Minnesota Sports Forum

I know I'm probably getting way ahead of myself but just watching these two games, scoreboard aside our team overall just looks convincingly better then Orlando and OKC, more athletic, more size, better cohesion defensively, we don't look like a scrappy team anymore we look TALENTED.....god this is going to be such a rewarding after watching/trudging 50+ plus games each of the past 10 seasons.

2nd greatest Wolves team in history, not sure what happened with the title lol

OKC doesn't have scorers beyond Durant and Westbrook and tonight was without Westbrook. You can only play the players that they put on the floor and the Wolves dominated them, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking this OKC team is the same as if Westbrook was on the court.

Why can't they be THE greatest Wolves team ever? Not to write off the '03-'04 Wolves, but I'm just saying, I wouldn't rule that out just yet.

TheSP wrote:OKC doesn't have scorers beyond Durant and Westbrook and tonight was without Westbrook. You can only play the players that they put on the floor and the Wolves dominated them, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking this OKC team is the same as if Westbrook was on the court.

this is very true, but it doesn't account for how incredibly potent we look on offense

BloopOracle wrote:

TheSP wrote:OKC doesn't have scorers beyond Durant and Westbrook and tonight was without Westbrook. You can only play the players that they put on the floor and the Wolves dominated them, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking this OKC team is the same as if Westbrook was on the court.

this is very true, but it doesn't account for how incredibly potent we look on offense

When the Wolves are on their offensive game this year it is going to be tough for any team to stop them. I'm not suggesting that if Westbrook played the Wolves wouldn't have won, just that it most likely would have been a game, not a blowout!

Great game by the entire team!!

Great game, but let's watch a couple weeks before we start talking about this kind of stuff.

To me, here's what this game tells us. 1) We've got to get going offensively down low with Pek and Love and get the other team into foul trouble fast while protecting the ball. 2) We've got to be tenacious on defense, hustle like crazy, and let that lead to offensive opportunities.

If we don't do those things, we'll have a tough time winning games. If we do, we should win enough to make the playoffs and even be a possible threat to one of those top teams in the West.

We've got talent, but not crazy talent like the Clippers, Rockets, or OKC, and we don't have the winning culture and veteran savvy of the Spurs or *yes* Lakers (if they get Kobe back, could still be pretty good). If we play our cards right, we could be like the Grizz or Golden State, with some good but not super-duper-star talent, but who are a threat in the playoffs because they play together and work like crazy. If we keep winning over the next few weeks, then we'll have a better sense of whether we can be a team like that this year.

Drew, I would argue that we have a superstar on our hands with Kevin Love, and that's something Memphis doesn't have. Granted, Love isn't on the level of Durant or LeBron or probably not even Chris Paul. But he is right there in that next tier of superstar. He's a top 7 or 8 talent and the closest thing we'll see to a "franchise player" around these parts.

I think health and depth are still the key hurdles to success. This was a great win not only for the dominant performance, but because it allowed us to rest our starters. It's really important for us not to have to play Love, Martin, etc. 38-40 minutes+ per game every night.

Love's better than Marc Gasol, but Gasol's impact on both ends makes him pretty close. And I'd put Stephen Curry in that conversation. But I'd still put CP3/Griffin, Durant/Westbrook, and Harden/Dwight a big notch above those teams. And Parker/Popovich(!) are still a possible threat. Jury's out on Kobe and Gasol given their situation, but they COULD possibly get back on top. I think teams like Memphis and Golden State (like Indiana out East) don't have that top-heavy talent, and as good as Love is, I wouldn't say he's THAT good, or that we have a top-tier number 2 like those top teams.

Where we're also similar to teams like Golden State and Memphis is that, like Golden State or the Grizz, we'll have to rely on good 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th guys, like you mention, at least more than those top teams do. Westbrook's injury showed what happened if they lost him last year, but as long as those teams keep their big 2, they'll be threats even if they lose their number 3 or 4 guys. I don't think that's the same for that more middle-playoff tier of teams, which is where I think we can get to if we keep playing like this. So I think we're kind of agreeing here on the importance of health and depth, which I think is more crucial for teams like ours because as good as Love is, I just don't think of this team as having top-tier talent like those top 3 or 4 teams in the West. The Grizz and Pacers have showed though, that you can still win without it though.

My view is closer to Q's. The duo of Love and Ricky is not on par with Durant and Westbrook, but it's still an elite duo and a better one than the Gasol/Randolph duo in Memphis. Love dominates the boards and still puts up 22+ points a night. And he scores his points in multiple ways that makes him and the Wolves more difficult to prepare for than Marc Gasol and the Griz. When shoots reasonably well as he did tonight, he's a game-changer because of all the things he does on both ends. I dare say that Ricky is the best passer and playmaker in the league today. And he may be the best defensive PG in the League. Time will tell as the season progresses, but there are signs that the Love/Rubio duo is elite. Add Pek to the mix and this team has the makings of something special.

I'm still underwhelmed by Martin thus far.