Minnesota Sports Forum

Portland won again tonight. They're 8-2. Right now the Wolves are 7th in the West behind the Spurs, Blazers, Clippers, Warrior, Thunder and Rockets. Actually, we have the same overall record, but the Rockets have the slightly better conference record. The only team that I didn't envision being ahead of us by the end of the season is Portland.

Obviously, it's early and things could change. But I think we're seeing the usual rising cream scenario that we always see in the NBA as each season progresses. Note that the Sixers are descending to their level, having fallen to 5-6 after their early wins including their big win over the Heat. Orlando is also starting to find its natural level. At the same time, the Bulls are starting to get their legs under them and have climbed to third in the East.

Right now, all the teams ahead of the Wolves except Portland are the cream of the crop from a talent and coaching standpoint. Yet, I'm convinced that Portland is for real. I saw them as a contender for a playoff spot before the season started and I now think they could finish as high as 6th in the Conference. Memphis made a huge mistake firing Hollins, but they should be a playoff team with their talent. And I'm convinced that the Pelicans could compete for the 7th or 8th spot.

The Wolves should be a playoff team and I'll stick to my 6th seed projection. But it will be a challenge and I still think our bench has to get better either from within or without.

It's insane. Over half the teams in the East have sub-.400 records at the moment. In the West? Two. Sure, some of those East teams are bound to improve, but how many of those .400+ West teams are going to fall off entirely? Probably Phoenix, but everyone else is just solid.

FFS, the biggest disappointment in the West (Memphis) is a .500 team right now.

the question is how is that even possible, it is like this for many seasons, which means that East has truckload of high picks, but they still suck hard .. it is mind blowing to some extend :-D

Some of the mob families in New York moved out West. Many thought it was to rule gambling in Las Vegas. Maybe their real targets were NBA franchises out West!

This could be an interesting week with the potential for some separation among teams. The Wolves have a challenging week with four games, including the Clippers, Nets and Rockets. Portland's easy schedule toughens up a bit this week as well.

It's just unbelievable that the West is 15 games over .500 this early in the season. M4Gor makes a great point...the draft should make this kind of dominance unsustainable, and yet it continues. Nice that we get to feast on a couple East teams this week, Washington and a beat-up Brooklyn.

Portland is really surprising me this year, but I'm not buying in yet. I agree with Tim that their schedule has been soft...Phoenix and Sac-town twice each plus Detroilet and Boston. I think they lose at least 6 of their next 10, and start to find their correct level like Phoenix is. Batum is better than ever this year (oh, what could have been), but any team with Robin Lopez at center is going to struggle to make the playoffs.

Yup, SameOldDrew wrote a good post documenting the West's sustained superiority over the East. It sucks that we're in the West.

Portland has about as good of a starting lineup as anyone out there and while their bench isn't great, they aren't hurting them either. As for Robin Lopez, the guy does what he needs to in order to be effective. When you are surrounded by four scorers/shooters, a Center just needs to defend, rebound, and limit turnovers. He seems to be doing exactly that.

The only person whose stats look out of whack on Portland is Wesley Matthews. The guy is killing it from 3-point land. That should come down eventually, but everyone else looks like the real deal to me. They have also stayed very healthy, with only CJ McCollum out of action for now. With four of their five starters averaging 35+ minutes per night, I wonder how long their luck will last....

Portland has been playing good but their record has been a joke so far apart from playing the Spurs. We will pass them. I do see Memphis figuring it out, but they are going to slip a bit this year. So much for Hollinger eh? That guy sucks. Another thing, are the Clippers going to get us on a second night of a back to back every game this year? WTF NBA.

I don't see the Blazers keeping this up. Nice first 10 games, now hopefully fatigue and strength of schedule starts to set in. Hopefully it starts with the Nets tonight as long as Pierce, KG and Lopez play (they didn't against the Clips). Look at Portland's wins: None all that impressive other than against the Spurs. Ws over DEN, 2x SAC, DET, PHO, BOS and TOR. Please. Give the Wolves the same lineup of 10 games they just had and I'm sure they come out 8-2 as well.

Portland's next 10: BRK, MIL, CHI, GS, NYK, PHO, LAL, IND, OKC, UTAH.

Loss, Win, Loss, Loss, Win, Win, Loss, Loss, Loss, Win. (4-6 over next 10, 12-8 after 20 games total).

Minnesota needs to handle Washington first and foremost. Also, why do the Clips catch us on a back-to-back again? Geez man. We need to win that one. Build some momentum because we have a rough stretch of games ourselves.

How nice of the NBA to schedule us to play in Washington and then have to fly back to Minnesota for the Clips game. Why couldn't they just give us the Celtics in Boston and then that rest period to play back-to-backs in the Target Center? Oh wait, that's right. The NBA hates us.

thedoper wrote:Portland has been playing good but their record has been a joke so far apart from playing the Spurs. We will pass them. I do see Memphis figuring it out, but they are going to slip a bit this year. So much for Hollinger eh? That guy sucks. Another thing, are the Clippers going to get us on a second night of a back to back every game this year? WTF NBA.

Portland is the luckiest team in the league by far right now. Last night they were down 21 at home to the Bulls when Rose goes down with a knee...Blazers come back to win by 3. Hats off to them for coming back, but come on...Rose going down is just another in a list of breaks. I;m still convinced their wheels are going to come off when they start seeing some real competition.