Interesting Star Tribune Article

[cpfsf]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/90882319.html?page=1&c=y

There is a lot more at the link, I just snipped off one piece here...

Love didn't appear in the fourth quarter at all while Jefferson played the entire quarter and Darko Milicic played more than 10 minutes. Love made a hasty exit from the locker room after the game.

"Kevin got down on himself again, and I think I've been very clear with all the players this year," Rambis said. "I accept any player playing poorly as long as I see them playing hard. I understand you can't play well all the time, but there just should not be an excuse why you aren't playing hard out there. We could have used him, too."

I didn't really watch the game. Is there any truth to this because looking at the bosxcore Love looked really productive.

[hijacktheparade]

Love will spend much of the offseason in Los Angeles. Milicic flies home Thursday to Serbia, where Rambis and Kahn expect to court him in May. Jefferson plans to work with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as well as famed personal trainer Idan Ravin in an offseason he calls the most important of his career.

Whoa.

[IAmTheTruth]

Love's player morale meter is dropping. It is currently at 65%.

[LordBaldric]

:reporter:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/90882319.html?page=1&c=y

There is a lot more at the link, I just snipped off one piece here...

Love didn't appear in the fourth quarter at all while Jefferson played the entire quarter and Darko Milicic played more than 10 minutes. Love made a hasty exit from the locker room after the game.

"Kevin got down on himself again, and I think I've been very clear with all the players this year," Rambis said. "I accept any player playing poorly as long as I see them playing hard. I understand you can't play well all the time, but there just should not be an excuse why you aren't playing hard out there. We could have used him, too."

I didn't really watch the game. Is there any truth to this because looking at the bosxcore Love looked really productive.

Seriously? F*** Rambis!

[Foye]

Love will spend much of the offseason in Los Angeles. Milicic flies home Thursday to Serbia, where Rambis and Kahn expect to court him in May. Jefferson plans to work with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as well as famed personal trainer Idan Ravin in an offseason he calls the most important of his career.

Whoa.

Great. I hope he can improve his defense then.

[hijacktheparade]

Love will spend much of the offseason in Los Angeles. Milicic flies home Thursday to Serbia, where Rambis and Kahn expect to court him in May. Jefferson plans to work with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as well as famed personal trainer Idan Ravin in an offseason he calls the most important of his career.

Whoa.

Great. I hope he can improve his defense then.

http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ ... ck_check=1

"Olajuwon been one of my favorite players since I came into the league," Jefferson said. "I'm hoping he can take my game, on offense and defense, to another level.''

[southern wolf]

So Love was singled out for playing lazy basketball? He wasn't the only one.

[Basti]

in the 1st half he was very very active. maybe not defensively but he got lots of boards on either side of the floor, hit some shots and made some nice assists. I call shenanigans on that excuse by Rambis.

[mandurugo]

in the 1st half he was very very active. maybe not defensively but he got lots of boards on either side of the floor, hit some shots and made some nice assists. I call shenanigans on that excuse by Rambis.

I think there are still two possibilities here.
1) Rambis hates Love and is trying to destroy him as a player and a person.
2) Love is a stat-whore who doesn't play the game right. He doesn't play his assignments on the defensive or offensive end but instead concentrates only only boarding and is easily frustrated.

These might represent two extremes of possible explanations.

[Dewey]

IMO it's a bad sign that about every player didn't storm out after the game ... What a pathetic display. At least Love shows some emotion - right or wrong. This may be the most lackadaisical group of players ever assembled.

I have to partially agree with a post I read elsewhere on this board ... (outside of Brewer) get rid of our current 1-3 and give our big men a chance to play with some legitimate NBA caliber teammates.

Geez ... we have a TON of hope riding on the draft.

[Devilzsidewalk]

he had a nice line, but 4 turnovers is way too many, especially for a big man. Still, we got blown out in the 4th quarter so of course thats not going to sit well with Kevin Love.


Kevin: stay away from LA this summer, time for a Rocky IV type summer training session away from civilization. Too much going on in LA to be able to concentrate on improving one's game. Too bad he doesn't know me, I could turn him into unstoppable supreme being both on and off the court. Too bad.

[Devilzsidewalk]

in the 1st half he was very very active. maybe not defensively but he got lots of boards on either side of the floor, hit some shots and made some nice assists. I call shenanigans on that excuse by Rambis.

I think there are still two possibilities here.
1) Rambis hates Love and is trying to destroy him as a player and a person.
2) Love is a stat-whore who doesn't play the game right. He doesn't play his assignments on the defensive or offensive end but instead concentrates only only boarding and is easily frustrated.

These might represent two extremes of possible explanations.

Rambis has huge expectations for Kevin Love because he knows how good he is and can be.
Love is so good that he can go 75% and still be better than everybody else, but since he has a ton of skill that comes naturally to him, he feels like "wtf, I'm one of if not the best player on the team, whats your problem Rambis, why don't you recognize this?"

So Rambis seems like a dick, but if Kevin Love can accept the mistakes he makes on the court without comparing them to his teammates, then he'll be the man and Rambis will be more than willing to play him and feature him.

Nobody likes to be challenged unfairly, but Kevin Love has to understand that as good as he is, he can be more than that right now. He doesn't need more experience to be a better player right now, there's going to come a time when he gives himself more credit physically and mentally and will be able to squeeze more energy and focus out of his mind and body. That's deep.

[jpatrick]

I thought Love was one of our best players last night and keeping him out of the 4th was a big reason the game slipped away. Maybe he wasn't doing things the "right" way and that wasn't noticeable, i.e. D rotations slow, not staying with his assignment, etc, I don't know.

We are a mess. I really despise how Flynn plays point but with this collection of misfits maybe it's the team (coaching staff?) and not him, I don't know. There is no way both Love and Jefferson are back. Maybe it is Love that gets moved.

I'm a pretty hardcore fan and I'm so down on the Wolves. IWhat is the non-hardcore fan thinking. If we don't get a top 2 pick, will anyone outside of us care about this team next year.

Sorry, I'm just rambling at this point.

[mandurugo]

Maybe Love just needs to read a lot of early spider-man comics this summer - he might not have assimilated that with great power comes great responsibility.

[john2jer]

So Wolves blow a 16 point lead in the 4th and Love doesn't play at all in the 4th? Coincidence? Kind of obvious why he's pissed.

Now, I've been VERY supportive of both Rambis and Kahn, but is there any chance this is an anti-McHale move here? Kevin Love is McHale's boy. Kind of like when a new boss steps into a job, wants to get rid of the old crew and bring in his own people that will be loyal to him.

[Devilzsidewalk]

So Wolves blow a 16 point lead in the 4th and Love doesn't play at all in the 4th? Coincidence? Kind of obvious why he's pissed.

Now, I've been VERY supportive of both Rambis and Kahn, but is there any chance this is an anti-McHale move here? Kevin Love is McHale's boy. Kind of like when a new boss steps into a job, wants to get rid of the old crew and bring in his own people that will be loyal to him.

not sure about that, that'd be pretty petty, but it is true that Rambis has a responsibility to illustrate to Love exactly what he's doing wrong, no reason for this to continue to be an ongoing story. If Rambis cant accurately convey what the problem is or Love doesn't get it, then Kahn needs to step in.

Noun 1. coach - (sports) someone in charge of training an athlete or a team
2. coach - a person who gives private instruction

thats your job Rambis, you're the teacher/trainer to the team and the players, its not good enough to keep a gameplan in your head and if somebody doesn't follow through, to make a couple vague comments through the media. Go to Kevin Love and tell him what the situation is and keep it up until you both understand the point. It doesn't make you a dick or an ass to have to bang home a point to someone, it makes you the coach. Do your job. Kevin Love too, you're the player and a student of the game and it's your job as well as the rest of the team fit into a single vision of the coach's gameplan. If you're a complete player, then it should be no problem to assert that versatility and do what's needed. If it's impossible to do what's needed, then the immediate problem is that you need extra training to become a complete player. We have a name for guys that refuse to accept that they aren't complete players and have work to do, they're called role players. You're not a role player are you Kevin Love? Are you a mother **** role player???? We both know the answer to that is absolutely not, so hone the skills, slide into Rambis' gameplan as a featured piece as per your destiny, and lets stop reading articles about bitch fights between grown men, that makes us all look bad as fans, coaches, and players.

[mnWI]

Love will spend much of the offseason in Los Angeles. Milicic flies home Thursday to Serbia, where Rambis and Kahn expect to court him in May. Jefferson plans to work with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as well as famed personal trainer Idan Ravin in an offseason he calls the most important of his career.

Whoa.

To me it's more exciting that he's working with Ravin than the dream.

[john2jer]

Ravin is the crazy lawyer guy that worked with Melo.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Love will spend much of the offseason in Los Angeles. Milicic flies home Thursday to Serbia, where Rambis and Kahn expect to court him in May. Jefferson plans to work with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon as well as famed personal trainer Idan Ravin in an offseason he calls the most important of his career.

Whoa.

To me it's more exciting that he's working with Ravin than the dream.

do the 2 of them work together? (Dream/Ravin) I remember Okafor working w/ Hakeem and also Ravin's website says he's worked w/ Okafor. Also, he should take the Deshawn Stevenson testimonial down, that's not helping his cause.

[Dewey]

So Wolves blow a 16 point lead in the 4th and Love doesn't play at all in the 4th? Coincidence? Kind of obvious why he's pissed.

Now, I've been VERY supportive of both Rambis and Kahn, but is there any chance this is an anti-McHale move here? Kevin Love is McHale's boy. Kind of like when a new boss steps into a job, wants to get rid of the old crew and bring in his own people that will be loyal to him.

I haven't supported Kahn as much as you, but I've considered posting a similar opinion concerning Love situation. The stats may say different thiings, but from a viewer standpoint, I feel Love has potentially had the biggest impact - when the team has played it's best basketball. I'm not trying to exxagerate the poor team play when he sat the 4th quarter last night, but ...