Michael Olowokandi signs with Minnesota

[Lefty]

I think this is a good signing for Minnesota.

 

[arthurracoon]

the west just keeps getting scarier.

on the side: I hope amare dunks over Kandi AND KG.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by arthurracoon
the west just keeps getting scarier.

on the side: I hope amare dunks over Kandi AND KG.

What do you mean?

None of these players have been switching conferences. And besides, Olowakandi isn't going to do much better than Rasho Nesterovic. Minnesota will be fairly similar next year as they were the year before. Sam Cassell is nice, but they'll certainly notice Anthony Peeler's absence. I see this team as no better than the Jazz has been for years.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by Chaplin
What do you mean?

None of these players have been switching conferences. And besides, Olowakandi isn't going to do much better than Rasho Nesterovic. Minnesota will be fairly similar next year as they were the year before.

Nesterovic and Olowokandi still play in the same conference, but they do not play for the same teams in that conference. Nesterovic is going to a team that supposedly is a better fit for his game. Olowokandi is going from a crappy team to a perennial playoff team. His game probably fits better with Kevin Garnett's than Nesterovic's facing the basket game.

Sam Cassell is nice, but they'll certainly notice Anthony Peeler's absence. I see this team as no better than the Jazz has been for years.

Noticed Peeler's absence? I have a feeling Sam Cassell will more then make up for Peeler's 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game for the backcourt.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Joe Mama


Noticed Peeler's absence? I have a feeling Sam Cassell will more then make up for Peeler's 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game for the backcourt.

Joe Mama

I pretty much figured you knew what I meant. Intangibles.

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
Olowokandi is going from a crappy team to a perennial playoff team. His game probably fits better with Kevin Garnett's than Nesterovic's facing the basket game.

Joe Mama

I don't think that Nesterovic would be a typical "face-to-basket" C.
He has excellent post-up moves as well.

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by Chaplin
I pretty much figured you knew what I meant.

Maybe he did but I didn't.
Could you enlighten me as well please?

 

[arthurracoon]

Originally posted by Chaplin
What do you mean?

The west's good teams keep getting better.

Who cares about the Clipps (unless you are a clips fan also, and I respect you for that die hardness)

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by hcsilla
Maybe he did but I didn't.
Could you enlighten me as well please?

I don't know how much more clear the word "intangibles" can be.

We're talking mainly defense, and Peeler is a better defender than Cassell will ever be. The Wolves have ZERO backcourt defense, and that's going to be their undoing against teams like us, the Lakers and the Kings.

 

[SirStefan32]

I know this doesn't happen often, but I agree with Chap. Kandy is not better than Nesterovic, and while Sam the Alian is better than Peeler, they will miss Peeler D.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by SirStefan32
I know this doesn't happen often, but I agree with Chap. Kandy is not better than Nesterovic, and while Sam the Alian is better than Peeler, they will miss Peeler D.

You guys are kidding, right? You don't think the backcourt has improved drastically with the addition of Sam Cassell? I mean I guess I can understand feeling that Olowokandi is not an improvement, but the backcourt seems like a no-brainer to me. I was peeler playing? 15-20 minutes per game? Besides, Minnesota plays a lot of zone defense. That should help someone like Cassell who is not a strong one-on-one defender.

I just think Sam Cassell is so much better overall. He's also a point guard, albeit a shoot first point guard. He isn't a shooting guard trying to play point guard.

Joe Mama

 

[elindholm]

I think there is a general tendency by Phoenix fans to devalue Cassell, out of spite due to his disappointing brief tenure with the Suns. But I'm with Joe Mama -- having him instead of Peeler is a big upgrade.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by elindholm
I think there is a general tendency by Phoenix fans to devalue Cassell, out of spite due to his disappointing brief tenure with the Suns. But I'm with Joe Mama -- having him instead of Peeler is a big upgrade.

I hate to admit it, but that might be the truth. BUT, does Minnesota suddenly turn into a much more powerful team than they have been?

I don't think so. Not with their utter lack of a bench and no backcourt defense.

 

[elindholm]

BUT, does Minnesota suddenly turn into a much more powerful team than they have been?

No, I don't think so. But they were better than the Suns last year, and they'll probably continue to be better than the Suns this year.

I don't think that the Suns' improvement is any more significant than Minnesota's. The Suns will get better because (a) Marbury will be healthy, (b) Stoudemire will have learned more, and (c) they have added a couple of rookies. Of those, (a) can't be a big deal, because Marbury was already very good, and both (b) and (c) are maybes at this point. Furthermore, they probably won't get as many games out of Hardaway as they did last year, so that will set them back some. In fact, the team was really quite healthy last year, when you consider the injury histories of their players.

So I'm expecting a team that's a little better than last year's, but not much. I see the Suns passing Utah and maybe Portland in the standings (compared to last year), and they'll have to hold off Houston, who did finish only one game behind. To me, the top five teams in the West are still significantly out of reach.

 

[Freddie]

Penny only played 58 games last year due to his thumb injury. I think he can surpass that this year.

Who thinks Minnesota's top four is better than ours?

Garnett
Cassell
Olowokandi
Szerbiak

Marbury
Stoudemire
Marion
Penny

Tough call.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by elindholm
BUT, does Minnesota suddenly turn into a much more powerful team than they have been?

No, I don't think so. But they were better than the Suns last year, and they'll probably continue to be better than the Suns this year.

I don't think that the Suns' improvement is any more significant than Minnesota's.

Oh, I agree. I wasn't demeaning Minne in order to pump up the Suns.

 

[elindholm]

Who thinks Minnesota's top four is better than ours?

Garnett
Cassell
Olowokandi
Szerbiak

Marbury
Stoudemire
Marion
Penny

Tough call.

Then why was Minnesota so much better last year, with a lineup that (I think) we all agree wasn't any better than this year's? Szczerbiak missed a lot more games than Hardaway did.

 

[cheng]

They have a good coach.

 

[Freddie]

Minnesota won seven more games than we did.

Stoudemire was a rookie
Marbury played hurt most of the year
Penny missed 24 games
Not that it may have made a difference, but Big Jake missed a significant amount of time due to injury

We'll improve if we're healthy.

In my opinion, Minnesota's zone was what made them successful. I think teams will be ready for it this year, as opposed to last year.

Flip Saunders is an excellent coach, too. I wonder if he'd play small ball if he coached the Suns.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by Freddie

In my opinion, Minnesota's zone was what made them successful. I think teams will be ready for it this year, as opposed to last year.

People said the same thing last summer. When you have a 7 foot genetic freak as your point man there really isnt a way t prepare against it.

 

[Joe Mama]

Marbury may be more comfortable night season, but I honestly don't expect him to improve dramatically. Hopefully the biggest differences will be a healthy Penny Hardaway, healthy Jake Tsakalidis, improvement from the young guys like Amare Stoudemire, Casey Jacobsen, and Joe Johnson, and some help from the rookies. If they can get any scoring off the bench it will really, really help.

I honestly expect the Phoenix Suns to be quite a bit better. Unfortunately I'm not sure the record will be much better because the rest of the West's best looks like it's improving also.

Joe Mama

 

[Errntknght]

For the Wolves, a lot depends on how well Olowokandi works out - if he finds his role, accepts it and works hard he'll be a step up from Rasho. From watching him last year I'd say those are some very bigs 'ifs'.

Cassell is also a bit problamatic - Minnie's offense does best when it goes thru KG and Sam has to fit himself into that scheme. Also, in the playoffs, the second most effective player for the Wolves was their 'acting' PG who's name eludes me - and who no one has mentioned. He and Cassell may not mesh too well.

If the coach does a good job of getting all the guys on the same page they should be better than last year otherwise they could sink a fair amount.

As for the Suns, all I do is shudder when I think of what FJ is going to do now that he's more convinced than ever that small ball is the way to go.

 

[Freddie]

Troy Hudson

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by Errntknght
Cassell is also a bit problamatic - Minnie's offense does best when it goes thru KG and Sam has to fit himself into that scheme. Also, in the playoffs, the second most effective player for the Wolves was their 'acting' PG who's name eludes me - and who no one has mentioned. He and Cassell may not mesh too well.

Don't forget how well the Minnesota Timberwolves played when they had a real point guard running the show. Sure, it's been a while, but the Timberwolves were one of the best teams in the NBA with a healthy Terrell Brandon.

Joe Mama

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
Don't forget how well the Minnesota Timberwolves played when they had a real point guard running the show. Sure, it's been a while, but the Timberwolves were one of the best teams in the NBA with a healthy Terrell Brandon.

Joe Mama

Yes, I remember that MIN was 32-10 with the healthy Terrell Brandon in 2001/2002.
But then Brandon was the most reliable 1st pass-PG in NBA while Cassell is a scoring-minded PG.

All in all I agree that Cassell is better than Hudson but not by much.