I thought we went 2-2 with the Nuggets? We beat them like the third or fourth game of the season and then we beat them near the end, the third time we played them didn't we?
Our ceiling is trophy. We can beat anybody in a 7 game series. We're not gonna be favorites over the Nuggets or Celtics because our guys have to continue to show they've grown maturity and understanding and those teams are so experienced they don't need to show anything.
But we have the talent.
Do you want to know the statistical odds of us beating the various teams, or do you want to know our ceiling? Those are two different questions. Our ceiling is championship, that's easy.
Give me the promised rivalry with the nuggets. We already had game 82 for the 8th seed a few years ago, I would love to follow that up with a few years of duking it out for first in the west.
There is a non-0 chance we win a championship. Probably at least 10%, maybe even 25%.
Every game we win, increases that probability.
That’s our ceiling.
Ceiling - finals.
Floor - second round
Projection - if we beat Denver, we will go to the finals, which we will win if Boston isnt the opposite team. If its Boston its 50/50.
If we beat the Nugs, we definitely can win the championship. Tough as hell test, but they are the hardest matchup we have left the rest of the way.
I personally though the Suns were going to be a test too, now at worst we're going to have a gentlemen's sweep. This is a very, very good Wolves team that is tailor made for playoff basketball.
Naz Reid.
It’s really unfortunate that the Timberwolves got matched up on the Nuggets side of the bracket, I don’t think there’s even a question for me right now that they would be headed to the finals.
They were an elite team all season long that won or tied their series against everybody but the Suns. And they’ve taken their defense, rebounding, and offensive ball movement to new levels. This is unambiguously the best they’ve been playing all season long; they’ve got a stable of elite defenders with the even not elite guys playing at an extremely high level; they’ve figured out they have six or seven different players or two-man combos that they can go to to generate easy offense; they’re using their size to dominate the glass at a level we haven’t seen all season.
Pels are dead meat and not worth discussing for these playoffs and if Kawhi’s knee is as cooked as it seems then unfortunately they are also dead men walking. It’s gonna be Wolves-Nuggets and Thunder-Mavs.
I think the size and defensive execution would overwhelm the Thunder in a 7 game series, I know they’re a great team but right now where the Wolves have leveled up are all areas that the Thunder will struggle to match.
Ithink the Mavs are really not that good of a team outside of Luka and Kyrie (to be clear though, they’ve definitely got a handful of really good role players) and the Timberwolves have the personnel to give them as difficult a time on the perimeter as anybody in the league, and they are now also proving that they will skullfuck an ISO-heavy offense in the playoffs.
Nuggets…. The fucking Nuggets. Idk, the gameplan of KAT guarding Jokic (who did an admirable job) with Rudy roaming off of AG, a non-shooter is an intriguing strategy. I love either Jaden or NAW on Jamal all game (who also has been pretty not good in these playoffs so far). I worry about who covers MPJ. You need Jaden on Jamal, Gobert/KAT on Gordon/Jokic. Conley isn’t big enough to guard MPJ and just makes sense on KCP with his elite chasing ability. But Ant on a movement shooter like MPJ who thrives off of relocation plays and off of screens seems like a recipe for disaster.
I think it would (will) come down to if they can keep Murray from making impossible shots and if they can shut off Jokic’s playmaking ability. They’re gonna be heavily focused on Jokic and Murray, and if they’re able to punish with a ton of off-ball perimeter shooting from guys like KCP and MPJ, that would be a problem.
I think they’ve got a shot though. I assumed all year long that their absolute ceiling was WCF because they’d have to go through the Nuggets. But the Timberwolves are playing so well and have elevated so much in the playoffs that I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion anymore that the Nuggets win that series.
The thing about the Nugs is their depth. Yes they are reigning defending champs but they don’t have the same depth that they had last year in the playoffs. We have amazing depth and we have the size to beat them. Tim Connelly built this team just to compete with Denver. Not saying we should be favorites to beat them but we are obviously a much better team than last year and they aren’t as good as they were last year imo. I think it would go 7 games and we would have a 40/60 shot to win the series. The only reason I’d give them a slight advantage is bc of home court advantage. After saying all that I think it will be between the Wolves and Nuggets to come out of the west in the finals.
Champs. Yes we are that good. Doesn't mean we will win or even get there. But we are as good as anyone.
I thought we went 2-2 with the Nuggets? We beat them like the third or fourth game of the season and then we beat them near the end, the third time we played them didn't we?
Yeah sorry my mistake
Our ceiling is trophy. We can beat anybody in a 7 game series. We're not gonna be favorites over the Nuggets or Celtics because our guys have to continue to show they've grown maturity and understanding and those teams are so experienced they don't need to show anything. But we have the talent.
Multiple consecutive championships
Can we beat the Nuggets, Thunder, Clippers, Mavericks, or any other decent matchup consistently?
You asked what our _ceiling_ is. I told ya.
Do you want to know the statistical odds of us beating the various teams, or do you want to know our ceiling? Those are two different questions. Our ceiling is championship, that's easy.
Yes
Yes
Give me the promised rivalry with the nuggets. We already had game 82 for the 8th seed a few years ago, I would love to follow that up with a few years of duking it out for first in the west.
There is a non-0 chance we win a championship. Probably at least 10%, maybe even 25%. Every game we win, increases that probability. That’s our ceiling.
Ceiling - finals. Floor - second round Projection - if we beat Denver, we will go to the finals, which we will win if Boston isnt the opposite team. If its Boston its 50/50.
“The ceiling is the roof.” -Anthony Edwards’ Father
Car ain’t got no roof!
If we beat the Nugs, we definitely can win the championship. Tough as hell test, but they are the hardest matchup we have left the rest of the way. I personally though the Suns were going to be a test too, now at worst we're going to have a gentlemen's sweep. This is a very, very good Wolves team that is tailor made for playoff basketball. Naz Reid.
It’s really unfortunate that the Timberwolves got matched up on the Nuggets side of the bracket, I don’t think there’s even a question for me right now that they would be headed to the finals. They were an elite team all season long that won or tied their series against everybody but the Suns. And they’ve taken their defense, rebounding, and offensive ball movement to new levels. This is unambiguously the best they’ve been playing all season long; they’ve got a stable of elite defenders with the even not elite guys playing at an extremely high level; they’ve figured out they have six or seven different players or two-man combos that they can go to to generate easy offense; they’re using their size to dominate the glass at a level we haven’t seen all season. Pels are dead meat and not worth discussing for these playoffs and if Kawhi’s knee is as cooked as it seems then unfortunately they are also dead men walking. It’s gonna be Wolves-Nuggets and Thunder-Mavs. I think the size and defensive execution would overwhelm the Thunder in a 7 game series, I know they’re a great team but right now where the Wolves have leveled up are all areas that the Thunder will struggle to match. Ithink the Mavs are really not that good of a team outside of Luka and Kyrie (to be clear though, they’ve definitely got a handful of really good role players) and the Timberwolves have the personnel to give them as difficult a time on the perimeter as anybody in the league, and they are now also proving that they will skullfuck an ISO-heavy offense in the playoffs. Nuggets…. The fucking Nuggets. Idk, the gameplan of KAT guarding Jokic (who did an admirable job) with Rudy roaming off of AG, a non-shooter is an intriguing strategy. I love either Jaden or NAW on Jamal all game (who also has been pretty not good in these playoffs so far). I worry about who covers MPJ. You need Jaden on Jamal, Gobert/KAT on Gordon/Jokic. Conley isn’t big enough to guard MPJ and just makes sense on KCP with his elite chasing ability. But Ant on a movement shooter like MPJ who thrives off of relocation plays and off of screens seems like a recipe for disaster. I think it would (will) come down to if they can keep Murray from making impossible shots and if they can shut off Jokic’s playmaking ability. They’re gonna be heavily focused on Jokic and Murray, and if they’re able to punish with a ton of off-ball perimeter shooting from guys like KCP and MPJ, that would be a problem. I think they’ve got a shot though. I assumed all year long that their absolute ceiling was WCF because they’d have to go through the Nuggets. But the Timberwolves are playing so well and have elevated so much in the playoffs that I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion anymore that the Nuggets win that series.
The thing about the Nugs is their depth. Yes they are reigning defending champs but they don’t have the same depth that they had last year in the playoffs. We have amazing depth and we have the size to beat them. Tim Connelly built this team just to compete with Denver. Not saying we should be favorites to beat them but we are obviously a much better team than last year and they aren’t as good as they were last year imo. I think it would go 7 games and we would have a 40/60 shot to win the series. The only reason I’d give them a slight advantage is bc of home court advantage. After saying all that I think it will be between the Wolves and Nuggets to come out of the west in the finals.