Rarely do I start such a thread, but the OKC Thunder were a collection of some very high draft picks that instantly gelled and made the playoffs in 2009-2010 Starters: Nenad Krstic - 24th pick in 2002 Kevin Durant - 2nd pick in 2007 Russell Westbrook - 4th pick in 2008 Jeff Green - 5th pick in 2007 Thabo Sefolosha - 13th pick 2006 James Harden - 3rd pick 2009 Serge Ibaka - 24th pick in 2008 This Timberwolves team has quitely assembled a very nice core of very young players who have a chance to instantly gel. Starters: Ricky Rubio Nikola Pekovic Kevin Martin Andrew Wiggins Thaddeus Young Bench: Zach Lavine Gorgui Dieng Anthony Bennett Spoiler Future starting Lineup: Zach Lavine - PG Gorgui Deng - C Anthony Bennett - PF Andrew Wiggins - SG Shabazz Mohammed - SF I shall bump this thread during the course of this year, and this will be a league pass team I think I may follow. Please feel free to post Timberwolves highlights you may see during the season on this thread. Any chance they sneak in and make the playoffs this year?
I watched nearly every game that Thunder team played. Ron Adams was an assistant to coach Bonehead. That squad would play some of the nastiest defense you've ever seen. WB played more solid, smarter D. When crunch time came, he and Thabo could completely disrupt opposing backcourts. It was a sight to behold. Even with duds like Jeff Green at PF and Nenad at C, they also schemed up ways to clog the paint that were way beyond the ability of the players. Adams would bark at guys about defense as they walked off the floor to timeouts. Unfortunately for OKC, he left for the Bulls that summer because Thibs took over. OKC's D didn't recover. Their offense was OK. Some of you might remember KD's string of consecutive 25+ point games. His performance in January 2010 was one of the most dominating stretches of basketball in modern NBA history. Unfortunately, the 25+ streak became a distraction to the team and it was a relief when it was broken. Near the end of the season, they lost their defensive edge but still ended up giving the Lakers a scare in the 1st round. Would have gone 7 if Ibaka had blocked out Pau after Kobe missed a jumper as time was running out in game 6. This year's T-Wolves don't compare to them at all IMO. Nobody on this team is in the same zip code with what KD & WB were at the time. Plus, the T-Wolves are coached by an old beat-up shoe like Flip Saunders and they won't even make the playoffs. You left out Eric Maynor and Nick Collison, who formed a dynamic trio off the bench with Harden. Believe it or not, Harden let Maynor run the offense and scored most of his points off the ball.
Bounce Brothers...I like it! Spoiler http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2014/10/15/20141015-nbarooks-wiggins-lavine-dunks-after-darks.nba/
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Anybody been following Minny? Wiggins had his first legit game with 17 points tonight. Kevin Martin has been unsurprisingly efficient but also surprisingly clutch, Rubio has looked good, and Pek and Thad Young have looked really solid. Also glad to see Anthony Bennet playing well off the bench, he's looked MUCH better then he ever did in Cleveland, maybe he just feels much less pressure playing in Minnesota? Regardless, he has looked way more comfortable out there, and has been really solid. I think the Wolves may surprise some people this year, as I think it's possible they are actually better than they were last season. We only lost Kevin Love, and if you buy into the whole 'he's an empty stats guy who doesn't actually help his team win' (which I actually don't) then maybe losing him won't be as big of a casualty as it originally seemed. Other then that the Wolves added a great core of young players, the bench this year is MILES better then it was last year, and Thad Young was a solid acquisition. If Peko and/or Rubio could possibly breakout with expanded roles and Wiggins gets going later in the year, I think the Wolves could be a borderline 8th seed competitor. It's a bold prediction for sure, given how tough the West is, but if things fall together well the West might have another tough up-and-coming team.
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If this Minny core can stay together for 3-4 years, they'll be really scary. Wiggins / Lavine / Dieng has so much potential.
Kevin Martin out indefinitely. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kevin Martin Injury Update <a href="http://t.co/S0PthoibHK">pic.twitter.com/S0PthoibHK</a></p>— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) <a href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/535861440914010112">November 21, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
reminds me of rookie Anthony Davis in that you can just tell it's only a matter of time before he will be elite <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wVxNeJqD0oU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Maybe my playoffs prediction wasn't that far outside the realm of possibilities, ever since the starting core came back the T-Wolves have been playing well again, beat Memphis tonight. Interesting jell of high-upside young players and crafty veterans. Interesting to see how they play it going into next season. So frustrating being a Wolves fan. We had good teams this year and last year, last year we just lost a historically crazy amount of close games and the West was just too tough and this year the starting 5 was just decimated by injuries before anything could get going. However, am very optimistic about the future. So many young guys to be excited about.
And Rubio has been playing really well too. If Minnesota looks to unleash him and Rockets are serious about getting a legit starting PG... Rubio is worth a look IMO. He has some baggage and some flaws, but the shooting is improving and the passing/defense is so valuable. He gives the Rockets a guy that can matchup and defend the West's other elite guards, another ball handler to take some pressure off of Harden, and the passing... Imagine all the Rubio to Dwight lobs I could totally see Rubio, after a disappointing/injury riddled start to career finding a new home and footing in Houston and forming a Big-3. I might be over-valuing him as a Wolves fan, but if the Wolves didn't have future plans for him and the Rockets could send some nice pieces, I would be down
I think Rubio on the Rockets would be just like Rondo on the Mavs. A fine addition that doesn't move the needle enough to justify the cost it takes to get him. The Wolves are a cool team. Will be fun watching them in the future.
Yeah, your probably right. Just think a Rubio-Harden backcourt would have potential to be dirty. And yeah, definitely excited for the future, they always seem to be amongst the top 'League Pass' teams haha
also KG mentioned in his media day interview that the family wants no contact. It looks like things are pretty bad. My best wishes for good recovery.