Things are pretty crazy for the Wolves a quarter of the way through the season.
NBA Quarterly Update
There has never been an NBA season as crazy as this one, and we’re only a quarter of the way through it! We’ve got Shaq in Miami, T-Mac in Houston, and now Vince Carter in New Jersey. Steve Nash has driven the Suns to the best record in the league. Kobe has driven the Lakers into the ground. Ron Artest has been hunting fans, while Karl Malone has been hunting little Mexican girls. All in all, it’s made for some exciting, horrifying, and downright puzzling entertainment. And don’t think for a moment that the Timberwolves have been exempt from all the insanity. Over the past seven weeks Timberwolves fans have gotten to experience Latrell Sprewell’s family food drive, the Kandi Man getting tasered, and yes, the pigtails. Of course, it hasn’t all been bad. I think most people would find the idea of picking up a rebound grabbing, three-point swishing big man for a minimum contract to be pretty crazy too. And if you told me that Kevin Garnett would be significantly better than he was last season, well, I would have thought you were nuts. Seriously, how is that even possible?
As exciting and unpredictable as this roller-coaster of a season has been, I’d be more than happy to have things settle down a bit. As great as it was to watch the Wolves rally from thirteen points down and beat the Kings, it was just as gut-wrenching to watch them lay an egg against Chicago the following night. On any given night, the Wolves could be utterly fantastic, or utterly frustrating. And to prove how insane they have made their fans, there’s not a person in Minnesota happy with their record and it’s actually the best start in franchise history! Yes, all this craziness has certainly begun to take its toll. But hopefully the perennially slow-starting T-Wolves will begin to pick up speed in the coming new year. But no matter what the outcome, Timberwolves fans have one silver lining to hold onto – at least they’ve kept things interesting…
Predictions:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division:
1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Toronto
5. Philadelphia
Central Division:
1. Detroit
2. Indiana
3. Cleveland
4. Milwaukee
5. Chicago
Souteast Division
1. Miami
2. Orlando
3. Washington
4. Atlanta
5. Charlotte
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
1. Minnesota
2. Seattle
3. Denver
4. Utah
5. Portland
Pacific Division
1. Sacramento
2. Phoenix
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Golden State
Southwest Division
1. San Antonio
2. Dallas
3. Houston
4. Memphis
5. New Orleans
PLAYOFFS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Detroit
2. Miami
3. New Jersey
4. Orlando
5. Indiana
6. New York
7. Cleveland
8. Washington
First Round:
Detroit over Washington
Miami over Cleveland
New Jersey over New York
Indiana over Orlando
Conference Semifinals:
Detroit over Indiana
Miami over New Jersey
Conference Finals:
Miami over Detroit
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Minnesota
2. San Antonio
3. Sacramento
4. Phoenix
5. Seattle
6. Dallas
7. Denver
8. Los Angeles Clippers
First Round:
Minnesota over Los Angeles Clippers
San Antonio over Denver
Sacramento over Dallas
Phoenix over Seattle
Conference Semifinals:
Minnesota over Phoenix
San Antonio over Sacramento
Conference Finals:
Minnesota over San Antonio
NBA FINALS:
Minnesota over Miami
