Welcome to our 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews, in which we contact the finest team bloggers on the web and ask them to contribute their thoughts on the squad they cover. What follows is their take, along with the team's depth chart (courtesy of ESPN.com), projected 2011 stats via our Simple Projection System, and polls where you get to have your say. Enjoy!

Minnesota Timberwolves

Coach: Kurt Rambis

2010 Summary:
Record: 15-67, Finished 5th in NBA Northwest Division
Pythagorean W-L: 17-65 (29th of 30)
SRS: -9.06 (30th of 30) ▪ Pace Factor: 96.1 (3rd of 30)
Offensive Rating: 101.7 (29th of 30) ▪ Defensive Rating: 111.6 (28th of 30)

2011 Depth Chart (with 2010-11 projected per-36 minute stats ... yellow = newcomer)

2010-11 Blogger Outlook by Dave Kelsey, twolvesblog.com

The future looks bright compared to last year’s train wreck of a 15 win season. Longtime fans suffered through another disaster campaign, as the Wolves won only twice after the all-star break. You could probably contribute this to the fact that the Wolves ranked as the third worst offense and second worst defense. Worst of all, not only were the T-Wolves a terrible team, but they were a BORING team. That’s not a great combination for the casual fan.

The biggest strength for this team is the fact that the Wolves now have athletic and capable players, 1-12. Gone are the below-replacement level players of seasons’ past, in exchange for capable and exciting guys with potential; and who fit the system being implemented by Rambis and Kahn. It simply cannot be overstated how boring and unathletic this organization has been since KG left. With additions like Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster, Anthony Tolliver, Darko, and Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves can now run and bang with anyone. Even more importantly, there is now a capable bench for the first time in years.

The biggest weakness for this team is its lack of experience and a player(s) that is “The Man.” There’s no clear cut hierarchy, and the squad has literally 10-12 guys that could potentially deserve to play major minutes. Clearly, that’s just not possible or feasible. Therefore, Coach Rambis needs to figure out a rotation and stick to it. There’s nothing worse than trying to play 12 players every game, which is a recipe for disaster. There’s no hope to develop any cohesion or synergy under a scenario such as that. It’s never a bad thing to have “too much talent”, but it can be detrimental to a young team such as this.

This season could be half-way decent, or it could be (yet another) failure. At the very least, this team will be infinitely more athletic and exciting to watch, and for Wolves fans, that’s a gigantic improvement. You know that each and every night this squad will have a chance to at least compete with the opposition.

Poll Time

This entry was posted on Monday, October 18th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Analysis, From the NBA Blogosphere, Polls, Projections, Season Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.