Wolves Update and Draft Position.....

Fine.

You may recall in my last post that I prognosticated the rest of the Wolves season from that point. So far, it's gone just about as I predicted, with losses to Phoenix, Utah, and Miami. What WASN'T anticipated were the two collapse losses against the lowly Sonics. So, let's update the Wolves' remaining schedule, shall we?

April 1st @ Orlando - I'm moving this into the "Probable Loss" category.
April 3rd @ Cleveland - Probable Loss
April 6th @ New York - Push
April 7th vs. New Orleans - This game could be huge in terms of draft position.....still a push though.
April 9th vs. Toronto - I'm moving this into the "Probable Loss" category
April 11th vs. Dallas - Sure-fire loss
April 13th vs. San Antonio - Sure-fire loss
April 15th @ Golden State - Probable Loss
April 16th @ Denver - Probable Loss
April 18th vs. Memphis (Season Finale) - Probable win

So let's predict some more, shall we? We'll assume the Wolves will lose their 2 sure-fire losses; then we'll assume that the Wolves will lose 4 of their 5 probable losses; then, let's say that they'll win 1 of their 2 Push games, and win their only probable win. With 10 games left, that would mean they'd go 3-7 from here on out, giving them a final record of 33-49.

For those of you who aren't savvy as to the Wolves' draft situation this year, I'll inform you: part of the Sam Cassell-Marko Jaric deal of a few years ago was we traded a "protected" 1st round draft pick; protected meaning that if our pick was to be in the top 10 of the draft, we wouldn't have to give it up. Last year we were 6, and this year we're hovering around that point still. If the Wolves were to, say, go 6-4 and 5-5 through the last 10 games, they might end up out of the bottom 10....and then the nightmare scenario of missing the playoffs and not having a 1st round draft pick would occur.....*shudder*. But, with the way the Wolves have been playing lately, we probably won't have to worry about that.

So, what does it all mean? Here are the "Reverse NBA Standings" as of today, with the Wolves nestled in the 9th spot. However, you'll notice a cluster of teams around the Wolves' record of 30-42, including Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Philly, and Indiana. Depending on how the Wolves do, you could see significant changes in draft position. Let's say the Wolves do worse than expected and go 2-8 through the last 10.....depending on how everyone else does, you could easily see the Wolves at a 5 or 6 pick in the draft. I already pointed out what might happen if the Wolves surprise everyone and do well....*shudder*. The good news is, once the Wolves are mathematically eliminated from the playoff race (which probably will be in the next 3 or 4 games, but I'm not sure), they'll start playing the young guys a lot more, thus decreasing the chances of victory. I'd like to see how the young guys do anyway, with a more substantial role.

So let's look forward to the draft and see a few of the players the Wolves would likely be looking at to draft.....

(By the way, this is still VERY tentative. None of the top guys in everyone's mock drafts, like Oden or Durant, have officially declared yet, so take this with a grain of salt. Let's assume, for fun's sake, that EVERYONE declares.)

Joakim Noah - Junior Forward, Florida

This guy has been all over the place in mock drafts, with some having him as high as 3, and others having him barely in the top 10. I actually like him for the Wolves: we need someone who would bring a lot of energy, get offensive rebounds, and clog up the paint.

Spencer Hawes - Freshman Center, Washington

I didn't manage to catch much of this kid on TV, so I'm basically just having to go on what other people say about him. I've heard him compared to Brad Miller and Vlade Divac, and while it sounds tempting, I'm not sure that's what we need right now.

Yi Jianlian - Forward, China

Obviously none of us have really seen Yi play, but from the videos I've seen, he seems like an athletic, slasher type forward who also has a soft shooting touch. Very intriguing.

Roy Hibbert - Junior Center, Georgetown

He seems somewhat immobile, but his size is just so tempting. At 7 foot 2, this guy could wreak some havoc in the paint. An interesting prospect.

Of course, there are others, but I'm lazy and want to go eat some more cereal. I'm sure I'll go through more draft stuff as it approaches, so sit tight.

Ciao everyone.

March Madness and Wolves

Let's talk.

Lots of sports events are hyped. The Super Bowl. The NBA Finals. The World Series. All Star games, from all sports. The list goes on and on.....and how many live up to the hype? Rarely any. Only one event consistently lives up to the hype it produces....and that's the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The games have been phenomenal. I'm not even going to list all the great moments, because there have been so many. I will say this: I was at work on Saturday during the Ohio State-Xavier game. I put the game on in the lobby, and around the end of the game, a group of 10-15 people (mostly men) gathered around to watch. While Ron Lewis' 3 pointer that eventually sent the game into overtime was still in the air, I said "COUNT IT!". Then, of course, the place exploded when he hit it, mostly because everyone's brackets depended on Ohio State winning. I can't think of a prouder moment in my life, then when I said "COUNT IT".

But.....my brackets are pretty much done. I was doing pretty good after the first round, with Virginia Commonwealth, Creighton, and Winthrop all advancing....but they've all since been eliminated. Plus Texas got destroyed by an impressive USC team today. Oh well. It's always more fun to watch the games when there's something on the line for you (even if it's just pride), but I'll still watch as much as I can. This is the greatest spectacle in sports, bar none.

Onto Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball.

The Wolves, with another loss tonight at LA, inch closer and closer to a surefire top 10 pick in the draft. Right now they have the 9th worst record in the league, and as we all recall, this year's lottery pick goes to the Clippers, unless it's a top 10 pick. However, there's a logjam of teams hovering around the Wolves' 28-37.....L.A. Clippers and New York (30-36), New Orleans and Sacramento (29-37), and Orlando (31-37) are all in the "race" for a top 10 lottery pick. I could never root against the Wolves....they're my team.....but at this point, I also don't mind them losing either. If the Wolves lose, they'll get a draft pick this year. There's also a better chance of them trading KG this summer. So.....where are the Wolves probably going to end up this year? I made a count of the 17 remaining games, and put them into the categories of "Sure Fire Loss", "Probable Loss", "Push", and "Probable Win" (notice no "Sure Fire Win".....hmph). Let's break it down.

Sure Fire Losses: 3 - @ Phoenix 3/20, Dallas 4/11, San Antonio 4/13
Probable Losses: 5 - @ Utah 3/28 (this one could've easily have gone into the "Sure Fire Losses" category, by the way), Miami 3/30, Cleveland 4/3, @ Golden State 4/15, @ Denver 4/16
Push: 5 - @ Sacto 3/21, @ Orlando 4/1, @ New York 4/6, NOK 4/7, Toronto 4/9
Probable Wins: 4 - @ Seattle 3/23, Portland 3/25, Seattle 3/27, Memphis 3/18 (season finale)

Let's assume they lose all the 3 "Sure Fire Loss" games, win 1 of the 5 "Probable Losses", win 3 of the 5 "Push" games, and lose 1 of the 4 "Probable Wins". Through those 17 games, they would go 7-10, thus making their record a meager 35-47. Who knows if that would be "enough" to get them a top 10 pick....surely it wouldn't be enough to get them a playoff spot. Also, if the Wolves end up out of contention with 5 or 6 games left in the season, who knows if they'd play KG, Ricky, Blount, etc. nearly as much as now.

I'll be watching though. I hate that the Wolves are in a position where I'm indifferent as to if they win or lose.

If you read this sports blog, please comment on this entry. I'd like to know how many readers I get, besides that doofus Drew.

Ciao

NCAA Tournament

Welcome to the best month in sports, March. It is, of course, highlighted by the NCAA Tournament. Over the last few years, I've gained more appreciation for the tournament, and I plan on watching as much as I can this year. Those first few days of first round games are just nuts. So, without further adieu.....my bracket.

Click on it to zoom in.

Apart from my somewhat conventional Final Four picks, my brackets are nuts, particularly in the San Jose section. I've never claimed to be a college basketball aficionado; in 2004, I got lucky and won 2 pools at FHS, but that's about it. So, I've decided to take a few chances, and have teams like Virginia Commonwealth, Winthrop, and Creighton making the Elite 8. Illinois getting to the Sweet 16 is another stretch, so we'll see. If just one of these teams can make it, I'll be the first to point it out on my brackets.

Even if you aren't a college basketball fan, you've GOT to watch this tournament. It's phenomenal.

The TV Schedule

And maybe you'll peak over to ESPN2 in the next few days to watch the Pacific Life Open. Roger Federer's 41 match winning streak just got broken yesterday, so there should be some riveting stuff.

Pacific Life TV Schedule

We'll talk later. Oh yeah, go Wolves. =oP

Some stuff....

It's a shame, that I used to update this blog a lot. Oh well, at least I have more to talk about now that I put it off so often.

So the trade deadline came and went, and the biggest deal that went down was Juan Dixon for Fred Jones. Not entirely surprising, but still disappointing. KG, obviously disappointed that the Wolves decided to stand pat with their declining team, finally seemed to crack when he said "Thank God for opt-outs." I was actually a little happy to hear that.....everyone knows it's time to go in a new direction, and that involves trading KG this summer, while 1) he still has significant trade value and 2) while we still can.

Anyhow, this will make for a great few weeks between the end of the NBA Finals and the draft. Should be deals all over the place.

I thought I would pimp out some of my favorite sports websites, other than the obvious "big" sites (espn.com, cnnsi.com, etc.).

HoopsHype.com - Great basketball website, but what sets this one apart is its in depth player attribute section.

TennisHype.com - I so much enjoyed the concept of the Players section of HoopsHype.com that I attempted to make a similar website, except with tennis players. Everything was going well until I used up all the space on my free website domain. Still pretty good though, I like my descriptions.

DeadSpin.com - Great great sports website (dare I say blog?) that focuses more on humor of sports than serious analysis. I've spent hours searching through this site, it's phenomenal.

IHeartKG.blogspot.com - The best Timberwolves website out there (yes, even better than mine). Not too much analysis, but lots and lots of news from all over the web.

DrunkAthlete.com - I came across this website a week or so ago. Not a ton of content, but great, great stuff, including this classic of reigning MVP Steve Nash.....















You can buy T-shirts of Nash performing "The Nash". Crazy.

Anyhow, I'm tired, so I'll leave you with some Nerf basketball videos.







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