Wolves fan commiserate here!
https://forum.midwestvolleyball.com/phpBB3/
https://forum.midwestvolleyball.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=32224
That would be pretty accurate.Mnwild1128 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:46 pm In that scenario, it assumes getting past Jokic, Shai and Wemby but no stated championship. So the order would be as follows.....
1. Jokic
2. Shai
3. Giannis
4. Ant
5. Wemby
6. Luka
Ant being ranked behind Wemby and him being a top 10 player are not mutually exclusive.FNG wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 9:20 am Sure, if they run that gauntlet, everyone on the Wolves' profile will rise. But who knows who the catalyst of this unlikely run would be? Maybe Rudy dominates in all three series and he comes out of it with the reputation of a top 10 impactful player. I mean, Ant's regular season winning percentage prior to Rudy was 44.8%...in the 4 years since Rudy joined the Wolves, Ant's winning percentage is 59.8%! Ant is the undisputed offensive leader of this team, but there are two sides of the ball, and Ant's indifference on defense (along with Ju) to me is the main reason for my frustration as we fell short of expectations this season. Until Ant shows me he can at least be average on defense and be a true 2-way player, I still have a problem including him in my overall top 10. For instance, do you think anyone other than a Wolves fan would rank Ant ahead of Wemby? Wemby almost doubled up Ant this season in almost all deep analytical 2-way stats (ws/48, BPM, VORP, on/off, etc). Ant is going to have to be a completely different than the player I watched this season for him to crack my top 10. I think he has it in him...really hope he can do it.
While Ant has improved during that span you are for sure correct. Rudy has been our regular season MVP while Ant I give the playoff MVP edge to. Only reason Ant can slack for much of the season on defense is because of Rudy. Without Rudy Ant has to become a more consistently good defender to pick up that slack other wise we are probably some type of play-in team.FNG wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 9:20 am Sure, if they run that gauntlet, everyone on the Wolves' profile will rise. But who knows who the catalyst of this unlikely run would be? Maybe Rudy dominates in all three series and he comes out of it with the reputation of a top 10 impactful player. I mean, Ant's regular season winning percentage prior to Rudy was 44.8%...in the 4 years since Rudy joined the Wolves, Ant's winning percentage is 59.8%! Ant is the undisputed offensive leader of this team, but there are two sides of the ball, and Ant's indifference on defense (along with Ju) to me is the main reason for my frustration as we fell short of expectations this season. Until Ant shows me he can at least be average on defense and be a true 2-way player, I still have a problem including him in my overall top 10. For instance, do you think anyone other than a Wolves fan would rank Ant ahead of Wemby? Wemby almost doubled up Ant this season in almost all deep analytical 2-way stats (ws/48, BPM, VORP, on/off, etc). Ant is going to have to be a completely different than the player I watched this season for him to crack my top 10. I think he has it in him...really hope he can do it.
It depends on what you're looking at, Aussie, but I agree with you that most reputable analysts would have Ant in the top 10. I fully admit I'm am outlier here, but it's because I value defense more than offense. When asked to rank a player, I would say most analysts value someone based on something like 85% offense and 15% defense. Smart analysts too...it's just easier to measure offense. I listen to almost every post-game pod Jack Borman is on because he is brilliant in how he evaluates offensive performance...but he hardly talks about defense at all. I probably evaluate a player more based on 60% defense and 40% offense...I just get more of a kick out of watching a terrific defensive performance than an offensive one, and I value consistent effort more than potential. That's just me.AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 10:36 amAnt being ranked behind Wemby and him being a top 10 player are not mutually exclusive.FNG wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 9:20 am Sure, if they run that gauntlet, everyone on the Wolves' profile will rise. But who knows who the catalyst of this unlikely run would be? Maybe Rudy dominates in all three series and he comes out of it with the reputation of a top 10 impactful player. I mean, Ant's regular season winning percentage prior to Rudy was 44.8%...in the 4 years since Rudy joined the Wolves, Ant's winning percentage is 59.8%! Ant is the undisputed offensive leader of this team, but there are two sides of the ball, and Ant's indifference on defense (along with Ju) to me is the main reason for my frustration as we fell short of expectations this season. Until Ant shows me he can at least be average on defense and be a true 2-way player, I still have a problem including him in my overall top 10. For instance, do you think anyone other than a Wolves fan would rank Ant ahead of Wemby? Wemby almost doubled up Ant this season in almost all deep analytical 2-way stats (ws/48, BPM, VORP, on/off, etc). Ant is going to have to be a completely different than the player I watched this season for him to crack my top 10. I think he has it in him...really hope he can do it.
I.e. most reputable analyst, stat metrics, and website have Ant ranked somewhere between 6th and 8th. It's not a homer take to regard him this highly, it's the consensus
I respect that you care about the regular season. I suspect season ticket holders are the same way. I personally care little about regular season other then how does it effect us in winning a chip. Typically regular season performance does lend itself to predicting the ultimate winner as well. Nearly all the time the champ is a top seed, if not at least top 2-3. It's rare in basketball to have a lower seed come through, so I do question our lackluster last two regular seasons.FNG wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 11:55 amIt depends on what you're looking at, Aussie, but I agree with you that most reputable analysts would have Ant in the top 10. I fully admit I'm am outlier here, but it's because I value defense more than offense. When asked to rank a player, I would say most analysts value someone based on something like 85% offense and 15% defense. Smart analysts too...it's just easier to measure offense. I listen to almost every post-game pod Jack Borman is on because he is brilliant in how he evaluates offensive performance...but he hardly talks about defense at all. I probably evaluate a player more based on 60% defense and 40% offense...I just get more of a kick out of watching a terrific defensive performance than an offensive one, and I value consistent effort more than potential. That's just me.AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 10:36 amAnt being ranked behind Wemby and him being a top 10 player are not mutually exclusive.FNG wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2026 9:20 am Sure, if they run that gauntlet, everyone on the Wolves' profile will rise. But who knows who the catalyst of this unlikely run would be? Maybe Rudy dominates in all three series and he comes out of it with the reputation of a top 10 impactful player. I mean, Ant's regular season winning percentage prior to Rudy was 44.8%...in the 4 years since Rudy joined the Wolves, Ant's winning percentage is 59.8%! Ant is the undisputed offensive leader of this team, but there are two sides of the ball, and Ant's indifference on defense (along with Ju) to me is the main reason for my frustration as we fell short of expectations this season. Until Ant shows me he can at least be average on defense and be a true 2-way player, I still have a problem including him in my overall top 10. For instance, do you think anyone other than a Wolves fan would rank Ant ahead of Wemby? Wemby almost doubled up Ant this season in almost all deep analytical 2-way stats (ws/48, BPM, VORP, on/off, etc). Ant is going to have to be a completely different than the player I watched this season for him to crack my top 10. I think he has it in him...really hope he can do it.
I.e. most reputable analyst, stat metrics, and website have Ant ranked somewhere between 6th and 8th. It's not a homer take to regard him this highly, it's the consensus
We all know defensive stats are difficult to measure, so I tend to gravitate toward deep analytical stats that at least try to evaluate overall value rather than just offense...VORP, ws/48, BPM, on/off, etc. And in every one of these measures the same names keep popping up as leaders, and they are the ones who end up in my top 10. We all know Ant ranks far behind almost all other superstars in on/off, but since that is a much maligned measure here, we'll put that aside. But unfortunately Ant ranks outside the top 10 in the other measurements I favor too...VORP (15th), WS/48 (38th) BPM (12th). And just to demonstrate the validity of these three measures...here are the players who show up in the top 10 in each of them: Jokic, SGA, Luka, Kawhi, Wemby. And other players I consider top 10 show up in at least 2 of these measures. I don't think anyone here would dispute these five guys as being true top 10 players, so the fact that Ant ranks so far behind them is why he doesn't crack my top 10. Top 10 offensive player for sure, but not overall.
Now, we have seen Ant flip the switch in the playoffs, and as a long-time Wolves fan, I'll be pulling for him to do it again. And maybe he will measure up better against Jokic, SGA and Wemby in overall stats in the playoffs...I hope so. And some may say the best way to measure a player is by his playoff performance. I say BS...I'm a basketball junkie, and I want to see maximum performance at both ends of the court from my team's star the entire season.
I suspect there are some analytical stats that purportedly measure overall value where Ant cracks the top 10, and since he's our guy, I'd love to see them. But I think for every overall measure that has him in the top 10, I can find 2 that have him outside.