[goneParticipant]

 Whisper of a dream.

Can you hear it?

What if Andrew Wiggins is evolving into the NJ Nets Vince Carter? 

Can you hear it?

What if KAT is the next Tim Duncan and like Tim Duncan in his second season, propells his team to new heights?

Can you hear it?

What if Thibodeau morphs this defense into the 2008 celtics with new fresh legs?

Can you hear it?

What if KG, Tayshaun Prince, B. Rush, and Jordan Hill provide just enough veteran/champshionship leadership?

Can you hear it?

What if zach lavine comes into this season with a commitment to defense?

Can you hear it?

What if a combonation of Rubio, Tyus, & Dunn provide just enough defense and clutch shots?

Can you hear it?

What if its the western conference finals and the only way to beat the Warriors is with athletic wing defenders who play multiple positions and a dominant bigman?

Can you hear it?

[Arc12345Participant]

It seems like you’re whispering…so I can’t hear anything… 

[flybobbyflyParticipant]

 Bold. 

All the pieces are on the table for them to do extremely well. 

I hope it doesn’t go the opposite way where Thibs stunts the growth of the bench players by never giving them any minutes, while at the same time completely wearing out all of his starters by the time the playoffs come around. 

He could be the number 2 coach in the league if he could figure out how to utilize intelligent rotations and give players rest occassionally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

 Ecspecially this year. Develop the bench guys and see what they can do. The time to play 45min a game shouldn’t come until the playoffs.

[omphalosParticipant]

 Thing is, Thibs was actually known for his use of a "bench mob" early in his Chicago trnure, but the Bulls brass didn’t want to pay to keep the bench intact.

Most notable example is letting Omer Asik walk.

With Thibs in charge of the front office, I don’t think he’ll be in a situation where he doesn’t trust the bench players on the roster.

He’ll be just fine with the young Wolves.

 

 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Thibs teams don’t take plays off on the defensive end. That’s really the difference between a 30 win team and a 50 win team in the NBA as long as the talents there. These guys are really young though.

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

As a lifelong Wolves fan, the phrase I’ve come to live by is HALE. High aspirations, low expectations. 

With this team, I would be disappointed if they didn’t hit 40 wins. I think 45 is reasonable if the young guys all take organic steps – not major unrealistic jumps – and they stay relatively healthy. 

They won 29 last year. Thibs vs. Mitchell has to be worth at least 5 wins on its own. Extra bench depth should be worth a couple wins as well. Then you’ve got that natural development of KAT/Wiggins and co. 

I’m hoping for 45 wins, which puts them in the mix for a playoff spot. 

Good point by OhCanada in that there are so many teams that take nights off in the NBA and if Thibs can instill a grinder mentality into this group so that they play with consistency – because as expected, they wre prone to some nasty stinkers last year – then they could take a huge jump. 

 

 

 

 

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

 The Wolves won only 29 games but were tanking the last 20 or so.  They will much improved and exciting.  The young players should take huge steps forward  in their development as well as their confidence leading to near 50 wins.  It will be fun  to watch them transform from a young talented team into a playoff contender.  

 

 

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 Uh what? The Wolves were doing the opposite of tanking at the end of the year. They played near .500 ball the last like 30 games and played their starters 35+ minutes a night. Hence all the excitement surrounding the team going into the offseason. 

They started off nicely, then stunk it up for a large portion of the middle of the year and seemed to catch a second wind after the all-star break. Who knows if some of that was other teams just not being engaged, but they did get a few nice wins over playoff teams. They weren’t tanking at all. 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 I have this team making the 8th seed, which will be a tremendous accomplishment considering their record for the past few years.

Player development is more important than the playoffs though. Wiggins may not be an elite scorer but he has the ability to be a devastating two-way player, especially under the wing of Thibs. 

[HitsterParticipant]

Good points by Biggy about Thibs being worth a few extra wins!

The guys will be drilled on defence, KG will be there to help mentor the young guys too. Thibs will have nice bench depth and he’ll quickly figure out who he wants to use in what situation – secondary ball handler etc.

I think the T-Wolves have a legit chance to get close to .500, anything less than 35 wins would be a backward step for me.

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

 The Wolves made certain they stayed a game behind New Orleans for draft position reasons. They played exclusively the young players and found reasons to end the veterans seasons early.  Call it what you want but it sure wasn’t an attempt to make the playoffs.  

[Author]

Posts