Minnesota Sports Forum

Predict how many games you think the Wolves will win of their first ten games. Here's the schedule:

Oct 26 @ Memphis 5:00 PM
Oct 29 @ Sacramento 7:30 PM
Nov 1 vs Memphis 5:00 PM
Nov 3 vs Denver 5:00 PM
Nov 5 @ Oklahoma City 3:00 PM
Nov 8 @ Brooklyn 4:30 PM
Nov 9 @ Orlando 4:00 PM
Nov 12 vs LA Clippers 5:00 PM
Nov 13 vs LA Lakers 4:00 PM
Nov 15 vs Charlotte 5:00 PM

Not exactly a murderer's row, is it?

6 wins

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Not exactly a murderer's row, is it?

Yeah maybe those schedulers are on the bandwagon too? I put 7 wins. I don't think we'll win both against Memphis, OKC and the Clippers will be tough. I find it hard to imagine that we can't be at least competitive in all these games though.

I voted 8! I say they win one vs Memphis and one between Clips and Thunder. Six or seven was probably the more reasonable number, but when have I ever been reasonable?

I voted 7 which is ridiculously optimistic for me, but Abe was spot on when you look at those first 10 games on paper - not a lot of world beaters there and if we have any designs on making the playoffs, we have to win our fair share of games against Memphis, Denver, and other middle-ing teams.

I fully expect the Wolves to be a much better team later in the season.

They're so young. And it's an entirely new coach/structure/et al. Even battling expectations for the first time can be a challenge.

I'm gonna go with 5 wins. Even with that easy schedule. None of those teams are blatantly tanking... yet.

Where is the option? "...up to 11"

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I fully expect the Wolves to be a much better season later in the season.

They're so young. And it's an entirely new coach/structure/et al. Even battling expectations for the first time can be a challenge.

I'm gonna go with 5 wins. Even with that easy schedule. None of those teams are blatantly tanking... yet.

The bold is what I based much of my 6 win prediction on. You can't expect to be a well oiled machine right off the bat with a new coach and some new players.

While I understand the "they'll be better late in the season" sentiment, I'll offer a few reasons why I don't think the performance curve will be linear.

First, we have the same 5 starters that we ended with last season. That's huge from a continuity standpoint. Even the first 5 guys off the bench have two players from the regular rotation from last year.

Second, we are heading into the season injury-free. A lot of teams are already reeling a bit from early injury struggles (Memphis will likely be without Parsons - a key guy for them). Just to start the year with a healthy roster and no one coming off of major surgery is a "win".

Third, as noted, our schedule is sorta soft to start the year.

And lastly, Thibs has had his hands on these guys since September - i.e. the camp before the camp. The fact they were the #2 rated defense in pre-season suggests that they've been listening.

I believe the team we see in the first 10 games or so will be indicative of the team we see later in the year.