Timberwolves > Thunder, officially

[Qwertyazerty]

Rubio started the season well but wasn't exactly setting the world on fire for a long period of time before his injury...

You must be kidding, right? The only thing that got worse was his mid range shot and lay ups (where I agree he was often missing), his defense was great, his passing too and his 3 pts shooting was better than anyone thought it would be before watching him play in NBA.
Statisticaly ok, his assists per game droped a bit, but it was mainly because of him being defended better and harder than at the beggining of the season.

And Roy may not be the same as in Portland, but his rol in Minnesota wont be the same neither. Forget about his dunks and penetrations, forget about him creating his own shot... he is no longer the man but a role player, the kind of guy you should not let open and that, alone, would be a great addition to Timberwolves.

[Shepseskaf]

Love is arguably the league's best player and Rubio is a once in a decade type of player.

Seriously, is this dude just trolling, or does he believe his own bs? Pretty sad if he does.

I could be wrong, but Minny looks like a one-hit wonder to me. With Rubio coming back from injury and Love making all kind of diva noises, I just don't see them being as good on the court as the pieces they have might indicate.

Team unity looks to be a major issue. Love might be the team's best player, but how much of a leader is he? Also, Rubio had a very good year, pre-injury, but let's not forget that he was trending in the wrong direction when it happened. Let's see if he can shoot better than in the low 30s before anointing him a "decade type of player".

[Magic731]

You must be kidding, right? The only thing that got worse was his mid range shot and lay ups (where I agree he was often missing), his defense was great, his passing too and his 3 pts shooting was better than anyone thought it would be before watching him play in NBA.
Statisticaly ok, his assists per game droped a bit, but it was mainly because of him being defended better and harder than at the beggining of the season.

And Roy may not be the same as in Portland, but his rol in Minnesota wont be the same neither. Forget about his dunks and penetrations, forget about him creating his own shot... he is no longer the man but a role player, the kind of guy you should not let open and that, alone, would be a great addition to Timberwolves.

So you think teams will just let Rubio run rampant again, setting his teammates up at will? Teams were figuring him out, he was on a downwards spiral and doing your knee as bad as Rubio did is NOT an easy injury to come back from.

Roy definitely is a valuable addition, but I just don't think he will be enough to make a major contribution. I could be totally wrong about that and he may end up being the exact wing player that the Wolves are looking for, but I highly doubt it.

[niko]

Isn't Portland going to match Batum and isn't Roy going to miss 60 games?

[PyrrhusX]

Kevin love on the thunder would be first round exit.
Timberwolves are over-rated.
Rubio is Over-rated.
The wolves will not make it out of the first round this year if they are even lucky.

Sorry but over-confident Timberwolves fans are pathetic. Your all-mighty Kevin Love didnt lead you anywhere last year. Cant believe Roy signed there .. how could such a likable player play for such a dissapointing team.

/inb4 Rubio was injured excuses.

P.S. Rubio was ROY before his injury? Sorry give me, and every other non-timberwolf fan, Kyrie Irving.

[Shepseskaf]

Rubio was ROY before he got injured. He was absolutely showing signs of greatness.

Ban this troll, please.

Kyrie was the clear front-runner in the ROY race before Rubio's injury, and was pulling away.

Rubio's shooting % was dropping by the day, and his crunch-time minutes were being cut.

[Qwertyazerty]

So you think teams will just let Rubio run rampant again, setting his teammates up at will? Teams were figuring him out, he was on a downwards spiral and doing your knee as bad as Rubio did is NOT an easy injury to come back from.

Roy definitely is a valuable addition, but I just don't think he will be enough to make a major contribution. I could be totally wrong about that and he may end up being the exact wing player that the Wolves are looking for, but I highly doubt it.

Of course teams wont let him do that but the kid is just that, a kid, and can figure out his opponents as well. Also, if Roy fills that wing role they need so much and Batum signs (adding another 3 pt threat to the team), it will be much harder for teams to double team at the same time Love and Rubio, without letting Roy, Batum or Pek (all capable of scoring) open. We have to agree that even half a Roy and Batum are better fits to Rubio's playing style than the Websters, Johnsons, Ridnours and co.

I doubt Portland let Batum go to Minny, but that's because they know it would be a very good fit on those wolves.

[DStebb716]

Westbrook >>>>>> Rubio
Harden >>> BRoy (with the injuries and year off)
Sefolosha >>>> that garbage they have backing up at SG
Durant >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Budinge r (they aren't getting Batum, even though Durant is still a million times better)
Love >>>> Ibaka, you get that one
Pekovic > Perkins



Brooks >



I mean come on, you don't actually believe the bullshit you say do you?

[JellyBean]

If the core players have improved on their games and Rubio is healthy, we are 42-44 game winners, baby

[Bigsmoke]

meh
too many white people.

[Bigsmoke]

Brooks >



?

Brooks a better coach than Rick Adelman

[Meticode]

Realistically all they need is a legit shooting guard. Love is arguably the league's best player and Rubio is a once in a decade type of player.

noosaman,

What the f[COLOR="Black"]u[/COLOR]ck are you smoking?

[knickballer]

T-wolves were a decent squad last year before Rubio got hurt.,

Another season of development for their young players should make them a borderline contender alone. Who knows the development a player like Derrick Williams will make, if he can reach his #2 overall potential they will be a good team for years to come.

[stallionaire]

Kevin love on the thunder would be first round exit.
Timberwolves are over-rated.
Rubio is Over-rated.
The wolves will not make it out of the first round this year if they are even lucky.

Sorry but over-confident Timberwolves fans are pathetic. Your all-mighty Kevin Love didnt lead you anywhere last year. Cant believe Roy signed there .. how could such a likable player play for such a dissapointing team.

/inb4 Rubio was injured excuses.

P.S. Rubio was ROY before his injury? Sorry give me, and every other non-timberwolf fan, Kyrie Irving.

You aren't even from OKC. Cmon man. All these fake Thunder fans... smh.

[KGMN]

As a Wolves fan, I believe it's way too early to make predictions on our record next season. I'm obviously hoping for 45-50 wins, but there are just way too many question marks to be so confident in that. Will Rubio return good as new? Probably not, it normally takes a year or so after coming back from an ACL to get back to your original form. Is Brandon Roy back to his old self basketball-wise? I have no idea... I think he said he was, but who really knows? Is Shved really good enough to play a significant role on the team? From the couple of games I've seen of him, it doesn't look like he will. Will the Wolves even land Batum? Portland's contradicting itself, and it's impossible for me to figure out what they're thinking.

So while a 45-50 game prediction may seem possible by just looking at our roster, that may be a bit optimistic, especially considering Ricky's return will not be an immediate full recovery.