I see alot of people putting Minny over us...

[schutd]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Again, the makeup of the second units, to me, is what makes us a better team.

Second units. Both weak. Until Zarko shows otherwise (and I think he probably will) theres no reason to assume we are better from the bench than them. Last year we were downright horrible in terms of bench scoring, so all else being equal, I still think Minny has us in terms of whos the better team, at least to this point. We'll have to wait till the season starts to see otherwise.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by schutd
Second units. Both weak. Until Zarko shows otherwise (and I think he probably will) theres no reason to assume we are better from the bench than them. Last year we were downright horrible in terms of bench scoring, so all else being equal, I still think Minny has us in terms of whos the better team, at least to this point. We'll have to wait till the season starts to see otherwise.

Well, since I believe that JJ is better than Troy Hudson, and Bo Outlaw and Jake Voskuhl are better than any other players on the Wolves bench besides Hudson, I'd say our bench is better.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Leandrinho Barbosa G
Zarko Cabarkapa F/C
Tom Gugliotta F
Anfernee Hardaway G/F
Casey Jacobsen G/F
Joe Johnson G/F
Stephon Marbury G
Shawn Marion F
Bo Outlaw F
Amare Stoudemire F
Jake Tsakalidis C
Jake Voskuhl C
Scott Williams F/C

vs.

Sam Cassell G
Ndudi Ebi F
Kevin Garnett F
Kendall Gill G
Troy Hudson G
Ervin Johnson C
Felipe Lopez (FA) G/F
Michael Olowokandi C
Rick Rickert F
Latrell Sprewell G
Wally Szczerbiak G/F
Gary Trent (FA) F
Loren Woods (FA) C

I agree, we do have a deeper team after our starters.

 

[Joe Mama]

I disagree. If Zarko is really as good as he looks you will really improve the Phoenix Suns' bench, but Gary Trent is as good as anybody on that bench. Hudson showed what he can do in the playoffs. Ervin Johnson isn't great, but he's probably as good as or better than any center on the Suns' roster. I also expect the Timberwolves will add a veteran free-agent or two.

I understood that Loren Woods would not be back with Minnesota next season.

Joe Mama

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

hmm, i disagree about the depth. i think gill, hudson, trent could all find playing time on our squad. our bench has jj who is still erratic, and some energy guys like voskuhl and bo. you can't count on zarko or barbosa any more than they can count on rickert and ndudi.

 

[SirStefan32]

I think the Wolves are a better team right now. Alian, Hudson, Spree, Wally, KG, Kandi- that is one heck of a team.

Having said that, there are a lot of question marks with the Suns-

1. How good is Stoudemire going to be this year?
I would not be surprised if he goes for 22 and 12 this year.

2. How much will their rookies contribute?
If Starbosa and Zarko can combine for maybe 15 points off the bench every night, the Suns become a dangerous team, as somebody other than JJ will be able to score to help the big four.

3. Penny Hardaway- is he going to be healthy? Healthy Penny Hardaway is better than Spree or Wally. I realize his stats are not great in comparison to these two guys, but he provides much more than stats. He bring the veteran leadership and the knowledge of the game among youngsters.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by SirStefan32
I think the Wolves are a better team right now. Alian, Hudson, Spree, Wally, KG, Kandi- that is one heck of a team.

Having said that, there are a lot of question marks with the Suns-

1. How good is Stoudemire going to be this year?
I would not be surprised if he goes for 22 and 12 this year.

2. How much will their rookies contribute?
If Starbosa and Zarko can combine for maybe 15 points off the bench every night, the Suns become a dangerous team, as somebody other than JJ will be able to score to help the big four.

3. Penny Hardaway- is he going to be healthy? Healthy Penny Hardaway is better than Spree or Wally. I realize his stats are not great in comparison to these two guys, but he provides much more than stats. He bring the veteran leadership and the knowledge of the game among youngsters.

Very good questions. I kind of think that Stoudemire is going to have a sophomore slump. With his injury this summer, he missed a great opportunity to improve.

His sophomore slump will still be an improvement over last years numbers but not exactly the improvement that he could have.

 

[SweetD]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
Very good questions. I kind of think that Stoudemire is going to have a sophomore slump. With his injury this summer, he missed a great opportunity to improve.

His sophomore slump will still be an improvement over last years numbers but not exactly the improvement that he could have.

Amare is already practicing. He has not missed much at all. He was only kept out of the Summer games becouse the Org. didn't want to risk any additional injuries.

 

[NDSunsfan]

trent is gone, or will be, and i haven't heard a mention of gill. again, on sports radio in mpls today they were bemoaning their bench. hudson and earvin johnson were all they could come up with. maybe felipe lopez. they apparently had been dealing with john wallace, but that seems to have fallen through. They talked about their need for another banger down under and talked about being glad gary trent wasn't going to be around as he was fairly divisive in the locker room.

rickert and ebi are not going to contribute. gill is streaky at best.

they did mention bring anthony peeler back.

wally seems to be far more liked outside of minny than inside. they discussed how flip will be earning every penny of his $3mil this season dealing with his personalities on the roster.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

you're gonna call gill streaky with no fear of anyone talking about jj's streakiness?

 

[BALLERMANIA2]

with a line up like what the wolves will have, i cant see them needing a crucuial bench. its not like they will be subbing all of the starting five at the same time. garnett sometimes plays 3 positions and they could easily have subs in with different variations of the starting five included. basically, i dont see the bench being a big deal and i dont see cassells defense being a big deal because minny runs an effective zone. with garnett and kandi behind them, they will be alright.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by SweetD
Amare is already practicing. He has not missed much at all. He was only kept out of the Summer games becouse the Org. didn't want to risk any additional injuries.

Incorrect. He was kept out of Summer League games because he had surgery on his toe. He's probably doing some lifting, but he probably won't do any running until next week.