And while the NBA playoffs are still very much underway, since the Timberwolves are still in the midst of the playoff drought there is little in the way of local ties to it at present.
Sure this is hockey country but the Wild got bounced in the first round of the NHL playoffs, which to my mind is a positive outcome because they were pretty awful and only got in by default. I haven't mentioned it yet, but it seems as though the coaching hire for the Wild is a good one so maybe the big team will start to represent well again in short order. Either way, good for them!
But as I said, if not a baseball fan this can be a rough time. I don't mind baseball. Going to the park and watching the game can be an enjoyable outing. The Twins are putrid though. I did my rant about it and am still as fired up when the topic is broached. I sincerely don't want anyone to go to Twins games so that the Pohlad's pocket books get hit and they feel pressure to pay out for some better players. Their payroll should be at around $120 million a year. Not the roughly $97 million that it reportedly is. I have to admit that I didn't think it would be that high but still could be better and spent more effectively. Ok I'm going to move on so that I don't go off on it again because that's not what this is about.
I say all that because this is very much the sports abyss. So between now and the start of Vikings training camp I'm going to do periodic abyss breakers. It should go without saying, but I will hit on any unique sports things that may happen during that time, in addition to the breakers.
So first up is....
Going to come after the jump!
First up in the abyss breakers is the Timberwolves breaking through into the playoffs. I'm going to dive into some high end comparatives and see how the Timberwolves will hopefully stack up in the coming season(s).
First up in the abyss breakers is the Timberwolves breaking through into the playoffs. I'm going to dive into some high end comparatives and see how the Timberwolves will hopefully stack up in the coming season(s).
Not that people will really need it but let me just refresh on the core of the team and a some signature stats for each one.
- Karl - Anthony Towns
- 18.3 points on 54% shooting
- 10.5 rebounds
- 2 assists
- 1.7 blocks
- Andrew Wiggins
- 20.7 points on 46% shooting
- 3.6 rebounds
- 2 assists
- 1 steal
- Zach Lavine
- 14 points on 45% shooting
- 3 rebounds
- 3 assists
- Ricky Rubio
- 10 points on 37% shooting
- 4.3 rebounds
- 8.6 assists
- 2 steals
- Gorgui Dieng
- 10 points on 53% shooting
- 7 rebounds
- 1.7 assists
- 1 steal
- 1 block
- Shabazz Muhammad
- 10.5 points on 46.5% shooting
- 3.3 rebounds
In addition to those six I hope that Tyus Jones is able to establish himself enough to be apart of the core a year from now but off the season he had I don't think he can be lumped in right now.
What can we take away from all that? Well it shows where this team is already at offensively. 80 points from the top 6. Add a couple pieces and averaging 110 shouldn't be too much of a problem, ad that with the defense that Thibs will hopefully be able to pull out of the team and it's a good sign.
The most surprising thing to me is how GD stuffs the stat sheet. Read those stats to a someone who knows the NBA and they likely wouldn't get a guy who went 21st overall in his draft. The points are still low but he improved as the season went on so I won't hold that against him.
With two former #1 overall picks and four other first round picks all contributing this well it's a testimony to the improved management over the last few years.
But I'm sorry to say that I actually haven't even started making the point that I want to make.
When the Western Conference finals began a few days ago I had a sincere feel like the Timberwolves could run with OKC and Golden State soon. I won't deny the ludicrous nature of that since the team only won 29 games, hasn't been in the playoffs for over a decade and has only had one winning season since their last playoff appearance.
But consecutive ROYs with the young core, another high lottery pick and money to bring some free agent talent means that everything could change soon.
Look no further then the aforementioned teams on the cusp of representing the West in the NBA Finals. In the 2007 and 2008 the Seattle Supersonics/ Oklahoma City Thunder received the second and fourth picks which resulted in selections of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. How neither of those guys went #1 is a testament to the crap shoot that is pro drafts.
They bottomed out, got two great players who now serve as the core of their side of the Western finals. With the exception of Westbrook's rookie season the Thunder have won at least 47 games every season since the twosome joined together. They jumped, in impressive fashion, once the right players were acquired. But what about the team they're competing against?
Golden State has had an up and down history but their fortune started changing when Stephen Curry was able to be drafted in 2009. During his first few seasons the team was well under .500 but then the rest of the pieces came into place. In 2011 they got Klay Thompson and in 2012 they got Draymond Green. Thompson was the 11th pick and Green fell into the second round.
So OKC got two great players in the top five in consecutive drafts. Golden State got three great players outside of the top five of three different drafts.
What unites them, and makes them two of the best teams in the association is that they took advantage of bad seasons and also were fortunate to make good draft selections over time.
The Timberwolves have done that.
We flipped Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and other assets. Bennett isn't playing anymore but Wiggs has the chance to be one of the best. Then a year ago the Wolves received the first top pick in the franchises history and cashed in with KAT. So in consecutive years potentially great players were added by two different means. Add that to trading for Shabazz and Gorgui and selecting Zach and the Wolves have done much the same as Golden State was able to accomplish. I'm not ready to anoint any of those guys as good as Draymond has proved to be or to be as good of a two way player as Klay is in the conversation of being.
Our guys have their own strengths and given the right seasoning should be able to make the same kind of jump that these two have made in recent years. It may not be this year but why couldn't it be? I don't want to drink too heavily of the hypeade but as has been stated by so many of late this team is coming and it's going to be awesome when, not if, they break through to the playoffs!
So there you go. This is undoubtedly the longest post I've written so far but we gotta break the up the abyss as much as possible and thinking about the break through that the team will make is the best start to that, which I can think of!
When the Western Conference finals began a few days ago I had a sincere feel like the Timberwolves could run with OKC and Golden State soon. I won't deny the ludicrous nature of that since the team only won 29 games, hasn't been in the playoffs for over a decade and has only had one winning season since their last playoff appearance.
But consecutive ROYs with the young core, another high lottery pick and money to bring some free agent talent means that everything could change soon.
Look no further then the aforementioned teams on the cusp of representing the West in the NBA Finals. In the 2007 and 2008 the Seattle Supersonics/ Oklahoma City Thunder received the second and fourth picks which resulted in selections of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. How neither of those guys went #1 is a testament to the crap shoot that is pro drafts.
They bottomed out, got two great players who now serve as the core of their side of the Western finals. With the exception of Westbrook's rookie season the Thunder have won at least 47 games every season since the twosome joined together. They jumped, in impressive fashion, once the right players were acquired. But what about the team they're competing against?
Golden State has had an up and down history but their fortune started changing when Stephen Curry was able to be drafted in 2009. During his first few seasons the team was well under .500 but then the rest of the pieces came into place. In 2011 they got Klay Thompson and in 2012 they got Draymond Green. Thompson was the 11th pick and Green fell into the second round.
So OKC got two great players in the top five in consecutive drafts. Golden State got three great players outside of the top five of three different drafts.
What unites them, and makes them two of the best teams in the association is that they took advantage of bad seasons and also were fortunate to make good draft selections over time.
The Timberwolves have done that.
We flipped Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and other assets. Bennett isn't playing anymore but Wiggs has the chance to be one of the best. Then a year ago the Wolves received the first top pick in the franchises history and cashed in with KAT. So in consecutive years potentially great players were added by two different means. Add that to trading for Shabazz and Gorgui and selecting Zach and the Wolves have done much the same as Golden State was able to accomplish. I'm not ready to anoint any of those guys as good as Draymond has proved to be or to be as good of a two way player as Klay is in the conversation of being.
Our guys have their own strengths and given the right seasoning should be able to make the same kind of jump that these two have made in recent years. It may not be this year but why couldn't it be? I don't want to drink too heavily of the hypeade but as has been stated by so many of late this team is coming and it's going to be awesome when, not if, they break through to the playoffs!
So there you go. This is undoubtedly the longest post I've written so far but we gotta break the up the abyss as much as possible and thinking about the break through that the team will make is the best start to that, which I can think of!
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