This scrappy team is no longer hurting in the half-court, thanks to a Brand-name signing
Over the last four seasons the Timberwolves have been both bad and boring. True, there was a low-grade drama in Kevin Garnett's final seasons -- Would he go off on management? Would he be traded? -- but there wasn't much cause for howling in Minnesota.
Things are different now. This isn't to say that the T-Wolves will suddenly join the conference elite, but they officially lost that must-not-see tag when they acquired Kevin Love from the Grizzlies in a blockbuster draft-night trade for O.J. Mayo.
Love commands attention. The high-profile college: UCLA, which he led to the NCAA finals last April. The high-profile lineage: His father, Stan, played in the NBA for four years in the 1970s; his aunt, Kathleen McCartney Hearst, won the 1982 Ironman; and his uncle Mike is one of the original Beach Boys. And the massive profile: He looks roly-poly at 6-foot-10 and 270 pounds, but he's an outstanding athlete.
Predictably, Love hasn't exactly disappeared into the North Country landscape. He accidentally popped Mark Madsen in the mouth in a scrimmage, forcing Mad Dog to get a root canal and 12 stitches in his chin. Love told reporters that he was interviewing chefs to prepare him meals that will keep his weight down but he "can't be eating cardboard every day." And he revealed a few modest goals -- to earn All-Rookie honors or "maybe even Rookie of the Year."
What pleases the T-Wolves the most, though, is that in the preseason he played like a Rookie of the Year, with averages of 8.3 points on 51.2 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds. And remember: He only has to be the second-best Kevin in the history of the franchise. -- Jack McCallum
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/b ... berwolves/
This could be a bit of a surprise team. They finally have some pieces, some maturity. They've got Randy Foye and Mike Miller in the backcourt and Kevin Love and Al Jefferson up front.
The key is getting a great perimeter offensive player in Miller to balance with the inside presence of Jefferson. Miller can put the ball down if you play him tough on the jumper. He's a good kid, a little bit full of himself, but that's why he is good. Even during the bad years in Memphis, he kept himself in good physical shape. He's a workaholic, a perfectionist in his shooting. He can be good as an example of work ethic to his young teammates.
Now that Jefferson has some pieces around him, I think we'll see that he can pass effectively out of the post. He has a great basketball IQ, and if he feels pressure from the weak side and he has someone to finish on the perimeter, he'll get the ball out there. When he first got to Minnesota and signed that big contract [five years, $65 million] -- which was a good deal for the Timberwolves -- he felt he had to put up numbers, and that was also the best thing for his team. He scored against everybody -- bigger guys, quicker guys. Opponents put a 4 on him, a 5 on him, they double-teamed him and he scored no matter what. He's only 23, and he has the ability to be a seven-to-10-year All-Star. You can play through him as the focus of your offense. He wants the ball.
By apparently committing to Love as their power forward for the future, they've forced Jefferson to be a full-time center. I'm not opposed to that because of Jefferson's abilities down low. The problem may be on defense, especially for Love trying to guard the big athletes at power forward. The good thing is that both of their big guys can pass.
I think the Timberwolves have great faith in Foye as a point guard, though I see him as more of a scorer than a playmaker. To me, he's more of a Ben Gordon type. One thing I know he can do is penetrate-and-kick, and he has size and toughness and a strong scorer's mentality with the ability to get to the rim.
I'm changing my opinion on his backup, Sebastian Telfair. He came into the league as a high school superstar out of New York, but he's out of the limelight now and that's a good thing for him. The guy really is a talented player in terms of being able to push the rock, and if the expectations don't get out of whack and he chills out and realizes he is just one of a lot of good guards in the league, then he'll have a chance. He loves to play, he's a gym rat. He's learning to see the floor better and learning that he's not good enough to do whatever he feels like doing on the floor.
Corey Brewer could be a decent player in the league, though his shot selection was poor as a rookie last year. He could be a very good defensive player. Offensively, he's a slasher who at the end of the clock can put it down and try to create something. But he was doing that too early in the offense, with 17 or 16 seconds on the shot clock. Being around Miller is going to be a good thing for him.
Rashad McCants is a guy who needs the ball to be effective, and I don't think he's good enough to warrant that type of indulgence on a good team. His goal should be to come off the bench and be an instant scorer, to give off some energy and not be a liability at the defensive end. When he goes to the basket, he's only thinking score, score, score.
Ryan Gomes is a utility forward who rarely will hurt you and often will help you. He's a great teammate and community guy.
You notice Rodney Carney's athleticism something like once a quarter. He's a typical guy from Memphis who in college could play athletically with the best of them, but at this level that's not good enough. I understand he's a good kid and a gym rat, but at the same time he doesn't have a good offensive skill set.
I think Randy Wittman is a good coach, but I wonder if he delegates too much at the defensive end. If it were me, I would take more control of that end of the floor and make it more of a priority. Offensively, he runs a lot of stuff that Flip Saunders used to run, and Wittman has added some nice options to it. But he's also one of the guys who appears to grate on his players over time, and he's under some pressure this year.
This isn't a playoff team, but I can see them winning 35 games and letting everyone know they're on the rise this year.
pretty fair comments i like the last sentence =) we are on the rise, watch out everyone!
