TSN Season Preview: Minnesotat Timberwolves

[bballCT]

Love impressed me in summer league, hopefully he'll be able to adapt his game to what's needed at the NBA level:

PG - Randy Foye
Randy Foye is a lucky guy. Despite a shaky rookie year and being beset by injuries last season, he's managed to dodge the flurry of comparisons to draft-mate and All-Star Brandon Roy. The two were traded for each other on Draft night and while Roy has gone on to become the apex of the resurgent Blazers organization, Foye has struggled to find a foothold in the NBA. He's not really a point guard, he's a low-percentage shooter and he's a wildly inconsistent player overall. There are those that firmly believe that year-three is the key year for any NBA player and the path for their career. The thinking is that they've had a year of shock at the speed and talent in the NBA, and they've had a year to adjust to it. Generally, if a player doesn't find a groove by their third year in the league than they probably aren't destined to. The clock is ticking, Mr. Foye..

PF - Kevin Love
Love is a gamble. This team could have used O.J. Mayo and his explosive offense in the backcourt but they opted for Love instead and sent Mayo to Memphis. Love represents one-half of Minnesota's undersized frontcourt. He's a skilled big man who has worked hard at slimming down and improving his repertoire this summer. But he's going to be feasted upon by opposing bigs who will expose his size and lack of mobility - especially athletic forwards like Rashard Lewis, Chris Bosh and Josh Smith. If Mayo turns around and has a killer season in Memphis, then this will be the team that gave up - which is far worse than passing up - two desperately needed backcourt options for questionable alternatives. People may have been willing to look past Foye's production because he could still capitalize on his supposed 'upside', but Love is who he is and a poor rookie season could seriously hinder his stock around the league and could affect his entire NBA career.

C - Al Jefferson
What more can one say about Al Jefferson. It was a mistake when Boston imported Antoine Walker four years ago to eat away at his minutes and strong development, but it didn't hinder his growth. It was lamentable when he missed over twenty games in the '05-'06 season after suffering an ankle injury, but he bounced back and made himself valuable enough to be the centerpiece in the return package for Kevin Garnett. He had the pressure of that trade to live up to and he goes and has a career-year and establishes himself as one of the most promising young big men in the game. This will be the first season that Jefferson has come in with nothing to prove and it will be interesting to see how (or if) that affects his game.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=250429&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nba

[deeney0]

Foye is a low percentage shooter? He shot 40%+ from three and flirted with 90% from the line. His 2P% leaves something to be desired, but they ought to be specific.

[john2jer]

His review of Foye is terrible. To ignore his FT% and 3pt%, and just knock his shooting completely is just wrong. Foye will come into the season 100% and should be more explosive, allowing him to get to the rim a lot more than last year coming off the injury. His 3pt% might drop, but his overall % will go up with more lay-ups. If Kevin Love turns out to be anywhere near what is expected, Foye will benefit from full court lay-ups off outlet passes, and slashing to the hoop after entry passes.

McHale said it, and I think most agree, when he said this team had too much youth and needed the veteran presence. Mike Miller brings that and he also brings rebounding, spacing, and better passing.

To call it a Mayo for Love trade is mis-guided. We got Miller, dumped Jaric's terrible deal, and improved team chemistry by moving Walker and Jaric. Collins also brings a semi-decent back-up big man, something we didn't have before the trade. We got bigger, better rebounding, and less chuckers, and more reliable shooters with a better attitude out of the trade.

Reviews like these, and many we see all the time, come across as if some schmoe sat down and said, "Hmm, I'm gonna review the Wolves. Let's go to NBA.com and look at their roster and stats. That's all the research I need." Assuming Corey Brewer comes into camp even slightly improved, and can still play good defense while moving the ball to open shooters, he has to start in my mind. McCants, as much as he'll hate it, is made for the 6th man role. We'll also need Brewer to help with the rebounding, which should be improved, but still a weakness without a legit center. Jefferson, Miller, and Foye will provide enough scoring in the 1st unit.

[TMo519]

"This will be the first season that Jefferson has come in with nothing to prove and it will be interesting to see how (or if) that affects his game."

I disagree. Al had a great year, but he's gotta prove he can lead a team if that's the role he's taking. They won 22 games. He's got his mind on playoffs. Plus, he wants to prove that he's All-Star worthy. I think Al's got a lot to motivate him this season.

[wolves_fan_82au]

Foye shot 42% what are they complaining about

btw check out foye's last 5 games http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/p ... yerId=3003

21.2 ppg
2.6 rpg
5.6 apg
1.4 spg
50 f/g
over 50% from 3

[Calinks]

Wolves are complete garbage and Al Jefferson is their own redeeming quality. That's all you need to know from this review basically.

[Tirion]

stats in the last games of the season can be decieving.
remember ndudi ebi and his little run of double-doubles in the end of 2005 season?
yeah, that didn't turn out too well.
of course foye is much better than ebi, but people should temper their expectations a bit.

[Klomp]

stats in the last games of the season can be decieving.
remember ndudi ebi and his little run of double-doubles in the end of 2005 season?
yeah, that didn't turn out too well.
of course foye is much better than ebi, but people should temper their expectations a bit.

Ebi played in two games at the end of the 2004-2005 season. (13.5 ppg, 8 rpg)
Foye played in 39 games at the end of the 2007-2008 season. (13.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.2 apg)


Notice the difference?

Plus, Foye was coming off an injury. Ebi wasn't.

Bad comparison. Sorry, try again next time. See you later.

[Tirion]

he was talking about Foye's stats in the last 5 games and I was using Ndudi as an example, not comparing his stats to Randy's, learn to read.
fact is that the last games of the season doesn't mean jack (if you're out of the playoffs hunt) and most players just use them for stat-pudding or resting.
sorry to burst your bubble.

[Klomp]

he was talking about Foye's stats in the last 5 games and I was using Ndudi as an example, not comparing his stats to Randy's, learn to read.
fact is that the last games of the season doesn't mean jack (if you're out of the playoffs hunt) and most players just use them for stat-pudding or resting.
sorry to burst your bubble.

Sorry, its late, and I'm tired.

[wolves_fan_82au]

stats in the last games of the season can be decieving.
remember ndudi ebi and his little run of double-doubles in the end of 2005 season?
yeah, that didn't turn out too well.
of course foye is much better than ebi, but people should temper their expectations a bit.

who was Ebi playing against though ? cause foye was against Billups,Nelson and Paul and most of those guys were still fighting for playoff spots

[C.lupus]

To be fair, if the charge is that Foye is inconsistent (which is what the author is saying) then we should look at more than just a five game stretch. Here are Foye's numbers from the last 25 games (giving him 14 games to get back in game shape):

14.9 ppg
3.6 rpg
5.2 apg
44.9 fg%
41.4 3pt%

Those are pretty respectable numbers, imo.

[TMo519]

Yes they are. Especially the 5.2 assists. If he can maintain that, and I fully expect his scoring to increase by at least three points, an 18-19 point, 5 assist, and 4 rebound season isn't out of the question, though far from a guarantee. Health is his main thing, he just needs to get in a full season this year.

[Devilzsidewalk]

if Foye is playing 35 mpg as a PG, he should be able to get 6 assists a game by accident with Mike Miller and Al Jefferson