NBA power rankings

[SledNeck]

ESPN link

[Stratosman]

big surprise, frickin McHale

[PierBridge]

Miracles do happen guys.....lets not count out the Wolves title chances quite yet..

Dallas 6th I'll bet on them right now to win it all...

[Scott M]

Well, these young guys do dream big. I'm going to watch or go to games looking for potential and flashes of brilliance. I just hope that Wittman or others can bring out the best in them.

[Ely Lake Expert]

They may not be real good, but its amazing that they are ranked the worst.

[Scott M]

Friday they kick the season off, and Vegas' line for wins is 20.5.

Now that I found out Foye will be out for several weeks, I'd take the under. With Foye it would be a tossup. Vegas knows right where to put it to make it tough.

I put them in the range of 17-24 wins.

[Scott K]

Tonights opener, I think these guys are better then everyone is giving them credit for. I dont think its a playoff season, but they will be in a couple years, we have some good young talent, they just need some time, I bet my mid season, they will be alot better. To end the season above 500.

But then again I thought the Vikings were going 9-7 , so I have been wrong before! But I am going to let them show me they are bad, before being convinced that they are bad!

[Scott M]

0-2 after tonight, but hey, they are like the Vikings, they are "in" every game.

Just curious what you meant by

Quote:

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To end the season above 500.

---

?

Fun group to watch, Big Al will be solid and you are right, lots of potential in this young group. Playoffs in a couple years is good, they need to learn to do the little things and win.

[Scott K]

Win half of their games, 41 wins, or more.

They are looking good, until the fourth quarter, then its back to the same old Wolves, sloppy, stupid shots, bad ball control. But I think as the season progresses they will be alot better.

[Scott M]

That's what I thought you meant, but I wasn't sure and didn't want to make any accusations cuz that's a bold statement.

I'm a diehard Wolves guy, but .500 or better is a pipe dream. That would get them into the playoffs. They aren't a playoff team.

I hope I'm wrong, I'd love for you to tell me "told you so" at the end of the season, but they will hover around the 20 win mark IMO.

[Scott K]

I am optimistic! I do believe they will have a slow start, then a strong end of the season, atleast for now, that is my prediction. If I go into the beggining of the season with high hopes, it makes it more fun to watch. Sure they are 0-2 but they looked good for most of the game, they just need to figure out how to score in the fourth quarter. Time will tell. Regardless, they may not pull out 41 games, but they will be fun to watch, and will only get better.

[Ely Lake Expert]

I heard a stat on the radio that the t-wolves have 9 players 24 or less. Yikes. Oh well I am still rooting for them.

[Scott M]

Another snippet from Bill Simmons, ESPN

Western Conference Preview

15. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

Preseason prediction: 17 wins (15th)

Revised prediction: 14 wins

I wrote it last summer, and I'll write it again: Other than KG, the only other pieces worth a darn in that Boston-Minny trade were Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes (a mortal lock for free agency) and the rights to Minny's future No. 1 from the Szczerbiak/Davis trade. That was the best offer for one of the 30 greatest players ever? Tuesday's Boston Globe reported that Kevin McHale turned down Golden's State's draft-day offer of Al Harrington, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins and the No. 18 pick, a better haul than Boston's offer. Could the Wolves have gotten Amare Stoudemire if the Suns threw in Raja Bell and Marcus Banks for cap purposes? Could they have gotten Elton Brand AND Chris Kaman from the Clippers? Could they have gotten Ben Wallace, Luol Deng and the No. 9 pick from Chicago? What about Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown's expiring contract and the No. 19 pick from the Lakers?

Believe me, I'm not arguing with how it turned out. But what happened with the KG Sweepstakes -- McHale giving a discount deal to one of his best friends and helping his old team -- was a complete betrayal of every Minnesota fan who loved KG and supported that team. How could they support the franchise after that? Shouldn't they be organizing boycotts of the games? Check out these four e-mails I received after writing about KG's impact on the Celtics and tell me that (A) this wasn't one of the cruelest trades ever inflicted on a fan base, and ( the owner shouldn't sell the franchise and give those die-hard Minnesota fans a fresh start. All 790 of them.

Reason No. 12,804 why I love the NBA: Antoine Walker getting traded from a potential playoff team in sunny Miami to a potential 15-win team in freezing Minneapolis. Ouch. That might be the only sports trade with a chance to crack the "Levels of Losing" scale. The good news for Antoine was he had already packed on his extra winter weight.

Reason No. 12,805 why I love the NBA: My ongoing quest to get ESPN.com to change Theo Ratliff's player card so it reads "Theo Ratliff's Expiring Contract" instead of "Theo Ratliff." Don't count me out. I might have the juice to pull this off.

The four emails:

Jon in St. Paul: "(Contact Us Please) you for taking the best Minnesota athlete ever. (Contact Us Please) you for not having to sit through endless seasons of McHale surrounding KG with a bunch of borderline spastics. (Contact Us Please) you for getting to enjoy the great things about our guy KG in a way we always wanted to, but never got to. I honestly get a little choked up when I see Celtics highlights now. It's like seeing one of your kids get adopted by Bill Gates after you can't take care of him any more -- you're so happy because you know he's happier and you know he's got everything he ever wanted, but at the same time, he's gone and you're sad and angry and jealous beyond measure because he's happy without you. Just... just make sure you enjoy watching him, okay?”

Ed in South St. Paul: "Yeah, I can imagine KG's crazed demeanor at home games. I got to enjoy it here for a decade. Now I get Antoine Walker and Theo Ratliff in front of about 8,000 the other night vs. Sacramento. I used to coach junior high basketball and can name a dozen games between 12 year olds that had more atmosphere and energy than that game. Watching the Celtics now makes me want to cry."

J.C. Long in Duluth: "Kevin Garnett was the single most beloved and adored person in the state. He made boring T-Wolves games exciting. Nobody in the country knew what was going on at Target Center night-in, night-out. But we did. It was our little secret. You got a glimpse in the playoff run to the Conference Finals, the only time KG's energy held up enough to carry the rest of the perpetual dead weight on the team that far. No moments were more fun for Minnesota sports fans than seeing the 'KG psych-up' clip on the big screen before the game started, or the one they ran before the 4th quarter where he looked into the camera and yelled for the fans to help him and the team protect "our house." I'd have run out and punched my mom if I thought that was what KG wanted me to do. So enjoy KG. We miss him, but we want what's best for him. He deserves better than we could provide. Please take care of him for us. Tell him we still love him, but we know he's in a better place. Do that for us, would you?"

Brian in Minny: "Every time I read a positive piece about KG in Boston, my first reaction is to get all happy. I literally start smiling and giggling, then I think about how much I love KG. I feel happy that other people get to enjoy all the goodness that is KG, and finally I feel the pain in my heart as I remember, hey wait he used to play for our team, but now he's gone and they never won anything cause our management is a bunch of (Contact Us Please). What the hell happened? Ultimately, I'm still happy for KG and the fans that get to see him play games that matter, but I'm starting to realize the pain of his departure will never go away."