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On the Ball
Abbreviated Trey: Outclassed in Orlando
Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
Game #17, Road Game #9: Orlando 100, Minnesota 89
Season Record: 4-13
1. Rubbing It In
The more diligently one covers the Minnesota Timberwolves recently, the more difficult it is to find honestly positive or kind things to say. Tonight, playing a team bereft of its starting backcourt and thus starting a career journeyman at the point and a third-year first-round bust at the off guard, the Wolves still suffered a 100-89 loss to Orlando and it wasn't even that close. Hampered by an ankle sprain to Mike Miller just after halftime, Minnesota suffered another third-quarter scoring drought akin to recent home games against Boston and Denver, getting only 12 points, and registering merely 50 after 3 periods. The aforementioned lodestones in the Magic backcourt, journeyman Anthony Johnson and bust JJ Redick, shot 3-9 FG and had a combined 7 points, 5 assists and 5 turnovers in 60:55. But the Wolves couldn't take advantage of these nonentities. Coach Randy Wittman slid Randy Foye over to the off-guard and went with a smallball starting lineup that had point guard Kevin Ollie subbing for center Jason Collins , with Jefferson, Gomes, and Miller moving up a notch. But Ollie, Foye and Bassy Telfair shot a combined 9-24 FG with 9 assists and 7 turnovers in a combined 72:26. What's more, none of them could contain rookie Courtney Lee, who took advantage of injuries to Magic starters Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus to go off for 19 points (8-10 FG) 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 34:06, clearly establishing himself as the game's best backcourt player.
In the frontcourt, more bad news. Al Jefferson polished off perhaps his worst two-game stint in a Wolves uniform by getting in foul trouble defending Dwight Howard and registering only 8 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes through 3 periods, getting his shot blocked four times by Howard en route to a 4-12 FG performance. Bagging 11 points (4-6 FG) in the garbage time 4th quarter (Orlando led by 20 with those 12 minutes left to play) dresses up the stats but leaves one to wonder what has happened to Big Al's impeccable instincts in the low block when the outcome of the game is in the balance. I recall a few games early last year against big bigs like Samuel Dalembert and Brandan Haywood when Jefferson likewise hit a trough, but right now his rhythm with the rock in his hand seems totally out of wack. A scary thought: Maybe it is the lack of single-minded focus, as Jefferson is clearly exerting more effort fostering ball movement and at least trying to defend people.
The only frontcourt player who registered a pulse was Kevin Love, who we'll deal with in more detail in the next point. Jason Collins was ineffectual, scoreless and minus -7 in 6 minutes of action. Craig Smith was abysmal, with 2 points, 2 turnovers and a personal foul all he had to show for 7:10 (during which the Wolves were minus -12).
As for Wittman, let's limit ourselves to one example. With the Wolves down by two, 32-34, this is what color commentator Jim Petersen said as he checked out the coach's latest 5-man unit. "Well, this is going to be interesting: 4:12 to go [until halftime] and here is a super-small lineup for Minnesota, Craig Smith [at center] and Ryan Gomes [at power forward]. We've seen this lineup on the floor before and it's not been good." A total of 3:32 later, Orlando's lead had been bumped to 8 via a 10-4 run before Wittman subbed in Calvin Booth for Smith with 40 seconds left in the period. It is difficult to watch substitutions you instinctively know aren't going to work get implemented...and then have them not work.
2. Love Is All There Is
On paper, it is logical that Kevin Love might play well against Orlando, a team that, aside from the gargantuan Howard, likes to spread the floor with their tall, active forwards, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, giving Love time and room to operate on the fringes of the paint near the hoop where he's most comfortable. But the five offensive boards Love grabbed (plus two more at the other end) in his first 11:29 stint were done almost literally in the teeth of the Magic Twin Towers, Howard and Tony Battie, with Love fighting hard to establish postion in the most dense overgrowth area of the paint--directly beneath the hoop. Actually, the 5 offensive boards understates Love's impact, as on two other occasions his battle caused the ball to go off an Orlando player, effectively providing possession to the Wolves.
But it was Love going to the bench in favor of Ollie that prompted the above-quoted comment from Petersen. That two-point deficit as he strolled off the court for a well-deserved break steadily mounted, of course, By the time Wittman decided to reinsert the team's first-round draft pick--who happened to be enjoying his best game in weeks on the same night the club's stud power forward was in foul trouble and in an offensive funk--the Wolves were down 14, with 3:15 to go in the third. Perhaps 12:57 plus the halftime break was a bit too much rest for the Wolves to afford providing Love, under the circumstances. In any event, his successful paint wars had instilled him with confidence enough to try expanding his game in other facets, and he nailed back-to-back midrange jumpers before the third period came to a close. And nobody flourished in the garbage time 4th more than Love, who was perfect from the field (4-4) and the line (3-3) while snaring 5 more rebounds (3 offensive) and feeding 2 assists.
For those who have legitimately questioned how an undersized big with no hops is going to successfully persevere, Love provided his most compelling response to date: Deploy anticipatory brainpower and sweat equity to establish position under the boards (especially the offensive glass when Jefferson is shooting), alternate rapid kickouts and varied, unpredictably timed putbacks after corralling offensive rebounds, and stick enough midrange jumpers to set up the head fake that gets you to the line for those free throws you convert 80 percent of the time.
And that, folks, is your sole silver lining after 48 minutes in Orlando.
3. The Shaddy of Our Discontent
When Miller rolled his ankle and started playing the charades game for the movie known as PAIN!!, his writhing body and distorted facial features causing everyone to assume he'd be sidelined for a week or two, Hanny and Pete began playing up the McCants redemption angle. And under the circumstances, it was smart commentary; a fairly dramatic scenario to distract from another probable loss in early December: With first Corey Brewer and now Mike Miller tossed on the shelf for what appeared to be a good long time, the waters were parting for McCants to make us all forget his tumultuous and rotten first month of the season, and return us to the Kid Dynamite that polarizes yet thus energizes the Wolves' faithful with his pig-headed majesty. We'd seen a couple tantalyzing glimpses already in the first half: Shaddy dribbling left and going up with a fadeway off to that side as two large defenders were converging; and another conversion where he rose over and somehow between tight slabs of flesh in the paint to finish a layup. Now the outside complement to Jefferson was in agony in the locker room and McCants' moment was at hand.
He missed four shots, and none of them were really close, and compiled a minus -18 in the final 10:58 fo the third period that essentially sealed this latest defeat for Minnesota. With that out of the way, he sank 3-4 FG and had 7 points in the garbage time 4th. And so a pattern continues of McCants missing when it matters and scoring when it doesn't, the antithesis of clutch. I'll happily eat those words at the first opportunity. In fact my McCants mea culpa is already cued up and ready to go. But for a long time now, the crunchtime fuses have been wet for Kid Dynamite.
42 Reader Comments
Great stuff, as always, Britt.
But I disagree with how you framed the Magic's performance--specifically the lack of production from Johnson and "bust" Redick. The Magic have a three-man offense, with Hedo and Lewis free to chuck away and Superman, inside to clean up the mess. On nights like last night, when Hedo and Rashard are 16-30 on FG's and 6-11 on 3's, they are at their best and hardly let the other two guards touch the ball. In fact, Hedo was often times just dribbling it up and casting. I don't think it's going to work against the Celtics in May, but when the Magic forwards are hot from outside, they will always beat the Timberwolves. It sounded like you were downplaying the Magic's performance--to bring out how it was a "bad loss" for the Wolves or a "winnable game" when in fact, we took what was, pretty much, the Magic's best shot, last night.
Love played really well. The most encouraging part to me, was the mid-range jumpers that he hit on consecutive possessions. If he can do that all the time, he'll at least fit in better with Jefferson, on offense. It's also good to see him wrestle for rebounds, but it's not going to do anything about the high ones around the rim that he'll always fall short of. Still, an encouraging performance and something to build on.
Andy G--
I won't disagree that the front line trio are the Magic's top three options. But Nelson is averaging 14.4 ppg and Pietrus is at 12.9. That's higher than Foye (12.8) and Miller (11.5). Sure, they get a lot of it on the leftovers, but Anthony Johnson (who made Ollie look quick) and Redick weren't capable of that last night.
I get your point, and don't dispute the Magic played well. Whether their forwards were just "on" or whether it was the caliber of the opposition is a chicken-or-egg thing that's debateable either way.
My favorite Witt moment of the night was when he ran out Shaddy at the 3 and Gomes at the 4 against Hedo and Rashard. Big Al was having a down night so instead of dealing with the mess at the 3/4, Witt subbed Collins for Jefferson and Orlando continued on its 20-4 run. By the time word reached Witt that he indeed had a bench, he yanked Collins and Gomes in favor of...wait for it...Smith and Love, thus giving Dwight Howard the opportunity to actually eat a rhino, which he promptly did.
24 shots in the 1st, 25 in the 2nd, and 21 in the 4th. Only 17 in the 3rd. Someone needs to get Witt a calculator because when your team is dominating the glass and is shooting 35% from the field, it's best to keep the pace brisk because 49 shots on 35% shooting is a hell of a lot better than 17 shots on 33% shooting.
This game actually marked a pretty momentous occasion: the official end of the Roy/Foye debate, as Randy Foye was moved away from the point in favor of Kevin Ollie. Next year, when they draft a real 2 or a real 3, and when Shaddy has passed beyond yonder shores, Foye will be where he should have been all along: a 6th man energy guy. Meanwhile, down in Miami, starting Heat point guard Mario Chalmers...
Pooh Jeter, Blake Ahearn, Kevin Ollie...these are the names of the guys the Wolves went with instead of Mr. Big Shot from the national championship squad. A 2nd rounder is all that it would have cost them but now they're looking at having to make a trade that will likely cost them Miller + Shaddy (you should have seen the look on McHale's face on the Orlando broadcast when Miller rolled his ankle) or a future 1st to fill the point guard slot. Actually, this isn't completely accurate. They'll likely have to get a real off guard or 3 before they address the point position, as I have a feeling the Foye/Ollie backcourt isn't exactly going to light it up.
Say it to yourselves Wolves fans: Kevin Ollie is the starting point on your favorite team. He took the place of Jason Collins in the starting lineup.
Awful.
On a positive note, let me 2nd Britt's praise of Love. In the past 5 games he has had only 3 of his own shots blocked and he has put up tremendous numbers in only 20 minutes per game. He is already a better defender than Jefferson and if he continues to shoot like he has over the past 5 games, I think you're looking at the team's best 2-way player by the end of the year.
Fair point--it just seemed to me that the times when Redick was in the game, he hardly touched the ball. Whether that was him deferring or Lewis-Hedo just shooting more often, it didn't seem like he really had an off-night, in his 2-5 shooting performance. Courtney Lee was more assertive, and if he plays like that for the rest of the year, Orlando becomes a contender.
Re the chicken or the egg, if I were coaching the Wolves, I'd obviously find ways that we could've stopped Lewis' four treys, but the reality is that he's 6'10" and can get off a decent 25-footer whenever he wants. If he makes 50% of them, he's worth that ridiculous contract that he signed.
They ran the same play from the mid 3rd on for their 3 pointers. Get it to Rashard on the left block, watch Foye or McCants collapse from the opposite wing and then watch as he buzzes a pass to a wide open Hedo/Lee/Reddick. 4 of his assists were on 3 pointers.
I'm probably belaboring this, but if Redick hardly touched the rock, then Orlando was playing 4 on 5--it wasn't as if the Wolves were throwing a blanket over him and not letting him shoot. the 5 he did chuck up were all pretty much uncontested. I'm guessing Pietrus makes them work harder on the defensive end and don't have to guess that he would have made the Wolves' offense a lot tougher to execute on the other end. And as much as I think Jameer Nelson is the weak link for that ballclub, he's a damn sight better than Anthony Johnson.
I was hoping that Shaddy would have shown a little UNC pride and stuck it to Reddick. However, as bad as Orlando's "starting" backcourt was, the Wolves' was worse.
I guess if the question is "Who is an all-around better player, JJ Redick or Mickael Pietrus?" then the answer is probably Pietrus the the Magic didn't have their best lineup, last night. If the question is "Should the Wolves beat the Magic when Hedo & Lewis shoot high percentages on the same type of shots they get every night?" the answer is probably no, and it doesn't matter who plays the 1 or 2, for them.
Granted, if Courtney Lee didn't shoot well, the backcourt void would have been more obvious and perhaps relevant. But, I was more impressed with Orlando than I was unimpressed with Minnesota. We're not a good team, so when we lose to last year's East Seed #3 on a night when they are hot from outside, it's not as disappointing a loss as, say, the recent one to Charlotte. I'm not saying that you called it a horrible loss... ok, now I've belabored the point. I'll stop on this subject.
Andy G--
Even when you belabor, your points are legit.
I agree with the Love comments. In the second period, Love actually reminded me of the Chicago version of Dennis Rodman. Rodman was not very tall (6'8" max), was really light (I bet he was barely 210) and not very athletic (again, by the time he got to Chicago I felt his athleticism had decreased - early in his career in Detroit I thought Rodman was quite athletic).
How did Rodman get all those rebounds for Chicago - by hustle, determination, position and anticipation. That was good enough to lead the league in rebounding. I see a lot of those qualities in Love. While I am not going to predict that Love will lead the league in rebounding, I saw things again last night that said he will more than hold his own in rebounding.
Everyone has a dream - here is mine. Sign Sam Mitchell ASAP to coach the T-Wolves, make Hoiberg the GM, and McHale the executive VP in charge of nothing. Sam will be getting paid by Toronto for a few years, so he probably will work cheap which will make Taylor happy. Sam certainly has demonstrated his ability to command respect and develop players. His weakness (in game management) will not be an issue for the T-Wolves for several seasons (by which time, maybe it will not be a weakness anymore). Plus, Sam still has a lot of good will with T-Wolves faithful.
Well, it really is a good dream but, as most dreams, I doubt it will come true. But at least in made me smile while I typed it.
*chuckle* Britt, when you opened with "thus starting a career journeyman at the point and a third-year first-round bust at the off guard", I thought you were talking about Ollie/Foye.
Despite stop-n-pop's apparent distaste for Kevin Ollie, readers may recall that many weeks ago I was calling for Ollie to be starting PG. No biggie, all it really means is just that Foye is not / was not / will not be a viable point guard in the NBA. Oh, and he won't be much better at the off guard either -- it just won't be as obvious.
McCants? With Brewer out, and Miller down for awhile, there will be plenty of garbage time for him to collect.
Though I have yet to be convinced that K.Love's jump shot is (or will ever become) reliable indeed he is turning into a solid two way competitor. I will speak strongly against those wishing him play extended minutes. This team is simply NOT going to be competitive this season. Love should be developed but not beat down and overworked. He is a big kid (we so easily forget these days that we don't draft college grads anymore) with lard to lose and much to learn. Don't wear his knees, feet, and back out futilely trying to win a few more games.
From the "brilliant, but will never happen" file: Start Kevin Love alongside Collins (we haven't seen that combo, btw) then use Jefferson in an extended sixth man role.
Fan,
I like your dream, but I'd rather have Hoiberg in charge of nothing along with McHale and Babcock. I'd rather see Mitchell come in as the GM replacement for McHale than a coaching replacement for Witt. My dream would be for the Wolves to hire a GM from outside who would then hire the best coach available (and that might be Mitchell)
What I don't like is the idea of Papa Glen seeing the availability of Sam I am as a marketing opportunity that won't break up the country club.
As far a Rodman and Love Comparison, I don't see them as very similar. Rodman was Athletic in Detroit in a Brewerlike way. He was good at defending Bird, but wasn't defending the power forwards like Malone and Barkely. He was thinner and he played great defense, but he had yet to develop into the great rebounder he became in Chicago.
I think he added alot of weight and looked very muscular (Can you say steroids?) for his stints with Chicago and LA. He was athletic in a different way, no longer thin and gazellelike, but stronger while retaining quickness to the ball that made him a great rebounder and a very good defender of players like Malone in Utah.
Love is neither player and he has many more offensive gifts than Rodman.
APB
My point was that when Rodman lead the league in rebounding, he did was neither a physical specimen (like the Malone) nor was he a superior athlete to the guys he was competing against. Yet, through other qualities (determination, anticipation, etc.), he excelled as a rebounder.
Love does not have the superior physical specs either, yet I see many of the same intrinsic qualities. I find it somewhat comforting to know that at least 1 other player (Rodman) overcame those limitation - hopefully Love will too.
I certainly would prefer a complete overhaul of the organization - but that is simply not going to happen. So, I dream smaller...
What do you think about just the Mitchell for Wittman part? I really don't see Mitchell as a GM - no where near the experience I want to see in the next GM.
Just-A-Fan has a point about experience being desirable in a GM. Today, we read that the Wolves are valued at $301 million dollars (up from Glen's original $88.5M purchase price). How many companies in the world are run by clueless insiders...???
What?
Oh.
Wait.
Nevermind.
FAN - I like Mitchell more than I like Wittman, but I don't think hiring him over Wittman will improve the organization. The WOlves need someone to run the club other than McHale. Mitchell probably doesn't have the required experience, but he has more than Hoiberg. There are much better GM prospects out there than either Sam-I-Am or Hoiberg (Flip?), I'm sure. My suggestion of Sam-I-Am for GM was more my desire to see a replacement for McHale, than one for Wittman.
I agree with you about Love overcoming his physical limitations. I just think there are better examples than Rodman, because I actually think Rodman was physically gifted. I don't think Love is going to ever achieve the level of greatness as Bird, but he would be better example of a player Love might approach as far as being dominant without having the physical gifts.
Is there any precedent for hiring a new coach in the middle of the season, or is it always an interim coach and then new guy hired in the off-season? Either way, I'll be quite surprised if Sam isn't next year's Wolves coach.
Also, he's KG's boy...maybe he could convince him to come back, after a couple more title runs in Boston.
I think the only hope we fans have at this point is for the Wolves to be declared a bank holding company and have their assets seized by the federal government while new management is hired with TARP funds. Save us Hank Paulson. Surely Papa Glen is a fellow crony worthy enough to be bailed out by your completely opaque backroom financial dealings.
As a quick aside, while Sam Mitchell is my favorite all-time T-Wolf, is he really that good of a coach? I can't say that I watch a lot of Raptors ball but it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence that he was run out of town by a GM who actually knows what he's doing. Maybe they can find a good Euro coach who knows how to properly run an uptempo style with a 10-12 deep rotation.
Sam Mitchell was NBA coach of the year in 2006-07. His claim to fame was his ability to take younger players (Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, TJ Ford) and develop their games.
His downside, as previously mentioned, is that Mitchell is considered a poor game day coach. Which is a huge problem for a team like the Raptors who believe they can win now. Not a serious issue for the T-Wolves.
One final note. There has been quite a bit of speculation that Bryan Colangelo wanted his man in charge rather than Mitchell, who he inherited. Even after winning the Coach of the Year, Mitchell's contract extension was a long drawn out affair. It has been reported that there was a serious clash in style - Colangelo wanted to recreate the Run and Gun style of Phoenix while Mitchell favored more conventional play. Most felt that Colangelo was just waiting for an opportunity (which came via Raptors slow start due to injury) to make the change.
Thanks for the run down. I guess after reading that, I'd be a bit iffy on Sam coming back to coach the team. I want run and gun. I like player development but I hate boring basketball. I also wouldn't want to hire a guy who could do a great job while the team sucks but who they would have to fire to get to the next level. I get that this is an over-simplification, but...well, I suppose I shouldn't complain as he is a decent coach and he did a nice job as KG's mentor.
SNP,
From Hollinger at ESPN
The firing speaks as much to Colangelo's performance as it does to Mitchell's, having come about partly because several personnel moves (Bargnani, Jason Kapono, Roko Ukic, arguably O'Neal) have flopped. As such, the honeymoon phase of his stewardship of the Raptors officially ended Wednesday.
As much as Colangelo might hope that Mitchell was simply misusing his roster, the GM's tenure has contained enough questionable decisions to raise considerable doubt as to whether the next coach can fare any better. The Raps have no wing players who can create a shot, no backup point guard, only one promising young player and just three players you could say would start for a majority of the league's teams.
--------
Not very flattering to a GM that is usually associated with "know what they are doing". Just goes to show that, from my perspective, being a great GM includes as much talent as luck.
Fair enough. I don't know much about Raptors ball. Thanks for the info. Colagelo did pick Coach K for the Olympics so he'll always have that stain in my eyes ;)
Although, if you take out the word "Raps"....
"The ...have no wing players who can create a shot, no backup point guard, only one promising young player and just three players you could say would start for a majority of the league's teams."
Maybe he's the right guy for the job.
SNP,
You are mixing up Colangelos. Jerry is the dad and the sports mogul who has owned the Suns, Diamondbacks, etc and is president of USA Basketball. His son Bryan is the GM of the Raptors.
Jerry has a long track record of making great decisions, Bryan not so much.
As to the quote, I think you need to take out not only the word Raps but the #3 as I am thinking the T-Wolves maybe have 1 player who would start on a majority of NBA teams.
Oh stop-n-pop!!! I decided *not* to post the very same thoughts, comparing the Raptors to the Wolves.
In my opinion, though, unlike the Raptors, the Wolves have two backup PGs (but no starter). Further, the Wolves probably have only two players you could say would start for a majority of the leagues teams -- I'll go with Miller, but I'm not quite so sure about Jefferson.
But yeah, Mitchell should experience constant deja vu if he took over here.
Well there you go. I guess I can throw out my Raptors blog idea. :)
Hey Beancounter -- still here? Got Forbes?
The LA Times has a story that also references the Forbes study of the NBA valuations. I wonder if the Wolves' profit, loss, and revenue are referenced in the Forbes article?
- http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakerfyi4-2008dec04,0,1671642.story
- The Lakers are worth $584 million and are the second most valuable NBA franchise behind the New York Knicks, according to an annual report on all 30 teams by Forbes magazine.
The Lakers were worth $24 million more than last year's valuation and also had the league's second highest operating profit -- $47.9 million (on $191 million in revenues.)
The Knicks ($613 million) are followed by the Lakers and Bulls ($504 million).
The Clippers are valued 25th at $297 million.
The magazine also said the Bulls enjoyed the biggest operating profit in the past year ($55.4 million). Forbes claimed that all top 10 NBA teams were profitable, with one exception -- Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks posted an operating loss of $13.6 million. ]
Love, in my opinion, can shoot the ball. That isthe least of my worries with him.
Speaking of Forbes, here's a link to a story about Paul Allen and the Blazers. Just provides a small snapshot, but shows that it can be done. Taylor just needs to wake up...
I think Wittman will be relieved of his duties during the all-star break, accomodating the interim coach - Kevin McHale - since he is not a fan of road trips.
My pre-season prediction was Dec. 21, a day after a blowout home loss to Houston. I'm sticking with that.
Do we really think McHale will actually coach? I feel like they'd let Sichting coach.
Also, I'm not confident that Foye's move to SG is permanent. I think Witt will change the line up again soon. I have to evidence, just a hunch based on rotation inconsistency.
Hey Britt. Glad to see the same great blog I have come to know over the years. I have been keeping up with the Wolves best I can and although I haven't chimmed in on the blog until now I have been reading.
My first issue I would hope you and the other people could address is Al Jeffereson. I really don't see how he is any different (game wise) than Zach Randolph. Both are ball hogs. Both can't defend, both are nifty around the hoop and rebound well. But neither really makes their team better. In fact, it's becoming all to apparent that AJ is not the leader he thinks he is. I liked AJ last year. I thought that he could blossom into a great player. But I have seen little improvement.
Secondly, what's with the coaching? Why does Wittman have such a long leash? Casey was fired when he had a better record (overall too) than Wittman. Sam I am just got fired and their team record is better. What's going on?! Before I start throwing the race card around.. I will seek other explanations for the reason Wittman is still here.
What do you all think?
The Forbes data is now online:
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/32/nba08_NBA-Team-Valuations_Revenue.html
I don't quite understand the Revenue and the Operating Income columns. TWolves show an operating income of negative $5.7 million -- bottom five in that category. Sure, I can believe that, but I'm don't see how that corresponds to the Revenue of $100 million (Net of arena revenues used for debt payments).
Why does no one seem to be concerned that the bulk of Love's points are coming in garbage time? The other night when he had 20, 10 came in the forth when the game was over. Pretty much the same story last night.
This team is just seriously lacking in talent. The last 3 drafts have been in the top 7, and they don't have a solid #1 starter in the group. I just don't see where they go from here. When do any of these players get better?
race card...really? thats simply idiotic. coaches get fired mid-season because their teams suck not because they are black.
You know...call me crazy...but I think a starting five of:
1: Foye
2: McCants
3: Brewer (next year obviously, Gomes for now)
4: Love
5: To be acquired athletic big guy who can block some shots and get up and down the floor well
Would be a big improvement over the crap we are seeing this year. We could actually make use of our first round picks in an uptempo system that makes use of their talents.
Plus, we can get rid of Miller and Jefferson - our two best trading chips and hopefully parlay them into some picks, prospects, and expiring contracts. Then we cross our fingers and hope that we land a REAL blue-chip superstar that can bump one of these guys to the bench.
As an added bonus, this lineup couldn't produce worse results (since, really, you can't any worse than we have now) and would be a Helluva lot more fun to watch than this painful, poorly executed blend of slowball and shitty defense.
Or does this just make too much sense?
ShaddyLove - If there actually was an available (via draft or free agency), athletic big guy who could block shots while getting up and down the court with some alacrity, history tells us that the Wolves simply would not get him.
Or if they did, they'd trade him to Boston.
But I doubt that even Shaq-Daddy in his prime could make up for the utter lack of basketball sense and sensibility that are Foye and McCants.
Your mileage seems to differ.
Levi --
Operating income is defined as Operating Revenue (the amount of money the team brings in) minus Operating Expenses (how much it costs to bring that money in). So in essence, it cost the Timberwolves $105.7 million to bring in $100 million dollars.
The numbers from the 2007-2008 season, when we still had the large Jaric and Walker contracts and none of the important "cash considerations" from Miami, show a $5.7 million dollar loss. The season before that (2006-2007), the T-wolves lost 1.9 million.
2007-2008
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/32/nba08_NBA-Team-Valuations_Revenue.html
2006-2007
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/32/biz_07nba_NBA-Team-Valuations_Rank.html
However, in 2005-2006 season they made $4.6 million and were worth $7 million more than they are today! Perhaps KG had something to do with this...
2005-2006
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/32/biz_06nba_NBA-Team-Valuations_Rank.html
After suffering through two seasons of losing money, Taylor did what most businesses are doing these days--he cut costs. This is the reason why OJ Mayo and Mario Chalmers are not Timberwolves players, and why Pekovic (who was free) was drafted.
Most likely, we will see an operating profit from the T-Wolves this year and after that hopefully big Glen will feel like emptying his pockets.
If Wittman gets fired on 12/21 - that would be the best Holidy present I could receive.
Is Kevin Love really scoring most of his points in garbage time? Because if that is the arguement, you can turn that around and say Big Al was the ultimate garbage scorer last year! I see the point that is trying to be made, but what is Love suppose to do not try to be offensively aggressive if the team is down by 10 or more?
With all the Sam Mitchell talk, I thought we should take a trip down memory lane to when he was hired by the Raptors:
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/sam_mitchell_named_raptors_040629.html
“Sam Mitchell embodies all the characteristics that are consistent with the basketball philosophy we’re building with the Toronto Raptors—an outstanding work ethic, strong character, mental toughness, and a commitment to team values,” said Rob Babcock, general manager of the Raptors. “Sam is an intelligent person who will be able to lead and motivate our players. He has excellent communications skills. He’s also a good person who is active in the community and will represent our organization well.”
...you can run from the country club, but you can't hide.
From Hoopsworld -
There is a great deal of frustration inside the Timberwolves locker room. Before the Magic game Al Jefferson confided that he didn't think age was a reasonable excuse for his teams struggles, when pushed on the subject you could see he did not have confidence in the game plan or that his team was headed in the right direction. Wolves sources said with growing regularity Randy Wittman is throwing his guys under the bus during his post games, and several times during the game Wittman would yell to his players "What the hell are you doing?" Wolves' president Kevin McHale is traveling with the team, some say it's to evaluate the talent on his roster up-close, one Wolves source said it was more to evaluate Randy than the players. The Wolves have now lost three straight and stayed in Orlando an extra night to practice today at Amway Arena before heading to New Jersey to face the red-hot Nets. No one expected the Wolves to win the division, but there was a promise of 20 more wins this season and so far it looks like last year's 22-60 might even be a reach, likely prompting a change.
A 20+ point beat down from the Clips should seal it; Wittman must go before Christmas! It's not that this team should be at or near the .500 mark, but the man is not a developer of talent and the team has quit on him. Next out the door by New Years needs to be McHale before he botches all the first rounders he's collected. Imagine our team now with Grainger, Roy, Thaddeus Young, and Mayo instead of McCants, Foye, Brewer, and Love. It's becoming harder and harder to rationalize being a fan. Thanks for the knowledge Brit.
ettore messina. please, a true outside voice.
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