Yes, compare to Spurs. If the Kings and Mavs are up in the top four then good for them.
I'm not ready to drop expectations for Minnesota. Traditionally they do so-so early on (9-8 last year, trailing Phoenix in 02-03) and do better in possibly December, January, and February. There's a March swoon but a decent April with a lighter schedule.
I'm concerned about Spree and Sam. Spree looks like he's becoming more of a role player. He hasn't had much over a guy like Anthony Peeler since about last February. I think Sam will "turn it around" and get back to consistency and the occasional 28 points, 8-12 shooting, or 10+ assists (with 7 usually).
It's good to have Wally. He can still score in bunches and he works for offensive rebounds. He also has a little post game (though Sam and even Spree do somewhat) that I hope wwe use a little more and he can pass a bit. He's not at his old 18 or 17 PPG form but he's playing fewer minutes. He's at 13 PPG, .455, .421. And he's tenth all-time in 3PP.
I'd split last year in two parts: Big Three plus role-players and integrating the Little Three, Kandi Wally and a little of Troy. Despite having a 9-8 start the Big Three phase was a great run, 37-15 sticks out in my mind.
http://www.nba.com/games/20040211/MINUTA/boxscore.html
Not the projected lineup of Kandi-KG-Wally-Spree-Sam but the good ol' Erv-KG-Dr. D-Spree-Sam lineup. Erv brought smarts and toughness. If only his head were in Kandi... Hassell brought great D and the open, set jumper which is great as a complimentary player. He also made good decisions and had that good FG% with almost no turnovers. Fred was another heady player who was obviously a marksman from the arc. Then again they drove from time to time. Madsen had stone hands and no FT ability, but he worked his tail off and got offensive rebounds, charges, etc. How can a fan not love that? Even Big O and Trent did their thing. Gary was pretty good to start the year. He played a LOT like Mo Taylor with fewer minutes.
The second phase was... an adjustment. Some good (if crazy) things did happn like Kandi with a streak of double-double play in April to help the Wolves finish the season on a winning streak and hold off the Spurs. Not just one enigma game like the one against Boston, but a solid couple of weeks.
http://www.basketballreference.com/p...lkid=OLOWOMI01
Maybe unexpected stuff like that will happen this year. We do have the enigmatic Eddie Griffin.
Twolves are Title Contender?
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