Minnesota Sports Forum

I don't know that I have ever seen such a tough schedule to start a season involving back to back games. We will complete our 5th b-b tomorrow in our first 15 games with none of them consisting of a home stand. It doesn't get any better after that because we will have another 3 (still no home stands) in the next 11 games. That is 8 games on the back end that they have to travel for in the first 26 games.

Yeah the Wolves are really getting bent over by this year's schedule. My biggest beef though is this: why is the team that has to travel the most miles of any team in the league given a home game in Mexico??? And on top of that, it's against arguably the best team in the league in the Spurs. Wtf.

A last parting shot from Stern, who everyone knows hates the Wolves?!?

~

Just posted this on another thread but I'll post again here

Wolves play the following teams on second nights of back to backs

Cavs
@Clippers
Celtics
Clippers
@Rockets
@Thunder
76ers
@Celtics
@Bucks
Jazz
@Blazers
@Hawks
@Thunder
Blazers
@Blazers
@Rockets
@Grizzlies
Clippers
@Magic
@Warriors

Talk about a screw job

Blazers 3 times
Clippers 3 times
Thunder twice
Rockets twice
Grizzlies once
Warriors once

For these teams we get them on second night as follows

Blazers once
Clippers once
Thunder zero
Rockets zero
Grizzlies zero
Warriors once
Spurs zero

Seems a little fishy.

Portland plays MN at least twice on back-to-back games. Both are in MN. And, both at the end of a long road trip for Portland. Those should be "scheduled wins" for MN.

But, I get your point. That #8 spot is gonna be tough...

Portland, on the other hand. has had an unbelievably easy schedule early. And they have been incredibly lucky on top of that. Two nights ago they trailed Chicago by 20 when Rose goes down, and they come back to win. The same night Iggy goes down...I didn't even have to look to see who Golden State was playing next. I just knew it was going to be Portland, and it was!

Don't get me wrong...Portland is better than I thought they were. But if the schedules were equal, I think the Wolves would be ahead of them in the standings.

Yes, the Wolves have faced a terrible schedule early. But they are still on the cusp of the 8th seed, and I think they will make the playoffs. And the schedules are fair in the playoffs.

Yep Abe I missed a back to back for Portland. Counted up back to backs for a few teams and here are the totals.

Wolves 20
Blazers 19
Thunder 15
Clippers 14

Any way u slice it we got a tough schedule. January seems to be our easiest month so hopefully we're hot then and can reel off a winning streak

It's also important to note the type of back-to-backs team have.

For example, look at MN traveling from Washington back to MN to play a home back-to-back against a Clippers team that was here the night before. Sure, MN gets to play that game at home... but the homecourt advantage was negated quite a bit.

It's why that Washington loss was considered a BAD loss and the team/coach reacted as such.

Just to add on, the back-to-backs is minor compared to what we have coming up in the next 6 games: Indiana, b2b at Dallas and OKC, and host San Antonio and Miami.

Ouch!

If the Klunk-O-Meter were up and running, it would have us losing 5 of the next 6 games and 9 of the next 14 games leading to Christmas. We should, however, win our final 3 games of December, finishing 2013 with a .500 record.

So hold off on the doom and gloom as we lose a bunch of games over the next month. The schedule gets easier in 2014. I will be thankful if we finish 2013 around .500, avoid further injuries, and get back Bud and Turiaf.

Now with Rose out, another East team becomes beatable. So it's Miami, Indiana and that's it in the East. Great. Tim, a .500 record seems likely until the end of the year, but obviously it won't get us an 8th seed. Probably need over 50 wins now?