It is going to be a hard fall from grace. I can’t wait for everyone to post how well they’re doing when they play OKC twice, SA three times and us in the first 7 games.
2023 NBA Draft Megathread
- Thread starter Ferguson_Mellochill
- Start date
It is going to be a hard fall from grace. I can’t wait for everyone to post how well they’re doing when they play OKC twice, SA three times and us in the first 7 games.
So why are they going to be bad? Other than you hope they will be bad so you are using your hope/dreams and bias to project them lower than makes any kind of sense.
What about Gobert/KAT/D'Lo/Edwards/McDaniels isnt going to absolutely elite on both ends?
There is absolutely no reason to think the Wolves finish any lower than 4th in the West other than projecting injuries (which wouldnt make sense because their stars have been more durable than the average star).
You have top tier talent, you win a lot of games, especially with elite rim protection. That's how the NBA works. They will also have a lot to prove so they will come out the gate playing hard and trying to win as many games as possible, something teams like the Clippers/Warriors (two teams who might be better than the Wolves overall, but I doubt will have a better record than them) might not be doing.
You have top tier talent, you win a lot of games, especially with elite rim protection. That's how the NBA works. They will also have a lot to prove so they will come out the gate playing hard and trying to win as many games as possible, something teams like the Clippers/Warriors (two teams who might be better than the Wolves overall, but I doubt will have a better record than them) might not be doing.
You are the biased one. Don’t get it twisted you are hoping and praying that they are elite because you have been stroking Gobert every day for the last 3 years. If he is on a team that theoretically should be great but aren’t I will have serious concerns for your mental health.
They’re not a better version of the team we’ve had the last couple of years. Their ceiling is the 4th seed. It’s not as much about how good they are as it’s how ****ing good the West is. There are multiple teams better than them.
Is Minnesota going to be better than any of these teams?
Warriors
Clippers
Grizzlies
Nuggets
Suns
Mavericks
If you think they are better than at least 3 of them which is pushing it they are the 4th seed.
Warriors
Clippers
Grizzlies
Nuggets
Suns
Mavericks
If you think they are better than at least 3 of them which is pushing it they are the 4th seed.
What's my bias? Calling Gobert a top 20 player when ESPN just ranked him as the 18th best player? If I'm stroking him it's only as much as the rest of the knowledgeable NBA viewer does. You just come on here and try to downplay his ability/impact because you're a weirdo who decided since Gobert got traded it means you should hate on him (remember the Eurobasket thread when you felt the need to downplay Gobert's impact while he was dominating. You're a weirdo)
Or is it my bias calling KAT a top 20 player when ESPN just ranked him 13th?
Or is it my bias when I called ANT a potential top 20 player when ESPN ranked him 25th?
Or is it my bias calling Chris Finch one of the best coaches in the NBA when he's in the top 3 of any gambling site for betting favorite for Coach of The Year?
Utah never had this level of talent or level of potential talent on their roster. Utah just had a more proven proof of concept. The only argument the Wolves finish lower than 4th is they get off to a slow start because of the learning curve that could come w/ the Gobert acquisition, but like you said yourself, they have a cupcake schedule early to get to know each other.
The Warriors/Clippers will be resting their stars throughout the season to maintain health.
The Nuggets have the two most injury prone co-stars in the NBA.
The Suns potential chemistry issues are massive and they rely on a 38 year old PG very heavily.
The Mavericks have a **** roster behind Luka.
The Grizzlies have their 2nd or 3rd (depending on your perspective) best player out until December at the earliest (though yeah, they could potentially be the 1st seed, they are very good)
The ESPN rankings are the end all be all apparently. The players they have KAT ranked ahead of:
Paul George
Trae Young
Jimmy Butler
Anthony Davis
Jaylen Brown
Hell, they have Gobert ranked ahead of Davis too which is a joke. A healthy Anthony Davis is flirting with a top-5 player in the league.
I’m not nearly as high on KAT as others apparently. I see a lot of empty stats on terrible teams.
They arent the end all be all by any means, but if your position is that I'm some kind of simp who is greatly overrating their talent then you are incorrect. You are free to disagree, but dont act like your position is that of the majority or that I'm being crazy.
Minnesota is +100 to finish 5th or better. Cy you should put your life savings on that. Should be easy money.
Major sportsbooks have them as a 50/50 shot at the 5th or 6th seed. Seems about right to me.