FanPost

Wolves Seasonal Mileposts: #8

Nine games left. This is the penultimate milepost. What more is there to say as this season limps to a close?

Not much. I'll just update the season-to-date stats (below) and note that the poll I included in my Lakers Recap/Season Grades post shows that the CH community spreads the disappointment thusly:

Which Wolf most disappointed you this season?

  • 1% Bazz (1 vote)
  • 45% Bud (36 votes)
  • 25% JJ (20 votes)
  • 10% Ricky (8 votes)
  • 19% Shved (15 votes)
  • 0% Other (0 votes)

80 votes total

Seems about right.

NOTES

MN is:

  • 10th in differential (3.08) We dropped a place despite decimating the Lakers
  • 11th in strength of schedule
  • 9th in SRS
  • 9th in ORtg (109) and 13th in DRtg (105.8) Dropped two places in D despite the rise of Gorgui
  • 4th in pace
  • Four Factors (offense): 20th in eFG% (a season high); 2nd in TOV%; 7th in ORB% (dropped 3 places); 4th in FT/FGA

TIMBERWOLVES: 36-37, 10th in the Western Conference (7.5 games out of the three-way tie for 7th; good enough for 7th in the Eastern Conference).

LAST 9 GAMES +1 (3-7; I had predicted 5-4 and would have said 5-5 if I'd included the LAC B2B)

@CHA - L

SAC - L

@DAL - W

@HOU (B2B) - L

PHO - L

@MEM (B2B) - L

ATL - W

LAL - W

@BKL - L

LAC - L

FINAL 9

MEM

@MIA

@ORL B2B

SAT

CHI B2B

HOU

@SAC

@GSW B2B

UTA

Projected record: 3-6. Not too many should-wins here - Utah and Sac, maybe. And the end of the season is always a crapshoot (literally, in the case of Mark Madsen's three spree) with teams fighting for position, tanking, resting starters, losing motivation, etc. I'd like to see the Wolves win four games to get to 40 for the season - or five and finish .500 - but even these goals feel like a struggle.

NBA TOP TEN WATCH

PPG - Love #4

RPG - Love #3

APG - Rubio #5

Assists - Rubio #2

SPG - Rubio #2

Steals - RUBIO #1

FT - Love #3

FT% - Martin #5

ORs - Love #10 (note: Pek drops out of top ten for the first time this season)

DRs - Love #2

Total RBs - Love #3

Usage - Love #8

Win Shares - Love #3

WS/48 - Love #4

MOST NEEDED RAY OF HOPE - GORGUI #1

EX-WOLVES WATCH

Webster - .113 WS/48

Tolliver - .104 WS/48

Beasley - .87 WS/48

Wayne - .085 WS/48

Stiemsma - .081 WS/48

DWill - .078 WS/48 (.010 w/MN, .085 w/SAC)

Kirilenko - .072 WS/48

Wes - .039 WS/49

Ridnour - -.014 WS/48

Given how things stand with the Wolves through 73 games, I leave you with this hit single from 1973 as a cautionary tale for a certain power forward on the Wolves who keeps getting linked to the Lakers: