Las Vegas has given the Timberwolves an eyebrow-raising win total projection for next year, and training camp is on the horizon.
Timberwolves media day is just six days away, and training camp starts the very next day. That’s right — next Tuesday is when Tom Thibodeau and his staff officially get down to work on the court.
In the meantime, we’re getting a new trickle of exciting news and information in advance of the 2016-17 campaign.
Last week, we found out that, for the first time, every single one of the Wolves games will be televised locally. In addition to the seven nationally-televised games on ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV, the other 75 games will be on Fox Sports North.
This week, the Las Vegas over/under win totals were released, and the Wolves are projected a bit north of where fans may be used to seeing them — and certainly very high for a 29-win team from just last season.
Remember, ESPN’s Summer Forecast projection from about a month ago pegged the Wolves at 39 wins, while ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus projection landed Minnesota at 37 victories.
Kevin Pelton admitted that the RPM projection 37 wins is probably a bit low as it is incapable of factoring in the Tom Thibodeau’s arrival, but did not put his own win projection out there.
So what did Vegas think? They are, after all, usually pretty spot-on when it comes to their win totals.
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The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas put the Timberwolves over/under at 41.5 wins — a big jump for a team that was just 29-53 with a very similar roster to the current edition of the Wolves.
That places them tied for eighth in the Western Conference, along with the Houston Rockets and two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as two games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.
Place-wise in the West, this seems about right; many seem to think that the Wolves will contend for the eighth and final playoff spot come April.
The Warriors came in at a crazy 66.5 wins, followed by San Antonio (56.5) and the Clippers (53.5). Utah, Portland, and Oklahoma City were all below 47.5 wins, showing that Vegas believes that there is a clear, three-team upper tier in the Western Conference, followed by a jumble of three or four teams that are in the third tier.
This over/under total feels about right for the Wolves. A 12-win jump is certainly far from insignificant, but still wouldn’t get them to the .500-mark. To this point, Tom Thibodeau has not coached a below-.500 team, and depending on the steps (or leaps) that the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine make, a 42+ win season is far from out of the question.
Indeed, win total expectations for the Timberwolves will surely range from the mid-30’s to the mid-40’s. And you could probably convince me that any number of wins in that span is plausible.
Next: Timberwolves Player Preview: Kevin Garnett
In other words, buckle up, Timberwolves fans.