06-07 T-Wolves Predictions

[jrt1584]

I think the only teams that anybody can say are for sure gonna finish above the T-Wolves in the West are the Spurs, Suns, & Mavs. After that, I think the race for the 4-8 seeds is wide open. Having seen the fact that the Wolves were ahead at halftime of more games last year than the 03-04 team that advanced to the WCF is giving me more hope for the team this year. I don't expect them to win 58 games again, but 50 is nowhere near outta the question. People have criticized the Wolves for goin after a PG (James) that shoots first/passes second, but that's really what the Wolves need. With KG being so unselfish, the more scorers the better. Cassell was a shoot first PG and he got us within 2 games of the NBA Finals. Granted, James doesn't have the mid-range game that Cassell had (not many PG's do), but he's much better from behind the arc. And if Casey can give Foye a chance to play 25-30 minutes a game, he should be able to give us 12-15 pts per game. Here's what i'm picturing the rotation looking like to start the season...

C- Blount, Griffin, Baker
PF- KG, Smith, Madsen
SF- Hassell, Jaric, Reed
SG- Davis, Foye
PG- James, Hudson, Wright

Now, when McCants gets back and is ready to contribute, where in the hell does he fit in?? Maybe like this...

C- Blount, Griffin, Baker
PF- KG, Smith, Madsen
SF- Davis, Hassell, Reed, Jaric
SG- Foye, McCants
PG- James, Hudson, Wright

Or like this...

C- Blount, Griffin, Baker
PF- KG, Smith, Madsen
SF- Hassell, Reed, Jaric
SG- Davis, McCants
PG- James, Foye, Hudson, Wright

I believe that while McCants is out, Jaric is gonna get some pretty decent minutes to show other teams that he can contribute when given a chance. When McCants is ready to return to the regular rotation, the Wolves will trade Jaric along with Blount or Griffin (Madsen/Baker have no trade value) for a quality big man. If Jaric doesn't go, the Wolves will have to try and find a taker for T-Hud, which I think is going to be hard to find unless he can show other teams that he can run the Wolves while James is on the bench. In any case, the Wolves will have to make a trade before the trade deadline once McCants gets back, otherwise there's gonna be someone of value just buried at the end of the bench and that would make no sense. Then again, neither did the under the table Joe Smith contract... so who knows.

And remember, the division winners automatically dont get the top seeds this season. They changed the seeding so the teams with the best records get the top seeds, which is how it should be. So if these rules were in effect last year, Denver would've ended up as the 7th or 8th seed (tie w/ Sac) instead of the 3 seed, and Dallas would've had the 3 seed. Here are my Western Conference Predictions...

1) Spurs- With Duncan back healthy, they're the team to beat.
2) Suns- With or without Amare, they're a very dangerous team.
3) Mavs- I think they had their chance last year, and they blew it.
4) Rockets- Will Yao/T-Mac finally play 75+ games together??
5) T-Wolves- KG's hungry, they added the scorers they needed.
6) Clippers- Can Brand have another huge season like last year?
7) Lakers- Radmanovic isn't the 3rd option they needed.
8) Nuggets- Will their front court stay injury free? Doubt it.
ON THE BUBBLE
9) Kings- Can they count on Artest to lead them?
10) Warriors- They'll score plenty of pts, but can they stop anyone?
11) Hornets- Paul/Peja are still a year or 2 away.
12) Jazz- No leaders on this team.
13) Grizzlies- Can they stay in contention until Gasol gets back?
NO CHANCE
14) Sonics- Will someone get Allen/Lewis more help?
15) Blazers- They're at least 3 years away from making any noise.

[final.wrath]

you're pretty optimistic. no way t-wolves could get the 4th seed unless foye was the ROY. and the only way that would happen is if dwayne casey reversed his policy of not giving rookies playing time.

[BlockShot]

i'd say clippers would finish b4 us they're pretty solid......unless kaman doesnt sign it em...which would be pretty stupid

[jrt1584]

Originally Posted by final.wrath

you're pretty optimistic. no way t-wolves could get the 4th seed unless foye was the ROY. and the only way that would happen is if dwayne casey reversed his policy of not giving rookies playing time.

The Spurs, Suns, & Mavs have the top 3 spots locked up. If T-Mac & Yao stay healthy for the majority of the year, give them the 4th seed. After that, it's up in the air. And if T-Mac or Yao miss any significant amount of time with injuries, then they're not even a lock for the playoffs. So realistically, there are a few teams (Wolves included) that could end up in that 4th spot. But I also think the Wolves could finish as low as 11th in the West. This is gonna be one of the most competitive seasons in a while. A lot of teams improved and the only team I see having a real bad year compared to last year is Memphis, unless they can somehow keep everything together while Gasol is out, but I highly doubt that. And yeah, I agree that my prediction of the Wolves ending up with the 5th seed is optimistic but most NBA fans are pretty optimistic this time of year. The optimistic person in me says 5th seed for the Wolves, the pessimistic person sees 10 or 11, but I really don't see the Wolves falling lower than 7.