ESPN article on the Wolves

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

http://espn.go.com/nba/preview2013/story/_/page/5-on-5-1314min/2013-14-outlook-minnesota-timberwolvesHere it is.

[60WinTim]

What a bunch of Debbie Downers!

(even though all 5 predict the Wolves make the playoffs...)

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Meh. The Wolves can't defend. The Wolves can't defend. The Wolves can't defend.

OK, yes, defense is an issue of concern with this squad, but I for one don't think they are going to be that bad.

First off, it never hurts to have the league leader in steals on your team, and with Rubio finally fully healthy I think he will be that guy this season.

Second, an "X" factor may be emerging in Dieng. If GD can step into the first big man off the bench role and give us 20 to 25 minutes a night, his rim protecting could be huge. And I could see an offense/defense substitution thing with him and Pek at the end of games.

Third, Love is in great shape and looks hungry. Remember, he is an elite rebounder when healthy and between him and Pek they will own the defensive glass.

Finally, and this is probably the most overlooked part of a good defense: good offense. If you put the ball in the hole the other team is forced to take it out on the baseline. Last year the Wolves threw up brick after brick from the 3-point line, which resulted in a lot of long rebounds and leak outs. There should be much less of these this season.

I'm a huge homer and no doubt see the team through Wolves colored glasses. But honestly I think this team is being underrated simply because of the last couple injury ravaged seasons. This year's team, if healthy, is a completely different squad. Simply making the playoffs should not be the goal.

[60WinTim]

Good points, Mstermisty. And in addition to "better than average" rebounding, the Wolves have several players that draw fouls at a high rate (K-Mart, Love and Pek). Putting opponents into foul trouble is an aid to defense as well!

[cinderellaman [enjin:7494595]]

Do you know what defense is they all are professionals who run 10 miles a day with out judgement and then play defense
What do you do besides gain wait and judge

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Do you know what defense is they all are professionals who run 10 miles a day with out judgement and then play defense
What do you do besides gain wait and judge

Must have been a rough night....

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Good points, Mstermisty. And in addition to "better than average" rebounding, the Wolves have several players that draw fouls at a high rate (K-Mart, Love and Pek). Putting opponents into foul trouble is an aid to defense as well!

On average, we will win the possession and free throw battles on most nights because of our ability to rebound, draw fouls, and create more turnovers than we give up. The big wild card here is eFG%. If we can keep the eFG% differential at neutral or even just slightly in the negative, we should win our fair share of games because we will more than make up for it in more shots and free throws. But if there is a big negative gap between our eFG% and Opponent eFG%, then we will struggle to win more than 41 games.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The 8th seed is where teams with good offense and no defense belong. Houston, LA, and Golden State were the bottom 3 teams last year and they couldn't play Defense (GS stepped it up in the playoffs). The only team above them who gave up 100 PPG or more like they all did was Denver who had to be the highest scoring team in the league just to get a 3 seed in the West. In the East, only 1 team gave up 100 PPG out of all of their playoff teams. The fact is that this isn't a league where you just outscore the other guy to win anymore. You have to be able to make stops and we have 1 guy who can do that at a high level and he doesn't have any sort of backup at the rim to take risks. Brewer is a good defender, but much of what he did last year to be a good defender will be negated because he can't take risks with Love and Pek protecting the rim versus Javale. He's going to have to play a lot more straight up D and he's not going to have the strength to guard a lot of 3's in this league. Like they said, we might have a top 5 offense in the league, but we will also have a bottom 10 D in the league and that spells 8 seed, not too much higher. Hou and LAL were both bottom 10 defensive teams last year in terms of PPG and GS was 19th missing the bottom 10 by 2 spots. Milwaukee was 20th. Those are all the bottom dweller playoff teams and they looked exactly like how we are going to look this year.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Lol all the piss-poor arguments about our defense are being hyped up way too much. Minnesota was tied for 13th in points allowed per game last year and hung right in the middle of the pack in opponent points per shot, which I take to be a really good stat. Losing AK is supposed to kill us that much? I see it differently. We should be healthier, which already is a big upgrade. We have upgraded the SG position meaning no more Ridnour guarding players twice his size. It's also not like Brewer (AK's replacement) is a complete dud on defense himself. I really do believe that just those three reasons will keep our defense average in the NBA.

[mjs34]

I thought the article was pretty realistic, although I am not quite sure when Pek become a good help defender. I have always thought the opposite with Pek, that he is a decent "man on man" guy, but struggles at the team part of it.

I really think we will be around the 8th spot because I don't see this team staying healthy. Ignoring past injury histories is the surest way to derail a team. As lip pointed out in another thread, I too would have preferred Mayo, for me it was simply a question of having a healthy player.