Basketball Reference asked me to help contribute to the 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Preview for the Minnesota Timberwolves, of which I was more than glad to oblige. I tried to keep my entry to the 200 word guideline, but as you can see below I slightly exceeded that. Still, check out the BR Team Preview for some TWolves Info, player projections, and interesting polls about the upcoming season!
And here are my condensed thoughts of a season summary:
The future looks bright compared to last year’s train wreck of a 15 win season. Longtime fans suffered through another disaster campaign, as the Wolves won only twice after the all-star break. You could probably contribute this to the fact that the Wolves ranked as the third worst offense and second worst defense. Worst of all, not only were the T-Wolves a terrible team, but they were a BORING team. That’s not a great combination for the casual fan.
The biggest strength for this team is the fact that the Wolves now have athletic and capable players, 1-12. Gone are the below-replacement level players of seasons’ past, in exchange for capable and exciting guys with potential; and who fit the system being implemented by Rambis and Kahn. It simply cannot be overstated how boring and unathletic this organization has been since KG left. With additions like Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster, Anthony Tolliver, Darko, and Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves can now run and bang with anyone. Even more importantly, there is now a capable bench for the first time in years.
The biggest weakness for this team is its lack of experience and a player(s) that is “The Man.” There’s no clear cut hierarchy, and the squad has literally 10-12 guys that could potentially deserve to play major minutes. Clearly, that’s just not possible or feasible. Therefore, Coach Rambis needs to figure out a rotation and stick to it. There’s nothing worse than trying to play 12 players every game, which is a recipe for disaster. There’s no hope to develop any cohesion or synergy under a scenario such as that. It’s never a bad thing to have “too much talent”, but it can be detrimental to a young team such as this.
This season could be half-way decent, or it could be (yet another) failure. At the very least, this team will be infinitely more athletic and exciting to watch, and for Wolves fans, that’s a gigantic improvement. You know that each and every night this squad will have a chance to at least compete with the opposition.
CW’s Win Prediction:
I could see anywhere from 25-28 wins, which would still be a much welcomed improvement from last year. And I wouldn’t be totally shocked if we were to win a little more than that. I’d put our playoff chances soundly at 0.00% however.
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