by DeRok:

http://www.derok.net/minnesota-timberwolves/2007-season-preview.html


I love the optimism Derok, but I just don't think we'll make the playoffs... :sigh

Regardless... a Howl to you for this and your Foye preview article!

Nicely written.. Im still a diehard t-wolves fan, same with the yankees.. I'll always root for them.... big howl for ya

Nice article.

I love the optomism, and don't think the playoffs are out of the question. I just can't wait for them to get going...

Assuming Kobe gets shipped out, your \"solid\" seven Western Playoff teams are San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Utah, Denver, and Golden State.

That leaves one open spot.

Portland
Seattle
New Orleans
Memphis
LA Lakers
LA Clippers
Sacramento

If the Wolves come together and play hard, I don't think it's crazy to think that they could possibly overtake those teams. Not a single one of them is very good. I'd say New Orleans and the Lakers, depending on what they get in return, would be the top two candidates for that last spot.

Maybe this season will be a big adjustment period and we'll stink. But I don't think the bar has been set very high for that last playoff spot. Remember, just playing hard will get you wins against 60% of the teams in this league on any given night.

I agree 100%. There really isn't a team on that list that we shouldn't have a shot at beating out assuming things come together. We have a lot of talent, the thing that may hold us back is the fact that we are so young.

Plus, everybody on this team should play hard. Nobody is really a lock to start on any given night other than Jefferson (maybe Gomes and McCants), so they should be playing to keep their spots and the rest to get a better spot.

DeROK wrote:
Memphis and New Orleans are both definitely better than us. Having watched Seattle and Portland the past two nights... well, they both looked good too.

However, you do reiterate the great point about playing hard and winning against 60% of the teams on any given night. That point cannot be forgotten. Will Wittman have this guys playing hard every night, win or lose? If we go on a 10 game losing streak will Wittman still be able to motivate our guys? I'm not so sure.

The thing is, the other young teams like Portland, Seattle, New Orleans, and Memphis are in the same exact situation as us. I think they'll be playing just as hard.

I'd LOVE IT if we made the playoffs, I just don't think it'll happen. You never know though...

The vegas line for our wins this year is 20.5, and I think that is about dead on. Can you honestly from an unbiased view compare our squad to any other squad in this league and say we are better? I sure can't.