Timberwolves Stuff

I wrote a game review and some other stuff over at the TWolves Blog, please check it out.

I would have more on the Vikings right now, but the game was so boring I thought I was in a coma.

More On Peterson Taking Over the Twin Cities

I want to dive back into my thoughts on Adrian Peterson from yesterday because I think I lost my broader point by revisiting my Brady Bunch analogy for the Vikings and the other teams in this state. I think I got into my hopes for Adrian Peterson a little bit, but I also don't think I did a good enough job of trying to convey what I think he can be relative to the Twin Cities' sports scene to justify yesterday's post; a post that basically said the exact same thing that two local papers, several national writers and, what I imagine is hundreds of bloggers, had already written and talked about regarding Peterson's potential.

In order to extrapolate on what I can only categorize as hope (I think expectation is the wrong word) for All Day's future here, I have to provide what I know. First, the Vikings are the alpha dog in this state over the other two major national sports teams and the hockey team. Second, until last season, I had never watched an NFL game in a stadium other than the HHH Metrodome. Third, despite being the most popular team in the state over the years, the two most beloved athletes in this state in my sports watching lifetime (1986) from an objective viewpoint, Kirby Puckett and Kevin Garnett, were not on the Vikings. Fourth, the best, and probably only, argument for most popular Viking in my sports watching lifetime is Randy Moss, although popularity and adoration are seperate in Moss' case whereas Kirby and KG enjoyed adoration with their popularity. On a national level, Kirby, Moss and Garnett definitely brought attention to this state's teams due to their abilities, successes and personalities.

If an unbiased Vikings observer approached a Vikings fan during the Moss era to praise him for a good game, I would assume that there was, at the very least, a 1 in 2 chance that the Vikings fan would say something to the effect of, "Yeah, he's really good, but [fill in fan's gripe(s) about Moss' quotes/attitudes/troubles/etc.]" Moss was loved by some Vikings fans but loathed to the point of shame by others. Due to his coverage here, I had no idea what I was in store for last November when I attended the Vikings-Dolphins game in Miami.

If you ever have the chance to see a game in Miami, especially when it's freezing cold in Minnesota, go. I know they have an older stadium, but I enjoyed my Dolphin Stadium experience so much that I told myself I would never watch sports inside of the Metrodome ever again. I broke that promise for one Twins game this season when a friend of mine who flies copters for the Army had a two week leave from Korea and wanted to go to a Twins game, so I think that's a valid reason. Anyways, if you go to Dolphin Stadium, you will notice the word "Taylor" and the number "99" on a lot of apparel. Jason Taylor's jersey is everywhere in orange, green and white. You may see the occasional Ronnie Brown jersey or faded Marino jersey, but I'm telling you from seeing it, that city loves Jason Taylor. If Jason Taylor had Shawn Kemp's mentality (or ability?), I think every child birth in Miami-Dade County would have to be accompanied by a mandatory Jason Taylor paternity test. However, I don't remember ever noticing anything negative about Jason Taylor from a national standpoint. The Dolphins were not good last year, but Jason Taylor still played like a stud and the nearly packed house for the 4-5 Vikings (can you believe they started 4-2 last yea?) and the 3-6 Dolphins went ballistic for him. He backed it up with a sack, two forced fumbles (one returned for a TD) and an interception returned for a TD. Basically, Jason Taylor puts up results, seems like a good guy AND (this is key) is very marketable.

I can tell you from one night in South Beach and one Dolphins game that Jason Taylor enjoys the same popularity with adoration as Kirby and KG had here. I really think that Adrian Peterson has the chance for that, and more, here. Like I said yesterday, I think he has the tools to put up the numbers necessary for that level of popularity. Next, Adrian Peterson plays a position that gets more attention and notoriety than Jason Taylor's position (that's also a compliment to what Taylor has been able to do, as much as it is a complement to my argument). He's going to be the subject of fantasy drafts, video games and media highlights for years to come. Finally, in the short time he has been in the NFL spotlight, and combined with the college spotlight, he knows how to carry himself, he seems like a good guy, AND he definitely seems marketable enough to be a household name.

If you put this all together and combine it with results and longevity (which Peterson will have to provide), I think the sky is the limit for his popularity in this state. If his numbers become all-time franchise rushing numbers or if (big if) the Vikings ever hoist the Lombardi Trophy with Peterson, I could foresee Peterson easily joining the discussion of most popular and favorite athletes of all time in this city...

But let's win some games first.

WOLVES STUFF:

- I posted a new Wolves article today over that the TWolves Blog.

- We traded Mark Blount and I couldn't be happier. You can get all the links, etc. on TWolves Blog.

It's Still All About Marsha Brady

With the exodus of Kevin Garnett and what seems like the inevitable departure of Torii Hunter, the Twin Cities needs a new major sports star to be its "face athlete." As good as Johan Santana is and even with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau's remarkable seasons in 2006, I still think Hunter was the face of the Twins. With those two athletes gone, the cities needed a guy like Adrian Peterson. (This is where I write about stuff that's already considered old news.)

<-- All day poses with Mario Mario of the Super Mario Brothers. Luigi Mario had no comment.

In a blog I used to have a few years ago, I addressed Brady Bunch situation in the Twin Cities. To summarize, as far as the MN sports scene is concerned, the Twins are Jan and Vikings are Marsha. The first year the Twins made the playoffs in their recent run, almost all front-page media coverage in the local papers went to the Vikings training camp over the Twins. This is just the way it is. Jan is all fine and well when you're talking to her, but Marsha walks in the room and it doesn't matter if Jan is dancing naked, you're going to pay attention to Marsha. Thus, having a "face athlete" like this on the Vikings is huge. When Moss was on the Vikings, his face was plastered on the front page whether it was his on-field performances, hitting street cops, whatever.

Now, Adrian Peterson has the golden opportunity to make this his city/state. I remember walking out the door last Thursday morning, quickly looking on my kitchen counter, and noticing the Pioneer Press Sports page. The front story was Tom Powers' article on Adrian Peterson being "The Kid Who Saved the Vikings" complete with a large picture showing a bronzed Adrian Peterson illustration (click the link to see the image). I never read the article and I typically approach rookie performances with skepticism, but I don't think I can disagree with the headline. Adrian Peterson has made games exciting. During the Brad Childress Era, I've averaged about 4 naps a game. With Peterson, I at least ask to be awaken when we're on offense, and we have an awful offense. There's something about him that just gives you the feeling that he's going to be an uber star. He's got size, he carries himself with a swagger, he doesn't complain about touches, he had a great college career at a premiere program and he seems hungry in general.

Just keep him away from EA sports and off that damn Madden cover.

- I wrote this Wolves article over on the TWolves Blog.

Moving Day

I am moving all Timberwolves and NBA content over to the TWolves Blog. I posted my first thing there. Come on over.

I will probably start putting other stuff up here, but I'm about as committed to that as Henry VIII to his wives.

Again - http://www.TWolvesblog.com

Week 7 Picks

New developments coming Monday or Tuesday.

For now, just picks.

NFL Week 7:

Lines based on MGM-Mirage Sports Book as of October 19, 2007 at 4:38 PM (home team in CAPS):

Arizona (+8) over WASHINGTON

NEW ORLEANS (-7.5) over Atlanta

Baltimore (-3) over BUFFALO

Minnesota (+9.5) over DALLAS

MIAMI (+17) over New England

NEW YORK GIANTS (-9.5) over San Fransisco

Tampa Bay (+2) over DETROIT

HOUSTON (pick) over Tennessee

OAKLAND (-2.5) over Kansas City

New York Jets (+6) over Cincinnati

PHILADELPHIA (-6) over Chicago

St. Louis (+8.5) over SEATTLE

Pittsburgh (-3.5) over DENVER

Indianapolis (-3) over JACKSONVILLE

Last week: 3-8-2 (ouch)

Season: 42-45-2

Relativity Applied to Basketball

"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein." - Former Washington Redskins QB, Joe Theisman

Besides the obvious mathematical implications of relativity, Albert Einstein's theory has paved the way for pop culture and sports arguments. The word "Relativity" and all of its derivatives has been the fulcrum allowing me to use my arguments as a lever for years. Relativity always applies. I went to an all-male high school and there was a semi-attractive teacher. Compared to all members relevant to the criteria we judged on (namely the possession of female genetalia) this teacher ranked as high as Aphrodite. It's the same reasoning as to why Neve Campbell would probably look hot if you saw her in Rosedale, but why she was insanely overrated when targeted as a sex-symbol by magazines back when she was popular (relative to some of the Vixens of her day - see: Wild Things). I'm just not buying what they're selling.

The importance of relativity in sports arguments cannot be underscored. What's the greatest team ever? Who is the greatest player ever? All of these arguments require points comparing relative players, statistics, intangibles, time periods, trends, etc. This brings me to Mark Blount.

Blount came in the Wally Trade, which I was all for except for the 1st round pick. First off, there's no questions Blount is an upgrade from Olowakandi. Unfortunately, being better than Olowakandi is an accomplishment on par with getting a triple bogey on a mini golf hole. I had not watched any Boston Celtics games since they lost game 7 of their 1st-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers in 04-05. The only relevant Boston Celtics information I read was from the Sports Guy's columns and those columns definitely did nothing to promote my confidence in Blount. Since I had never seen Mark Blount play, all I had to work with were his statistics. From his stats, I noticed that in the past three years, Blount was giving his team roughly 11 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes. This destroyed Kandi's statistics, and I actually had an optimistic view of Blount watching the tail end of the disappointing 2005-2006 season.

Enter the 2006-2007 season, my first as a Wolves season ticket holder. What little faith I had in Blount was destroyed in the sixth game of the season against the Orlando Magic. The stats cannot even convey the level of destruction that Dwight Howard levied on Blount. I know Dwight Howard is the next coming, but this is just the most visual difference in Blounts attitudes versus other post players in this league. Blount looked weaker than Screech in that game. Feel free to check the game stats for 2006-2007 and you will notice a trend of rebound and point domination by the opposing centers. The exception is games 29-36.

Game 29 was on New Year's Day. I joked with my buddy Ryan, who bought season tickets with me, that I hoped Mark Blount had a New Year's resolution to play tougher. Well, I think he really made the resolution. He rebounded more, played with some attitude, and I think I even saw him yell once. In that stretch, the Wolves won 7 of 8 and were back in the contention in the division. That's when the resolution was broken and any form of swagger on Blount's part was gone. The Wolves went 12-34 to end the season.

What does this have to do with Relativity? I still hear listeners calling into KFAN arguing people are too tough on Blount and that his stats are this and that. I think these are the same people that don't watch the games. Blount might score you 14, but he's probably going to be responsible for giving up 20-25 a night between the guy he's guarding and the second chance rebounds he's allowing. Relative to his opponent, Blount is in the red. It's like going into a fantasy football game last year with Larry Johnson and realizing the opponent has LT. However you want to skew the math, you're going to lose.

MORE WOLVES REACTIONS:

- Not much to say from the game the other night against the Hawks. They got killed. I wasn't a fan of how little they played Brewer. It's tough to add anything relevant when the projected starting and back up point guards are injured. Al Jefferson continued to do what I expect him to be doing on a nightly basis.

Team Tryouts Continue

The Wolves weren't on TV or the radio last night, so the only thing to gauge their performance against the Grizzlies is the box score and what's written on various media outlets. Injuries to Foye and Telfair required Marko Jaric to play 35 minutes at point guard, a situation I hope does not repeat itself in the regular season.

<-- If you're going to shoot these, you might as well bang down low, slash or get to the line.

Taking a look at this box score, I see one statistic that continues to haunt this team: free throw disparity. The Wolves got to the line 19 times while the Grizzlies accumulated 33 attempts. This team has had an identity as a jump-shooting team every season since the Stephon Marbury trade. The jump-shooting strategy is not necessarily a bad one, but I cannot recall a jumpshooting team winning the championship, or even getting to the finals, since I have been following basketball. The farthest a jump-shooting team has gotten is each conference's respective finals with the 2003-2004 Timberwolves and the 2000-2001 Milwaukee Bucks that got jobbed by the refs in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, ultimately losing to Iverson's Sixers in 7. However, the jump shooting strategy fails when you lack a key ingredient, namely consistently making jump shots.

I have stated several times that the only player on this roster historically capable of consistently hitting an open jumper unfortunately doubles as a center, a position coaches generally favor to be played by someone near the basket. One of the misfortunes our coach has is his experience assisting in jump shooting offenses. With no consistent jump shooting, I would prefer a game played closer to the basket through the likes of Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith, with drives and CONTROLLED finishes at the rim. I see too many of our "slashers" (and I use that term very liberally when applies to this team) driving to the lane and throwing up high-angled shots at the backboard with the prayer that it bounces off with the correct trajectory required to get into the rim. J.R., Isaiah, Isaiah JR, whatever he liked to be called, perfected the requisite move to jump stop and get a shot off in the lane (although I really thought the liberal travelling rules in the NBA allowed him to do this), but I don't see Foye and McCants getting down into the paint and drawing the big men into the air with a fake. They often drive down and, at full speed, execute the aforementioned backboard-prayer layup.

I don't think its ever fair to fans to call a season a rebuilding one, and you always want to strive for wins and exceed expectations, but I think this is truly a franchise that has to look past this season. With that said, I think Rashad McCants has to get a lot of minutes. I am unconvicnced that he has the game to play shooting guard on a night-to-night basis in the NBA, but then again, he hasn't really had a fair shot. I want to see if any of McCants' college explosiveness has returned and if he has improved his jumper. I think from an organization standing, you have to determine if he's worth exercising the team option next year.

More on the possible identity of this team later this week.

Some other notes based on the Box Score:

- Al Jefferson had 17 and 15. This is what I want to see night after night. 6 for 9 shooting (maybe double the attemps and makes - 12 for 18, that would be ideal; perhaps a little too optimistic) and he made 5 of 7 at the line.

- I would prefer Ratliff at starting center to begin the season. The poll to the right wasn't "who should start" , it was "who do you think will start." As to who should start, clearly Tecmo Bo is the right asnwer. I had expected Witt to use Blount more, but I'm happy to see that's not the case. One thing I do not want is Jefferson as the center. I think he has the skill and size to be a dominating power forward and I would prefer he stays there.

- I like the Brewer start. 3-11 is not good, but I'm glad he chucked them up. I guess I don't know what manner of shots he took, but if he was open and he was taking open shots, I'm all for it. Also encouraging: only one three point attempt by him. As they say, you have to crawl before you walk.

Another game tonight, we'll see who plays, who does what, etc.

OTHER NEWS:

- Finally a decent Vikings game. I think between the first four games of the season, I fell asleep approximately 20 times. That's a 5 nap per game average. Additionally, for a town that lost it's "face" athletes, Kevin Garnett and soon-to-be-gone Torii Hunter, this state needed that performance out of All Day. I can't believe how fast he can reaccelerate after making that cut.

NFL Picks - Week 6

WOLVES NEWS AND REACTIONS TO:

<-- Radio or Television, Double-T should get the call.

- Nothing really caught my interest today. For daily news, please check the TWolves Blog linked to the right, I'm too lazy to link it right now in the text. The only thing worth mentioning is that the Wolves hired a new radio analyst, Alan Horton. I did not like the play-by-play guy last year, so I hope this guy is better. Notwithstanding his mediocre radio show, Hartman was a good play-by-play guy that used decent inflections when necessary and involved whatever colorman he was assigned for the given season.

- Now that I typed the above, I miss Trent Tucker calling the games. The Harlan/Tucker team kicked copious amounts of ass. If I ever win the lottery, I want to hire Trent Tucker to come to my house and announce the Wolves games on TV.

NFL WEEK 6:

Lines based on MGM-Mirage Sports Book as of October 12, 2007 @ 5:04 PM (Home teams in CAPS):

Cincinatti (-3) over KANSAS CITY

Houston (+7) over JACKSONVILLE

CLEVELAND (-4.5) over Miami

MINNESOTA (+5) over Chicago (yes, this is a homer pick)

NEW YORK JETS (+3.5) over Philidelphia

St. Louis (+9) over BALTIMORE

TAMPA BAY (-3) over Tennessee

Washigton (+3) over GREEN BAY

ARIZONA (-4.5) over Caroline (David Carr at QB)

DALLAS (+6) over New England

Oakland (+9.5) over SAN DIEGO

SEATTLE (-7) over New Orleans

NEW YORK GIANTS over Atlanta

Last week: 8-6

Season: 39-37

Wolves Tryouts

"And with the [at worst 4th pending NBA lottery outcome] pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select...."
- Commissioner Stern, Summer 2008

This Wolves team is going to have trouble. I know the Celtics have superior talent and this Wolves team is looking to gel, but after watching that game yesterday I really think this team has potential to be historically poor comparitive to past Timberwolves teams.

First thing's first, this is not saying I think the talent is bad. There are plenty of guys on this team with plenty of talent. I also want to reiterate that I'm more excited about this team than last year's team. Last year's team was a yawner. I don't care if this team loses 70 games as long as they put forth effort. I had more fun watching the Wolves in the early 90s than I did the past two season. However, from a practical standpoint, I don't see a way to make this puzzle work with what the team has.

The following is a list of my concerns prior to seeing the team with some other ones added after yesterday:

1) Who is going to play point guard? Honestly, who? Everything I've read by the coaches and staff after we beat that Turkish team was that Foye had a bad game. Reading between the lines of "we want more Foye at shooting guard," it's clear he's not the guy at point. This team has more guard-forwards than any I've ever seen, at least four besides Foye that can play shooting guard, so that just signals "we need Foye somewhere else." I wrote that optimistic Foye piece, but I'm at a point where I want to take that back unless I see something. Maybe he's just a Summer League stud. Additionally, if Foye moves to shooting guard and Bassy starts at point, can the backup point guard please raise his hand? Marko? That's it. Am I missing the other point guards on this team?

2) Al Jefferson can post people up. This we know. I haven't seen much of him live, so I don't know how he handles double teams and outlet passing, but even if he's a natural at passing out of the double team, who does he pass to? Who on this team, outside of a hot streak, can hit a reliable open jumper? Blount can, but we need a center to be a center. McCants and Davis are too streaky.

3) Brewer's first shot hit off the side of the backboard in the first quarter. After that - only two more shots. I worry about his development here. I think he's the only player out of the three young 1st-rounders, along with Foy and McCants, that is NBA ready out of college because he has the size with the speed. Ask anyone that knows me and I've been saying that I think Corey Brewer is going to be a player in this league. When you naturally start out with defense and speed like he has, your offense can come together (a la Scottie Pippen, Josh Howard). I hope this organization and this staff don't set him back.

4) Ricky Davis. I saw it so many times last year where he would score double digits in the first half and finish with 0-6 points in the second half. Ricky is the best offensive player on this team and he needs to shoot the ball in the second half. Not off-balance, heat-check jumpers, but solid open looks off screens becacuse he doesn't have the best ball handling skills.

5) Varsity Tryouts. This team seems like its conducting a closed tryout. Everyone makes the team, now it's jockying for positions and starting spots. There's no identity, no chemistry.

I'm not trying to be an uberpessimist, but this team has the potential to do worse than the 1991-1992 Wolves that won 15 games. Bear with me and hear me out. Without using fan-emotion, can you deny that this team has historically bad potential?

Who on this team can match Pooh Richardson's 8.4 assists per game? Pooh was no all-star, but he was definitely a servicable starting point guard who could run an offense and hit an open jumper. Ricky Davis is honestly the best passer on this team, but we need him to score. Additionally, Pooh had Scott Brooks, a true point guard, as a back-up. His centers, Longley and Spencer, played down low and rebounded...basically, they played like centers.

That 91-92 team had 7 scorers in double digits. I remember Doug West and Sam Mitchell well. If you passed them the ball with a wide-open mid range jumper off a double team, they knocked it down. I cannot say that for anyone on this team (and all fairness to Green, I never saw him in Boston and haven't seen enough of him to give him credit or blame on any aspect of his game). The only reliable jump shooter on this team is Blount, but we need a center to be a center, not a seven-foot shooting guard that can't dribble, can't play defense and can't rebound.

Even if all the players play at their highest level, I don't see any way to win in this league, or any, without solid point guard play, and I don't see that on this team. How old is Pooh? Can we get him?

What do you think of this team? I concede that it was game one. I don't think they're going to win a lot of games and I think they deserve to be ranked last right now. I hope they can prove me wrong. Can anyone please name me a team they honestly think will do worse and leave it in the comments section?

On a side discussion, with the NBA lottery, the worst the lowest place team can do is a 4th pick. Who do we take in the top 4 next year? How about that point guard out of Memphis?

Attack of the Yorkshire Terriers

Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair and Craig Smith. This is the list of Timberwolves nursing ankle injuries for today's game against the Boston Celtics. I have checked the United States of America State Department's travel advisory warnings website and for some reason the UK, and it's rabid population of Yorkshire terriers, was not on the list. I find this insulting that our government cannot accomplish the simple duty of protecting its citizens, especially such household names as Sebastian Telfair (THE GUY HAD AN ESPN DOCUMENTARY, HE'S CELEBRITY!), from this gang of ankle-biters. If the government can't keep Bassy safe, how am I supposed to feel?

<-- Scotland Yard bravely cornered and arrested the leader of the rabid Yorkie pack responsible for the ankle injury outbreak that struck the Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball Organization.

KG ALPHA DOG

A lot of today's Pioneer Press news (that's the paper I get at home and I have not cruised the western paper's website yet) on the team centered around, obviously, K.G. This summer in email correspondence with the usual suspects I email about the three (that's right, I said three) major sports, the topic of the K.G. trade came up several times as several teams and trade scenarios were presented to the general public. Ultimately, no matter where K.G. went, if there were other stars, he would have an enormous year.

As one of my three favorite basketball players ever, I have objectively noticed that K.G. has played at a level to be the alpha dog on each team he has been a part of - by team, I mean that the Wolves have made changes every season he was here. His best season was not the season he won the MVP, it was the year prior when he led this team to a 4 seed and lost in the first round to a Lakers team that turned it around late in the season and won its third straight. That 2002-2003 team was riddled with mediocrity except for Garnett. He led them to 51 wins with Hudson/Strickland at PG, and significant minutes by KG2, Kendall Gill, who was at least as old as Joe Louis as measured by the My-T Sharp barbers from Coming to America (roughly 137 years old). 23.0 ppg, 13.4 rbg (with a starting lineup of Rosho, Wally, AP, and Hudson - no rebounders, amazing) and 6.0 apg. That is the baseball equivalent of Roy Hobbs leading that crap New York Knights team to the Pennant.

Back to the Alpha Dog hypothesis, Spree and Cassell joined the team in 2003 and KG's numbers were insane, par for the course. 24.6, 14.1, and 5.1. Nearly unanimous MVP and the best Wolves team ever. Would have made the finals had Cassell's back not betrayed him. Not noticeable in those numbers is the intensity with which KG played. He had to out-dog Cassell and Spreewell. Do you remember that team? On top of Cassell's clutch shooting, KG was a beast in the 4th quarter on that team. I went to game 7 against the Kings when he destroyed Chris Webber like the Giants over the Vikings in 2001. I remember the regular season Clippers game when the Clips got up by twelve, started mouthing off, then KG led a comeback and hit the game winner and dropped about 8,000 F*** bombs in 15 seconds while Spreewell chest-bumped him 400 times.

Unfortunately, like Zepplin says, the Song Remains the Same when KG is surrounded by mediocrity. Yes, K.G. is still intense. Yes, you can pull out his stats and averages and tell me he was pretty much the same every season. But he wasn't. I literally caught every game that was televised that season or I went to the games and he was different when he had to out alpha other alphas. I remember thinking it was going to be a special year that year when the Wolves beat New York on the road in overtime and Spreewell was yelling out explitives all over the court after putting up 31. KG was right there and had that look that his time had finally come.

It's going to be the same on this Celtics team. Ray Allen is fairly mild-mannered, but Pierce is super intense. If I didn't have season tickets, I would get NBA League Pass, KG is going to be a monster.

OTHER NEWS AROUND:

- This is yesterday's news, but it goes back to making the league competitive. I'm talking about Juwan Howard's "where I will be traded" list. Now, Juwan has been extremely professional and this is not necessarily against him, but if players want to pick and choose teams each year, they should sign 1-year contracts. If you want a max contract from a crappy team, deal with it. There was no bigger atrocity than what Vince Carter did up in Toronto. Absolutely unforgivable, even if you do jump over 7 foot frenchmen (on a related note, watch KG's reaction to this dunk. I thought he was going to explode).

You can get the rest of the relevant news and other Wolves stuff on the links to the right.

Protect Your House

Every team in every sport makes an emphasis on taking care of business at home first, then winning on the road. Most teams that follow a basic formula of winning a great majority of home games and then winning some on the road make the postseason. I think this practice also applies to several aspects of life in general: government, family life, career, school, etc. You have a priority to take care of your base before taking over the world. This is not happening in the NBA.

<-- If you want to see some fine overacting, rent the actual movie this picture is based on..."I swear it on your mother's graveTHAT'SRIGHTMADDY'SGRAVE!"


I began actively following basketball with the introduction of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise. I had the privilege of watching the twilight years of Magic and Larry, growing my interest in the association with MJ's Bulls, and also having the misfortune of owning a Super Nintendo at launch and playing the Bill Laimbeer Combat Basketball game. In the years Jordan took a hiatus and in the post-Bulls/Jordan years, the NBA experienced a waning fanbase. The one constant in this league throughout that time (besides Cliff Robinson and Kevin Willis) is the commish, David Stern.

Overall, Commissioner Stern has been praised by several media sources as doing an excellent job marketing the league globally and taking the NBA from taped games showing at night-owl times reserved for soft-core porn to the NBA media machine that exists today. Stern had a combination of exciting personalities and increasing athletic ability at his disposal. However, I have taken issue with his steadfast pursuit of global expansion that past decade that has led to consideration of regular season games in Europe.

Ignoring the fact that this system absolutely jobs the teams, and that teams' fans, that have to play abroad out of home games, this global expansion on a regular-season level is flawed. I think it's great that the NBA is making training camp trips and playing exhibition games abroad. I also cannot deny the noticable increase in international interst and ability in the game of basketball. However, no one can deny that the NBA is losing its fanbase in its homeland. This goes far beyond the recent international failures in the FIBA world championships and Olympics**. The league probably expanded too much and definitely takes a marketing angle that promotes individuals in a team sport. Additionally, the NBA tried to expand out of country with the Canadian franchises and one went belly up.

I do not necessarily agree that there's an absolute dilution of talent in the league. I do think team basketball has declined in quality due to the method of NBA free agency. I understood the owner's fears of paying 19-year olds $100 million dollars as a draftee, but is that really worse than the guaranteed contracts that came out of the collective bargaining agreement? Isn't it a "shame on you" situation if you could have and would have paid Kwame Brown $100 million out of high school? I would much rather have rookies getting ludicrous contracts than seeing Allen Houston making $20 million dollars last year from the Knicks for being a network analyst. Nothing has made this league less competitive more than guaranteed contracts.

Another move I never understood was giving Charlotte an expansion franchise when their team moved due to lack of attendance and profit. I understand North Carolina is a great basketball state with UNC, NC State, Duke and Wake all right there, but you don't see Nebraska, Boise, West Virginia, getting an NFL team because they have rabid college fans. Last season, the Bobcats averaged 4th fewest fans per game (or 27th out of 30) in the league (down from 22 in 05-06, and a ridiculously pitiful 29th in its inaugural season of 04-05).

If this game fails to survive here, it's going to have a tough time expanding overseas. I had the privilege of travelling to several cities in Europe this summer, and it's still all soccer all the time. As a matter of fact, when the BBC did its sports segment on its equivalent of CNN Headline News, it went: Soccer, Cycling, Rugby, Tennis, Euro Tour Golf...and that was it. Not even a mention of the NBA playoffs and definitely no mention of any European teams.

I think this league needs some real attention to detail paid right here at home. It's unfortunate that the team that plays the right way (Spurs...man, I hate the Spurs, though), has about as much personality as Frank Grimes - Grimey as his friends like to call him. The Commish needs to wear some Under Armor and protect his house.

** I have a seperate rant reserved for International Basketball. It's just not the same game. At all. I really, really hate the topic, actually.

WOLVES AND NBA NEWS REACTIONS:

- Check out the new blog Timberwolves Today featuring the podcast Kissing Marney Gellnar (the Old Logo nominates Wolves media personality and frequent game host Natalie as his preferred Wolves media personality). I think they did a great job in their first podcast and it's good to see others using technology...because I won't. As the Old Logo, I will make a promise to my readers that this will be the least technologically advanced blog around. I will have one picture per day and the thoughts from my brain, but I fully encourage and appreciate the videos, and now podcasts, that appear on all of the better Timberwolves blogs that are linked to the right.

- I'm probably the last to report, but the new look Wolves beat a local Turkish team in an exhibition game. I actually find this amazing because, as related above, INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL IS A DIFFERENT GAME! I really hated how bad US players were beat on by the media because it's not the same game. OK, I'm going to get over this and save it for later. But I am pleased that a new team won. It shows some character.

- Almost all of the local papers have articles of coaches and players praising the team and their efforts, etc. I think this is common and I really won't be reacting much to this stuff. I will post an article on my reaction to all the power rankings and even offer some predictions later this year. I really do like this team and the franchise, but I've never been easy on them, so expect a lot of frustration as this team goes along. I think I better start a different blog for how much I'm going to rant on Mark Blount's effort. If I made a retroactive one, I might crash Blogger.com.

- Did anyone else get their season tickets and notice that they used an insanely large Fedex box for what came inside? Also, the little "season ticket holder's book" that came with it was about as weak and Robin Ventura charging Nolan Ryan at the mound. I think it was 3 14" x 8" sheets stapled in the middle. I would have preferred a scribbled drawing from one of Glen Taylor's grandkids. I'm also taking issue and bitching about my gift. Last year, I got a pair of nice Timberwolves basketball shorts and a black & white KG jersey. This year, I'm going to get two fleece blankets. Do you know how fast my blankets are going to become the property of my fiancee? What a crock. They might as well send the first season of Grey's Anatomy to season ticket holders. (Yes, I'm bitching about free stuff.)

OTHER STUFF:

Absolutely fascinating football game last night. I've never seen anything like it and I've watched a lot of pro football. It was the basketball equivalent to Reggie Miller's 8 points in 8.9 seconds in the 1995 Eastern Conference finals.

The Old Logo is a big fan of TMQ's writings, although they take forever to read. Check him out if you don't already.

NFL Week 5 Picks and Dwight Smith Likes Swordfish (the movie)

WOLVES/NBA REACTIONS:

- Rashad McCants latest hamstring injury has Benny Gunzz emailing: "Rashaad McCants is injured again!! Is this guy the Joe Mauer of the NBA minus the talent?"

DWIGHT SMITH IS A SHOPAHOLIC

Prior to the start of the season, my desire for comedy was sated with Viking's safety Dwight Smith's interview with Bob Sansevere in which, among other things, he stated he was a shopaholic.

Most amusing is his answer to the question of Favorite Actor. "My favorite actor is John Travolta. I liked him in 'Swordfish' and 'Face/Off.'"

Really?! Swordfish?! Isn't this movie only notable because Halle Barry's mammary glands make an unclothed appearance? Did Dwight Smith know this was going to print?

If I scored a TD on Dwight Smith, I would love to work with this material, "Hey, yo, Dwight, maybe you should watch films instead of watching Swordfish."

NFL PICKS - WEEK 5

The lines on these games will be whatever is listed in Friday morning's Pioneer Press Sports Section (Home team's in CAPS):

NEW ORLEANS (-3) over Carolina

KANSAS CITY (+2) over Jacksonville

Detroit (+3.5) over WASHINGTON

Atlanta (+8.5) over TENNESSEE

Miami (+5) over HOUSTON

PITTSBURG (-6) over Seattle

NEW ENGLAND (-16.5) over Cleveland

Arizona (-3.5) over ST. LOUIS

NY GIANTS (-3.5) over NY Jets

INDIANAPOLIS (-9.5) over Tampa Bay

San Diego (+1) over DENVER

Baltimore (-3.5) over SAN FRANSISCO

GREEN BAY (-3) over Chicago

Dallas (-10) over BUFFALO

Previous Week: 5-9

Season: 31-31

I will be out of commission until Tuesday.

Giving Foye a Shot

I had my reservations about Randy Foye's place on the Timberwolves when we traded away the rights to Brandon Roy for him. I like players like Roy who have a definable postition, in his case shooting guard, who play at NBA-style programs against other teams with, for the most part, conventional lineups. Most importantly, drafting and retaining Roy made more sense if the organization's intent was to make another run with KG. Roy was bigger, with a more reliable jump shot, and seemed to have the ability to make a more immediate impact on a team with a superstar begging for help.

<-- These jumpers need to fall consistently.

Though I preferred Roy I didn't mind the Foye acquisition, but my first thought was: Is Randy Foye a point guard or a shooting guard in the NBA?

Foye played college ball in what I call a gimmick system (any system that doesn't employ at least an attempt of a classic 5 position starting lineup). Villanova had 4 guards and a fast post player and their goal was simple: run people out of the gym. And this system can work in college...until you hit the later rounds of the tournament. They eventually lost to Florida, who runs an NBA-clone lineup (the majority of basketball programs to win the national championship over the years employed 5-position lineups, the only team I thought had a credible chance to win with a "gimmick" lineup was the 2004-2005 Illinois team with Head, Brown and Williams). Back to the point, Foye's college system was not employed in the NBA (even by the run & gun Suns), and I knew he would take work to develop.

Last year, he resembled an undersized shooting guard with exceptional speed and decent slashing skills who was moved to point guard towards season's end. This season all signs indicate that Foye will start the year at point guard and it is his job to lose.

Before going into my criticism of Foye's game last year, I want to acknowledge that he had two head coaches and a poor supporting cast. I also want to preface that I like Foye as a player and hope he does well for this team. Now the gripes:

1) On the pick and roll, Foye did not look in the direction of the screenor as the play developed. He would keep his eyes forward in the direction he was moving and often missed an easy pass that could lead to a layup or open jumper. Garnett and Craig Smith, in particular, set excellent screens and had/have the basketball IQ to know where to go on a pick and roll and Foye did not look their way when the screen was set. From what I know of Richards and Brewer, they also have excellent basketball IQs and I think they will go to the open spot, so Foye needs to find them.

2) In relation to the previous point, Foye had the tendancy to dribble too much up top if a particular pass did not work out at first glance. This led to a lot of hurried shots by whomever had the ball when the shot clock was expiring.

3) Foye has unbelievable speed, but unfortunately had an unreliable jumper. Jumpshots can be worked on in the offseason and I hope Foye has taken the steps to make defenders respect his so they do not play back expecting a drive. Benny Gunzz says if Foye does not find a jumper, he is destined to become the next Robert Pack.

4) I hope he slashes more this season and gets to the line. This team in general needs to get to the line more (29th in Free Throw Attempts last season).

On a positive note, I liked Foye's effort, his perimeter defense, his ability to finish around the basket and his desire to take the big shot.

This leads to this summer. I was dragged by my fiancee and her friends to a downtown Minneapolis bar I don't particularly care for, but on that particular night the NBA's Summer League was playing on TV. I saw a game where Brewer pulled down 12 boards and Craig Smith (looking as ripped as one of the marines in Gears of War) resembled Charles Barkley from Tecmo Super NBA Basketball. Smith could not be stopped. However, most positively, I saw Randy Foye running the point, dribbling with his head up, and surveying the court like a QB checking down to his third and fourth options. I know Foye dominated summer league last year, but this Foye looked like he had worked on his game and, at least in the 20 minutes I saw him, justified his projection as the starting point guard.

And I hope this works out for him. Deron Williams took a year to develop down in Utah and that year made a world of difference. However, Williams knew what offensive system he would be running under Jerry Sloan. So I guess this goes back to yesterday, how are you going to use Foye, Witt?

News today worth commenting on:

- It looks like Gerald Wilkins has kin in the nicknames department. In news that I'm sure will cause Kobe to try and score more than his personal best 81 points in a game, Clippers undersized power forward Ruben Patterson has nicknamed himself "The Kobe Stopper". In the 1992-1993 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Gerald Wilkins to be the Jordan Stopper. The Bulls swept the Cavs in 4 games with Jordan averaging over 30 ppg en route to a third straight title.

Time to Turn Away From McHale

Over the years, I have heard several TWolves/KG fans state that their loyalties will lie with KG, which is fine. I happen to be a fan of a team first and indvidual players second, but the NBA markets individuals over teams, so I think this is fairly common. In addition, if you're going to like a player more than a team, I can't think of another player that deserves it more than Kevin Garnett. Now, with KG gone, several fans don't care for this team while others are excited by new players.

<-- We know McHale's track record and most fan's opinion of him. However, Witt, now that you've been dealt a hand, what do you do?

Whatever the stance above, and both are arguable, all Timberwolves fans agree on this: Kevin McHale, for the most part, has not done a good job with acquisitions, trades (especially the Cassell trade), and contracts.

Now it's time to look past that; we have to get over it. McHale is what he is and we have the players we have. We know he's there, he wasn't fired, there's no real signs that he's leaving soon, and this team had, and has, the duty to make the best of the hand it's dealt every single season...and I don't think they've done that.

Two years ago, in Dwayne Casey's inaugural season as a head coach, I couldn't get past complaining about his rotations before even coming to a conclusion about scheming. It was on McHale that Casey had Jaric, Hudson, Banks (acquired in season in another awful trade) and Anthony Carter (see below) and also boasted Olowakandi for at least a portion of the season. However, it was on Casey the way he used those players.

My main gripes with Casey were as follows:


1) Anthony Carter not only played, but started several games. I could not get over this. Anthony Carter, at least in that season, couldn't have broken a 9 man rotation on any other team in the league and we were starting the guy.

2) I think Casey set McCants back. People who know me know I'm no McCants apologist and, unless he shows some of the UNC explosiveness or a suddenly reliable jumper, I have been saying he's destined for European leagues, but I don't think Casey helped develop him. Pavlov would be proud: early in the season when McCants would make a mistake, Case would pull him. Later in the season, everytime McCants made a mistake, he would look to the sidelines to see if his replacement was ripping off the warmups. In a matter of 8 months, Casey took McCant's confidence from face player of a National Championhip team to worrying if he could play more than 5 minutes a game on a 33 win team. As far as I'm concerned, Seattle fans should be thankful that Casey didn't get to come in there and coach Durant and Green.

3) Actual lineups used at extended periods of the games: PG - Anthony Carter; SG - McCants; SF - Hassell; PF - KG; Center - Blount. One rebounder, two reliable jump shooters (too bad Blount was one of them), no dribble penetration, two defenders (one severely overrated). YOU CANNOT SCORE WITH THIS LINEUP.

4) Absolutely doghousing Eddie Griffen when we needed rebounders (and offering no explanations).

5) Marko Jaric. He's still being misused. In a proper scheme, this guy can contribute. He has quick hands, gets into passing lanes, has the ability to make a defensive rebound and lead a fast break, and has a somewhat reliable mid-ranger. The problem: our coaches have used him like a starter because he's paid as such. On a run-and-gun team, Marko would contribute, especially if a gift certificate to the Notte is involved.

It's going to remain to be seen what Witt can do with what he has, but he has young, energetic players that have some promise. He went 62-102 with Cleveland and did not fair too well last year. In my first year as a season ticket holder and post Casey, I actually saw Witt employ the following lineup when Blount needed a rest - PG - James, SG - Foye, SF - Hassell, PF - KG and C - Madsen. One reliable shooter, two PGs that don't know how to pass (at least Foye couldn't last year) and one completely inept offensive player. Again, you cannot score with that lineup.

Now, Witt has some fresh faces and I hope he has a scheme and figures out a rotation sooner rather than later (or perhaps, never). I'm going to give him a fair shot now that he is the guy, but his historical record (with some historically awful Cavs teams) is not great. I realize he hasn't been dealt pocket rockets off the blinds, but I personally don't think he has a 2-7 unsuited either. Last year, he was running a basic version of a pick and roll with point guards that couldn't run a pick and roll offense. This is frustrating to watch from the rafters (I moved down to the lower section this season). In evaluating Witt throughout the season, I'm going to be paying attention mainly to the schemes, halftime adjustments when they're necessary, and the effort level of the players since I know this team won't be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy this season. Anyway, more on the Wolves new identity and the type of schemes that might fit with this team in the coming weeks.

Round up of stories that caught my eye today:

- The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph (about half-way down) reports that Greg Buckner was disappointed with the trade to Minnesota. However, when told by his agent that he could take up to a week to joing the team (and considering that the team left for Turkey the next day) he immediately flew to Minnesota and joined his teammates.

Reaction: It's not surprising for a player to be disappointed when being traded from a championship contender to a team clearly rebuilding. However, Buckner's actions following the trade show professionalism and the coaching staff seems to be convinced by his practice effort (per the Strib link below).

- According to the Star Tribune, Wittman is already spreading his coaching genius to the new stud by instructing Al Jefferson to "be more of a presence and do the things that he does." If he starts talking about playing the way Al plays when he plays and throwing in a reference about Calcutta Clippers, I think we're in for some sweet sound bites this season. JUST CROWN THEY ASS!

As far as other news outlets reporting on this team, the TWolves Blog does a good job pieceing together all the news from various media entities. This makes it a lot easier than my previous system of going to Rumor Central to the Star Trib to the Press, etc., etc. Anything that adds to my laziness is a plus. I'm also going to link some other blogs and sites in the links section that I have had the privilege to encounter in the past couple of days. It's good to see there are people talking about this team other than Benny Gunzz, The Hunter and I over a bunch of emails.

Tomorrow - probably something I saw in Foye this summer that has me optimistic about him running this team, but I have a couple of other things I'm working on as well. Friday I will have brief reactions to Wolves news, if any, my NFL picks, and what I would say to Dwight Smith if I scored a receiving touchdown on him.

Ndudi Ebi Signs and Some Other Things

In news that I'm sure will elate (or has already elated) everyone, Ndudi Ebu signed with the Isreali basketball club Bnei HaSharon (I would link you to the team's site, but it's in Hebrew).

<--- Ndudi Ebi, my favorite argument against upside potential.

Ebi is best known for the commissioner's mispronunciation of his name in the 2003 draft, KFAN's frequent use of the sound bite of said mispronunciation, and as a frequent example in my drunken arguments that a team is better off with solid 4-year big-school college contributors late in the draft than they are with potentially good high school kids (BTW, he was drafted 3 picks before Josh Howard, 5 before Jason Kapono, 6 before Luke Walton, 12 before Steve Blake, 19 before Matt Bonner, 25 before Kyle Korver, and, just to throw in some non-US players, 2 before Barbosa, 4 before Lampe, and 16 before Pachulia).

I suppose when McHale compared Ebi's scouting report to say, Steve Blake, he must have seen this:

NDUDI EBI

- Pros - Has ability to do "East Bay Funk" dunk.

- Cons - Can't shoot, can't play defense, can't learn Flips insanely complicated offensive scheming, unlikely to devevlop, unpronouncable name.

STEVE BLAKE

- Pros - Successfully ran offense of NBA-clone style, major college team that won national championship. Ability to pass into the post, solid defender, can contribute off of bench.

- Cons - Not fast, white, not most reliable jumpshot, looks stoned, ***CANNOT EXECUTE EAST BAY FUNK STYLE JAM***

More about this site:

Now, on to an obvious note. I really appreciated the comments I received on the last post and one reference to a site has led me to several links of people talking about this team and relaying information that is up to date. This is very good for me because, as you will soon find out, I'm not here to report. I'm here to be a fan of this team who will hand out fair praise and complaints where and when necessary. I want to offer a little analysis and insight into areas that need to be addressed and offer some theories in general. I am also here to point out things I observe at the games themselves, from the fans, to the dance team, to the actual play of the team, to the amount of times "The Coach" bangs his program on the Target Center floor, etc. Objectivity will be irrelevant, research often will not be conducted, so please feel free to school me when I get something completely wrong.

I plan on updating this thing most weekdays. In my former blogging life (I've taken a year off), I used to like doing NFL picks, so I'll probably continue that on Fridays.

Other Wolves Observations:

- ESPN.com's Marc Stein has the Wolves ranked 30 out of 30 in it's primary Power Rankings.

- On top of the Ndudi Ebi news, the Hunter for Red October emailed me news that Derrick Martin Graduates has been signed by the Raptors.

- The Press has a small banner informing readers of Mark Madsen's blog over at the twincities.com website.

- Jerry Zgoda at the Strib wrote a piece worth linking, at least it contains some analysis and poses decent questions heading into camp. It's from Saturday, so it's old news.

Side Note on TV - I only watch a handful of shows on television and one of those happens to be Heroes. I recorded Heroes while at the gym and came home around 9 to catch a little bit of Journeyman while I ate. How short are people's attention spans? Couldn't they just call this show Quantam Leap 2007? It's almost like that Black Grounhog's Day that was on ABC that Simmons used to make fun of when he was still consistently funny.

The Media Rant

The level of local media coverage on the Timberwolves since the draft is atrocious. I understand that the level of play the past two years was about as exciting as a Miss Bliss episode of Saved By the Bell, but since the KG trade, there has been nothing going on at all with this team as far as the Strib and Press are concerned.

<-- Corey Brewer was drafted by the T-Wolves, right? I thought I heard the Birdie mention that.
The last time any report came out on Corey Brewer was a small blurb in the papers during Summer League about how McHale enjoyed his effort. Can't the Strib or Poo-Press dedicate one column a week on checking up on this team? Approaching the starts of the NBA and NHL seasons, you couldn't open a sports page without seeing a feel-good story on the Wild or a literary fellatio upon one of the players no one cares about. How about making Brewer and Jefferson feel like they're going to matter in this town?

Even now, all the media reports are more about the aftermath of KG's era than they are about this team. I'm personally excited for this team. I don't think they'll make much of a noise, but in case anyone hasn't noticed, the Wolves only won 32 games last year with KG. I bet this team wins at least 25 games and KG, though I've loved him through the years, isn't worth $23 million for 7 wins.

Timberwolves News

If anyone knows of good Timberwolves news and decent NBA commentary outside of the mainstream stuff, please let me know. I do not surf many blogs, but I read them when I am told about them.

Welcome to the Den

I've been camping out for the last 10 or so years, ever since they benched me for that glorified WNBA logo, watching this team get bounced from the playoffs, tease at contention once, and then flounder.

Since the local media doesn't cover this team at all, I might as well come out of hiding. Slap on your vintage Tony Campbell jerseys and come for a ride. I have season tickets (one of ten people in the state) and I want to let you know what's going on with this team...at least what I think is going on with this team and some other assorted sports and media comments.