The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

_{Photo copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

_{Photo copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #65, Home Game #34: Minnesota 94, New York 102

Game #66, Home Game #35: Minnesota 108, Charlotte 100

Season Record: 20-46

1. Winning With Brains For A Change

_{Photo copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #61, Road Game #30: LA Lakers 110, Minnesota 90

Game #62, Road Game #31: Portland 95, Minnesota 93

Season Record: 18-44

1. The Future Isn't Now

Longtime readers know that I prefer to concentrate on the games being played on the court more than in the executive offices and rumor mills. And points two and three in this trey will get to that, because the rest is just sideshow anticipation.

_{Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game # 32, Home Game #16: Minnesota 115, Golden State 108

Game #33, Road Game #17: Chicago 92, Minnesota 102

Season Record: 8-25

1. What's Happening

_{Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #4, Home Game #2: Minnesota 125, San Antonio 129

Season record: 1-3

1. The Offense Finally Arrives

Don't get too excited or bummed out by anything I'm about to say. Like the rest of you, I'm itchy for the beginning of the NBA season and took great joy is sussing the action Saturday night in Mankato as the Wolves had a 35-minute intrasquad scrimmage in front of the general public. But the team has had exactly one week of practice. Their star, Al Jefferson, is recovering from a knee injury, and their most valuable off-season pickup, Mike Miller, was gimpy with a hamstring or thigh problem. I'll be more confident in my judgments when the sample size isn't so infintesimal.

^{Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #59, Home Game #32: Charlotte 109, Minnesota 89

Season Record: 12-47

1. Getting the Message

_{Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #52, Home Game #27: Philadelphia 88, Minnesota 104

Season record: 11-41

1. Spread the Credit

^{Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game # 47, Home Game #23: Houston 92, Minnesota 86

Season record: 10-37

1. Telfair and Jaric Stake Their Claims

^{Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #42, Road Game #23: Minnesota 86, Boston 87

Season record: 7-35

1. KG In A Nutshell