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2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles)

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2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#1 » by 80HD » Sun Jul 24, 2022 4:54 am

With the roster nearly set, how do you see the Wolves’ season turning out?

I’ll start this with an overly optimistic outlook. :)

Record: 59-23 (#1 seed)

- The league’s top scoring team just added the best defensive player in the NBA. Replacing PatBev and Vando in the staring lineup with Gobert and McDaniels is going to make this team so much better, think about that again - Bev/Vando for Gobert/McDaniels…the results may throw the planet off its axis.

KAT and Ant will have career years. Gobert will find new life playing with the most talented team he’s ever played on. DLo will embrace his new role as a true floor general.

Rudy Gobert - C
13.3 PPG / 13.9 RPG / 2.1 APG / 1.1 SPG / 2.5 BPG / 32 MPG

Awards:
- DPOTY
- 3rd Team All NBA
- 1st Team Defense
- All Star

- Motivated and hungry to prove doubters wrong, Gobert will continue to dominate on the defensive end. This time, however, he’s surrounded by the most talented team he’s played with; Rudy’s presence will elevate everyone’s game.

Karl-Anthony Towns - PF
25.8 PPG / 11.4 RPG / 4.7 APG / 1.2 SPG / 1.5 BPG / 32 MPG

Awards:
- 1st team All NBA
- All Star

- KAT will surprise many in his new role playing PF. The pairing with Gobert will prove to be very successful and KAT will have a career year, resulting in a 1st team All NBA selection at PF.

Jaden McDaniels - SF
10.3 PPG / 6.2 RPG / 1.3 APG / 1.3 SPG / 1.4 BPG / 29 MPG

Awards:
(None)

- Jaden will find himself starting for us and have a stellar year at SF. Having Gobert, protecting the rim, will make his role in guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player much easier.

Anthony Edwards - SG
26.4 PPG / 5.8 RPG / 4.4 APG / 2.2 SPG / 0.8 BPG / 33 MPG

Awards:
- 1st team All NBA
- All Star

- As expected, Ant will have a breakout year that will result in 1st team All NBA honors and an All Star appearance. Ant will have the ball in his hands much more this season and attack the rim regularly; this will result in many FTs and keep pressure on the D. After this season, many will view this as Ant’s team and he’ll become one of the media’s favorite players and considered THE top SG in the league. ANTicipating a nice jump in steals and overall defense from Ant as well.

D’Angelo Russell - PG
14.8 PPG / 3.6 RPG / 8.6 APG / 1.2 SPG / 0.3 BPG / 31 MPG

Awards:
(None)

- Playing for a contract, and embracing the role as a floor general, DLo will average a career high in assists. The KAT/Ant duo will offer plenty of firepower and DLo’s scoring will take a hit, but he’ll be dishing out many efficient dimes, especially via PnR, to Rudy. He will defer to Ant a lot this season as the primary ball handler, but he’ll still get plenty of opportunities to distribute the ball.

Bench:

Taurean Prince: 9/3/1 while being regarded as a top vet presence. He’ll be one of the first off the bench and give us a solid 20 minutes a night.

Kyle Anderson: 7/5/3 while providing solid defense all around and being a great playmaker at the 3/4 for the 2nd unit. 20 MPG

Jaylen Nowell: 11/3/3 as Malik’s replacement. He’ll be the first guard off the bench and bring a new element to the 2nd unit with his playmaking ability- something Malik didn’t offer. 18-20 MPG

Austin Rivers: 5/2/2. Good vet presence and will emerge as the preferred backup PG (my guess is Forbes/Rivers/Jmac will all split this role, though). Will see some DNPs. 8-12 MPG

Jordan McLaughlin: 5/2/3. He’ll continue to come off the bench but have some DNPs. 8-12 MPG

Bryn Forbes: 7/1/1. There will be some DNPs, but when he does play he’ll be lights out. Expect a few 20 point games. 8-12 MPG

Naz Reid: 7/4/1. His role will decrease and he’ll also see many DNPs. 8-12 MPG

Rotation:
Rudy (32) / KAT (8) / Naz (8)
KAT (24) / Prince (12) / Anderson (12)
McDaniels (29) / Prince (8) / Anderson (8) / Ant (3)
Ant (30) / Nowell (18)
DLo (31) / Rivers/McLaughlin/Forbes (17)
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#2 » by winforlose » Sun Jul 24, 2022 5:26 am

3 predictions.

1. If Finch plays Nowell at least 25 minutes per game he will either 6th man of the year or most improved player of the year.

2. If AJ Lawson performs well in the G in October through early January and in camp/preseason then he will get a promotion and we cut Rivers before his money is fully guaranteed.

3. If D’Angelo Russell remains healthy, Rudy Gobert remains healthy, and they are paired together in most sub rotations, then Dlo will be in the conversation for an all star spot. This is beside the fact that if healthy Ant, KAT, and Rudy will all be all stars.

Best rotations

1, Dlo, Ant, MCD, KAT, Rudy
2A, Nowell, Ant, MCD/Prince, Anderson, KAT
2B, Dlo, Nowell, MCD/Prince, Naz, Rudy

Last note for anyone who missed it in the MCD thread. MCD has apparently grown another inch in the offseason. This means he is somewhere between 6’10 and 7 feet depending on the source.

P.S Our new nickname for the starting unit should be the Twin Cities Skyline.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#3 » by LibertyPrime » Sun Jul 24, 2022 6:30 am

winforlose wrote:
P.S Our new nickname for the starting unit should be the Twin Cities Skyline.


I like it! One reporter asked KAT if they were going with the "Twin City Towers" moniker now; he said they were still "workshopping it". 8-)
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#4 » by _AIJ_ » Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:05 pm

Wow. 3 allstars and 2 1st team all nba
LETS GO WOLVES!!! 8-)
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#5 » by shrink » Sun Jul 24, 2022 2:32 pm

55 wins. Regular season teams will have a hard time matching up with us, with personnel or changing their game plan.

Midseason, MIN will be near the top of the West, and KAT, Gobert and Ant will all get All Star nominations. By seasons end, KAT 2nd Team All NBA, Gobert and Edwards 3rd Team All NBA. KAT classifies as a forward, leaving third center for Gobert. Gobert 1st team All Defense. McDaniels gets votes for All Defense, but doesn’t make second team.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#6 » by KGdaBom » Sun Jul 24, 2022 4:18 pm

I see 82-0 with a playoff sweep. GoBear, KAT, ANT, Russell and McDaniels all first team All NBA.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#7 » by winforlose » Sun Jul 24, 2022 4:21 pm

shrink wrote:55 wins. Regular season teams will have a hard time matching up with us, with personnel or changing their game plan.

Midseason, MIN will be near the top of the West, and KAT, Gobert and Ant will all get All Star nominations. By seasons end, KAT 2nd Team All NBA, Gobert and Edwards 3rd Team All NBA. KAT classifies as a forward, leaving third center for Gobert. Gobert 1st team All Defense. McDaniels gets votes for All Defense, but doesn’t make second team.


Assuming everyone is healthy Rudy, Embiid, Jokic should be the all NBA centers. KAT, Durant, and Giannis should be the all NBA PFs. I cannot see Rudy or KAT getting first team, but it is possible one or both make second team if the Wolves win a lot, and especially if we are the best record in the NBA. Ant is a little tricky because the guard situation is wide open.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#8 » by Calinks » Sun Jul 24, 2022 5:24 pm

Early predictions that I will probably revise as we get closer to the season.

50-52 wins

Top 10 offense
Top 8 defense
KAT gets praise for his defense
Gobert looks better on offense than people thought

Russell is better
Ant doesn't take as big of a leap as we hope but is still good, same with Jaden
Nowell is decent, kind of inconsistent but can catch fire

One of Anderson, Prince, Reid, unknown big has a way bigger positive impact than we imagined. Kind of like Vando did last year.

Top 3 seed, we make the second round for the second time in franchise history.

Finch is heavily considered for coach of the year after being called one of the dumbest coaches around in the previous season.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#9 » by LSWF » Sun Jul 24, 2022 8:32 pm

ANT: PTS 23.6 - RBS 4.4 - AST 4.2

KAT: PTS 24.1 - RBS 9.2 - AST 3.8

Rudy: PTS 14.3 - RBS 14.2 - AST 1.2

DLO: PTS 17.1 - RBS 3.0 - AST 8.4

Big Mac: pts 10.2 - RBS 4.4 - AST 1.3


Team:
Top five defense
Top eight offense
Top three in the west
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#10 » by minimus » Sun Jul 24, 2022 9:01 pm

Well... Unlike previous seasons I expect a major shift in terms of offensive and defensive paradigm. It might take time this team to gel. I think they will have a very rough, difficult start of the season, they will beat some good teams in a very impressive way, but also will show some problems inherited from both UTA/Gobert drop scheme and MIN/Towns high wall. They will learn a lot. They will fight a lot, and barring any major injuries they will end up top4 team in West. And I truly believe that this team will be able to build an identity, and I will be happy with this as main result of next season. I want to see an identity that only MIN team have. I don't see any other similar thing in last 10 years.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#11 » by beezy » Mon Jul 25, 2022 1:21 pm

53 wins. It takes time to get it all together and it's a slow start. Momentum after Christmas. Top 4 seed in West. Playoffs are hard but advance to second round. We could pull off an upset to get to WCF but likely a 6 or 7 game heartbreaker. Move on stronger to year 2 of Gobert. KAT struggles the most to find his role. He's lost playing perimeter defense and relies heavily on help D.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#12 » by Dalvin » Mon Jul 25, 2022 1:39 pm

NBA Champs. Book it. 8-)
shrink wrote:Good point, and welcome to the boards.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#13 » by Nick K » Mon Jul 25, 2022 2:45 pm

KGdaBom wrote:I see 82-0 with a playoff sweep. GoBear, KAT, ANT, Russell and McDaniels all first team All NBA.


I love your spirit but you're a bit optimistic. I think we win 79 games. :lol:
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#14 » by Dewey » Mon Jul 25, 2022 2:58 pm

LibertyPrime wrote:
winforlose wrote:
P.S Our new nickname for the starting unit should be the Twin Cities Skyline.


I like it! One reporter asked KAT if they were going with the "Twin City Towers" moniker now; he said they were still "workshopping it". 8-)

they’ll be laughed off the floor . Skyliners = girls dance club
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#15 » by Nick K » Mon Jul 25, 2022 3:06 pm

Seriously, my prediction is we win a minimum of 55 games. If we won 60 I would not be surprised. Obviously we have to remain healthy.

I looked at our 12 man roster and honestly I wouldn't trade it for any other teams 12.

Look at this....

Karl-Anthony Towns C-F 6-11 248 November 15, 1995 7 Kentucky
D'Angelo Russell G 6-4 193 February 23, 1996 7 Ohio State
Jaylen Nowell G 6-4 201 July 9, 1999 3 Washington
Naz Reid F 6-9 264 August 26, 1999 3 LSU
Jaden McDaniels F 6-9 185 September 29, 2000 2 Washington
Anthony Edwards G 6-4 225 August 5, 2001 2 Georgia
Rudy Gobert C 7-1 258 June 26, 1992 fr 9
Jordan McLaughlin G 5-11 185 April 9, 1996 us 3 USC
Taurean Prince F 6-7 218 March 22, 1994 6 Baylor
Wendell Moore Jr. G-F 6-5 213 September 18, 2001 R Duke
Kyle Anderson F-G 6-9 230 September 20, 1993 8 UCLA
Bryn Forbes G 6-2 205 July 23, 1993 6 Michigan S
----------------------

Look at how far we've come from just last year. We had an unbalanced, young roster overall. Now we have real balance with a great mix of vets and youth. We are flippin deep. Gobert and Kyle Anderson alone stand out. Dlo won't have to play hero ball every game which should make him much better. I hope he embraces the role.

I think we have a solid shot at WCF's.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#16 » by BlacJacMac » Mon Jul 25, 2022 3:45 pm

Nick K wrote:If Phoenix can win it all there is no reason we can't.


Huh?
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#17 » by KGdaBom » Mon Jul 25, 2022 3:54 pm

Nick K wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:I see 82-0 with a playoff sweep. GoBear, KAT, ANT, Russell and McDaniels all first team All NBA.


I love your spirit but you're a bit optimistic. I think we win 79 games. :lol:

I did see three possible losses, but with Finch being coach of the year which I failed to mention we find a way to pull those out. :D
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#18 » by Nick K » Mon Jul 25, 2022 5:15 pm

BlacJacMac wrote:
Nick K wrote:If Phoenix can win it all there is no reason we can't.


Huh?


Sorry about that i meant to say Milwaukee. :banghead:
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#19 » by Dewey » Mon Jul 25, 2022 9:19 pm

If Finch and Connelly didn't think this was gonna work, they would not have made the deal. I'm pretty confident in both of them.
There is a sloooow trend towards more size, but I still think it comes down to "depth" and ability to handle certain matchups ... meaning forwards like MCD, KA, etc. will need to log some quality minutes at the 4 for this to work. DLo will benefit immediately and I think that will be a quiet success post Rudy trade. From there it's about whether or not ANT and KAT play all-star basketball or not.

The best way to raise the bar is to add talent that directly reduces weaknesses, and with the addition of Gobert, we've helped address rebounding, rim protection, strong picks, and some lob ball with a proven player still in his prime. I expect 50 wins while ranking comfortably in the top 10 defense and top 10 offense - that would be solid. This should leave us relatively poised for a playoff run. Is this the goal? No, but for it to be an actual expectation 2022-2023, I believe it would be a positive change in culture.
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Re: 2022-2023 Timberwolves Predictions (standings/stats/roles) 

Post#20 » by NebWolvesFan » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:39 pm

My three big predictions

1. KAT has a monster year - 23 ppg 9 rpg. I believe KAT has always kind of hated playing in the post. He lost of bunch of weight last year which helped his ISO game but he got his butt kicked by bigger centers and it led to frustration. I think behind the scenes he's been begging for a big to do the dirty work. He will be refreshed and all smiles during the season.

2. Bryn Forbes will have a big year and resign for 23-24. Yes, he's a one-trick wonder, but so was Beasley. He's played on too many solid teams and really good coaches seem to give him lots of minutes. He will be the "why is Finch playing him so much" guy this year.

3. Naz Reid will be traded before the start of the season. It's unlikely Reid resigns next summer, so unlike Okogie who they kept and got nothing in return, I think TC moves Reid for picks (2 seconds) before the season starts and then signs a PG for the 15th spot.

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