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Mike Love of The Beach Boys watches his nephew Kevin Love of the Timberwolves

_{Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images}

Game #5, Road Game #2: Sacramento 121, Minnesota 109

Game #6, Road Game#3, Portland 97, Minnesota 93

Season record: 1-5

1. No Illusions 

Let's not have any illusions about how poorly the Minnesota Timberwolves have begun the 2008-09 season. Not a single one of the opponents in the Wolves' first six games has a record above .500, despite the distinct advantage of getting to play Glen Taylor's lackluster, underachieving ballclub from the northern tundra. The combined record of Sacramento (twice), Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Portland against Minnesota is 5-1. Against the rest of the NBA, those teams are 4-17, for a composite 9-18. The Wolves have yet to play any of the league's 7 consensual elite teams: the Lakers, Utah, Houston, New Orleans, Boston, Cleveland or Detroit. They have been relatively unscathed by injuries. And after a vow by their head coach that the team would emphasize little else but team defense during the preseason, they have begun their regular season by yielding the fifth-most points per game in the 30-team NBA.

When a ballclub stumbles out of the gate this badly, there is obviously plenty of blame to go around. With the exceptions of this year's first-round pick Kevin Love and backup point guard Kevin Ollie, there isn't a player on the roster whose performance has exceeded my expectations thus far this season--and I predicted a 30-52 record. In reviewing this weekend's latest pair of defeats, it becomes increasingly apparent that some things need to be called out, even if (especially if?) longtime readers notice some redudancy in the complaints.

2. Twin Damns: Smallball and Big Al's Inconsistent Defense 

During the Media Day gathering traditionally held just before the onset of the preseason, team leader Jefferson was asked how the Wolves could become a better defensive club. "I think by me being a better defensive player the team will be better on defense. That is one thing I have to step up on this year and I've been working on it," Jeffeson earnestly replied. Then, with a little smirk on his face, he added, "One thing I messed up on was showing the coach I could do it [play defense] last year, and he's going to be expecting that out of me all the time." In response to whether he'd play the center or power forward spot, Jefferson said, "Whichever one I play, I feel like if the players see me as the captain on the defensive end it will makes things a lot better."

Well, yes, it certainly would. Except that Jefferson decides to take plays, quarters, and--judging by the absence of sweat equity in Friday night's ugly, lazy loss to the Kings--perhaps even whole games off. In that sense he is indeed the "captain" of this ballclub on defense. 

Yes, Jefferson carries the load as the waystation for the team's offense at the other end of the court. And yes, he is consistently played out of position at center when it is obvious that he is more comfortable and effective with a staunch, defensive-oriented big man beside him. And yes, there are others on the squad whose flagrant inability to guard people can be as egregious as Jefferson's failings--on Friday, depending on his mood, Kings' forward John Salmons alternately undressed, de-pantsed and wedgied Mike Miller.

But that's no excuse for the way Jefferson mailed in his mental and physical commitment to defense in what should have been one of the few eminently winnable road games the Wolves will play this season. If he wasn't getting beaten down the court in transition or posted up by Brad Miller or Mikki Moore, he was AWOL or, at best, woefully late, on help rotations or in guarding the rim against penetration. When the Sacramento Kings get 50 points in the paint, and 121 overall en route to shooting 54.8% from the field, well, it is time to remember that big talk from Big Al on Media Day, and remind him how cheap it sounds.

Coach Randy Wittman was appropriately livid following the Kings' pasting, putting the Wolves through a strenuous practice despite the fact that the team was about to take the court on the second end of a road back-to-back against Portland Saturday night. And so what do you know--Jefferson came to play against the Blazers. When Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge ran gazelle-like down the court in hopes of a breakaway layup, Jefferson hustled back with him in transition and was there to deter the downcourt pass. Then there was the memorable series where he thrice went up and blocked Blazer shots in a single possession during the third quarter. As Jefferson noted on Media Day, these outbursts of quality defense demonstrate that he's capable of being a force at that end when he puts his mind to it. Which, given his gross inconsistency since donning a Wolves uniform, damns his commitment and tarnishes his reputation.

But here's the painful rub: According to plus/minus numbers compiled before the two games this weekend, Jefferson is missed more than any other Wolves player when he goes to the bench in terms of points allowed by the defense. Unfortunately, this has less to do with the stellar caliber of Big Al's D than it does with the rotten alternatives wrought by Coach Randy Wittman, who actually goes *smaller* with his front line when subbing in for Jefferson. 

Through the San Antonio overtime game, the disparity of points allowed per/48 minutes when Jeffeson was on the court (92.8) versus when he was off (108.5) was the widest of anyone on the ballclub. But it isn't hard to figure out why: The second best disparity belongs to Kevin Long. The worst disparity is posted by Craig Smith, whose numbers are nearly the mirror opposite of Jefferson's: 108.9 points allowed per/48 when he plays, versus 91.9 points per/48 when he doesn't. Mike Miller (who's slow defensive reactions and lack of lateral movement have been a bad revelation thus far) is second-worst; but third-worst is Ryan Gomes--101.7 pts per/48 when he's on the court, versus just 92 pp48 when he's on the bench.

So what does this mean? Just maybe, that when Wittman plays people who are mediocre at post defense (Jefferson and Love), the Wolves defend a lot better than when the coach puts out undersized, overmatched players (Smith and Gomes) in the post.

This weekend's games amplify the point. You didn't need a plus/minus chart to see how badly Jefferson was faring on defense Friday night against the Kings, yet it was still a damn-sight better than when Witt *teamed up* his pint-sized bigs down in the paint. That's right, there were three different stretches when Smith and Gomes played C and PF together, for a grand total of 8:08, during which time the Wolves were minus -13. During the 9:35 he played without Smith, Gomes was a net zero; during the 6:07 he played without Gomes, the Rhino was minus -3.

Even more revealing is what happened on Saturday night, when Wittman *finally* deigned to play his lone healthy big who makes low post defense his abiding priority--Mark Madsen. Prior to Portland, Mad Dog had either been consigned to street clothes or DNP-CD. And Gomes had had one cup-of-coffee length workout at the small forward slot the entire season. But during two separate stints covering 9:04, Madsen at center, Smith at power forward and Gomes at small forward were a plus +4. When Gomes likewise got 4:08 at small forward beside Smith and Jefferson, he was a net zero. Yet in the 6:55 Gomes played power forward, he was minus -7. 

In other words, during this weekend's games, Gomes was a net plus +4 for the Wolves during the 21:53 when he wasn't playing the 4 beside Craig Smith against Sacramento, and wasn't playing power forward at all versus Portland. But because Gomes did log that 8:08 with Rhino in Sactown and spent 6:55 playing power forward against perhaps the tallest frontline in the NBA, the numbers show him as a composite minus -16 in those two games. Bottom line, the way Randy Wittman is using Ryan Gomes makes him look a hell of a lot worse than he really is.

3. Wittman and McHale

As some of the more astute commenters on this site have noted, the two biggest questions facing the Wolves franchise going forward at the end of last season were whether or not Randy Foye could handle the point guard duties and if the Wolves had enough size to adequately defend in the paint. Six games into the season, Foye's capability (or lack thereof) to run the offense and the team's interior defense remain at best huge question marks. Responsibility for that stasis rests with Coach Wittman and VP McHale.

Longtime readers will remember that I repeatedly emphasized that Foye was not a point guard throughout his rookie season, and that I caused a fair amount of consternation among some of the faithful here in my rough assessment of Foye after he came back from injury last year. This season, knowing that the alternative was poor-shooting Sebastian Telfair, I decided to cut him some slack, merely noting that if Foye could justify the faith placed in him by the Wolves front office and coaching staff, I''d add another five wins to their victory total.

It is entirely understandable that ill will has begun to coalesce around Wittman's performance thus far this season, given that he has actually lowered his career .333 winning percentage while guiding a ballclub he repeatedly claimed would be improved over last year's model. In fact, Witt has become such a lightning rod that less ire is directed at his immediate boss, Kevin McHale, than was true a year or two ago. Granted, McHale has made some savvy moves in that time, dumping almost all his onerous contracts (Blount, Davis, Jaric, Hassell, Hudson) getting decent (but nowhere close to equal) value in the Garnett trade, and pulling off a nifty draft-day swap that brought Miller and Love to Minnesota.

But Wittman wasn't here when McHale drafted Brandon Roy and traded him to Portland for Randy Foye and cash, claiming the Wolves preferred Foye all along, even as then-coach Dwane Casey, who was an assistant with the Sonics while Roy was tearing it up as a prep school star in Washington state, alternated between grimaces and looking like he wanted to throw up. And it is McHale, as much as Wittman, who is so fond of saying that people don't have set positions--that "they're *basketball players" instead of point guards or power forward or centers--and thus belittling the suspicions that Foye couldn't florish in the point guard role. It is McHale, as much as Wittman, who keeps claiming that with the hand check rules and the open court style of play, that most teams don't utilize classic centers anymore anyway, so having Jefferson and Gomes or Jefferson and Smith as your front line is neither unique nor a disadvantage.

I'm not excusing Wittman. The lack of improvement--both individually and as a team--of the folks on the roster, especially when you consider his miserable track record to date, is a legitimate cause for concern. He's also already begun last year's habit of fluctuating between lavish praise and not-so-veiled threats and complaints about his team's lack of effort (although any coach that wouldn't be furious about how the Wolves played on Friday is in the wrong profession).

The point is, an objective observer could say that McHale scapegoated Flip Saunders and scapegoated Casey. At the end of last season, even before the draft day trade that he clearly feels has benefitted the Wolves, McHale was claiming this team could win as many as 40 games this season. That put Wittman in a position of looking like he was dialing it back when he likened the squad to Portland of two years ago; in fact he was stepping forward with a claim that the Wolves would improve by some 8 or 9 wins this season, which would be no small accomplishment.

Whether a team is going well or poorly, the cause-and-effect between coaching and player performance has always been a chicken-or-egg situation. When Wittman goes on a tirade and compels a brutal practice in the middle of a back-to-back, do we credit him with the improvement in Jefferson's performance against Portland? Or do we wonder why a team that supposedly worked on almost nothing but defense and proclaims it wants a defensive identity is playing such woeful, shoddy defense just 5 games into the season? Do we notice that minutes are being apportioned in a manner that contradicts the notion that defense is the priority here?

Making up bastardized pejorative nicknames for a coach or GM or player and venting with far more heat than light about what they are doing wrong describes the behavior of a segment of most every team's fan base. As the moderator of the comments sections, I can tell you that criticism of any and all members of this 1-5 team is not only welcomed but warranted--provided it is backed up with examples and analysis that isn't already shopworn and predictable. For that matter, a smart defense or more nuanced analysis of the pros as well as the cons of the current franchise would probably be more stimulating and enlightening right now.

But that positive take just isn't in me right now. I can tell you that even when he is having a dreadful game, as against Portland, that Kevin Love is a precocious rook with a potentially bright future. I could have spent one of the points in this trey talking about how, despite his self-identified claims, Foye looks so much more relaxed coming off the bench splitting duties between both guard spots rather than wearing the role of "starting point guard." And I could have emphasized how the ballclub responded to their coach's tongue-lashing and extended practice with the best half of their season to date in the first two quarters versus Portland. Instead, I see 1-5 against below-average competition; uncertainty at the point; stubborn stupidity in the front court rotations; more McCants melodrama and bricks from Bassy and Brewer, and newcomer Mike Miller defending in slow motion.

If it comes to pass that Wittman too gets scapegoated, I humbly request that the coaching duties fall to McHale. Not only is he the second best coach (behind Saunders) in Timberwolves history, but he's the guy who has praised both Jefferson and Love to the high heavens, consistently lauded Smith for the mismatches the Rhino can generate, pooh-poohed position purists, and in general is on record as believing an inferior version of this squad could win 40 games this season. He's not only the architect of the blueprint, but the head of its public relations campaign.  And right now the blueprint is messed up.