Minnesota Sports Forum

This is the dead time of the basketball year, which sucks, but I have to say I'm already getting a little amped up for the coming season.

Every year there is "potential" with this downtrodden franchise...from when we traded for Al-Jeff...to when Ricky finally came over from Spain...to when Darko came back and destroyed the league--for a game...

But this year, honestly, feels different.

We got Wiggins, the super athlete who was scoring 20 ppg the last half of his 19 year-old season.

We got the #1 pick in the draft, BIG KAT, looking like he has a multitude of skills to bring to the league...and KG to mentor him.

We got guys like Bazz (who was really playing well last year before he got hurt, and continues turning himself into a physical specimen) and Lavine (Uber athletic, showing takeover scoring ability), and Rick Rubio (he can still pass and defend)...

And even other guys like Payne, Euro MVP, Bennett, Jones, Pek, K-Mart, Dieng, who have game or have nice potential...

And one more thought: the best thing this team might do is play defense. Rubio, steals leader, Wiggins, lock down wing defender, Towns, defending the rim. Both Towns and Wiggins need to get stronger, but still...

Anyway, this is gonna be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing a highlight factory at Target Center. Just wish the season could start today. We MAY be comin'.

I'm hoping last season was the last disappointing season we feel as fans for a long time. No more losing seasons! I don't know if I can come back here again next summer and after another losing season.

Hoowwwwwlllllllll!!!! Good post Mister Misty!

It would have been fun to watch last year's team if we didn't have all the injuries. Every team has injuries. But I think it's fair to say last year was not "normal" in that 3 out of our starting 5 were out for a big chunk of the year. Not many teams can over come that. I applaud Flip for recognizing the situation early and going into full tank mode. A few more wins last year would not have helped this Franchise. But having the #1 overall pick instantly improved everyone's outlook going forward. Go Wolves!

As I've posted several times before, I look at the first four games prior to Ricky's injury for a barometer on how good last year's team could have been. While they only went 2-2, they looked to me like a team that was at the same level as Memphis and Chicago...two teams who easily made the playoffs last year. Unfortunately after Ricky went down, the season became forgettable again.

As I evaluate this year, I do it with a mindset that our injuries will be similar to other teams. I know that hasn't been the case for several years, but evaluating a beat-up team is too difficult to do. So how does the 2015-6 team look compared to last year's? Here are some of the improvements I see:

1) Players almost always take a quantum leap in their second and third years, and we have more of those in key roles than arguably any other team. Wiggins, LaVine, Muhammad, Dieng, Payne, and Bennett all could be much better NBA players this year, and that has to have a huge positive impact on this team.

2) For the past few years we have seen leads disappear when Rubio was subbed out. But now we have a veteran backup PG who has been a +/- star his entire career...without much drop off late in the 30s. Miller is not going to provide a lot of highlights, but he knows how to manage a game...and we have missed that the past 3 years.

3) KG only played a handful of games last year, but along with our first 4 of the year, they were our best basketball of the year. When KG was playing, we just looked so much more active and polished...on both offense and defense. Flip has said he wants KG to play at least 20 minutes a game and even play some BTBs, and his impact is going to be very positive.

4) You never know what you are going to get from a rookie, but the odds of a significant contribution are better when that rookie is the consensus #1 pick. I don't expect a Wiggins-like debut for Towns, but I also don't think he will need to contribute as much as Wiggins did because we have so many more options at his two positions. Towns will have his ups and downs, but he will give us a lot of good minutes at two positions too.

5) I don't know what Bjelica is going to give us, but it's logical to assume that a veteran, Euro-MVP is ready to have a positive impact.

6) This next one is purely speculation, but I sense that Flip knows he has to evolve as a coach. He can be stubborn, but he is also smart, and it's not possible for him to ignore the fact that his long 2-heavy offense doesn't produce the same efficiency. I like some of the comments he has made in the off-season, and while I don't expect the Wolves to suddenly become a leading 3-point shooting team, I do think they will gradually move toward a more efficient offense.

How many other teams, if any, can list so many positives and reasons for a big improvement? So, lots of reasons for August optimism. We were a very good team last year when Rubio and KG played, and there are several positive additions to this year's roster. If Ricky goes down again, the season will be lost again, so there will be some anxious moments all year whenever we see him limping or lying on the court. But things generally even up over time, and the Wolves are long overdue to be at last middle of the pack as far as injuries go. That, and 45 wins, is my expectation.

With the odds of us winning the lottery AGAIN next season being so low, there really is no possible way for this franchise (and its fans) to be any more excited going into a season than this year. If we have a bunch of injuries and finish below 30 wins (again), its not going to look nearly as bright next August. This season just feels different and with a little injury luck, we should be primed to make a major leap.

On one shoulder sits the demon of Timberwolves seasons past, on the other the angel of hope. I have to admit, their battle for control of my opinion is pretty even at this point. I'm no where near as excited as I should be, as I was going into the last couple of seasons with Love on the team. Thats not because I like Love, I don't, but I believed the team was on the verge of breaking through. Looking at this team I should feel more of the same, maybe even stronger because most of the talent is also young talent, but that demon makes a great argument against the Wolves ever getting through a season without breaking our hearts.

Go Wolves... or something.

I am looking forward to a season filled with progress and promise, but not wins. I hope our young guns shine.

As for August hype, it looks like we have some passing accuracy coming from the quarterback spot! Thank god for Northwestern quarterbacks. Kind of nice having one on our side for once! ;-)

60WinTim wrote:As for August hype, it looks like we have some passing accuracy coming from the quarterback spot! Thank god for Northwestern quarterbacks. Kind of nice having one on our side for once! ;-)

Hey save that OpTIMism for the Vikings board it needs all the posts in can get. Seriously there are actually a couple recent posts over check it out. :)

monsterpile wrote:

60WinTim wrote:As for August hype, it looks like we have some passing accuracy coming from the quarterback spot! Thank god for Northwestern quarterbacks. Kind of nice having one on our side for once! ;-)

Hey save that OpTIMism for the Vikings board it needs all the posts in can get. Seriously there are actually a couple recent posts over check it out. :)

I just saw that this morning. Maybe I'll visit there a bit more...

In the meantime, back to basketball opTIMism! DA has the Wolves ranked #5 in terms of offseason moves...

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/david_aldridge/08/10/morning-tip-2015-offseason-grades-the-top-10/index.html