It is Prince

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

Abe

I think KG can do 11/6/3/1/1, with like a 20 PER, playing 20-24 minutes. That's pretty good prorated to 36 or 48 minutes.

I've said it before: If this team plays their top ten players 24 minutes each, rather than trying to have five 36 minute guys and five 12 minute guys, they will make the playoffs.

My biggest fear is Flip is too "old school", which I realize is a nonsensical term as I type it because I can remember him playing in college, to figure it out.

They have a good cross-section of talent and skills in their top ten. There isn't a lineup anyone can throw at them that they couldn't figure out. Don't get me wrong, if Curry is hitting, he's hitting. But they shouldn't get beat this year from out-and-out incompetence. If that is happening, I don't know what to say.

[Carlos Danger]

Nope. Not missing your point on injuries/time missed at all. I've left that portion of my quote above. It's obvious and I acknowledge the injuries would logically equate to less wins. I just don't think it should have led to worst team in the NBA. To counter some of your other points:

1.) Wiggins is one of our best stars and played all 82 games.

2.) LaVine is someone many believe should be our start ahead of Martin this year and played in 77 games last year.

3.) Dieng is someone many believe to be a solid Center (although a drop off from Pek). He played 73 games last year.

4.) The combo of Thad Young/KG/Payne was a mess at PF. But the lack of games played had less to do with injuries and more to do with ineffective play. If Thad played well, he would have locked down the starting PF spot.

In other words...several guys we are excited about for this year contributed a lot to last year.

Rubio was the big injury that killed us. But again, a couple years ago he went down for significant time too and Adelman won more games with less. It is what it is. We had one of the worst seasons in Franchise history last year. Certainly the coach of said squad has to shoulder some accountability - right? And again, I fully recognize that Flip went into Tank Mode knowing that Flip the GM had his back. I'm not calling for Flip's head. I'm stating the obvious. The injury excuse is too convenient. They have talent. They need to play better.

You might want to re-evaluate the bolded part above. The wolves were 21-20 at the end of the laker game when Ricky went down. They finished 26-40, which is a 5-20 record after Ricky. I made the point then that Adelman actually didn't do any better than Rambis before him, when taking into account what Rambis had for a PG.

Of course it was soon to be HOF'er Rick Adelman, so that was just crazy talk?

It looks like you've been waiting over three years to pull that one out of your holster but unfortunately I was actually referring to the 12-13 season with my comment. However, to your ax with Adelman....Adelman took over a 17 win team and immediately improved them to a 26 win team during the strike shortened season (only 66 games/no training camp from what I recall). The defensive rating went from 111 in both years with Rambis to 106.6 in Adelman's 1st year then to 105.4 in his second year. (We were back to 112 last year). IMO Adelman did a good job. But in fairness to Flip, it's two very different situations. Adleman was in "Win now" mode vs. what we all realize was a "Tank" or "Developmental" year last year with Flip. Still, the poor defense last year was alarming to many of us. And I agree with the comments Q made regarding that. It has to improve significantly. Some of that is on the players. But some has to go to coaching too. They know their players strengths/weaknesses and should scheme accordingly.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

I'm with Anthony, I mean Carlos. Adelman wasn't the problem. Kahn was.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I think everyone would say the coach and the GM (Flip) deserves the responsibility of the 16 win season but I don't think your context in which you are looking at it is reasonable. Two 19 year old rookies playing big minutes aren't going to win or keep you in games especially Lavine who was raw after now starting in college. Rubio played less than half as many games last year as he did when they won 31 games. Pek played almost 3 times as many games and was more effective. Last year was clearly a developmental year before the season was half over. Sure they were trying to win games but they were doing it while throwing young guys out there and trading vets for whatever they could get. Do you think the Wolves would have won 31 games if they had traded JJ and Ridour for nothing half way through that season? I bet Adelman would have loved those moves. Lol

A couple of you have used the "19 year old rookie" line now which is true. But I think we can agree that #1 over all picks probably land in a different status bucket - right? I mean, do we lump Towns and Tyus Jones in the same bucket this year? Of course not. Towns is expected to contribute right away just like Wiggins last year. Top 5 lotto picks should be considered instant upgrades to most rosters. So I don't consider him playing a lot of minutes a negative, but rather a positive to the team. The stats back that up (Wiggins was second on the team in Win Shares).

Regarding it being a developmental year...Yes. I've repeatedly acknowledged that by stating over and over that Flip the Coach had the backing of Flip the GM to experiment and tank. But Flip assembled the roster and coached the team, so he has ultimate accountability. Maybe it would have been better to hold onto JJ Barea and cut loose GR3 to start the year? That would have given us better depth at PG to withstand the Rubio injury. We had to pay Barea regardless (buy out or salary). And GR3 never saw the court so that was just a wasted roster spot. Maybe Flip should have realized Turiaf was hurt to start the year and kept another big? We all know Pek's feet/ankles are chronic, so that was a disaster waiting to happen leaving only Dieng and Bennett/Hummel as bigs for a while. I know - hindsight always 20/20. I'm just saying Flip has to own all the things that contributed to one of the worst seasons in Franchise history. The good news is the bar is now set ridiculously low and there is really no place to go but up.

Carlos- As die-hard Wolves fans, most of us were excited about the potential our two 19 year olds showed last year. They both had their moments, and gave some indication that they might both be stars someday. But their contributions toward wins were really rather meagre, as I maintain most rookies' are. While Wiggins scored 17 a game, he didn't do it efficiently...his PER ranked 28th among NBA small forwards, right behind future HOFer TJ Warren (also a rookie). LaVine's stats were even worse, as his dreadful 11.31 PER ranked him 62nd. Don't get me wrong, I'm high on both these guys...those are just the kind of stats really good rookies put up as they try to adjust to the NBA. I'm equally excited about KAT, but we all saw both the good and the bad Karl in Summer League, and I expect the same mixed results his rookie year. So while I'm not a huge Flip proponent, I place the blame for the failed 2014-5 season squarely on the horrible injury situation that forced us to play not-yet-ready guys way too many minutes.

But that's also why I'm excited about this year and the future for this club. Talented players tend to make a big leap as they get into their 2nd and 3rd years, and we have more talented players in those two categories (Wiggins, Lavine, Muhammad, Dieng, Payne and Bennett) than any other team...heck, 40% of our roster is approaching either their 2nd or 3rd year. I look for these guys to take a quantum leap this season.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Lavine, Brown, Wiggins, Bud, Hamilton, AP, Onuaku, and Hummel was our entire healthy roster for a decent chunk of last year. Pop isn't getting a single win out of that lineup either. Blame Flip all you want, he had a team full of young players and not enough healthy bodies to ever practice down the stretch to actually coach up a defense. Name one plus defender in that lineup outside of Wiggins. There isn't one. How is any coach having a half decent defensive scheme implemented with no defenders and no practice time to implement a scheme. 4 of those guys were mid-season acquisitions who didn't get to practice at all and didn't have the luxury of a training camp to at least have a base line of understanding of the defensive game plan. I think you're really overrating what any coach could do with that lineup playing as much as they did. That's honestly one of the worst lineups of all time and it makes sense they couldn't win anything.

I'm not a fan of Flip as a defensive coach, but Thibs honestly couldn't do that much better with what we had available last year and the amount of practice time we had.

[Carlos Danger]

Lavine, Brown, Wiggins, Bud, Hamilton, AP, Onuaku, and Hummel was our entire healthy roster for a decent chunk of last year. Pop isn't getting a single win out of that lineup either. Blame Flip all you want, he had a team full of young players and not enough healthy bodies to ever practice down the stretch to actually coach up a defense. Name one plus defender in that lineup outside of Wiggins. There isn't one. How is any coach having a half decent defensive scheme implemented with no defenders and no practice time to implement a scheme. 4 of those guys were mid-season acquisitions who didn't get to practice at all and didn't have the luxury of a training camp to at least have a base line of understanding of the defensive game plan. I think you're really overrating what any coach could do with that lineup playing as much as they did. That's honestly one of the worst lineups of all time and it makes sense they couldn't win anything.

I'm not a fan of Flip as a defensive coach, but Thibs honestly couldn't do that much better with what we had available last year and the amount of practice time we had.

You are sneaking in a few names for effect. Many of those guys played bit parts i.e. Onuaku's 6 games/68 minutes. Only three of the 3 of the 8 guys you listed were actually high minute guys (over 1000). Those guys were Wiggins, LaVine and Bud - none of which are bad players. The main contributors to last year's team based on minutes played were:

1.) Wiggins - 2969
2.) Dieng - 2193
3.) LaVine - 1902
4.) Thad - 1605
5.) Martin - 1302

Four of those five guys will be expected to start and/or play high minutes again this season. So, if you are saying Flip didn't have any talent to work with last year, then you will be equally disappointed this year. Personally, I'm hoping the defensive breakdowns had more to do with implementation/Execution vs. talent. That's why I'm saying coaching has to be part of the discussion for improving this team. I'm not calling for Flip's head. I'm not saying all our players are terrible. I'm not saying it's the end of the world. I'm just saying I think we can improve the defensive scheme/game planning. It was unwatchable last year.

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

Abe

I think KG can do 11/6/3/1/1, with like a 20 PER, playing 20-24 minutes. That's pretty good prorated to 36 or 48 minutes.

I've said it before: If this team plays their top ten players 24 minutes each, rather than trying to have five 36 minute guys and five 12 minute guys, they will make the playoffs.

My biggest fear is Flip is too "old school", which I realize is a nonsensical term as I type it because I can remember him playing in college, to figure it out.

They have a good cross-section of talent and skills in their top ten. There isn't a lineup anyone can throw at them that they couldn't figure out. Don't get me wrong, if Curry is hitting, he's hitting. But they shouldn't get beat this year from out-and-out incompetence. If that is happening, I don't know what to say.

I doubt it, that would be KG's best year in years.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe

I think KG can do 11/6/3/1/1, with like a 20 PER, playing 20-24 minutes. That's pretty good prorated to 36 or 48 minutes.

I've said it before: If this team plays their top ten players 24 minutes each, rather than trying to have five 36 minute guys and five 12 minute guys, they will make the playoffs.

My biggest fear is Flip is too "old school", which I realize is a nonsensical term as I type it because I can remember him playing in college, to figure it out.

They have a good cross-section of talent and skills in their top ten. There isn't a lineup anyone can throw at them that they couldn't figure out. Don't get me wrong, if Curry is hitting, he's hitting. But they shouldn't get beat this year from out-and-out incompetence. If that is happening, I don't know what to say.

Garnett hasn't even hit 7 ppg in two seasons. He hasn't hit 3 assists in 7 seasons. He hasn't hit 20 PER in four seasons.

It's nice to see you optimistic that a 39-year-old can turn his career around at such an advanced age... but NBA history is not on your side.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Abe

I think KG can do 11/6/3/1/1, with like a 20 PER, playing 20-24 minutes. That's pretty good prorated to 36 or 48 minutes.

I've said it before: If this team plays their top ten players 24 minutes each, rather than trying to have five 36 minute guys and five 12 minute guys, they will make the playoffs.

My biggest fear is Flip is too "old school", which I realize is a nonsensical term as I type it because I can remember him playing in college, to figure it out.

They have a good cross-section of talent and skills in their top ten. There isn't a lineup anyone can throw at them that they couldn't figure out. Don't get me wrong, if Curry is hitting, he's hitting. But they shouldn't get beat this year from out-and-out incompetence. If that is happening, I don't know what to say.

Garnett hasn't even hit 7 ppg in two seasons. He hasn't hit 3 assists in 7 seasons. He hasn't hit 20 PER in four seasons.

It's nice to see you optimistic that a 39-year-old can turn his career around at such an advanced age... but NBA history is not on your side.

(neither is science)

[Phenom]

Abe

I think KG can do 11/6/3/1/1, with like a 20 PER, playing 20-24 minutes. That's pretty good prorated to 36 or 48 minutes.

I've said it before: If this team plays their top ten players 24 minutes each, rather than trying to have five 36 minute guys and five 12 minute guys, they will make the playoffs.

My biggest fear is Flip is too "old school", which I realize is a nonsensical term as I type it because I can remember him playing in college, to figure it out.

They have a good cross-section of talent and skills in their top ten. There isn't a lineup anyone can throw at them that they couldn't figure out. Don't get me wrong, if Curry is hitting, he's hitting. But they shouldn't get beat this year from out-and-out incompetence. If that is happening, I don't know what to say.

Garnett hasn't even hit 7 ppg in two seasons. He hasn't hit 3 assists in 7 seasons. He hasn't hit 20 PER in four seasons.

It's nice to see you optimistic that a 39-year-old can turn his career around at such an advanced age... but NBA history is not on your side.

(neither is science)

Nationwide is, however.