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On the Ball
The Three-Pointer: The McHale Factor
Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Game #20, Home Game #10: Minnesota 96, Utah 99
Game #21, Road Game #11: Denver 116, Minnesota 105
Season Record: 4-17
1. Confidence Game
There were two priorities that ex-Wolves VP Kevin McHale told everyone he would immediately embark upon as the team's new coach-- putting some pace in the game (translation: goosing up the running game for points in transition) and restoring some confidence and a sense of fun among the players. After being mired in the dolor of the Randy Wittman regime, both of those things started to gain some traction during the Wolves first two games--both second-half fades against quality opponents--under McHale. Ranked 26th in the NBA with just over 9 fast-break points per game going into McHale debut versus Utah on Tuesday, the Wolves got 15 points off the break in the loss to the Jazz, and 11 more in the road defeat in Denver tonight.
But McHale has been even more successful in his attempt to loosen up and embolden his troops. He's changing the tone by cozying up to his players from different angles. Tuesday night after a player left the court and took a seat on the bench, McHale offered some irreverent advice and/or encouragement (from where we sit, the words couldn't be heard, but the tone was unmistakeable). Then, just before he finished his bon mot and was about to turn back to the action on the court, he caught the eye of center Jason Collins--who hasn't left the pine since McHale took over--and winked at him. (I was sitting directly behind the angle of Collins' eye level at the time.) Then, after a gut-punch loss by 3 points in which Kevin Love blew a slew of free throws and Shaddy McCants tossed the inbounds away for a turnover, McHale dove in front of all the bullets during his postgame, saying the "guys played their hearts out" and that "I promised I will become a better coach," so these "tough losses" will be fewer. Asked if he said anything to Love, McHale's retort was immediate and heartfelt: "I told him we're going to be in a lot of battles and that I'll go to battle with him every day of the week." And McCants? "It wasn't Shad's fault. Nobody broke clear" on that inbounds, McHale said.
The practices are for the coaches, the games are for the players, McHale has said, more than once, in the two days since he was kicked downstairs to coach. Strategically and psychologically, he's taken the reins off. Player movement is obviously much less scripted at both ends of the floor, with the "three passes to set up a situation" philosophy that Wittman emphasized diminished in favor of taking an opponent off the dribble if you see an opening, which McHale has condoned if not encouraged. The biggest beneficiaries of this thus far are Randy Foye and Craig Smith. Foye, more than anyone else, seems rejuvenated, reminiscent of the exciting, if incomplete, player of his rookie season. As much as he pretends he is a natural point guard, he needs the confidence boost of *beating his man,* be it driving by him or sticking a jumper once or twice, before he can settle into crisp-passing mode. Against a pair of tough, physical point guards--Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups--he seemed ready to rock, and the weight of his stats for those two games--35 shots, 10 free throws, 43 points, 10 assists and 4 turnovers--seems to be what he'll produce if allowed to stay in his natural rhythm.
McHale's decision to ride The Rhino as a starter has been perhaps his most surprising wrinkle. Give the coach credit for knowing immediately how he wanted to play: In his opening press conference he talked about getting Smith and Gomes and the other forwards more involved in that 'tweener game between the perimeter and the paint, either as shooters or distributors. McHale has always been impressed with the matchup difficulties The Rhino presents for opponents, and Smith has initially made him look good by becoming a first quarter terror. Playing every second of both first periods--24:00--Smith has 22 points on 9-12 FG and 4-5 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. After that, however, the pachyderm leaves Lebronville and comes back to the pack. In 26:58 over quarters 2 through 4, he's 2-5 FG, 2-4 FT for 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and zero steals.
The worry for Wolves' fans is that the coaching change has simply screwed up the scouting reports and it takes opponents a little while to adjust to the new, McHale-oriented tendencies. That might explain the disparity in Smith's starts and finishes. The possibility of an adjustment factor was more pronounced in tonight's Denver game, where the Nuggets were down 52-36 with 3:49 left in the half, and 56-44 at the break. Coming out for the third period, coach George Karl made the decision to pick up Foye full court with Billups and intensify the defensive pressure overall. At the other end of the court, the plan quickly became feed Melo Anthony, who, I am sure you know, tied an NBA record with 33 points in the third quarter.
That's another thing about creating "fun" for the players--it often doesn't have much to do with team defense. It's not surprising that the two insertions into McHale's starting lineup, Smith and McCants, are both likely to increase the scoring at both ends, and an accelerated pace is likewise going to lead to accelerated scores. In any case, the Nuggets dropped in a whopping 72 second-half points, and, as frequently happened way back when the players seemed to enjoy playing for Wittman, the Wolves had first-half leads erased in both of McHale's first two games. At least the losses are a lot more enjoyable because of the open court style and developmental minutes for the kids. But in a game that does indeed rely on confidence--McHale is right about that--how long can the good vibe last if the losses mount in this brutal schedule that lies ahead?
2. McCants Muffing A Crucial, and Fast-Closing, Opportunity
Rashad McCants got along with Randy Wittman about as well as you'd expect the Tattooed Man and Dudley Do-Right to get along. They offended each other and consequently brought out the worst in each other. Wittman wasn't the only one who was thoroughly punked during the Clippers' game: During the second half, McCants sat on the bench blatantly wincing and writhing and putting wraps around his back, while his teammates totally ignored him. (Mark Madsen and an assistant trainer checked in briefly, which is the bare minimum.) Witt's banishment thus was a perfect time for McHale to come to the rescue, and for Shaddy to prove it was the Knight doppelganger who deserved all the blame. Remember, McCants was the first real draft pick McHale had after the Flip Saunders era; for a long time, the Wolves either finished well enough to be given a back-of-the-round choice or the pick was forfeited because of the Joe Smith fiasco. Shaddy was the start of McHale's draft makeover. And with Mike Miller still nursing an injury, McHale not only decided to give McCants his first starts of the season--a role Shaddy's past writings and statements have indicated he covets--but to also bring in Smith, the players who meshes with Shaddy better than anyone on the team. With Miller slowly losing his gimpiness, McCants needed to seize this opportunity quickly, or continue to watch his stock plummet in a year when he's facing restricted free agency. If anyone personally needed a clean slate in the confidence game, it was Rashad McCants.
Hasn't happened. Not even close. His tortured back mysteriously fine, McCants sprang on to the court and missed his first seven shots in the first half against Utah, and finished up 2-12 FG, furthered charred by that unfortunate inbounds to seal the loss. Tonight, after hitting his first two shots (a layup and a jumper that clanged and then crept over, the front iron), McCants went one for his next 9, and was the main reason for the offensive doldrums that made Melo's incredible shooting exhibition that much more devastating. To his credit, McCants was fostering some ball movement and being judicious about his shot selection, but that just made his four wide-open misfires more disheartening. McHale stuck with him for 30:12, during which time Shaddy posted a game-worst minus -22. After months of strife, and, in some respects, legitimate grievance, he's losing one of the precious few chances for redemption he'll get this season (who does he bump from the Foye-Miller-Gomes troika?) all on his own.
3. And Ones
Another chicken-or-the-egg question: Is McHale's frugal use of Bassy Telfair the reason Telfair has a team-best plus +16 over the past two games, or is McHale's failure to utilize one of his most effective playmaker in a more freelance offense part of the the reason for these second-half crumbles? In a somewhat related matter, can you afford to play someone who isn't even converting a third of his field-goal attempts?
After his dreadful night at the free throw line versus Utah, Love sank all 6 of his attempts versus Denver. By the time most of you are reading this, I imagine the Wolves' stat guys will have informed when the last time was, if ever, that a Minnesota player grabbed at least 14 rebounds in three straight games, as Love has done. Like many rooks, Love is a combination of strengths and weaknesses, with some inconsistency thrown in. Many of those rebounds are on the offensive glass, yet his putback attempts are frequently rejected, leading one to believe his boards are almost all anticipation and positioning rather than reach. And on defense, Love is actually a better help defender than on-ball right now. All sorts of opponents abuse him in the low block, but he's also come up with his share of surprising blocks and steals.
If you want to see what happens when someone is simply overmatched, replay Rodney Carney on Melo Anthony after Gomes drew his 4th foul in the third period. Carney, who is very athletic but too slight for Melo, played him as well as he possibly could, and it didn't matter.
52 Reader Comments
McCants is quickly playing his way onto the the Mount Rushmore of Talented-but-too-stupid-to-be-good Timberwolves, the other members being JR Ryder, Christian Lattner and Ricky Davis. It is a very elite group, but I think McCants has earned his membership.
One thing's for sure - Foye and Love are being put into the position to succeed under McHale (his draft day trade guys), it's too bad Corey Brewer got hurt - he, and not McCants, would have been given the better opportunity.
jgale,
Don't you forget Gerald Green in that group. He might've been the most talented of the bunch, yet he couldn't put it together. I kind of wish we had taken the flier on keeping Green rather than Shaddy, because at least Green doesn't seem like an unhealthily angry person and teammate. That's a different debate, though, and one that isn't very productive.
Britt, does Friendly Coach Kevin McHale have the gall to bench McCants when Miller comes back? There was a big article in the PP yesterday in which Shaddy gave extensive commentary on how he and Mac have always talked about how "great" Rashad is and how Shaddy fully believes that McHale will give him a permanently enlarged role...but I don't see how that can happen when Miller comes back unless Shaddy shows something, anything, before then. He really hurt us last night, and as Andy G has noted, he might've singlehandedly been the deciding factor in a few losses earlier this year. Even Michael Jordan couldn't be expected to trade for him at this rate.
McCants -22 came mostly during his stint in the Third QTR (-18). He was one of three players, along with Jefferson and Foye, that had the misfortune of being out there for the entire 3rd. Actually, according to the popcorn stats, his -18 came during the first part of the third as first Gomes was abused by Melo and then Carney. When McCants name was called to guard Melo his +- was zero although he benefitted from some hot shooting by Foye.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now and say that McCants gaining confidence and the Wolves improvement will be a process, but it will come under McHale. McCants is talented, but he still looks to the bench whenever there is a substitution. I noticed a couple of times last night when Carney came in, McCants started to walk off the court, thinking McHale had seen enough of McCants misses, only to discover Carney was coming in for Gomes.
I don't put McCants in the same category as Ryder and Davis. McCants seems troubled, no doubt, but he also fragile and his confidence level is down and might never be very high. I'm reminded a little of Cris Carter's observation of Dante Culppeper that he's the most unconfident professional athlete hes ever encountered. McCants almost expects failure right now. That is not a good thing for an NBA player. I think if he has any chance of surviving in the NBA he will be thankful to McHale for this opportunity, but, perhaps not even McHale can save him.
Although they are 0-2 with Mchale, and will likely go 0-4 with the Spurs and Lakers up next, there is an obvious positive influence that Mchale has brought to the team.
Foye is like a different player. He's averaging 21 points and 5 assists in the two games since Mchale took over. This type of play could quite down the Foye vs Roy comparisons, or at least make them a little more even. It goes to show how important situation is to a player's development.
Love has also been playing very good (missed free throws aside) and again, coudl quite the Love vs Mayo comparisons. He's been reeking havoc under the boards and has been more aggressive offensively. I'd like to think Mchale has a lot to do with this. He's averaging 11 points and 14.5 rebounds.
jgale could/should have added Olowokandi to his monument -- but perhaps our memories of the "3rd greatest NBA bust" should remain sublimated.
But the "now" is about McCants. We must assume that McCants is McHale's "boy" and that now every possible support and opportunity will be extended. But even McHale cannot ignore dismal performances like 3-11 and 2-12, or the horrible +/-.
I've said before that McCants only seems to shine when he's got a chip on his shoulder and someone that he can pick on. The sad news is that in the NBA, there are very few players at his position that he can get physical against.
As Britt noted, McCants did do a little more "team ball", with a bit of improvement in his shot selection vs Denver. My contention though, is that playing within a team concept, where the group strives to create an advantage through movement and passing the ball seem to be beyond the scope of his basketball IQ. IF he's thinking, his shots aren't sinking.
But what's with McHale winking at Collins?
I wonder if Love will be coming off the bench the rest of the year. Is he playing the Kevin McHale role, when Mac was a top 6th man, backing up Scott Wedman?
Made a mistake in the Love notation--he had 14 rebounds last night, not 15 for the third straight game. Since I don't know how to do that thing where you draw a line through the words, I thought I'd note the change here.
As for McCants, no matter what I write about him, I don't feel right. Anybody who doesn't see his talent is crazy, and I disagree that he's a nasty head case like Rider, or even an unmotivated head case like Kandi. You never hear negative things about him in off-court news, and with the exception of him frequently not being up on his feet and ready to move on defense (something that is also a flaw for Foye) it always looks like he's hustling on the court. Most of all, I don't think he's stupid--the Gerald Green comparisons (you could also throw in Marlon Maxey) are way out of line.
But for some reason, there's something in his nature that doesn't grasp when he's killing himself and his team, which must be where the "stupid" stuff comes from.
Used right on a good team, he could be very very valuable. But all the cherries have to line up on the slot machine for this to pay off.
Levi: Good call re: Olowokandi. I think I had forgotten about him because I never expected much in the first place. But he definitely belongs on that list.
Like most fans seem to be, I'm already enjoying the McHale Era more than I did the Wittman Era. I especially liked, last night, how he sat down and let the players figure it out, when things turned south in the 3rd Quarter. Wittman (and many coaches) would've burned three timeouts before Melo was done torching us. But, McHale stuck to his gameplan, which is to manage the team in practice and watch the games. I remember a great podcast of Bill Simmons and Bill Walton, where Walton explained John Wooden's approach to game-coaching and how he considered calling timeout "an admission of defeat" or something along those lines. Obviously, undefeated UCLA teams of the 60's had less reason to want to stop the game than the '08 Wolves, but I like what McHale is doing and it is going to help the players learn the game for themselves as much as they do from the coaches.
McCants is in one helluva shooting slump. I hope he breaks out of it--he's better than he's shown, this year.
Love is quieting the critics (like me) with his incredible rebounding. I don't agree with people calling him better than Jefferson, or the guy we should "build around." If low-post scoring is like "riding a bike" to Big Al, then it is like pulling teeth, to K-Love. But, the two complement one another better than I thought, and they are both valuable pieces to a team.
I think Jefferson had a couple chippies delivered to him from Foye and Telfair, last night. It's the kind of stuff that he's never gotten, and KG never got when he was in Minnesota. It's also the kind of stuff that Amare, David West (and Karl Malone before them), always get (got). It'd be nice of Minnesota had a guard or two that knew how to make life easier for their big men.
Six guys in double figures last night for the Wolves. Imagine the offensive proficiency when Miller comes back! Glad to see an athletic guy like Carney in the rotation, because they still need an athletic edge when in comes to defense.
There was one moment where Jefferson was on the low block and, either Telfair or Foye was having trouble getting it to him (I think in the second QTR). Love flashed to the elbow and got the passed and then quickly zipped a pass overhead down low to Al for an easy two. That was a nice pass and, really showed how Love and Jefferson could really develop into a nice frontcourt tandem together.
Here's the rub for me: Glen Taylor now has a fairly significant portion of his team's fanbase rooting for their coach to fail so that he'll walk away at the end of the year. What if he's good? I asked it at the time of the change, but what if he's the business as coach? If the team plays .360-.400 ball down the stretch is that enough? That's around a 32 win pace over the course of 82 games. Everyone here can talk about SVG, Smitch, and Flip as coach of this team until they're blue in the face but are they 10-win pace improvement good? With this talent?
I'm calling this the Godfather option. Papa Glen put a horse's head at the end of McHale's bed and said coach or else. We all know he was a terrible GM. As weird as it sounds, we need him to be a good coach. Putting fans in a position to hope for the opposite is a basketball karma-f&@k every bit as big as trading Brandon Roy for cash.
The more I think about the move, I'm happy that this team is finally starting to exhibit the style of play it was clearly built for. They still have a dearth of talent (only 2 players with an above-average PER...to name one stat as an example) and they need a more consistent backcourt, but...well, I can't believe this owner. Britt, I know you've taken up for Glen in the past and I'll always be grateful for him saving the team from NOLA, but...well, I'm hoping Glen is sincere in his hope that McHale is a long term coaching option because the Godfather option is a fundamentally flawed approach that is the ultimate stick in its fans eye. If they wanted him out they should have simply fired him and let one of their assistant coaches bring it on home.
BTW: if the Wolves show improvement over the remainder of the season, and they do so with this style of play, and if McHale does step aside, we'll need some new suggestions beside JVG, Flip, and Smitch....especially JVG and Mitchell. Those two are about the last thing this sort of roster needs.
I agree with Britt about McCants. If he accepts the 6th man role, he can be one of the better 6th men. The instant offense type.
I don't think he's a headcase or bad guy, but he does have some me-first issues that can be a negative at times.
Whoops...the Wolves have 3 players over a 15 PER: Smith, Jefferson, and Love. At least they have the power forward thing nailed down. Maybe the Wolves should bring in a former player GM who was a guard rather than McHale's 4. Maybe there is some sort of a plan behind Freddie Iowa ;)
I've also enjoyed the last two games, although the loss to the Jazz was frustrating. Two things:
1. Using only my memory to back me up, I'm going to assert that the Wolves offense has been more consistent these past two games. The wolves have scored at least twenty points in every quarter, there have been no 15 point quarters, etc. This seems good, but maybe it's just the opposing teams' scouting needs to catch up.
2. I remember a similar excitement (even on this board) when Casey was fired. Wittman's first couple of games were exciting losses, and I remember many of us pointing out good things about the change. In particular, many were mystified by Casey's inability to design an inbounds play and some were excited to see Wittman's plays actually seem to work. Anyway, the point is that I'm hesitant to get too excited because I remember getting excited after the Casey change, and in hindsight I should not have been excited. [I didn't necessarily want Casey to get fired, but I remember that the wolves played with more energy and purpose in the immediate aftermath.]
So, how do we separate the effects of ANY NEW COACH to the effects of McHale's flow style? I guess we wait.
Britt - you offer that if McCants is "used right on a good team" that he could be valuable. Can you tell us how you see McCants could be "used right"?
S+P--
I've thought all along that Taylor felt that, considering the terrible place he and the team were in with Wittman, that kicking McHale downstairs was a no-lose situation. If McHale flops, it's a clean, easy exit for both sides. If McHale succeeds, well then, Taylor wasn't so stupid in his loyalty to the guy, and has him in a place to refine, if not finish, the rebuilding.
If you go back and read what I wrote about the press conference announcing the changes, you'll see that what I found most intriguing is what happens if McHale is middling--better than Wittman but not dramatically better. I think I said 25-38, which would give the Wolves 29 wins for the season. That's when both Taylor and McHale have decisions to make.
As I saw Taylor repeat himself during halftime of last night's TV game, I became more convinced that the Reusse (McHale will continue to run the ballclub) scenario isn't likely to happen. Taylor seems reconciled to figuring out how he wants to restructure--in the front office as well as on the court--during the rest of the season and then perhaps making a run at somebody after the season is over. It still could be Stack-Hoiberg-Babcock upstairs and McHale on the sidelines, but it will take significant improvement for that to happen. Meanwhile, Taylor is free to ponder and ask around for GM and coaching suggestions without seeming disloyal.
Britt, I have to respectfully disagree about Shaddy. I can't say that I've never seen Shaddy play "savvy" basketball, only basketball that occasionally is less self-involved or careless than at other times. And just because he's not malicious (Rider) or apathetic (Kandy) doesn't mean he isn't a special kind of headcase. I haven't seen too many players who seem as delusional about what is happening on the court as Shaddy is (in his scowls at his own play, the coach's decisions, and especially referees' calls). I've seen numerous facial expressions from his teammates that leads me to believe that at least some of them think he's an idiot.
Moreover, his play this season before McHale (and maybe after) wasn't any "smarter" than Gerald Green's last season - for most of the season, he has been chucking every time he touched the ball, turning it over on many of those times he touched the ball, and playing the worst kind of effortless defense. Worst of all, perhaps, he has looked less repenent for these sins than Green did. I agree that McCants/Green is not a great comparison - as someone said on a blog last night, JR Smith seems to be a better one - but to me Shaddy doesn't look like a smart or a determined player.
My opinion is that the reason why we're just now seeing how glaring Shaddy's weaknesses are is that many fans had previously chosen to ignore or deny them because he has (can have) such a pretty offensive one-on-one game, and we all wanted him to become a dominant two guard. After all, we did draft him over Granger and Monta Ellis. However, given how detrimental his bad play and attitude have been to the team, I'm prepared to call him - not Foye, Brewer, or Love - the biggest draft day mistake/bust McHale has made.
What's an improvement for me is the flow and movement of the Wolves under McHale.
There is no sense in a continuation of the Wittman criticism other than to say he was in a death spiral. He became a desperate and hence overbearing coach. Of all the coaches who have been fired this early in the season, his firing was the most obviously needed for him and the players.
Shaddy is quickly approaching door-to-door life insurance sales work. McHale is wise to give McCants the opportunity now to put his words and mannerisms into practice. If he thinks he is so damn good, prove it. In this case he has proven Wittman right and there is no one else to blame but him.
K-Love is doing fine as a rook. He is giving the team double-digit extra possessions, so he is contributing early. He appears to be a smart kid who is learning fast and there is still so much to learn.
Okay, I'm officially full circle on McCants. I've gone from hating him in his rookie year to vigorously defending him this year. He's in a slump, a funk. Have you ever had a job you liked but a boss you hated, but you stuck with that job anyway? So McCants has a new boss now and needs some time to get his mojo back. I think even the haters would admit it's pretty uncharacteristic for Rashad to miss this often, so something's up, just give him time to come around.
(Aside to the asshats in the nosebleeds with me on Tuesday: you're not helping our team by screaming at Rashad every time he touches the ball, and if you are there on Friday, I will choke you with my Tony Campbell Commemorative Poster. You are jerks who make the game unpleasant for everyone else who can't afford real seats.)
So what do I like most about this team? First, I *love* the Rhino catching in the pinch-post or at the top of the key, and using his quickness and mad handles to get to the cup. He's often matched up against a "shot-blocker," but people forget that those players are shot-blockers because they're only good at helping from the weak side. The Rhino challenges your preconceived notions of quality defense.
The things I don't like: Cardinal playing minutes in the Utah game.
Jury's out on: playing Bassy and Ollie together.
I think fans have alwasy been aware of Shaddys weakness's. There was plenty of griping over McCants from the day he was drafted. Hes had a long history of love hate that is the source for his tattoos and life, as well as bball philosophy.
But, what has made McCant contributions look so glaringly bad this year is his shooting. He is a better shooter than he has shown this year. Hes not making shots. Its amazing how much better a player appears when his shots go through the hoop. Somehow those weaknesses aren't as noticeable, such as the case with Foye lately.
If McHale sticks with McCants just long enough for McCants to rediscover his stroke, then McCants will look a whole lot better to all. There will still be weaknesses, glares, tatoos and all the rest, but he'll contribute a lot more and look a whole lot better. The question is, how long does it take for him to get his shot going?
It's just too bad that Shaddy appears to be a draft pick who hasn't worked out, which means that we probably won't make an effort to re-sign him in the off-season. That means it'll be a failed four year experiment during which time we could've tried something else that might've worked. Any draft pick can be a flop, especially one at the bottom of the lotto, but Shaddy appears to have stuck us with a fairly steep opportunity cost since he won't even be on our squad next year. C'est la vie, I guess.
Shaddy needs to give Ray Allen a call, and ask how one regains his stroke--just in the nick of time.
The main positive thing that McHale's doing is playing to the strengths of his young players. Even though they have limitations, they're also getting opportunities to succeed. Having that balance could make it easier to have them work on their games in practice. The one player I'd like to see more of is Telfair. At some point, I want to see Telfair getting most or all of Ollie's minutes.
I like the overall increase in enthusiasm, too, but I'm cautiously optimistic about that. We stopped Phoenix's 21-game winning streak in Wittman's 4th game, so it might be too early to say this renewed spirit is solely because Witt was fired.
The main concern I have is with the physical disadvantage the Wolves seem to have every night. They have athletes, but they have trouble keeping up with uptempo teams.
Does anyone have info on Shaddy's back problems or treatment he's receiving? Not to make excuses, but guys do not just drop 10 points off last season's shooting percentage (and almost 20 points off 3PT percentage) overnight...
Britt,
Can't tell you how many times I checked "Secret Sex Rake in the City" or whatever this sites called now to get your take on Tuesday's game. Then I realized that it was a back-to-back situation and that you probably would prefer two games to one in your analysis of this new regime. Good stuff as always.
Personally, I'm encouraged, even though you could consider these last two defeats similar to those blown games earlier in the year. I was at a breaking point as of early Monday morning reading this blog and reading the same sentiments from everyone only to continue scrolling down to find out that the wheels were in motion for a change. Initially, McHale coming in to mop up for a lame duck season wasn't my idea of a fix, only to learn that he was out permanently as GM later in the day.
It's easy to dismiss the positive changes we've already seen in McHale's coaching of this team because he began in a 4-15 hole. He's got a long way to go, but you could argue that last nights game would've turned into a route under Wittman. They at least battled back to within two points late in the game. Guys are competing. Like you said, McHale's got a gameplan and knows who he wants to use where. He's using the tweeners to his advantage. Putting Jefferson & Love on the floor together. Encouraging players to go to the rack & getting to the line. These young players are allowed to make mistakes, yet still remain in the game, when experience is as important as making the right play at that moment.
I honestly believe if Miller is healthy for these last two games, we win at least one of them, if not both. Rashad was the only pure shooter on the floor and has benn mired in an awful slump. Isn't anyone curious to see how McHale intends to open things up for Miller? I think McHale is going to put Miller in a better position to be the shooter he's always been until he came here and I think we'll see that when he's healthy. We got the points in the paint thing down pat, we need some shooters to make defenses pay for doubling down in the low block. It seems like the leash is longer for McCants now and I hope he starts to resemble the player he's flashed at times.
While I'm not about to declare McHale the coach of the future, I will say that he assembled this team based on their skill sets fitting into a system, and who better than him to at least show us what he's been talking about. For all the bashing we've done on this board about "the plan" the Wolves Brass has preached, I can safely say that I see more of a plan being executed the last 2 games than the last 2 years. I can deal with a young team growing up slowly, but couldn't watch it drown. At the very least, I think McHale brings their heads above water as he exits at season's end. It's a start.
Yep, so far the only changes I'd like to see from our new coach are less McCants, more Telfair.
I suppose with Carolina's deal yesterday the dream of Collins and Shaddy for Wallace is now dead....too bad.
Jackdaw:
The dream scenario might still be possible. Their trading Richardson actually opens up a starting spot at the SG position, which Shaddy could conceivably fill. If they're truly committed to slashing salary, they will move Wallace to some team. It's discouraging that Higgins denied that any Wallace talks have ever happened with Minnesota, but I hope he's lying publicly to avoid the type of backlash that he got yesterday when he made an unpopular trade.
This team, which is by far my favorite team from my favorite sport, is so frustrating to follow. I am so confused by pretty much everything that involves this team. The ability of this franchise to say one thing and then have the complete opposite come true is uncanny (or very purposeful).
From McHale above: "The practices are for the coaches, the games are for the players..."
But then you read the following story regarding McHale's previous coaching stint, and you can only scratch your head:
"It was a learning experience," said [Anthony] Carter, who will see McHale and the Timberwolves on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center. "He didn't really know all the X's and O's, but he had a good assistant coaching staff that was helping him out with a lot of plays. He kind of let us run whatever we wanted.
"He was trying to draw plays, and it was like a little Etch and Sketch. Like a kid just messing around. . . . He just gave the clipboard to the assistant coaches sometimes."
"Practice, it was kind of funny," Carter said. "(McHale) didn't warm us up and just let us get to playing five-on-five. He'd just sit on the sideline . . . and the other coaches would be coaching."
Asked how the Timberwolves managed a decent record with a novice coach, Carter said, "All the guys just stuck together. We didn't want to get embarrassed."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/08/nuggets-need-be-wary-minnesota-wednesday/
McHale's approach during his first coaching duties might have worked with a veteran team, coming off a trip from the Western Conference Finals, with experienced assistant coaches and an established franchise conerstone in KG. But I just don't see how that kind of philosophy will translate to success in his second go. Young players without a lot of experience just do not handle themselves in the same fashion as a proven veteran club.
Oh, my man Shogun. Shaddy as the worst mistake McHale made on draft day? I can't go that far. Seriously, the line of Wolves 1st round draft busts ahead of him is long...Paul Grant, William Avery, Ndudi Ebi are notable. Either Shaddy has been just tanatalizing enough, or the Wolves just desperate enough - and most likely, a combination of both -- to keep him onboard. But I can't call drafting him the worst mistake.
Still, I agree with you that Shaddy has all the earmarks of a "bust".
Antonymous -- Are "fans" obliged somehow to only voice positive emotions when they take their seat? I have not-so-discretely booed McCants my ownself, and apparently before it became fashionable!!! Did I fall afoul of some small print injunction on the ticket?
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2459788&b...
I was wondering why during Melo's ridiculous run I kept somehow seeing him open from 3 even after putting up 17 in a quarter.
After reading the comments it looks like McHale was letting them play through it.
Does that mean he's going to play film back and go over the whole try not to leave a guy open when he's torching you for 20+ in one quarter lesson?
Britt-
I see your point. Bassy's inability to can a mid-range jumper is infuriating. He was making many of those shots last year, so he has the ability.
That said, from his +/- numbers, his misses aren't hurting the team as much as his pace-setting, passing and aggressive defense helping it.
For the most part, the misses are scattered over his shifts. If he was going 3/15 on a nightly basis like somebody else, I'd feel differently.
Bassy shouldn't start right now, but I can live with a 22 MPG PG who pushes the pace, pressures the opposing PG and drops dimes, even if he shoots less than 40% from the field. I just don't see why Ollie is getting half of Bassy's minutes.
Levi: You're probably right. I was taking a narrower view of the recent selections (Rashad, Foye, Brewer, and Love), and the reason why I identified Shaddy as the biggest mistake (a better label might be "the most disappointing," at least for me) is because even though we could've nabbed Roy, Thad Young, and Mayo in the other drafts, Foye, Brewer, and Love will be a part of this team's future and they do things that help the team. We all wish we had Roy and many of us wish we would've kept Mayo, but we can live with the guys we have because at least they are giving us something (and will in the future, too). In Shaddy's case, right now he is causing us to lose games, and in the future he probably won't even be around. The net benefit of Shaddy's tenure will likely be in the red, whereas the net benefit of Foye, Brewer, and Love will be in the black, it just won't be as high as it would be if we'd have made some different decisions. That's what really stings about the Shaddy situation, at least to me.
With McHale as coach, this team is becoming lovable losers. We all knew that guys like Jefferson, Smith, Foye, Gomes, and Love are pretty likeable guys off the court with solid character. Put McHale - a likeable guy himself once you exorcise the grudge you hold against him for his poor decisions as GM - at the helm and it's a likeable bunch. Heck, I've even developed a soft spot for the tortured soul known as Shaddy.
That being said, they are still losers. No matter what the effort or attitude that this team reflects, they are simply overmatched by most other NBA teams....They're just a more enjoyable bunch to watch lose now!
Someone asked how I thought McCants could be "used better."
Encourage and reward more touches that don't result in shots when he's cold. McCants is an above-average passer who, because he's been a sixth man/designated scorer, has developed too selfish a mentality.
Vary those passes and long jumpers with more explosive drives to the hoop. Tell Shaddy there is no shame in getting his shot blocked but if possible, draw the foul, encourage the contact more often than trying to winnow your way through traffic a la his idol, KG.
Play him tapes of his defense the year he was recovering from knee surgery. Ask him point blank how he was able to anticipate better on a leg and a half than he does now on two. Tell him that every time his man scores it means as much or more to the Wolves organization as when he scores.
Be straight with him about expectations. Tell him defense and shot selection are his biggest weaknesses, and what you'll be looking for when his contract renewal approaches. Tell him this cold slump in his shooting will pass, and he is capable of helping the team without hitting jumpers.
Now, for all I know, Randy Wittman has done all of this already. It may be that Shaddy is a hopeless cause. But it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he and Wittman meshed like oil and water. Bottom line, McCants was a controversial yet key player on a championship team in college, one without stars, one that played within a system. I didn't watch Shaddy at UNC, but I assume he adapted to the system. Hopefully he won't have to go to a better team to accept one in the pros.
Levi - you're entitled to voice your opinion, but often the same people shouting obscenities at our own players are the same ones who marvel at how empty the Target Center is. It must be the quality of players, right? It couldn't be the atmosphere. Watching a basketball game should be enjoyable, but I just don't share in the mindset that heckling or cursing a certain player (or coach) throughout the game is very fun.
I understand there are those that think this is normal behavior, and I yell at players for bonehead decisions every single game too. I'd just rather be part of a home-court advantage rather than listen to know-it-all fans bark about Wittman or Shaddy or whomever has so greviously wronged them.
if Mac want's to improve moral even more he should shelve the WNBA uniforms the fellers are wearing this year.
how did they manage to get an even more terrible design than the KG era rework with the upside-down 8's and the shatner era star trek B/W wolf head?
isn't Taylor in the graphics biz? wtf?
I dare anyone to watch the last 5 minutes of last night's game (fast-forward to when it was 96-92) and defend McCants being on the court. Just watch him defensively. It's so laughably bad that I can't believe McHale or someone on the Wolves bench didn't pull him out.
McCants, pretty much all by himself, allowed Denver to open up the game and put it away. He played absolutely zero defense, moved with absolutely zero purpose on the defensive end, and was pretty much worthless. His guy was getting open looks simply because McCants wasn't guarding him. He got beat to a loose ball and let his guy drive and kick for another couple of baskets. In all honesty, it was one of the most disgustingly lethargic displays of effort on the defensive side of the ball I've seen in a close game in quite some time.
Here's the rub as I see it. Effort can make up for a lot of shortcomings. But a lack of effort can make even the best players look subpar (Google "Carter, Vince" and "Last Year in Toronto"). If McCants isn't at least going to attempt to exert a little hustle on the defensive end, he's not worth having on the court. It's as simple as that. The best players in the world only shoot 50%. The type of defense McCants was playing was giving opponents looks they'll make 75% of the time. It's that simple. Until he picks up the defensive intensity, McHale should only have him in there for situational scoring.
Mpls Blue:
About that article --
(1) McHale didn't know the plays because he wasn't the coach who designed them and practiced them with the team pre-season. So he deferred to Flip's assistant coaches to draw up the plays because they knew them much better than he did.
(2) Not sure when you go from "young" to "veteran" but aside from K-Love everyone else has at least a few seasons under their belts. Corey is out and Richards was let go.
There is an ongoing battle over whether talent or coaching most contributes to winning basketball. No clear winners in my book, but clearly McHale sides more with the players than the plays.
I know this is a peripheral issue that wouldn't have a huge result, but why haven't we seen any end-of-quarter plays where there's not enough time to get the ball across halfcourt and they just let Love shoot it? After watching that video of the UCLA practice where he was swishing them from beyond half-court (a real video that was shown on CBS during the tournament), I thought that it would definitely show up in a game at some point. His touch from halfcourt and beyond is good enough to result in at least 3-4 3s during a season, and shots like those can lead to building or shifting momentum and some extra points that could be the difference in a few close games.
I know this is a peripheral issue that wouldn't have a huge result, but why haven't we seen any end-of-quarter plays where there's not enough time to get the ball across halfcourt and they just let Love shoot it? After watching that video of the UCLA practice where he was swishing them from beyond half-court (a real video that was shown on CBS during the tournament), I thought that it would definitely show up in a game at some point. His touch from halfcourt and beyond is good enough to result in at least 3-4 3s during a season, and shots like those can lead to building or shifting momentum and some extra points that could be the difference in a few close games.
I'm in the trade Shaddy camp, at least if you can fill another whole by trading him. Otherwise, continue to play him the rest of the season to see if he's worth keeping and the problem was just inconsistent playing time and living in constant fear of being jerked out of the game. Give Miller plenty of time to heal. Outside of Jefferson and Foye (ahem, building blocks), he's the biggest trade bait that isn't essential to the plan.
I'd add JaVale McGee to Noah on my list of big men that would fit the "pace", chemistry, and needs of the Pups. I'd be surprised if the Wiz would part with him, but more likely them than the Nets parting with Lopez or the Warriors Biedrens. Something for the phone execs to do while awaiting rings from other phone execs.
Kevin Ollie has no business playing professional basketball.
Give his minutes to Bassy, now.
Danny B - that's an assessment of Rashad I can agree with. While I didn't catch all of the Nuggets game, I have seen less defensive effort from McCants than I saw last year when he was in the starting lineup regularly. There was a point last year that he seemed to crave and thrive off of a tough defensive matchup, but that's long gone. And we're all painfully aware of his offensive problems, so I won't even go there.
Again, not to make excuses or to speculate on Rashad's back/health, but something has definitely changed for the worse. Whether the problem is physical or mental, he's still a valuable cog (if not only for creating decent spacing) in what we call an offense.
Antonymous --
I am reminded of an event that I witnessed some years ago at an Arena Football playoff game. We were in the nosebleed endzone cheap seats. A few rows away was a fan who, perhaps fueled by copious quantities of alcohol, continuously bellowed in support of his home team. Bellowed. Continuously. A nicely dressed midwestern couple deemed his behavior obnoxious -- though he never left his seat area, wasn't profane, etc.. They made a bit of a scene, asking to have him removed. The arena management decreed that he had paid for his ticket and had the right to bellow as loud and as long as he possibly could. Different seats for the couple were made available in a different section. Many of us clapped politely at their departure.
I believe in the right to cheer and I believe in the right to boo.
Cheering or booing aside, it has been my experience that good basketball fills arenas and that bad basketball empties them.
'mired in the dolor'? Britt, you ever think that you're too good a writer to be covering such a team?
Silly me, I thought it was a typo-laden "tired of the color" I better visit dictionary.com to see what the hell Britt meant.
couple comments...
great call on wittman bringing out the worst in mccants. peterson made a comment after shaddy's fourth or fifth brick that you have got to stick with him to show him you have faith or the whole exercise would be for naught, and it's painful, but true. hopefully he finds small successes as miller's backup.
AC's comments seem less than classy to anyone else? maybe they were meant as lighthearted jabs in a chuckleheaded interview, but they read as potshots.
every time i see ollie on the floor, my instinct is to raise my hands in a wtf?! gesture or see bassy or foye with four or five fouls. but the frustration he caused a semi-ailing deron williams with his defense and the relative steadiness he ran the offense with has won me over enough to give him the ball until bassy asserts himself at finishing around the rim when he penetrates or buys a jumper.
if van gundys and mitchells are being thrown out there for prospective coaches, does anyone have the dope on another former coach of the year, avery johnson? (skiles-style barker?)
let's hope miller helps make the spacing for love's high-low passes better and more frequent. here's hoping for a double overtime winner.
gundarsvetra - as far as I know, Avery Johnson is available. The large question is whether or not he would be the right coach for this team. Although I like him, I do not think that he is anywheres close to being "right" for for this team. He is apparently pretty strict, rather demanding, and I know that just his voice would bother me. Who knows how it would affect McCants or Foye, the Timberwolves' most fragile head cases? I fear that Avery would be the wrong coach for them.
For all the focus on the shortcomings of the players, one statistic sticks out to me: of the team's main rotation players who aren't rookies (Jefferson, Foye, Gomes, Smith, McCants, Miller), only Jefferson's FG% is similar to his career averages. Everyone else is noticeably lower. I think that's really the primary reason behind this team's struggles.
Also, I've got to hand it to McHale for going with a rotation of the guys that the team would consider its core (except Carney, who gets minutes due to Brewer's injury). If nothing else, this strategy can show the front office what this team has and what it's missing.
Attention folks--
The ice storm wiped out my cable reception late last night, which unfortunately also contained my DVR'd tape of the Lakers game. The reception has been regained and to the best of my knowledge, more than 2 hours of the 2 and a half hour programming for the game was completed, so I expect to be able to catch most or all of the game. But it makes no sense to write a trey until after tonight's Sac game so you'll see a three-fer trey when you wake up tomorrow.
Thanks for your patience.
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