Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Preview & Predictions

Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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Minnesota Timberwolves 2009-2010 NBA Record: 15-67, 5th in Northwest Division.

Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Trends & Betting Angles:
• 1-8 SU, 2-6-1 ATS past 9 at home to Denver
• 6-0 ATS, 1-5 SU past 6 at Denver
• 2-9 SU. 2-8-1 ATS past 11 at Oklahoma City
• 0-9 SU, 2-7 ATS past 9 trips to Portland
• 1-10 ATS past 11 at home to Portland
• OVER is 7-2 past 9 at home to Utah
• OVER is 8-1 past 9 games at Utah

Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Preview & Prediction

On the lengthy list of things at which the Timberwolves do not excel, tanking ranks high. Tanking is not to be confused with losing, because that’s something Minnesota mastered during the 2009-10 season, having practiced for six long, playoff-appearance-free years. The Timberwolves lost and lost and lost, matching the worst record (15-67) in franchise history and even, by the end, pushing the Nets, who were flirting with league history before rallying to win 12 games. Tanking, though, is another matter altogether, a two step process that requires some payoff, some follow through, some reward. And for Minnesota, well, it wasn’t there. As diligent as the team was in coach Kurt Rambis’ rookie season about falling short on the scoreboard -locking in on management’s goal of maximum ping pong balls by waving at dribble-drivers, fiddling with rotations, limiting some players’ minutes and imposing the exotic triangle offense Rambis brought along from the Lakers – the plan failed when the draft lottery gods laughed again at the Minnesota franchise. John Wall? Evan Turner? Poof, gone! The Wolves fell to NO. 4 and, at the end of a grim, defeat-upon-defeat, Groundhog Day of a season, came back from the draft with Syracuse small forward Wesley Johnson. The good news, though, is that tanking is off the table for 2010-11. Rambis is in his second year, as is president of basketball operations David Kahn. Those two can churn the roster and tinker with the Xs & O’s as all they want, but they cannot hit the reset button on fans’ expectations. The Wolves are working on their fourth or fifth rebuilding plan since reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2004, so even the numbed faithful who fill every third seat or so at Target Center want to see some results. Will they get them? We’ll just remind you that Minnesota has a lengthy list of things at which it does not excel. Satisfying impatient fans is on there somewhere.

Minnesota Timberwolves Coach: Kurt Rambis (2nd season)

Minnesota Timberwolves Projected Starters: PG Luke Ridnour, SG Wesley Johnson, SF Michael Beasley, PF Kevin Love, C Darko Milicic.

Minnesota Timberwolves Key Additions: G Delonte West, G Sebastian Telfair, G Luke Ridnour, F Michael Beasley.

Minnesota Timberwolves Key Losses: C Al Jefferson, C Ryan Hollins.

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Point Guards:

Maybe Kahn’s reputation as a hoarder of point guards had a silver lining – when Jonny Flynn underwent hip surgery this summer and was facing a rehab of at least three months, plugging in a replacement wasn’t going to be a problem. There was Ramon Sessions, the anti-triangle guy signed as a free agent from Milwaukee in 2009. Then there was Sebastian Telfair, back for a second stint with the Wolves after being traded by Cleveland for Sessions and Ryan Hollins. Mostly there was Luke Ridnour, the second Bucks free-agent playmaker signed in as many summers for basically the same contract that Sessions got (four years, $16 million.) Ridnour seems to fit Rambis’ idea of a point guard more than the others, and he was credited with helping Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings make a smooth rookie transition. Ultimately, though, Ridnour also is a placeholder for Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio, who will spend at least another season in the Euro league after Kahn selected him with the No. 5 pick in 2009. Yet it’s even hard to see how Rubio fits the style being played by the Wolves any better than Flynn, Sessions, Telfair or Ridnour.

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Off Guards:

As the summer wore down, there was talk around the Wolves about Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala as a possible acquisition. But Martell Webster already was in place, courtesy of a draft night deal with Portland, and it looks as if he’ll be given every chance to establish himself at this position. The former preps-to-pros Blazers guard drafted at No.6 in 2005 is another of Kahn’s second-chancers: Webster, still just 23, started 70 games three seasons ago but had his 2008-09 season clipped to just five minutes when he broke his left foot in Portland’s first game. Last season, he tapped into his potential, though not consistently, while averaging 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds and shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range. Wayne Ellington, the best of Minnesota’s first-rounders in 2009, found his shooting eye over the second half of the season; he ranked second only to Utah’s Kyle Korver in three-point accuracy (47.6 percent) after Jan. 1.

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Small Forwards:

Leave it to the Timberwolves. They spend so much of 2009-10 taking their medicine in the hope that they’ll get well via the draft lottery. And then, once again, they get elbowed down two spots to NO. 4 (the franchise never, ever has improved its draft position through lottery luck). The Wolves were happy with their pick, Syracuse wing man Wesley Johnson, but he wasn’t the cornerstone type of player normally available at NO’s. 1 or 2 John Wall or Evan Turner this year. Johnson hasn’t shown much ability to create but he is swift and can defend, and he seems to feel he has untapped talents. Corey Brewer was Minnesota’s most improved player by far, becoming a legitimate offensive option. His defense can be stifling but he tends to be erratic; a tigher, more defined role should benefit him. Marquette’s Lazar Hayward, the No. 30 pick in June, went higher than many expected but the Wolves like his maturity and his shooting touch.

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Power Forwards:

A couple of years ago, had Michael Beasley found his way to Minnesota, both the Wolves and their fans would have been delighted. Now, with Beasley arriving as a reclamation project, the team is cautiously enthused but fans are skeptical. The fellow considered in June 2008 to be a pick-’em choice with Derrick Rose was given every chance to succeed in Miami, yet came up short. He had personal issues and wayward ways, and seemed to fit poorly at both forward spots. The Wolves will take a low-cost look-see at what’s left of Beasley’s abundant skills and maturing behavior. But they better not neglect Kevin Love. Love’s knack as a rebounder and a passer and his high basketball IQ earned him a spot on the USA national team this summer, so he needs to be a key piece now in his third season with Minnesota.

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Centers:

Big summer for the Class of 2003, wasn’t it? LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh make global headlines by signing with Miami, and Darko Milicic – the Detroit Pistons’ shame at No.2 that year – lands himself a fresh four-year, $20 million deal. Milicic has youth and talent on his side, along with the leverage of threatening to go home to Europe if the Wolves hadn’t coughed up enough cash. The big guy does have great hands and some passing skills, but much of Milicic’s appeal seems to be based on whatever Joe Dumars saw in him way back when. If he were a former No. 15 pick, he’d have been given up on long ago. Minnesota will back up Milicic with Nikola Pekovic, a fellow who likes contact and has low-post scoring ability. Kosta Koufos, if he’s not traded, still is an end-of-bench project.

Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the Minnesota Timberwolves will finish 5th in the NBA Northwest Division .

Minnesota Timberwolves Betting

Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Championship Odds: +20000
Minnesota Timberwolves Eastern Conference Odds: +10000

Minnesota Timberwolves 2009-2010 Betting Stats

Minnesota Timberwolves Straight Up: 15-67
Minnesota Timberwolves ATS: 36-44-2
Minnesota Timberwolves Home ATS: 18-21-2
Minnesota Timberwolves Away ATS: 18-23
Minnesota Timberwolves Record As Favorite: 5-4
Minnesota Timberwolves Record As Dog: 10-63
Minnesota Timberwolves Over/Under: 38-43-1

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