Minnesota Sports Forum

Last night marked the moment, we have officially entered the era of our best basketball since 2004. How does it feel? Are you happy to get this 14 year reward. Do you look back with fondness to the despair of the Telfair years, and Kahn? Rubio and Love never getting over the hump? Are you afraid this era will be mired with some lurking sinister evil? I am very happy where things are at. Thibs may not be perfect but he had his hand in bringing us here. Can we go further? I hope so. Good on all of you for enduring. I know there are many people that have been posting here and on ESPN since the KG years. Crazy to think that some of us have been interacting for 14 years.

Go Wolves.

That is crazy....and we STILL might not make the playoffs.

The last couple games have really been adding to the expectations. The fact that Rose has come in and is showing signs of being a potential asset off the bench amazes me. Wiggins recent play, while maybe a mirage, has added a little momentum to the idea he may live up to that contract. Optimism and Minnesota sports rarely go hand in hand for long though!

Q12543 wrote:That is crazy....and we STILL might not make the playoffs.

We would have to lose a handful of games to teams actively trying to tank in order to miss the playoffs at this point. I think we're a lock for the post-season, but the toss-up is what seed will we finish with? Smart money says fifth just behind Portland and Oklahoma City, but I still think the Blazers and Thunder could have speed bumps ahead -- especially Portland. They're good, but they're not double-digit win streak good. Lillard has been playing out of his mind, even for him, lately.

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:That is crazy....and we STILL might not make the playoffs.

We would have to lose a handful of games to teams actively trying to tank in order to miss the playoffs at this point. I think we're a lock for the post-season, but the toss-up is what seed will we finish with? Smart money says fifth just behind Portland and Oklahoma City, but I still think the Blazers and Thunder could have speed bumps ahead -- especially Portland. They're good, but they're not double-digit win streak good. Lillard has been playing out of his mind, even for him, lately.

There are several Western teams playing very very well. I don't see why that's going to suddenly stop... especially if they're fighting for positioning (or playoff berth) while many opponents won't be.

Portland. Won 13 out of 14... and on a 20 - 6 run.
Utah. 21 - 3 in the past month.
New Orleans. 14 - 4 run... and they've won 6 OT games since the middle of January!
Oklahoma City. 11 - 4 run.
San Antonio. Won 5 in a row.
Minnesota. 5 - 5 without Butler. 12 - 15 in its last 27 games.

Fortunately, the Timberwolves have an easier schedule than others. Because there's nothing in those trends to suggest the team is ready for a breakout while the other teams will struggle.

Agree with Abe....but in looking at strength of remaining schedule....ours is about as easy as it can get. Many of those teams hanging around us have tough remaining games. And someone brought it up in another thread....there are 3 teams simply performing at levels that aren't sustainable with the talent on their rosters. Portland, NO and Utah will come down to earth. You could expect sustainable winning from Rockets, GS, etc, but not from the teams I listed. They simply don't have the talent or depth to win like they are long term.

I'm with Cam on the Wolves being a lock for the playoffs. The schedule difference between the Wolves and the other competition for the playoffs is huge, and the main reason for the lock. Just look at how the Wolves schedule difficulty to-date compares to others in the Sagarin ratings (4th vs everyone else in the 20s):

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/sagarin/

But another reason for the opTIMism is how the Wolves have matured without Butler. After Butler went down we were fortunate to win our next 2 easy games, but were potentially looking at going winless the next 8 games. We managed to win 3 of those 8. Wiggins and Teague have really stepped up and KAT has been able to do more of what he already does.

The Wolves should win the majority of their remaining games, and could even run the table. As Cam mentioned, the other teams have some speed bumps in the road, whether it is playing some of the top teams, or playing each other. The rest of the season should be fun to watch!

Hicks123 wrote:Agree with Abe....but in looking at strength of remaining schedule....ours is about as easy as it can get. Many of those teams hanging around us have tough remaining games. And someone brought it up in another thread....there are 3 teams simply performing at levels that aren't sustainable with the talent on their rosters. Portland, NO and Utah will come down to earth. You could expect sustainable winning from Rockets, GS, etc, but not from the teams I listed. They simply don't have the talent or depth to win like they are long term.

I think I disagree about one team in particular... Utah.

They are 21 - 3. The Timberwolves, in 29 years, has never gone 21 - 3 over any 24-game stretch. That's crazy good and large enough that it's not a fluke.

It's not an accident that it coincides with a very important addition to its lineup... a healthy Rudy Gobert. That team is so good defensively with him in the lineup, I just don't see them slipping much even with a decent-at-best offense.

As for Portland... the late-season run isn't new to them. Remember, that team was only 24 - 35 last season before going 17 - 5 to force their way into the playoffs. The previous season they were 19 - 26 before finishing on a 25 - 12 run.

Abe, I am NOT saying these teams are going to fall off the earth here. I guess my point, even with Utah, is that a 20-3 record is not sustainable over the course of next 23 games IMO. Love Gobert.....I know his impact. But when you look at that roster, is there anything else about it that says 20-3? That puts them on par with best teams ever assembled, which they are not.

I guess I view this as law of averages. Could Utah stay hot....maybe. But the odds of all of Utah, NO and Portland continuing their current torrid pace....HIGHLY unlikely.

Been posting since the Mook was in the highpost on the old ESPN board. It's been a long, tough slog the last 14 years, and while our schedule looks friendly, I'm not taking ANYTHING for granted. The other playoff teams in the West are playing great right now and objectively speaking, unless they start showing some real weaknesses and start to falter down the stretch, I think I'd take basically all of them over us in the playoffs unless we get Butler back. If we don't get Butler back, I think we might have 50-50 odds against New Orleans and San Antonio (assuming no Kawhi), otherwise, I'd take the everyone above us over us. Bottom line, we really need Butler back and we'd better hope Hicks is right that these teams aren't as good as their records (but I'm wary--the other teams in the West look really freaking good right now). Oddly, one team with a lot of question marks is Golden State because of the injuries. It's unfortunate and I hope they get those guys back because I always want to see the best basketball we can (unless we face them in the first round!).