Editor's Note: As the NBA season approaches and with NBA training camps opening up at the end of the month, Timberwolves.com wanted to give fans a little refresher on what has been a busy offseason. For the next two weeks, we'll be releasing season outlooks for teams throughout the NBA.
Overview: At this time last season, it appeared as if the Suns were playing tankapalooza. Perhaps not to the extent of the Philadelphia 76ers, but still, their roster wasn’t pretty. Or so we thought. In his first season as head coach, Jeff Hornacek turned some heads and had his fast-paced squad fighting for a playoff spot. While the Suns ultimately took ninth place, they did win 48 games. To put things in perspective, if they were in the Eastern Conference, they would have tied for third place.
The team revolves around crafty guard Goran Dragic, who had a career-season in 2013-14. A lot of the team’s future will depend on fellow guard Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe entered this offseason as a restricted free agent, but he has yet to sign a deal. In case you were wondering, last season fans thought Nikola Pekovic’s deal with the Wolves took forever to sign. He signed on August 14. It’s mid-September. A decision needs to be made soon. If Bledsoe doesn’t return, the Suns brought in a somewhat similar player in Isaiah Thomas.
With Dragic at the helm, it will be an entertaining team. It will be up to role players to decide whether this team will head to the playoffs in 2014-15.
Record Last Season: 48-34
Key Additions: Point guard Isaiah Thomas, point guard Tyler Ennis, small forward T.J. Warren, power forward Anthony Tolliver
Key Losses: Power forward Channing Frye, shooting guard Leandro Barbosa, point guard Ish Smith
How They Did Against The Wolves: The Suns were 2-1 against the Wolves last season – winning one at home and thanks to Gerald Green’s buzzer-beater, one on the road.
Of the current Suns, Dragic led the way, averaging 20 points and 5.7 assists in three games against the Wolves. Minnesota held small forward P.J. Tucker to just 9.7 points per game, but somehow allowed him to haul in an average of 11 rebounds over three games.Green averaged 15.7 points. Bledsoe played just one game against the Wolves, but he made it count, putting up 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Wolves rookie Shabazz Muhammad didn’t get a lot of action during his rookie season, but he had the most success against the Suns. In two games, the UCLA product averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Here are some highlights from his 20 points, six rebound performance against the Suns on February 25. The night Shabazz was set free:
Point guard Ricky Rubio had a nice all-around stat line, averaging 11 points, 9.3 assists, five rebounds and two steals in three games. Corey Brewer averaged 15.7 points. Big man Nikola Pekovic played in just one game, but scored 17 points while hauling in 12 rebounds.
Projection: It’s tough to break down this team without knowing if Bledsoe will be in the opening day lineup. For the sake of this preview, let’s say he is. This team might have the best three guards in all of basketball with Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas. Not one is a real shooting guard, but we saw last season that Dragic and Bledsoe can play on the same court as each other. Expect T.J. Warren to make a splash on this team. The rookie can straight up score. Power forward Channing Frye went to Orlando, but Anthony Tolliver plays a similar game and is an above-average 3-point shooter.
After such a great 2013-14 season, there has to be some fear of a letdown in 2014-15. Perhaps it’s foolish to doubt this team, but getting to 48 wins in the Western Conference is tough. It’s a lot tougher when people know it could be coming. I think this team will take a step back next season.
I’ll regret writing that after they win 51 next season…