OT: Are the Timberwolves a disappointment?

[KingSpeed]

A lot of people thought they'd challenge for a playoff spot. For all the criticism of the Blazers, the Wolves are 10 times worse. Thoughts? KAT and Wiggins overrated?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

No. it's a process.

 

[BBert]

No I'm never disappointed when the T Pups do poorly

 

[Boob-No-More]

I'm going to guess that Tom Thibodeau is disappointed that they are 27th in OPP FG% and 25th in DRtg.

Probably not thrilled that they have the second to worst record in the West, either.

BNM

 

[magnifier661]

#LetTheCakeBake

 

[riverman]

They all have dick pic karma over there....lot of young talent....Thibs offensive playbook never impressed me

 

[magnifier661]

They all have dick pic karma over there....lot of young talent....Thibs offensive playbook never impressed me

This

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Just read somewhere that an observer says they don't look like they are having fun playing basketball.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Just read somewhere that an observer says they don't look like they are having fun playing basketball.

Seems to be a common trait of Thibs coached teams.

BNM

 

[Pinwheel1]

I would have thought that Thibs would have kept what worked from his Chicago days and changed what didn't.
However I always thought that they would start out slow and progress as the year went on. And I still do.
However they still need better 3 pt shooting from their guards before they can really make the jump IMO

 

[Wizard Mentor]

In terms of +/- (-0.8), they're 6th best in the West, way better than us (-2.3). I wouldn't be panicking as a Tpup fan.... but I wouldn't be too excited either.

 

[Chris Craig]

Dunn is not doing as well as I would have thought. I saw him going into the season as a contender for ROY, but he deserves a razzle instead...

Lots of young guys....maybe when the NBA awards show comes on, they will win a participation trophy.

 

[Denny Crane]

Two 20+ PPG scorers and a third at 19.8 PPG. 20, 20, and 19 year olds.

If Thibs can get them to play defense, they're going to have a bright future.

Dunn is clearly being brought along slowly. That's Thibs' pattern. Look at how few minutes Butler got early on.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Two 20+ PPG scorers and a third at 19.8 PPG. 20, 20, and 19 year olds.

Dunn is clearly being brought along slowly.

Townes, Wiggins and LaVine are all 21. Still very young, but older than the 20, 20 and 19 you stated.

Dunn sucks. He is what many thought he would be. Yet another MIN pg lottery pick that can't shoot. Even Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn would be embarrassed by his .431 TS%.

Yeah, I get that he's a rookie, but he was a 4-year college player taken with a high lottery pick. A lot of people in Minnesota are calling him a bust. He could still turn it around, but so far, he hasn't looked like anything special.

BNM

 

[BlazerWookee]

That could be a scary good cake if it's baked properly.

Big "if," though.

 

[Denny Crane]

Townes, Wiggins and LaVine are all 21. Still very young, but older than the 20, 20 and 19 you stated.

Dunn sucks. He is what many thought he would be. Yet another MIN pg lottery pick that can't shoot. Even Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn would be embarrassed by his .431 TS%.

Yeah, I get that he's a rookie, but he was a 4-year college player taken with a high lottery pick. A lot of people in Minnesota are calling him a bust. He could still turn it around, but so far, he hasn't looked like anything special.

BNM

Yeah, turns out they played in 20, 20, and 19 games this season. Incredibly young.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Yeah, turns out they played in 20, 20, and 19 games this season. Incredibly young.

Yeah, hard to believe Wiggins is in his 3rd season, but still only 21.

A lot of young talent, but still only 6-14. They haven't figured out how to win and the lack of a decent PG is still holding them back. That was the problem all though the Kevin Love era and continues to be.

Adelman's last year there, they started off 1-10 in games decided by 4 points or less. Finally, in March, he started benching Rubio in the 4th quarter of close games in favor of J.J. Barea and they started winning some close games. In today's NBA, you simply can't have the ball in someone's hands who isn't a legitimate scoring threat with the game on the line. Rubio, for all his other talents, is just such a poor shooter that they can't play him during crunch time and expect to win. That's why their record is always so much worse than their point differential would indicate.

So far, Dunn is looking like Rubio/Flynn 3.0. And, once again, their record in close games sucks (0-5 in games decided by 4 or fewer points).

They keep trying to draft an answer at PG, when acquiring a half way decent veteran PG would really help the young guys get over the hump and figure out how to win some close games.

BNM

 

[Denny Crane]

Thibs won games playing Kirk Hinrich heavy minutes. Kirk 6.7 PER Hinrich.

After a few seasons of playing no defense and no real team character, it's going to take a bit for Thibs' ethic to show.

 

[H.C.]

They're a disappointment defensively.
But not offensively, it's hard to win in the West/Nba when your most consistent outside shooter is your center.
Even with Wiggins improvement from deep, it's still not his game.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Crazy thing is, I think that if they had Shabazz Napier, he would complement Lavine/Wiggins/Towns/Dieng beautifully.

 

[riverman]

Thibs won games playing Kirk Hinrich heavy minutes. Kirk 6.7 PER Hinrich.

After a few seasons of playing no defense and no real team character, it's going to take a bit for Thibs' ethic to show.

Thibs....best defensive coordinator on the planet......a mediocre offensive coach...I always thought he should just play to his strengths....some think he's like sandpaper off the court

 

[Boob-No-More]

Thibs won games playing Kirk Hinrich heavy minutes. Kirk 6.7 PER Hinrich.

Playing next to a former MVP you could give the ball to and get out of the way with the game on the line.

After a few seasons of playing no defense and no real team character, it's going to take a bit for Thibs' ethic to show.

It seems to be an arms race with Thibs. Which will happen first: will his players buy into his methods or will they tune him out and start to hate him? The Bulls bought in initially, but eventually grew weary of him. Too soon to tell with the Wolves. Winning cures all, but right now they aren't winning any more than they did last year. Less actually. Lat year they won 29 games and so far this year, they are on pace to win 24.

BNM

 

[Denny Crane]

Thibs....best defensive coordinator on the planet......a mediocre offensive coach...I always thought he should just play to his strengths....some think he's like sandpaper off the court

The mediocre offensive coach has 3x 20 PPG scorers. That's good offense.

 

[riverman]

The mediocre offensive coach has 3x 20 PPG scorers. That's good offense.

I've watched several of their games...they look confused but the young high draft picks find a way to get those pts...he's just starting but under Thibs with an MVP pt guard, they slid backwards over his tenure in Chicago.

 

[Denny Crane]

I've watched several of their games...they look confused but the young high draft picks find a way to get those pts...he's just starting but under Thibs with an MVP pt guard, they slid backwards over his tenure in Chicago.

He won at a higher rate than anyone in history over those 5 years.

5th in team offense the year Rose got hurt and missed more than half the season. He runs plays to his players' strengths.

He started Carlos Boozer over Taj Gibson for four years. Played him big minutes, too.

He's played twin towers (Noah and Gasol) and created an offense that made Joakim Noah into 1st team All NBA center as a point center. He took a team that was gutted, as if to tank, and won 48 games and to the 2nd round.

You don't coach for decades and not learn both sides of the court.

 

[Boob-No-More]

He won at a higher rate than anyone in history over those 5 years.

No he didn't. Over the five years he was in CHI, his teams won 254 games. Over those same five seasons, Pop won 286 games in SAS and Eric Spoelstra won 261 games in MIA.

And that's just those specific 5 years. If you're talking any five year span in NBA history, there are a ton of coaches who have had a higher won-loss percentage over a five year span.

BNM

 

[Denny Crane]

No he didn't. Over the five years he was in CHI, his teams won 254 games. Over those same five seasons, Pop won 286 games in SAS and Eric Spoelstra won 261 games in MIA.

And that's just those specific 5 years. If you're talking any five year span in NBA history, there are a ton of coaches who have had a higher won-loss percentage over a five year span.

BNM

First 5 as head coach.

 

[Denny Crane]

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bulls-just-fired-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-nba-history/

 

[Boob-No-More]

First 5 as head coach.

Again, not true. As a Bulls fan, you should know that Phil Jackson's teams went 295 - 115 over his first five seasons as an NBA coach. That's a winning percentage of .720.

As a Blazers fan, you should know that Rick Adelman's teams went 277 - 133 over his first five full seasons as a head coach. That's a winning percentage of .676.

Thibs' teams were 254 - 140 over his five seasons in CHI. That's a winning percentage of .645.

And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-bulls-just-fired-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-nba-history/

Given the fact that Thibs is 8th on that list, exactly one win ahead of Nate McMillan, isn't really helping your case. Did the Blazers fire one of the best coaches in NBA history when they let Nate go?

BNM