The only glimmer from this game is the 4th quarter brain lapses of Randy Foye. I think he's a bright kid, and will learn from this. Especially egregious was what Jim Petersen calls his tendency to "popcorn machine" and bite on the first head fake. So he is flying into the audience while Martin nails the shot to just about seal it for the kings. Then the successive turnovers. Although I thought when he was stripped that should have been a foul. Oh well, I hope that stung plenty and he'll file it away.

Pssssst Randy, when you are defending a shot like that Martin put in, you would have served your mates much better with your feet planted squarely in front of the shooter.

The successive bad passes and steals by Martin in the first half were absolutely maddenning. What about letting Bracey have some time to prove himself defensively, and see some more of his silky effortless shooting. How about some minutes with Marko 1, Foye 2, Wright 3, Smith 4, Madsen 5.
Use them like periodic shock troops. Rather than a sixth man, The Sixth wave. Like a hockey shift.

That first half was way more reprehensible than the first half, and the way it ended, I have faith Foye's going to file that one away. Keep your feet on the ground young fella, errors of enthusiasm are still errors.

stinky, as my seven year old would say.
Unfortunately, I had to follow the game online but I am befuddled by two things that baffled me.
I know I shouldn't be suprised at a player going off against the wolves, but who was guarding Kevin Martin? Sacramento's game ball should go to that player.
And most frustrating as I watched the game tick away, why did KG take one shot in the last 7 minutes?
Is KG distracted? It seems there have been a few sub par efforts during this year and that's out of character. Is 30 when athletes have their own midlife crisis?

I don't understand why everyone says the Wolves are inconsistent. That is entirely untrue. They consistently win a few games and lose a few games. They consistently lack "focus" or "flow" or "effort"

The Wolves consistently play inconsistently.

Why? Flawed players. The Wolves will be more consistent when Blount will improve to be one of the top ten defensive centers in the league (don't laugh). The Wolves will be more consistent when they have a point guard capable of averaging 8 or 9 assists a night, with low turnovers and about 18 points. The Wolves will be more consistent when their second best player, Ricky Davis (again don't laugh) no longer has more personalities than Cybil. AND MOST IMPORTANT, THE WOLVES WILL BE MORE CONSISTENT WHEN THEY RID THEMSELVES OF MCFAIL.

Until then, expect more of the same, no matter what Wittman does.

Barreiro (sp) had a great column on the Wolves on kfan the other day, basically saying that people and the team shouldn't get too amped after beating the Suns. Know why? Because teams like the Suns and Mavs take season losses in stride, keeping their eyes on that big prize. Teams like the Wolves, on the other hand, act like they just won a playoff series or something. Conversely though, any bit of excitement is good for our team and fans, pathetic as that might sound.

I'm not surprised we lost to the Kings. Not surprised at all. Someone help me out here: where does the dysfunctionality lie in this team?

Better yet, here's a game, don't remember if anyone's done it before here, but if you could do three things to turn the Wolves into contenders, what would they be?

Also, with Boozer out and AI sprained, do the Wolves have a shot at the division in the next 6-8? My gut says that techincally they do, but I don't see it happening. So it goes.

the roller-coaster ride continues... The force against my chest from this drop following the high-point of the ride prevents me from saying more. All i can say is "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Boy, a lot of people sure are talking about consistency or lack thereof.

http://wolveshoopsblog.blogspot.com/

I'll keep saying it...forget about whatever short term consequences that are involved with trading Ricky Davis, we need to get rid of him. He is not suddenly going to mature and become a true professional.

Fortunately, his contract is not onerous and he has talent and would be valuable as a scorer off the bench for a desperate playoff team. Trade him for someone young with heart and less talent.

There's also clearly no reason to hang onto Mike James. There's got to be someone that will take him. Trade him for Earl Watson(who can't shoot but does at least play defense) or Nazr Mohammed.

It's fun to watch Garnett, Hassell, Foye, and McCants play because they seem to actually care about the outcome of the game. Garnett is never smiling after a loss and Davis is often smiling. He's a loser with talent. Still a loser.

If Wittman and company really want to change the character of the team there several easy ways to do it.

In the NBA, you are a "consistent" (meaning consistently good) regular season team when 1) you have good point guard play every night (we don't); 2) you regularly outrebound your opponent by 2+ a game, or you make a lot of 3s (no and no); 3) you have reliable scorers to go to at the end of close games (KG's primary career weakness); and 4) you don't have guys who act like head cases while on the floor (again, not us).

So, I fail to see how any coach could be expected to get consistently good play out of this team. Foye's assist-to-turnover is good.......for a small forward. We are a 50% rebounding club. We don't have a lot of three-point shooters and get outscored from the 3 point line by an average of 4.3 points a game (if I see Mike James clang another 3 when left open by 10 feet I may ask to be inserted into the game myself). Etc., Etc.

The difference between the absolute worst and absolute best NBA coach is about 20 wins. This is a 35 win team with Casey. Maybe a 39 win team with Wittman. Rick Adelman or Flip would win around 43 games. Phil Jackson might be able to win 50 games with the club and lose in Round 1, but I don't see Phil Jackson on our bench.

I have three points:

First, on consistency. The Wolves don't have a consistency problem, they have a talent problem. I watch a ton of NBA games on LeaguePass, and the fact of the matter is, very few teams play consistently well (the exception might be Phoenix). Travel. 3-4 games a week, late-night partying, egomaniacal players, it all leads to inconsistent performances among almost all teams. The difference is, really talented teams such as the Mavs can win when they play poorly (they beat the Kings, for example, by 2 at home the other night, and Toronto, on the road, by one after playing miserable for three quarters). While I will stick by my earlier statements that this Wolves team has pretty good talent, it still is too young and mismatched to overcome poor performances (even against poor teams like Sacto). Which leads me to my second point:

There's a lot of love on this board for Foye, and I'm OK with that; and a lot of angst for Ricky, and I'm OK with that, too; but the fact of the matter is that Ricky played great last night (perhaps the only Wolf who did) and Foye played terrible. Foye, who played pretty solidly for most of fourth quarter, absolutely killed the Wolves in the last 2.5 minutes: 1. He missed a free throw; 2. He got blocked (when the ball went out of bounds with 2 seconds left) when he had Ricky wide open for a three in the left corner; 3. As mentioned above he got caught in the popcorn popper against K-Mart; 4. He got stripped going to the basket; and 5. He stepped out of bounds. That's a missed free throw, blocked shot, two turnovers and a horrible defensive play in the final two minutes. If Ricky had done those things, this entire Board would be enraged.

One other point. Everybody here seems fed up with Mike James, but the fact of the matter is that he is superior offensively to Randy Foye at this point in time in almost every category: points, shooting percentage (both from 2 and from 3) and assist to TO ratio. Foye's a better defensive presence for sure (last night's foible notwithstanding), but I really believe that Witt should considering running with James down the stretch of close games, at least for the time being.

Just don't understand the constant vitriol against Ricky. Sure, he can play more consistently. Sure, he's arrogant. And he shows such glimpses of brilliance its more than fair to expect better of him. But does anyone honestly think his contributions don't far outweigh his weaknesses? I would much rather have him on the court than on the bench, and I would *certainly* rather have him on our roster than Wally, which is really the crux of the matter. Anyone who questions Ricky's character forgets what a cancer Wally supposedly was in the dressing room (go back and read Britt's interview with Glen Taylor).

To my mind, our biggest problem is Mike James. This guy, more often than not, contributes absolutely nothing (save for poor defense). Love Randy Foye, and perhaps he will develop into a visionary PG in the future, but he isn't today. And so PG play remains our weakest link.

I do believe Randy Wittman will be a good coach and that he'll turn things around to guarentee us a playoff spot anywhere between 5 and 8, as long as we stay healthy.

But, lets look at few coaching mistakes last night:

1. Why the hell do people keep thinking Randy Foye should be handling the ball so late in the game? We do need to give him the experience, but earlier in the game when its not on the line. Indeed, he lifts our team's spirit with his slashing to the hoop and smooth shots, but Jeeze! Last night he just would not pass the ball and he turned it over time after time down the stretch. Though we didnt deserve it, we would have won that game if Foye didnt screw up on those last few series. So how do we get his explosiveness without his turnovers? Put him at the two spot and leave james in at point! Then foye will be able to drive to the hoop or shoot while James will be able to distribute and run the floor. Indeed, Jame's offense is like my Dad's these days, but at least he's not throwing the ball away. He can still run the floor. Besides, with Davis's three point shooting and Foye's ability to score, I'd be fine with James not scoring a lot, as long as he protects the ball.

2. Why was Trenton Hassel guarding Brad Miller down the stretch?

That made no sense to me. That thug Miller was a non-factor all game. Hassell should have been guarding Martin. Foye's defense is not good right now. Everyone knows it, yet he was assigned to their hottest shooter. I used to run and jump at players when they were shooting, when I was in junior high.

People need to stop getting so excited about Foye. With our offensive potential, I'd trade in his scoring for the ability to protect the ball and defend any day.

I think HM does a pretty good job of identifying some crucial weaknesses on this team, and after last night's gaffes, the Wolves woes at point guard are easy calls.

I actually look forward to Korzo's comments because they are very stimulating and occasionally dead on. As for Ricky Davis playing "great" last night, well, that's dead off. Ricky had a fabulous second half on offense--how often do you see Ron Artest consistently beat off the dribble?--but Wittman had to sit him twice in the first half because he was an absolute dog on defense. The Wolves lost the game in the first half. Davis's defense was second only to James's in being just outright horseshit. So if you say Davis had a great game, you are giving him a huge free pass to continue to be a woeful underachiever. I do like the idea of a Foye-James tandem at crunchtime, if only to give James yet one more chance to redeem his season; as most people know, I think James playing like a $6 million a year linchpin is the Wolves' best hope for a dramatic improvement of the sort McHale clearly expects. But if that tandem is going to happen, it better be soon, as McCants is coming back. If it isn't going to happen, how about Foye feigning the drive and dishing to Davis/KG/Hassell off the dribble. That will confound most any opponent who has had scouts at previous Wolves games.

JP wants to know why we are picking on Ricky Davis. How about because he is second on the team in minutes played? You want to blame Mike James, fine, but James has already been essentially demoted to a first and third quarter player. Blount? Same deal; sporadic minutes, and if he isn't bringing it, the Wolves can adjust. KG or Hassell? I don't think so. Then there is Davis, who has a fabulous upside that we see just often enough to tease coaches into relying upon him to defend people, not make silly passes, you know the rest. You want to compare him to Wally Szczerbiak, fine, that's another guy that posters would frequently come on and why I was ripping him. Fact is, Wally pretty much gave you the same thing every night. You knew the D would be weak, the ball movement would be dicey, the turnovers would be maddening, but the ball would go in the hole a large percentage of the time. You could bank on what Wally was bringing and what he couldn't bring. How do you draw up a gameplan that takes full advantage of Davis's talents? If he is crucial to your plan and he's on, as he was guarding Steve Nash and fitting into the flow on Phoenix, you pull a stunning upset. If he's doing a good job guarding Sam Cassell but throwing a bunch of stupid turnovers and generally playing off and on, you struggle but you beat the Clippers. If he combines with James to set a tone of outright laziness and lack of passion, you fall behind a bad Sacramento team by 13 points and cough up a highly winnable game and help embarrass your coach and general manager. Which Ricky will show up?

I judge players on what they can do, how well they recognize and implement their role, how consistent they are, and how much they care about winning above all. The only place where Davis draws high marks in that list is what he CAN do. What he WILL do remains highly problematical, and absolutely kneecaps the Wolves about once every four or five games. Hence, the vitriol.

Mental exercise for everyone:

Same first half as last night. Wolves flat and down 13 at the break. What's the final with Casey at the helm?

I say Wolves fail to make it close. Wittman yanked Davis fast and hard last night, just when he should have in my view. Davis earned a D/D- in the first half and without Witt's intervention might have done much the same in the second. Wittman saw he was dealt a poor hand last night and did what he could to pull it off. I don't believe Casey would have slanted the table to at least make the game interesting.

I think Bracey should get some of Davis' minutes, he's a better shooter and I like his court sense. Davis' mental lapses are just maddening at this point. As noted above, when he's on he's on and when he isn't he's a liability. In future games let Bracey and McCants get Davis' minutes on his off nights.

I agree with Korzo that James should get more time down the stretch. Again, why not pair James with Foye more? Foye's biggest problem is his ball handling. James could take some of the pressure off Foye, who would still be in the game to provide scoring/drives to the hoop late in games.

Hassell's offense continues to impress. Now if we could just get Blount to play in the vacinity of the hoop.

Mike- Barring injuries, a trade or blowout scrub time, I don't see Bracey Wright playing at all for this club. And I can't argue with it. He's exceeded expectations in limited time, but he doesn't have the size/talent to play over any of the other guards on the roster.

I agree with AK, if only because Davis was sat twice in the first half on what were both clearly punitive measures, and came out and played much better in the second half. Casey and Davis reportedly had a very stormy relationship, yet there were always plentiful minutes for Davis. In that sense, at least, Casey only had himself to blame when he wanted a better effort and didn't get it.

And Mike, I do believe that when it is going well, Blount away from the hoop isn't a bad thing. Last night, in fact, it was one of the more reliable half-court sets, with either KG or Blount at the top of the key zipping passes to the other down near the hoop or launching a 19-footer, which both are clearly capable of making. Even when Blount is stationed down low, his shooting percentage isn't necessarily better on offense and he still struggles to deter penetrators and body-up bigs from scoring on him without drawing a foul. Ironically, Blount is better on the perimeter--launcing that sweet J and contesting hard on the pick and roll--at both ends of the court.

Too bad the Coach doesn't read us more often, he'd have Davis on the short leash, maybe even off the bench as instant offense, and let James and Foye work out there in tandem, with Hassell, KG and anyone else who is effective (including Ricky), down the stretch. Till then, we'll continue to see winnable games coughed up.

I have a question for everyone that is killing me. Why does our pick and roll suck so badly this year? I would say the best point guard for running a pick and roll would be Thud. But he's not even playing. I think we need the pick and roll badly, especially with KG being such a good player to fade and shoot the outside jumper.

Your thoughts?

Yeah, you're right.
Blount's clearly a better player away from the basket.
It's just hard not to want to see him play inside on nights when the Wolves are getting killed on the boards.

The lack of effort against Sac-twon was inexcusable. I was sick to my stomach watching the first half. I know we like to throw our ire Davis's way, but the pathetic effort started with KG and worked its way down.

While I don't agree with Korzo, that Davis played great, I do think he was at least the second best player on the floor for the Wolves (Hassell was probably a tad better).

Why wasn't KG benched alongside Davis? KG looked lethargic as well. I know this is probably pushing it, as KG doesn't need the type of motivation that Davis does. My point is lets not pile on Davis when he was one of the better players for the Wolves.

I've had it with James. The guy just doesn't deserve to be starting right now. The Wolves lose the PG matchup every night. I kept hoping that little firey guy that has fought his entire career would show up, but I doubt it's going to happen. My best guess is, now that he's got the contract and security, he doesn't feel the need to fight anymore and has become complacent. The Wolves need to start Foye. I don't mind if he makes some mistakes. He'll learn from them and the team will be better off down the road. The following stat is telling. The starting lineup is +0. With Foye replacing James, it's +19.

Wittman is 2-3. Casey was .500. How do you explain that, McHale?

One last comment. It is rare for me to complain about officiating, but Foye was manhandled by Salmons on that drive to the basket at the end of the game. Pathetic officiating. That call gets made, the Wolves win the game.