4 players not doing their job on D. It's just not going to work.