How Good Are We **Poll**

[somuchyummy]

i'm excited. but we've also played less than one tenth of the games in the season. there's a multiverse of possibilities out there between now and playoff time.

[LordNu]

When have we ever not been no.1?

[SKOLMN]

I think something about this team that’s never been mentioned before but is a big part of our success, and will be in the future, is the roster isn’t filled with players who sit for rest/personal reasons the way some of these other stars do (butler, kawhi, Simmons). Ant, towns, gobert, all these guys show up and play every night. It’s a mentality

[Jimi_Thing]

I think something about this team that’s never been mentioned before but is a big part of our success, and will be in the future, is the roster isn’t filled with players who sit for rest/personal reasons the way some of these other stars do (butler, kawhi, Simmons). Ant, towns, gobert, all these guys show up and play every night. It’s a mentality

I think Ant is so good and wants to be one of the best ever that resting just isn't going to be something that he's going to ever consider. Dude is building his legacy/legend and wants to see his name at the top of as many 'All-Time' categories as possible. You don't work your way up those lists by sitting on the bench.

[Rusty Kuntz]

#2 good

[Jack Soo 5]

I think something about this team that’s never been mentioned before but is a big part of our success, and will be in the future, is the roster isn’t filled with players who sit for rest/personal reasons the way some of these other stars do (butler, kawhi, Simmons). Ant, towns, gobert, all these guys show up and play every night. It’s a mentality

I think Ant is so good and wants to be one of the best ever that resting just isn't going to be something that he's going to ever consider. Dude is building his legacy/legend and wants to see his name at the top of as many 'All-Time' categories as possible. You don't work your way up those lists by sitting on the bench.

Right on! We've come a long way, in a short time, since this

During an interview with ESPN's Alex Scarborough, Edwards revealed that he is "not really into" the sport.

"I'm still not really into it," Edwards said. "I love basketball, yeah ... basketball is my heart, but football is where I started, so I'll never forget about that. But don't get me wrong, basketball is my No. 1 because I feel like it's going to get me through a lot of the stuff I need to get through."

[weimy froob]

#2 good

my thought is that they're getting some national recognition. some people were worried about that last week.

[Mnwild1128]

#2 good

In the end i would go:

Nuggets-been there done that. Best player on any court. Leaders until proven otherwise

76ers-2nd best player. Up and coming efficient star

Celtics- best starting 5. 4 all stars.

Wolves-best D and slow type O for playoff type games. 2nd most clutch player

Mavs-most offensive explosive duo. Two Best clutch players

[salamander]

4-1 against teams over .500

[shuttlesworth]

Tough 5-game stretch incoming:

Tonight in GS, which will be super-motivated after a lackadaisical showing last game. Probably an incoming 18-point third quarter from Klay.

Tomorrow night in Phoenix, Wolves on the second night of a back-to-back, Phoenix with three days rest and probably with Booker back alongside Durant and Beal, and coming off a bad home loss to the Thunder that they'll want to avenge.

Friday in New Orleans, most likely with Zion back, looking to avenge their loss to Minnesota earlier this year.

Then home for New York, which quietly has the third-best point differential in the East at +4.1, and matches up well with the Wolves (at least better than most teams) -- Mitchell Robinson especially is a problem.

And finally home for Philly, the top seed in the East that boasts second-best point differential in the league at +11.3.

If they can win three of those games, that's a big win. I think they probably go 2-3: Lose tonight in GS, lose tomorrow in Phoenix, win in New Orleans, and beat either New York or Philadelphia (but probably not both) to finish this gauntlet at 8-5.

The schedule gets a bit softer that: Home for Sacramento, at Memphis (no Ja still), home for OKC, home for Utah, and at Charlotte. The Wolves *should* win all of those games, but my guess is they'll drop 1, which would mean they'd head into the in-season tournament at 12-6 - probably good for a top-4 seed in the West at this stage.

[Jimi_Thing]

Tough 5-game stretch incoming:

Tonight in GS, which will be super-motivated after a lackadaisical showing last game. Probably an incoming 18-point third quarter from Klay.

Tomorrow night in Phoenix, Wolves on the second night of a back-to-back, Phoenix with three days rest and probably with Booker back alongside Durant and Beal, and coming off a bad home loss to the Thunder that they'll want to avenge.

Friday in New Orleans, most likely with Zion back, looking to avenge their loss to Minnesota earlier this year.

Then home for New York, which quietly has the third-best point differential in the East at +4.1, and matches up well with the Wolves (at least better than most teams) -- Mitchell Robinson especially is a problem.

And finally home for Philly, the top seed in the East that boasts second-best point differential in the league at +11.3.

If they can win three of those games, that's a big win. I think they probably go 2-3: Lose tonight in GS, lose tomorrow in Phoenix, win in New Orleans, and beat either New York or Philadelphia (but probably not both) to finish this gauntlet at 8-5.

The schedule gets a bit softer that: Home for Sacramento, at Memphis (no Ja still), home for OKC, home for Utah, and at Charlotte. The Wolves *should* win all of those games, but my guess is they'll drop 1, which would mean they'd head into the in-season tournament at 12-6 - probably good for a top-4 seed in the West at this stage.

I was looking at the schedule yesterday. December is also pretty tough but after that, the schedule gets much easier.

[minnemike]

Playoff ball is all that matters and that's where we've seen the issues for the most part. Translate this D to postseason, where they might let them play more, and I lock them in top 3.

[Mnwild1128]

Tough 5-game stretch incoming:

Tonight in GS, which will be super-motivated after a lackadaisical showing last game. Probably an incoming 18-point third quarter from Klay.

Tomorrow night in Phoenix, Wolves on the second night of a back-to-back, Phoenix with three days rest and probably with Booker back alongside Durant and Beal, and coming off a bad home loss to the Thunder that they'll want to avenge.

Friday in New Orleans, most likely with Zion back, looking to avenge their loss to Minnesota earlier this year.

Then home for New York, which quietly has the third-best point differential in the East at +4.1, and matches up well with the Wolves (at least better than most teams) -- Mitchell Robinson especially is a problem.

And finally home for Philly, the top seed in the East that boasts second-best point differential in the league at +11.3.

If they can win three of those games, that's a big win. I think they probably go 2-3: Lose tonight in GS, lose tomorrow in Phoenix, win in New Orleans, and beat either New York or Philadelphia (but probably not both) to finish this gauntlet at 8-5.

The schedule gets a bit softer that: Home for Sacramento, at Memphis (no Ja still), home for OKC, home for Utah, and at Charlotte. The Wolves *should* win all of those games, but my guess is they'll drop 1, which would mean they'd head into the in-season tournament at 12-6 - probably good for a top-4 seed in the West at this stage.

I think we beat the Suns and Pels. And obviously a Curry-less Warriors squad. Then lose to Knicks and 76ers.

10-4 baby!

[witljon]

4-1 against teams over .500

We just won our 7th game in a row

[salamander]

Can I change my answer to top 3? After the Warriors I'm convinced. This is so unexpected.
Am I believing in this team? No no.... that can't be it. Can it?

[Rusty Kuntz]

Best record in the league good

[weimy froob]

if you have an interest in these things. it'll change next week.

NBA Power Rankings: T’Wolves take No. 1; Magic make leap behind win streak

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nba-power- ... 34182.html

[T_J]

I made a $100 bet with my friend before the kings game we’d finish top 4 in the west.

Of course we then instantly lose. I still have confidence in it tho.

[weimy froob]

another data point after tomorrow's game.

[Oriole81]

I made a $100 bet with my friend before the kings game we’d finish top 4 in the west.

Of course we then instantly lose. I still have confidence in it tho.

double down on it

[Moses Scurry]

It's amazing when you beat bad teams and go .500 against good teams how good your record can be.

Maybe the Wolves players just realized the wins aren't weighted by difficulty.

[Abe Froman]

I'm sticking with top 5 as my answer. I want to see more evidence that we are clutch in big moments and are nasty enough to put our foot on the throats of teams when they are down to finish them off. We are heading in the right direction, I just don't want them to get too comfy with the progress they've made.

[Moses Scurry]

I'm sticking with top 5 as my answer. I want to see more evidence that we are clutch in big moments and are nasty enough to put our foot on the throats of teams when they are down to finish them off. We are heading in the right direction, I just don't want them to get too comfy with the progress they've made.

The west is a a MF'er. Lose three in a row, could be an 8 seed before you know it.

[shuttlesworth]

When this thread started, the Wolves were 5-2. It was a promising start, but way too early to draw too many conclusions based on that very small sample size.

The Wolves are now 13-4. They are the number 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 1.5-game gap between them and the #2 seed (the Nuggets). They have a +6.7 point differential, which works out to a 59-win projected record. And, perhaps most impressively, they have played the fifth most difficult schedule in the league thus far, and the third-hardest schedule in the West (behind only the Lakers and Golden State), see https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS.

We're also no longer looking at a tiny sample size. The season is now 20% over. Translated to NFL terms, this would be like starting 4-0 with a two close games and two blowouts. It's still early, but this is real.

Their next 4 games are home against Utah (with no Markannen), at Charlotte (no LaMelo), home for San Antonio, and at Memphis. They *should* win all four of those games (assuming Ant plays) -- my guess is they drop one of them and go 3-1. So we're probably looking at a 16-5 record after 21 games. After that, the Wolves face a gauntlet: their next 16 games are against playoff teams above .500, and 13 of those 16 are on the road. That will be the test of whether the Wolves are a legitimate title contender or whether they're "merely" a solid playoff team.

[weimy froob]

another data point after tomorrow's game.

you can put it on the graph. yes!

[T_J]

When this thread started, the Wolves were 5-2. It was a promising start, but way too early to draw too many conclusions based on that very small sample size.

The Wolves are now 13-4. They are the number 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 1.5-game gap between them and the #2 seed (the Nuggets). They have a +6.7 point differential, which works out to a 59-win projected record. And, perhaps most impressively, they have played the fifth most difficult schedule in the league thus far, and the third-hardest schedule in the West (behind only the Lakers and Golden State), see https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS.

We're also no longer looking at a tiny sample size. The season is now 20% over. Translated to NFL terms, this would be like starting 4-0 with a two close games and two blowouts. It's still early, but this is real.

Their next 4 games are home against Utah (with no Markannen), at Charlotte (no LaMelo), home for San Antonio, and at Memphis. They *should* win all four of those games (assuming Ant plays) -- my guess is they drop one of them and go 3-1. So we're probably looking at a 16-5 record after 21 games. After that, the Wolves face a gauntlet: their next 16 games are against playoff teams above .500, and 13 of those 16 are on the road. That will be the test of whether the Wolves are a legitimate title contender or whether they're "merely" a solid playoff team.

Conservatively, they could be like 24-13. Say 3-1 like you mentioned, and then 8-8 over that tough stretch. That’d be a 53 win pace almost half way. That’d be outstanding. Anything above that and I’m too scared to consider.

[shuttlesworth]

One small mitigating factor in that 16-game gauntlet is that the Wolves play a few teams on the second night of back-to-backs, and the Wolves themselves only play two back-to-backs (and in one case their opponent is also playing the second half of a back-to-back). Here are those 16 games, with information about rest and win-loss projections:

@ New Orleans -- Loss (last game in NO was competitive with Zion, and I think the Pelicans come out for revenge against a Wolves team that's probably been lulled to sleep a bit by playing four straight lotter teams).

@ Dallas (two days rest for Wolves) -- Win (I really don't buy the Mavericks, and especially if McDaniels is back I think the Wolves match up really well with the Mavs)

vs Indiana (second night of back-to-back for Pacers, who play the Wizards in DC the night before) -- Win (Indiana strikes me as a team that suffers more than most from playing back-to-back, since they depend on a high-octane, ultra-fast offense predicated on jump shooting)

@ Miami - Loss (Butler plays, Miami breaks a losing streak against the Wolves in a close game)

@ Philadelphia - Loss (Embiid plays, Sixers get revenge for their earlier loss against Wolves)

vs Lakers (second night of back-to-back for both teams; Lakers play Bulls in Chicago the night before) - Win (Lakers are too old to be playing back-to-backs)

@ Sacramento (second night of back-to-back for Kings, who play the Suns at home the night before) - Win (Sacramento is a bit gassed from playing the Suns; Wolves come in having learned their lesson from the last game against the Kings and shut them down).

@ OKC (two days rest for both teams) - Loss (OKC gets revenge for last night)

vs Dallas (second night of back-to-back for Mavs, who play the Cavs at home the night before) - Win

vs Lakers - Win (think this is a close game)

@ New York - Loss (New York beats up on the Wolves and gets revenge for their loss at Target Center)

vs New Orleans (second night of back-to-back for Pels, who play the Nets at home the night before) - Win (Pels might sit Zion on second night of back-to-back, and I think the Wolves are the better team anyway)

@ Houston - Win

@ Dallas - Loss (Wolves are not going 3-0 against the Mavs)

@ Orlando - Loss (Orlando always kills the Wolves)

@ Boston (second night of back-to-back for Wolves) - Loss

That works out to 8-8.

[weimy froob]

i'll put this here.

[Style]

I'm afraid of Boston and Phoenix. The rest are pretty beatable for us.

[T_J]

I'm afraid of Boston and Phoenix. The rest are pretty beatable for us.

When you’re a top 4 team, that’s pretty much it eh?

I don’t know what’s happening. Not use to this.