is this season REALLY been that big of disappointment?

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

with the season winding down, it looks like the wolves will end around 43-44 wins. That should end up being the best record in franchise history minus KG. 10+ game improvement from last year.

Looking at this roster, was it really surprising that we would make the playoffs with arguably the worst bench in the league. In the west, which might be the strongest EVER. A team might win 50 games and MISS the playoffs. That's insane. For a little comparison, the Wolves won 50 games back in 01 and was the 5th seed!

I don't think we had a good enough roster to make the playoffs.

[Phenom]

Im certainly disappointed that the wolves are not going to playoffs yet again but your points are reasons for hope. . .and the reason why I think the team should stay the course and try to build with continuity. One blessing in disguise is the pick this year. The Wolves have a good chance to land a good young SG that can grow old with this group as they start making playoff runs. A new bench and coach should be just the boost this team needs next year.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I had the Wolves pegged for 43 or 44 wins and the #9 seed. So, they're about right there with my preseason expectations.

But, I think it's still fair to say they didn't meet their potential. The close game debacles are a significant part of this team's legacy. The team had the potential to exceed expectations.

And after a decade of what we've dealt with... is exceeding expectations such a ridiculous thing to expect at some point?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm not sure I expected the bench to be this bad. It didn't help that Budinger and Turiaf got hurt early, and that upon his return, Chase never returned to form. A Houston-era Chase Budinger would have been a big help to us. And JJ had a career-worst year. Williams and Shved showed zero improvement from last year. So pretty much everything that could have gone wrong with our bench, went wrong: Injuries, career-low years from our vets, and zero improvement from our young guys.

That being said, I still think there were a lot of highlights this year. Our starting lineup was among the best in the NBA; the outlet passes from Love to Brewer were a thing of beauty; the blowout wins; the Rubio wizardry with his passing; the late-season breakout of Gorgui Dieng; the double OT win over Miami. Lots to look back on and smile about.

This is a good team with a very solid core. I don't think a total tear-down is necessary to take a big step forward next season.

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

I had the wolves at the 5th seed but had no idea it would take 55+ wins to get there.

Theres a real possibility that 3 teams in the west could win 60 games. crazy

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

It's been a season of "what ifs?"

--What if we had a different backup point guard
--What if Gorgui and Shabazz had been in the rotation earlier
--What if Ricky hadn't lost confidence and had such putrid shooting stretch in the middle of the season
--What if Martin hadn't given away the Clippers game
--What if the refs had blown the whistle on the last play of the Dallas game
--What if K-Love had made 2 or 3 of 3 free throws against OKC
--What if Adelman had played Ricky in the 4th quarter home loss to Memphis
--What if Adelman hadn't trotted out a terrible lineup to start the 4th quarter in the crucial New York game

It's frustrating because all the above things kept this team from putting together a winning streak. Other than 3-0 out of the gate it seemed like the overall confidence level never reached a high point (although ironically that may be happening right now). The NBA is a game of runs and that applies to winning and losing as well. The Wolves never could put together a real stretch that made an impact in the standings. Also the average fan never really got behind the team because a disappointing or even stupid loss was right around corner.

That being said, last year's draft is looking great, and we kept the 13th pick in a potentially strong draft this year. Also, Ricky has shown improvement since the all-star break which is crucial. A new coach and a new backup point guard next year and we should be in business. We missed the playoffs this year, again, but overall things are looking up.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Yes, this season has been an enormous disappointment...the most disappointing in franchise history. I'm convinced that Saunders gave Adelman a roster capable of winning 50 games, and Adelman pissed it away. I actually think our coach cost us more than 7-8 games. Here are the disappointing things Rick gave us this year.

1) I blame the team's horrible record in close games on the coach. A winning late game coach needs to be actively involved in the action, and has to instill confidence in his players, and Adelman did neither (if you watched Richard Pitino coaching late in the final NIT games, you will understand what a successful coach looks like at end of game).

2) Refusing to play the draft choices Flip gave him. Two of the most prominent deficiencies this year were rim protection and potent scoring off the bench, and Dieng and Muhammad have shown in their limited minutes that they could have really helped.

3) Playing JJ down the stretch rather than Ricky. It has been well documented on this board how much better the Wolves are with Rubio on the court. Adelman's decision in several games to play JJ instead is inexcusable.

4) Overplaying Budinger too early, when it was clear to anybody that he was not ready for big minutes.

5) Taking the fun out of the game. Even after wins, Adelman generally had a sour look on his face in his post-game press conference. You don't think that rubs off on the players a little?

6) I know many don't agree with this one, but I blame Adelman for not giving Shved a real chance at PG. If we had a better option, this one wouldn't have bothered me as much, but we all know Barea is not a point guard.

While I'm disappointed in this year, the fact that much of is due to the performance of a guy who's almost certain to be gone, there is reason to be very optimistic about next year. While the draft and free agency/trades will be important, we will not get the same boost from them that a new coach will give us.

[KiwiMatt]

The in balance of conferences played a huge part in the Wolves missing out on the playoff this season.

The West is ridiculously strong, while the East is as weak as it's ever been. The 8th seed in the East (Atlanta) is 9 games behind .500, while the .500 wolves are 10th seed in the West.

It's time they overhauled the conference systems. It is not a fair competition any more.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The in balance of conferences played a huge part in the Wolves missing out on the playoff this season.

The West is ridiculously strong, while the East is as weak as it's ever been. The 8th seed in the East (Atlanta) is 9 games behind .500, while the .500 wolves are 10th seed in the West.

It's time they overhauled the conference systems. It is not a fair competition any more.

It's ridiculous. Here's some proof of how unbalanced the conferences are. Memphis (the 9th place team in the West) is a 4 1/2 point favorite over Miami (the top team in the East) tonight.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

It's a disappointment from the standpoint that we capped ourselves out on free agents, added two first round picks and we missed the playoffs. We are one of the few teams who has a legitimate star on the team that can't seem to make the playoffs year in and year out. With the exception of Phoenix, we knew all the teams that were going to be good in the West and we knew that it was going to be a stacked conference this year. That is what makes the offseason so troublesome. We dished out 25 million dollars this summer between Pek's raise, Martin, Brewer, Bud and Ronny and we missed the playoffs. That's a pretty big whiff for that kind of cash when we are on the clock for becoming a playoff team to try to prevent Love's departure.