The Wolves are looking good 20 games into the season.
NBA Quarterly Report
Believe it or not, the NBA season is already a quarter of the way done. Let me tell you, it’s been quite a season thus far, and I’m really looking forward to the next three fourths. And here’s the reason why: While I might not be Howlin’ like I said in my Offseason Wrap-up, the Minnesota Timberwolves have at least given me something to smile about. Now I know it’s early. I know that there’s such a long road ahead. But things could be looking really, really good for the Wolves if things continue the way they are. Of course by “really, really good”, I’m speaking in Timberwolves Fan’s terms which means just getting out of the first round, but things look “really, really good” nonetheless. From the moment at which this is being typed, the Wolves are a meager 1.5 games out of third in the Western Conference. They only need to be fourth to get that coveted home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, the pivotal point in all of this is that they have managed to do this without ever having Wally Szczerbiak or Joe Smith available in the same game. Wally’s missed 17 games thus far. Joe’s missed 11. You’re telling me that we wouldn’t win 1.5 more games out of those if we’d have them. Wally’s an All-Star. With him on the floor, teams have to pay more attention to Szczerbiak, which in turn leads to less attention on Kevin Garnett, which in turn leads to numerous victories for the T-Wolves. So you can say that the Lakers are on the upswing, but even if they top us, that still leaves the fourth-spot for the Wolves, and more hopes of playoff victory than I’ve ever had. So now it’s time to run down the NBA at the quarter mark.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Atlantic Division:
1. 76ers – Iverson and Co. getting back that magic from two years ago.
2. Nets – Chemistry’s waning, but getting healthy will eventually right the ship
3. Celtics – When you’ve got Pierce and Walker you can compensate for Vin Baker
4. Magic – T-Mac can’t do it all, but he’ll get Orlando into the playoffs
5. Wizards – Air Jordan has officially become deflated.
6. Knicks – What can I say, turns out they might win 10 games after all
7. Heat – Losing Zo killed ’em.
Central Division:
1. Pacers – Looking good. Very good. Now imagine if they actually had a coach!
2. Pistons – Chauncey Billups – your day of reckoning approaches…
3. Hornets – Baron Davis’ injury could be a huge problem
4. Hawks – I’m thinking the playoff guarantee will come true. Plus if Barkley’s wrong about Yao Ming, he’s probably not too reliable on his Hawk bashing either.
5. Bucks – Talk about wasted potential
6. Raptors – Air Canada has also officially become deflated.
7. Bulls – The Baby Bulls aren’t bottom feeding thanks to…
8. Cavaliers – …who are playing awfully.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Midwest Division:
1. Mavericks – Wrapped this one up at around game 7 of the season.
2. Timberwolves – Just waitin’ for Wally and then it’s time to roll…
3. Spurs – Will be nipping at the Wolves heels – a nice reversal finally!
4. Rockets – Yao is for real. So are the Rockets playoff hopes.
5. Jazz – Over-acheiving at this point. Their 1.5 edge on the Wolves won’t last.
6. Nuggets – Better be careful or they might just play themselves out of LeBron James.
7. Grizzlies – Despite all the Hubie bashing, I really admired the coaching selection by Jerry West.
Pacific Division:
1. Kings – Also are waiting on injuries, but doing it better than Minnesota – those punks!
2. Lakers – Slow starts don’t usually lead to division titles. Not that those matter when you’ve just come off a Three-peat.
3. Sonics – Gary’s got his boys playing well.
4. Trailblazers – If the NBA Title was accompanied by 100 Kilo’s of drugs, then maybe the Blazers would be motivated to win.
5. Clippers – Will get out of the funk, but not enough to finally get out of lottery-land.
6. Suns – Fast start is misleading….
7. Warriors – Played the ugliest game of basketball I’ve ever seen in the NBA against the Wolves on ESPN.
PLAYOFFS:
Eastern Conference:
1. Pacers
2. Sixers
3. Nets
4. Pistons
5. Celtics
6. Hornets
7. Magic
8. Hawks
FIRST ROUND:
Pacers over Hawks
Sixers over Magic
Nets over Hornets
Celtics over Pistons
SECOND ROUND:
Pacers over Celtics
Nets over Sixers
CONFERENCE FINALS:
Pacers over Nets
Western Conference:
1. Kings
2. Mavericks
3. Lakers
4. Timberwolves
5. Spurs
6. Rockets
7. Sonics
8. Jazz
FIRST ROUND:
Kings over Jazz
Mavericks over Sonics
Lakers over Rockets
Timberwolves over Spurs
SECOND ROUND:
Lakers over Mavericks – I was just about to hand over the NBA Title to Dallas, but then they blew a 27 point fourth quarter lead to the Lakers. They absolutely cannot win at Staples Center. The Lakers live on.
Kings over Timberwolves – I so wanted to give this to the Wolves, but in wanting to have you still respect my opinion, I’ll bite the bullet and give it to the Kings. It’s not too far fetched though. We always play the Kings well in Arco, and they CANNOT play in Target Center. It’s like the Mavs in Staples. All I’m saying is we’d really have a legit shot at doing it. But I’ll go with the popular opinion and hand it to the Kings. We really could do it though. Really. We could.
CONFERENCE FINALS:
Lakers over Kings – They proved it to me against the Mavericks. They’re the champs for a reason. They can just win when it seems impossible. Did it against Portland to go on and win their first title. Did it against the Kings last year. They’ll keep doing it. Well, at least until David Stern stops pressuring the refs to give them the calls. Shaq did travel about 80 times en route to the amazing comeback.
NBA FINALS:
Lakers over Pacers – I love the Lakers. They’re winning ruins the NBA for everyone else as much as the T-Wolves playoff disasters ruin it for me. But at least this year I may have something to smile about!
