Now vs Then

[bleedspeed]

Looking at the 2003-04 Wolves vs the 2013-14 Wolves and breaking down who is better.

I think Rick is a better coach then Flip so - Edge 13-14

PG: Rubio vs Cassell - I loved Cassell for his ability to hit the clutch shots, but Rubio has shown he can be clutch. He might not be the shooter that Cassell is, but he is 10 times the defender. - Push

SG: Martin vs Sprewell - I think that Martin is going to be great here, but Sprewell brought it at both ends. I will give this to the 03-04 team. - Edge 03-04

SF: Budinger vs Hassell - Hassell was a lock down defender, but I think the rules change would have killed him. - Push

PF: Love vs KG - KG was at his peak. Love could match it with a 25/15 year, but I will give this to KG and his 03-04 team - Edge 03-04

C: Pekovic vs Johnson - This is not even close. Pekovic is the best center we have had in team history. - Edge 13-14

Depth:
03-04 Team - Hoiberg, Injured Wally, Mark Madsen
vs
13-14 Team - Barea, Brewer, DWilliams, Turiaf, Shved

I would have to go with the 13-14 team.

My finally tally
03-04 2pts
13-14 3pts

[thedoper]

I count Cassel as being more valuable than Ricky right now. Ricky can be better than Cassel. But Sam won us many games that year and in the playoffs. Cassel was also no slouch in running an offense especially tempo wise. Which is something Ricky will improve at once he can make his own shot. It is still kind of go, go, go with Ricky. But a fun discussion either way. 03-04 had a big edge on D I would say. Where as the offense seems to be a push.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I think you nailed it, doper...pretty close on offense, but a huge edge to 03-04 on defense, even taking into account Cassell. Garnett was in his prime defensively, Hassell was very effective at the 3, and although he had slowed a little from his best defensive years, Sprewell was still an elite defender.

I side with bleed, though, on the point guard comparison. Even though Cassell has always been one of my favorite players and was exceptionally balanced offensively in his ability to score and distribute, his defense was laughable...even before he hurt his hip. He showed no interest in defense if it wasn't crunch time, but even when he kicked up his effort late in close games, he just wasn't athletic or skilled enough to be even an average defender. Sammy was spectacular offensively that year, but the gap between the two on defense is just as wide.

And I would argue that the center chasm might have been even larger than suggested by bleed, because the Kandi man actually got the most minutes at center that year.

[KiwiMatt]

Good post Bleed.

Two completely different teams in my opinion so hard to compare. The 03/04 was a jump shooting team, with next to no inside scoring options. 13/14 we have Pek who will command attention down low and create better looks for our perimeter jump shooters.

Similarities are that back then we had a big three in KG, Sam I Am, and 'Can't feed my kids' Sprewell. This year we have our own big three in Blonde Ricky, The Love Train and The Bulkan Bulldozer.

Trenton Hassel was actually a big part of that team, and it goes to show that you can go deep in to the playoffs without having a bonafide starter at the SF position. IMO Brewer will give more to this team this season than Hassel did back then, in terms of defense, hussle and scoring.

Martin gives us Wally's shooting and our depth is considerably better than the 03/04 squad.

KG carried that team, and thats exactly what we need from Love this season. Put this team on his shoulders and take us, not only to the playoffs, but in to the 2nd round. That is my expectations anyhow.

[Crazysauce]

Agree you underrate Sammy. He was amazing and as much as I absolutely love Rubio, Cassell in this scenario would be the better player. In fact, I can pretty much assure you we would have won it all had Sam been healthy and played in the WCF. Makes me sick just thinking about it. We seem to be a cursed franchise.

[Monster]

This is fun to think about. I also think as much as Rubio is a very good player its hard to say I wouldn't rather have Cassell from that year. The guy was money on the offensive end and maybe his D wasn't good, but he played a ton of minutes on a top 10 defensive team. I don't want to underrate Rubio's effect on the defensive end, but Cassell was just SOOOOO good that year. One guy thats been left out of this comparison is Gary Trent. He was pretty effective as a bench player that year. It looks like our bench is better than that team, but we have to see how things shake out. Wally and Hoiberg was such fantastic shooters off the bench and both guys did more than just hit shots actually.

[bleedspeed]

I can agree on Cassell, but I think that Rubio will have a special year with a team built for him.

The more I think about it I think Brewer should start with Rubio and Martin. They seem to fit perfectly.

[Leado01]

I think Brewer will start - We have a lot of flexibility in what Adelman can do with 1-4. You could also run an all tall-skinny lineup with Shved, Brewer, Martin, Johnson and Deing. 5 guys that total 30 feet and only 1,000 lbs - that's impressive.