The Timberwolves Opener: New Look, Same Result

For the first time in years, Target Center was an exciting place to be and it wasn't because of the marquee names on the other side of the ball. Aside from the excitement of seeing the Timberwolves' new additions in regular-season action, I felt a feeling from the crowd that the team had a chance to make a game out of the early Western Conference favorite Oklahoma City Thunder; and a game they did make. Unfortunately for our scrappy team that could, the OKC Thunder pulled out a 104-100 victory at Target Center tonight. This box score reveals a lot of what why victory eluded the Wolves.

The Wolves trotted out the same starting lineup they went with in the preseason, Ridnour, Johnson, Beasley, Love and Milicic. It's a lineup reminiscent of last season, a season no one wants to reminisce on. However, as the game continued, it became clear that Wolves will not (and should not) rely on this lineup often. With early foul trouble on Luke Ridnour, we saw J.J. Barea, then Ricky Rubio, early, often, and often together. If Luke Ridnour needs to get in foul trouble early for Rubio to make his first appearances, I petition wealthy Wolves fans to pay off referees to call fouls on Luke right away.

Rubio's crisp passing, the team's all around ball movement, and Adelman's offensive schemes created a lot of open looks for the Timberwolves both inside and out. However, the Wolves went a pathetic 3 for 22 from behind the three-point line (13.6%) and missed 7 easy points from the free throw line (19 for 26). While they had 22 assists to just 12 turnovers, those missed three point shots created a lot of opportunity for Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, and the rest of OKC to run the floor and create havoc. Kevin Durant's seemingly-effortless 33 points and the Thunder taking advantage at the free throw line to the tune of 29 for 31, combined with a few miscues and those open shots, was just enough to do in our favorite NBA basketball team.

Despite the typical Wolves "L"-column addition, the crowd exited the building with a buzz of excitement and hope. For the first time since Kevin Love's 31-31, I expect to see the Wolves a little earlier on SportsCenter tonight (if we ever get past footage of Drew Brees breaking Marino's record).

Some other observations tonight:

1) What would you do for a Klondike Bar? Well, one person got a Timberwolves tattoo (a real, for-life-unless-you-get-lasers tattoo of the Timberwolves logo).

2) Target Center is just not the same without Natalie and Little Wally Hype Man.

3) One of the my halftime favorites, the lady who rides a unicycle and kicks bowls on to her head, was back and better than ever.

4) Michael Beasley should never shoot the ball 27 times from the field.

5) J.J. Barrea plays defense about as good as you possibly can for being 6' tall.

6) Kevin Love putting up the standard 22-12-5. One of the five was a beautiful full-court pass to Beasley for an easy bucket.

7) The Loon's Nest certainly does not have a lot of logic behind the halftime shot contest. The shooter (usually a heavy-set, middle-aged woman) gets the option of shooting a layup for $50 in lotto tickets, a free-throw for $500 in lotto tickets, or a three-pointer for $1,000 in lotto tickets. The woman chose the free throw, didn't even hit the rim, then was told she still got $100 in lotto tickets. Huh?

The Wolves get the Bucks tomorrow night in an "it counts" game. The Bucks lost to Charlotte tonight, so they're either going to be pissed, depressed, or both.