Timberwolves

Wolves pre-season prediction contest winner announced!

Filed under: Timberwolves

It took us a while to recover from the season sufficiently to go back and do that math. But the scores from our pre-season T-Wolves win prediction contest have been tabulated and a winner has been crowned.

That winner is none other than the good and great Jason H., who predicted, way back in October, that the 2007-08 Wolves would win 21 games. In Mr. H's own, immortal words: "21, Just like the year before KG arrived."

The Wolves, of course, finished their storied 19th season with a 22-60 record. And Jason H., with his outstanding ability to evaluate talent and to further translate this understanding into the harsh reality of wins and losses, is hereby presented with the following book from the Paul H. W. Demko Memorial Library:

From all of us at your alternative to the alternative to the home of the Timberwolves, here's hoping that you, Jason H., find a vege burger somewhere in the book.

May God bless us everyone.

Oh , and for the record, here are the predictions in full:
36 - Ben
33 - Sam
30 - David Roth
28 - Kory
27 - fullofsquirrels
24 - Robert
21 - ***Jason***
19 - Nate
13 - Benj
07 - Demko
01 - Kyle

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at May 9, 2008 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

 

All mediocre things must come to an end

Filed under: Timberwolves

To: Benjamin Polk
From: Jonathan Kaminsky
Date: 4/16/08
Subject: Randy recognize Randy

Hey Benjamin,

Say what you will about me, but throughout this trying season, I have remained a die-hard supporter of our (and by 'our' I mean 'Glen Taylor's') Timberwolves.

And yet the season finale left me feeling unexpectedly conflicted. I've always reflexively been against tanking. And yet, it was really hard for me to appreciate the Wolves' undeniable effort during their comeback down the stretch against the Bucks.

The Wolves were one game ahead of the Grizzlies in the loss column, and the Grizzlies were getting trounced by Dallas. Why not keep the extra ping pong balls (156 instead of the 137/8 a tie for 3rd worst earn you, out of a possible 1,000) in the draft lottery?

Just before Brewer readied to shoot the potential game-tying free-throw with 27 seconds left, I remarked that his making it wouldn't be worth the team losing one of the top two draft picks. Silly to think about, and impossible to truly gauge, but a thought difficult to shake. I don't recall you disagreeing with me.

Anyway, enough deep thoughts about tanking. To Wittman's final post-game press conference of the season: It sure seemed like he's pretty high on Foye. Like, how Foye's emergence has been connected to the team's winning games over the past couple weeks (that
six-game losing streak notwithstanding).

Or how "he's a confident kid," and how that "rubs off on people."

Or how he took over the Bucks game in the fourth quarter.

It seems Wittman's sending a strong message that his beacon of hope alongside Al Jefferson (who one almost takes for granted, so essential is he to the Wolves' chances) is none other than Randy Foye.

The implied flipside of this, of course, is that Rashad McCants doesn't have a lot of options with this team. If Foye is the stud of the Wolves' backcourt, given his proven on-court incompatibility with McCants (Foye looking for his shot, McCants waiting for the ball so he can shoot), it seems likely that Rashad's gonna be the sixth man. Is that a role that McCants, at his age, with his temperament and ego, should be playing? Have we seen enough of Foye to be
confident that he's the better bet of the two? If we ship one of them off, who/what should we be looking for in return? Does it make sense for Israel to unilaterally disengage from portions of the West Bank, or should it wait until an accord can be reached with at least one faction of the Palestinians?

Please strike the last question.

Yours,
Jonathan

To: Jonathan Kaminsky
From: Benjamin Polk
Date: 4/17/08
Subject: You are a bad person.

Hi Jonathan,

First a note on tanking and the lottery. I admit that I was right with you and your mixed feelings last night (although the reason I didn't disagree with you about Corey's free throws was that I was still feeling bad for him about drawing front-iron on that tragic and amazing 1-on-0 dunk attempt earlier on). Certainly, I was pleased and heartened--as I have been all the last month--that they weren't tanking and I was happy that the fans and players got to be enthusiastic about something on the season's last day. At the very least, though, it would have been kind of nice if Memphis had put in a better showing against Denver.

That said, those 18 or 19 lost ping-pong balls notwithstanding, I'm not sure it even makes a difference. As both the Celtics (before Danny Ainge wove that magical web of trades that brought us Al Jefferson oh, and also turned the Celts into title faves) and the Wolves discovered last year, the lottery is a total crapshoot. Even once you get past the nearly blind luck of landing a top pick, almost nobody knows which college player is going to be good and which isn't. Its true that Lebron and Dwight Howard were both taken first, but so were Kwame Brown, Andrea Bargnani and Andrew Bogut. And though it seems likely that Greg Oden will be pretty good, nobody really knows for sure; and things only get dicier once you get past the first pick. When you throw in McHale's awesome post-KG draft track record...bottom line, I know that Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose are really good but I would much rather win a game any day than trade one for a minutely less slim chance in, y'know, a lottery.

One more thing about tanking. I've been on teams at levels so far below the NBA that its barely reasonable to use the word "sports" to describe both. But I cannot imagine something more destructive to team morale than tanking a game. So.

As for your your good questions about the Wolves' guard situation. I go back and forth about Foye all the time. Last night's win is a good example. Seen through almost any lens, Foye was pretty dominant offensively. He shot 11-18, scored 32 points and hit some seriously clutch threes in overtime. But again, the offense did not exactly run smoothly with him on the floor (much of this can also be attributed to the clearly fatigued Al Jefferson's problems inside). And watching him get burned all over the floor by, ah, Ramon Sessions was a nice reminder that he has a long, long way to go to grasping NBA defense.

Still, my sense is that Foye has better potential than McCants. For one thing, though he does seem a little stubborn at times, he doesn't really display Shaddy's petulance. I could easily see that stubbornness and pride morph into a kind of leadership as it has for Lord Chauncey (for the record, Foye mentioned after the game that Mr. Billups is one of the players he loves to watch and learn from--a good sign, I think) And whereas Foye shows signs of climbing the steep learning curve of running a team (and Wittman made the good point that, after his injury, Foye was playing major catch-up in learning the offense), I'm not sure Rashad is ever going to get much better than he is right now. Will McCants ever be ok with the sixth-man tag the team seems intent on pegging on him? I'd be surprised.

As for the West Bank, didn't we fix that little problem when we helped ignite a civil war between Hamas and Fatah? And by "we" I obviously mean the Wolves.

love,
ben

To: Benjamin Polk
From: Jonathan Kaminsky
Date: 4/17/08
Subject: I have been grossly misunderstood.

Hey Benjamin,

All I'm saying is that part of me didn't want to see the Wolves win Wednesday night. I would've been pissed to watch players intentionally miss shots or throw the ball out of bounds or even make lazy passes. Obviously, the team's supporters deserve more. But that's different from sort of feeling torn about effort equaling execution in the final minutes of the final game of the season. I can't help but think Randy Wittman shared my ambivalence on some level, seeing as
how he sat Al Jefferson for the final 11 minutes of the fourth quarter as well as overtime. (His post-game explanation that he pulled Big Al because he seemed tired? Not convincing.) Anyhow.

As for Shaddy and the sixth-man role, it's hard to imagine him ever being happy in it, but that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't be effective. For all his moodiness and seeming inconsistency this season, he averaged 15 points (I believe) coming off the bench, second in the league only to Manu Ginobili. On a more fundamental level, it seems like a role he gets: Enter
the game and immediately demand the ball. Dribble around the perimeter a little. Create space. Shoot the ball.

McCants' discord with the world around him, while it obviously makes him a difficult teammate, is also the thing that seems to fuel him. So who knows? I'll say this: If there's a future star--not solid contributor, but actual star--on this team not named Jefferson, I'd be hard pressed to bet against it being McCants. Granted, the chances of a dominating or even a well-rounded McCants aren't good, but who else on the roster is even worth thinking of in these terms?

Broadening out the conversation a bit: How many keepers are on this team, Ben?

Greetings,
Jonathan

To: Jonathan Kaminsky
From: Benjamin Polk
Date: 4/18/08
Subject: Foye is a natural leader; McCants is a freak of nature.

Your points about McCants are well taken. While the best case scenario for Foye is probably Chauncey Billups, Ginobili would definitely be something for Shaddy to shoot for (minus the flopping). Here, I think is my fundamental distinction between the two. I think that Foye has the potential to be a leader on a championship-caliber team (again, think Billups); driven, focussed, adept at running an offense, but also able, at well chosen moments, to attack and score. McCants, on the other hand, will probably be at his best when surrounded by other veterans who are comfortable with their roles, veterans who know the habits of winning, who are not afraid to let Shaddy go off but also not afraid to tell him to shut up, force him to play defense and pass the ball. Stephen Jackson got a ring with the Spurs in just this way. Rashad is way too talented to ever be a marginal player, but I would also be very hesitant to build a team around him.

As for the keepers. Though I think that both Foye and McCants could be great, I still want more info--like, for example, a full season of them playing together--before making any big proclamation. Brewer, with his stunning athleticism, length and energy could be a Tayshaun Prince someday, but, obviously, that jumper (not to mention his play at the rim) needs to get (uh, vastly) better before we say anything. That leaves Al Jefferson, who will be a sure all-star if this team ever wins more than 40 games, and our boy Ryan Gomes. The stats don't bear this out quite yet, mostly because Wolves put him in some bad positions both by asking him to guard power forwards almost exclusively and also by leaning on him for 20+ shots on nights when the team was struggling. But, with his consistent aggressiveness and a savvy awareness that belies his youth, Gomes was clearly the Wolves second-best player for most of the year. He's a restricted free-agent this summer; I promise you, if the Wolves fail to keep him, he will be making big contributions for somebody late in the playoffs sometime very soon.

all my very best always,
ben

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 18, 2008 5:21 PM | Comments (4)

 

Whither the Wolves: An Email Exchange

Filed under: Timberwolves

After watching a lot of Wolves basketball over the past few months, Ben Polk and I discuss the sideline antics of Randy Wittman, the curious case of Corey Brewer, and how to address the team's Greatest Needs. Next week: A blueprint for peace in the Middle East.

From: Benjamin Polk
To: Jonathan Kaminsky
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Subject: I say hey, you say ho

Oh hi Jonathan,

So the Hornets barely sneaked by the Wolves Wednesday night, nipping them late in a 122-90 nail-biter. And as I have been all year, I was amazed by the incredibly thin margins in the NBA between winning, losing, and getting utterly mauled. I mean, the Wolves are an undeniably talented team, filled with legitimate NBA players (that is to say, some of the most magnificent basketball players in the world), players good enough to be quite competitive for half of the game. And yet, the Hornets were so evidently the better team that you, sitting right next to me, were able to predict a blowout in the making back in the second quarter, when things were close. This is weird and amazing to me: only at this unimaginably high level of competition are the distinctions between these superhuman athletes made apparent.

Nonetheless, apparent they were, particularly between the outrageously awesome Chris Paul and everyone else (6-11, 19 points all in the second half, 16 assists, 1 turnover in 34 minutes: that's a nice line). Even beyond that pretty obvious fact, this game outlined some of the Wolves big weaknesses. They had a tough time matching up with the Hornets' size: Ryan Gomes, playing power forward, got schooled by the taller David West and Hornets' Camby-esque center Tyson Chandler pretty well shut down Al Jefferson. And, as coach Wittman pointed out, they lack an aggressive, penetrating wing player who can get into the lane when defenses challenge the Wolves' jumpshooters (I guess you could also add a paucity of three-point shooters and a real point guard). This is especially striking when you look at the free throw disparity: the Wolves made 8-9 while New Orleans made 17-27 (although a lot of that can be attributed to an already flagging commitment to good defense that flagged harder and harder as the game wore on). So, Jonathan, I ask you: as someone who has watched this team pretty closely all year, what strikes you as the Wolves' biggest need, aside from another year of experience? Feel free to refer back to this game in particular, or not, or not respond at all. Whatever you feel like.

+++

From: Jonathan Kaminsky
To: Benjamin Polk
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Subject: The Talent Gap

Hey Benjamin,

Quite a game, eh?

The reason it was obvious to me that our beloved Wolves were doomed early in the second quarter--and I don't pretend this makes me some sort of seer--is that they are not a team to maintain a 72 percent shooting clip, particularly not when most of those shots are coming from the outside. First-quarter Foye, for instance, may light up Chris Paul for 16 early on, but that doesn't mean he's going to score 20 for the game.

Which sort of brings me to your question about the team's greatest need. My answer is not meant to sound flip: The Wolves' greatest need is more talent. Sure, they desperately need someone to complement Big Al down low, and yes, it would be great to have a point guard who can both pass and shoot, and yes it would be terrific to have a slasher who can get to the line and open up the perimeter.

To say that one of these needs is greater than another I think sort of misses the point. Until the Wolves get at least one and probably two more players as good as Al Jefferson, it doesn't really matter which position they try to improve. Which is to say: Come draft day, the Wolves must select the best player available, period. Basing a pick on the current roster is not a luxury the Wolves, with one sure thing on said roster, can afford.

To be honest, I can't really imagine the braintrust going against this logic. At least, I don't want to imagine the team passing up someone like Derrick Rose to affirm Foye's role as leader. Speaking of the braintrust, should Randy Wittman be this team's coach next season?

Yours,
Jonathan

+++

From: Benjamin Polk
To: Jonathan Kaminsky
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Subject: Coaching and Other Dark Arts

Right, right. It’s funny, because when I asked you what the Wolves greatest need was, I almost added "besides better players." You're right though. What they need is better players. That's not to say that they need to jettison the roster they have. Though Jefferson is the only one you could really call indispensable, I could easily imagine all of their top eight players (um, besides Marko) contributing to a good team (especially Gomes, who is the type of player one finds somewhere on the roster of almost every championship squad).

These are the big questions: Can Corey Brewer gain enough muscle to be a consistent, durable defender and improve the mechanics of his shot enough so as not to be an offensive liability? I don't see why not. The guy is a phenomenal athlete and I can't believe that a million hours in the gym over a few offseasons, plus some more experience, won't make him into a serviceable shooter (it is weird, though, just how broke his jumper can be--I'm amazed that a player of his ability could get this far without anyone telling him that he needs to follow through). Can Randy Foye ever become a real point guard and, if not, can he and McCants coexist playing similar games at the same position? Not sure and don't think so. Can the Wolves land a solid defensive/rebounding center and if not do they plan to allow Al Jefferson to continue his slog against bigger, longer players?

That brings me to your question about Wittman. I'm always amazed when non-experts clamor for coaching changes on NBA teams, as Wolves fans have been. I dunno, maybe this betrays some deep lack of understanding on my part--but I defy anyone not intimately involved with the inner workings of a club to really pinpoint a coach's effect on a team on a game-by-game basis. After all, I'm positive I saw quite a few respected people claim last year that Doc Rivers was the worst coach in the NBA, the same guy that might very well win coach of the year. Sure, there are the broad differences in playing styles and clearly coaches need to establish a consistent rotation that the players believe in (Isiah's Knicks are a good cautionary tale here). But it seems to me that by far the most important job of an NBA coach is to get his players to play hard. And how they do that remains a mystery to me.

On that note, I can't imagine Wittman's players not getting sick of the perpetually exasperated, facially distorted, seizing hands routine that the man goes through on the sidelines, win or lose. He seems affable enough in person, but the fact that he is an avowed Bobby Knight disciple makes me very skeptical of the guy. He seems to embody that weird notion among sports people that "disciplinarian" equals "teacher," the very notion that caused people to lionize a bully like Knight. One could certainly criticize Wittman's decision to play Jefferson at center, causing many of the Wolves' interior defensive woes (although Wittman certainly can't be blamed for the Theo Ratliff injury that has left them so shorthanded up front.) What worries me most about the Wolves' coach is that I can easily foresee the team tuning him out in the middle of another long season.

+++

From: Jonathan Kaminsky
To: Benjamin Polk
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Subject: Bassy’s Warning-Track Power

Will Sebastian Telfair start knocking down jumpers in games? Will Rashad McCants accept his role as instant offense off the bench? Will Corey Brewer bulk up, straighten out his jumper, and start finishing around the hoop? Will Randy Foye be visited late one night by the point-guard-skills fairy? Will Craig Smith grow three inches?

So many questions. As for Brewer, I am inclined to agree with you—he’s got a future in the league. And I’m rooting for him. He’s never been handed anything, he works hard, and he is to all outward appearances a gentle soul. But I’m still worried. I’m fairly confident he’ll bulk up a bit—although I can’t imagine him ever being above the 20th percentile in the league in terms of muscle mass. And he'll likely shoot a zillion jumpshots in the offseason, which hopefully will iron that part of his game out somewhat. But his persistent and jarring inability to finish close to the hoop is freaking me out. Like the wide-open five footer late in the Hornets game that he airballed (leading one prominent Wolves analyst to remark to his peers that he’d never seen anything like it in an NBA game). Or, in the previous game, the fast break ending with a finger-roll barely skimming the front of the rim. Someone has to tell him to ease up just before releasing the ball. Probably someone has. But he isn’t doing it, Benjamin. He isn’t doing it.

And that other guy, the one who seemed to get the best use out of Brewer’s frenetic energy? Sebastian Telfair? I’ll admit to a bit of a bias: I instinctively like him. He is an up-tempo player who always looks for the open man and is a smooth passer. Too bad he can't shoot, right? At a practice a few weeks before his season-ending ankle injury, I watched as an assistant coach feed him shot after shot from around the college three-point line. He shot in sets of 10, moving a few feet around the horn after each set. In the four or five sets I watched, he hit either eight or nine. It just goes to show you how different it is in practice and in the heat of a game. But man, it would be good if that confidence came around.

Anyhow, to return one last time to your question about the team’s Greatest Need: I’d really love to see Jefferson get another big man to help on defense and complement him on the offensive glass. I’d also really like to see someone with Rashad’s jumpshot combined with an ability/willingness to penetrate that nobody on the team seems to possess. Those are the two biggies in my book. But, again, more than anything, I just want a dude who’s going to put the ball in the hole on his terms, who doesn’t screw up the flow of the offense, and who doesn’t phone it in on defense. Or maybe, you know, two guys like that.

Until next time,
Jonathan

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 11, 2008 12:10 AM | Comments (2)

 

Grizzled: Rudy Gay blows up the Timberwolves

Filed under: Timberwolves

I will admit that I was among the many who were shocked and confused by the Rockets’ trade of their prized lottery pick, Rudy Gay, to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier, a veteran with mediocre numbers. This season has proven me (and all those other people) wrong as Battier has shown himself to be maybe the best “glue” player in the league—one of those selfless dudes who can shut people like Kobe Bryant down, hit open shots, make the right passes, and just play outrageously hard (Ryan Gomes is of a similar mold, I think—a bit less great on D, a bit better around the basket). The fact that the Rockets were able to win 22 games in a row, over half of those without Yao Ming, is a testament to just how important Battier is to their team. On the other hand, as I found out last night, Rudy Gay is nasty.

Cosby Kidz

Gay is long and lithe and has that Pippen-esque quality of being both angular and smooth. He has a feathery jumper that just kind of gently floats through the net on its way down which he complements with dumbfounding explosiveness (also like Pippen—lets hope Rudy’s a nicer guy, or at least better with his money so as not to find himself, out of financial necessity, gunning threes in Finland in his forties). He first brought himself to my attention in the first quarter of last night’s game against the Wolves (a 113-101 Griz victory). It was one of those plays that looks pretty nice on TV but in person really makes you feel like puking at the sheer unreality of it. Gay was running the wing on the break awaiting a pass from teammate Mike Miller that, from where I sat, looked to be heading about six rows into the stands. Gay leaped really, really high into the air and then, in one alarmingly quick and fluid motion, extended his spidery right arm even higher, softly ladled the ball in his hand and whipped it through the hoop. My body does not do that and neither does yours.

He did a few more, only slightly less ridiculous, things on his way to a very nice game (23 points on 9-17 shooting, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, a game-high +25) which neatly coincided with the sweet-shooting Miller tying his season-high of 34 points on 12-20 shooting (8-12 from three, also: 10 rebounds, 6 dimes). Obviously, the Wolves had trouble handling Gay and Miller but their real problem was perimeter defense. Memphis’ offense—a version Phoenix’s spread—is predicated on guards creating passing angles through penetration. All evening, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants and Marko Jaric were unable to prevent the Memphis guards from getting into the lane. This forced the Wolves’ other perimeter players to help inside, leaving their men open for jumpers.

Oh, the Wolves’ other real problem was that, for two important stretches, they, in Coach Wittman’s words “came out to play this game to get it over with.” Wittman was referring to the team’s anemic start, when they allowed Memphis to run out to a 21-8 lead. They managed to recover from that early swoon, putting together nice runs in the second and fourth quarters, predicated on (guess what?) energy, tough defense and ball movement. Up by five with 7 minutes left and the Grizzlies on their heals, they were in solid position to win the game. Next followed one of those chokey 4th quarter stretches of poor offensive execution and confused defense that makes one wonder if the Wolves have learned much since the first game of the season (a fairly identical effort against a much better team). Suddenly, the team was turning the ball over and Miller was again open outside and just as suddenly the Wolves found themselves down by 12. And that was it. I can't believe I haven't said anything about Darko. I was expecting fireworks from the Grizzlies' sallow poet. But he didn't really do much. Anyway.

Not Feeling Randy

The Wolves have a lot of big decisions to make this offseason (like, for instance, whether to play Al Jefferson at center or his natural power forward) but probably the biggest one is what to do about Randy Foye. Foye’s talent is not at issue. He is a good, quick ballhandler and an explosive finisher, both at the rim and in the midrange game. He is a decent, intelligent guy and an aware player. But, although Foye is unselfish, he is much more creative when he looks for his own shot than when he facilitates for his teammates. He lacks Sebastian Telfair’s instinct for the penetrating pass, the one that challenges the defense early in a possession, that creates ball movement and leads to open shots. Against Memphis, Foye shot the ball well (8-16) and he was among the team’s leading scorers with 17 points. But, as is often the case, when he ran the point, the Wolves’ were a less cohesive, more one-on-one oriented team. And, as against the Grizzlies, he has struggled defensively, allowing quicker point guards to penetrate the paint and break down the defense. Basically—and I know the sample is still pretty small considering the injury that kept him out for most of this year—he has not yet shown whether he can be an NBA point guard. He could play the two, but the Wolves already have an undersized, ball-dominating, defensively average shooting guard in Rashad McCants. How long should the team wait for Foye to figure things out? It’s a tough call and one that will be made even tougher if the Wolves find themselves in a position to draft a serious point guard, like, say, Memphis’ frighteningly good Derrick Rose.

Posted by Benjamin Polk at April 7, 2008 8:02 PM | Comments (0)

 

Depleted Pistons Defeat Deflated Wolves

Filed under: Timberwolves

Pistons 94, Wolves 90
Season Record: 19-54

The Detroit Pistons, comfortably secure in their second seed status for the Eastern Conference playoffs, came to town Tuesday evening with their three best players—Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, and Chauncey Billups— scratched from the lineup.

The Wolves, energized on their home court, where they’d won four straight(!) games, came out swinging. Jefferson was posting up McDyess, drawing contact, and sinking his hook shot. Gomes was hitting from the outside. Even Brewer was hot (more on him later). They were swinging the ball around, finding the open man, knocking down shots with gusto. In one particularly elegant display of this midway through the first, Foye made a nifty bounce pass inside to Jefferson, who did a little stutter step, sending McDyess into the next zip code, and dunking with emphasis.

Long story short, by midway through the second quarter, the Wolves had built a 43-22 lead. The wire guys (or at least a wire guy) had written their ledes: The resurgent Timberwolves overwhelm injury-depleted Detroit.

But, of course, it was premature. In the final four minutes of the second quarter, the Wolves were outscored 14-0, and went to the locker room up only 49-44. After the game, Wittman blamed that stretch for the loss. And, it is true, the Wolves’ starters, perhaps afflicted with a case of Rashadia, quit moving the ball like they’d done to start the game—and, significantly, stopped getting the ball inside to Jefferson. (It didn’t help going 0-4 from the charity stripe during that stretch, either.)

But it’s not quite accurate to say the miserable end to the first half lost the game. After all, the Wolves did come back out to play in the third quarter, leading by 10 with only 2:05 in the period, and by seven to start of the final frame. More accurately, the Wolves allowed Detroit back into the game at the end of the second quarter. But they lost it in fourth.

Two plays stick out. Both involve Randy Foye. Neither end well.

First, with the game tied at 88 and the Wolves with the ball with 65 second remaining, Foye rightly seeks to get the ball into Jefferson. There are two defenders between them. Instead of drawing them off the big man to free him up, or faking, say, the bounce pass to then lob it in, Foye lazily bounces the ball inside. The defenders, both anticipating the pass, cut it off easily. It wasn’t even close. (Twenty second later, Detroit superstar Rodney Stuckey [27 points, mostly on Foye] sticks a 14-footer—on Foye.)

The next play: Out of a timeout, Foye takes the ball down the court, dribbles baseline, draws a second defender, and pulls back to take a 15-footer. It clanks off the rim, Detroit rebounds. Game, for all intents and purposes, over.

Afterward, pressed by Britt Robson, Wittman acknowledged in not so many words that the play was not properly executed, and that Foye screwed up in not recognizing he had an open man—Jefferson—inside.

ON THE COURT WITH COREY BREWER: (In which we take a closer look at an individual player’s game, with an eye toward what it all means.)
The rook got off to an impressive start. Early in the first quarter, he drove the lane for a spectacular layup. Was in position for an offensive rebound and had a putback. Hit a jumper from around the free throw line. Hell, even his one turnover was encouraging. He passed up an open-ish shot from 15 feet on the baseline to get closer to the basket. Yes, he dribbled into two defenders and lost the ball, but it's good to see him take the ball to the hole. After the first quarter, he was 5-5. For 10 points.

Corey Brewer the rest of the game was a very different story. He started settling for jumpers—and missing. He played a bit too far off Tayshaun Prince, getting burned on the dribble more than once. He looked overwhelmed. Brewer finished the night 5-9. For 10 points.

While it’s obviously too early to draw definitive conclusions, here’s what we will say: we’re hopeful that Brewer bulking up a bit in the offseason and working on his jumper will not only a) keep him from getting pushed around so much, and b) enable him to hit some of those open jumpers that everyone gives him, but, perhaps, c) improve his confidence, which would serve him well in the last three quarters of games.

SIDELINE NOTES
Antoine Walker continues to look sullen as ever, even as he dons a different custom-fit sports coat with baggy dress pants each night. For much of the game, seated behind the bench, he seemed to be staring into the middle distance, perhaps reflecting on the injustice of how Theo Ratliff, who started tonight against the Wolves, got picked up by the Pistons while he remains the 13th wheel on a team in the midst of a youth movement.

LOCKER ROOM NOTES
Precious little to report. Few of the players were in the locker room by the time the media was let in. In fairness, they had a plane to catch for Wednesday’s game against Utah. We probably wouldn’t be too keen on talking to the press after an implosion like this game, either.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 2, 2008 12:24 AM | Comments (1)

 

You're Still Our Dunk Champ, Gerald

Filed under: Timberwolves

In case you missed it, the NBA held its annual Slam Dunk Contest this weekend, along with a bunch of other time-fillers. Our very own Gerald Green--last year's dunk champion--was a participant.

Now, because life is not fair, and also because the NBA has decided (with reason) to anoint Dwight Howard as one of its new superstars, Gerald did not win this year. But there was some real beauty, as well as some impressively channeled melancholy, in his performance.

Oh, and an all-business Rashad McCants was there, even if Charles Barkley didn't recognize him.

Free Darko, as ever, has a good take.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at February 18, 2008 8:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

R-Jeff's Naughty Night out in Minneapolis

Filed under: Timberwolves

Richard Jefferson, the falsetto-voiced, goody-goody star of the New Jersey Nets, has been accused of choking a club-goer right here in Minneapolis. The alleged incident happened at Infinity, just down the block from Target Center, the night a couple weeks back when the T-Wolves came from behind to hand the Nets their ninth straight loss.

The weird thing about this is that Jefferson is not one of the league's bad boys. He even donated $3.5 million recently to build a new gym at Arizona U, his alma mater. Courtesy of TMZ, which also links the incident report.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at February 14, 2008 11:05 AM | Comments (0)

 

Shit Hitting Fan for Sprewell

Filed under: Timberwolves

Latrell Sprewell is $500,000 in the hole even after selling his yacht at a huge loss at auction. He is also facing foreclosure on his house, the AP reports. On the plus side, prosecutors in New York last week dropped charges against the former T-Wolf alleging he'd beaten his girlfriend in front of their children.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at February 11, 2008 7:43 PM | Comments (2)

 

More Signs of Life

Filed under: Timberwolves

Rockets 92, Timberwolves 86
Season Record: 10-37

The Houston Rockets came into town as winners of seven straight road games. The Wolves were defending a four-game home winning streak. Something would have to give. And while it was the Wolves who flinched first, the game was hardly a head-hanger.

First, a few plaudits: Sebastian Telfair looked downright effective all throughout the game. His numbers, as they say, speak for themselves: 12 assists, zero turnovers. He also took only seven shots, hitting three. “He did the simple things,” Wittman remarked after the game. Although he missed the one that mattered most. But we’ll get to that.

Shaddy, despite getting a bit mouthy during a timeout huddle in the second quarter, was the offensive shot in the arm the Wolves need him to be off the bench. He’s hitting 42 percent of his threes this year, good for 16th in the league. On Monday, he was 3-6 from downtown and 6-14 overall for 15 points. And yet, though he played tight defense against Tracy McGrady down the stretch, it wasn't enough. We'll get to that, too.

And then there was Al Jefferson. The degree to which the team’s offensive game is now revolving around the big man is remarkable. It has been more and more the case of late, but last night’s game is a particularly good example. Jefferson took 26 of the team’s 77 shots, hitting 14 of them—a dizzying array of 15-footers, up-and-unders, floaters in the lane, and dunks. He was hitting from everywhere. He also pulled down 16 boards and had three stuffs.

And he was doing all this while guarded by Yao Ming, who at 7’6” has eight inches on him. On at least three occasions with Yao on him, Jefferson, about 15 feet from the basket, turned to face it. On each occasion, Yao, not wanting let Jefferson blow by him, dared him to shoot. And on each occasion, Al drained the jumper. It was tantalizing stuff, the kind of thing that shows that Jefferson, on nights like these when he’s on, is pretty much unstoppable.

And yet. The game went in the loss column.

Here’s how it ended: With just over two minutes left, Jefferson hit one of those “I dare you” jumpers over Yao to give the Wolves an 86-85 lead. On the return trip down the floor, Carl Landry, the Rockets’ backup power forward who gave the Wolves fits all night long, was stuffed by Jefferson. But as Ryan Gomes took the ball up the court, he stumbled, took an extra step, and got called for traveling. His first turnover of the night, and one of only two for the Wolves in the fourth quarter.

On the return trip, with McCants’ hand blocking his view of the basket, McGrady nailed a 17-footer. 87-86. And after Telfair missed a tentative jumpshot on the return trip that would have given the Wolves a one-point lead, McGrady again got the ball, and again, with those half-sleepy eyes shielded from the basket by McCants’ hand, drilled the shit out of his jumpshot. This time it was a three, the Rockets were up 90-86 with half a minute left, and the game was over.

Future Game Notes:
This Friday is supposed to mark Kevin Garnett’s return to the Target Center, as the Celtics make their lone appearance in Minneapolis this season. But a gimpy abdomen seems likely to keep Garnett out of the game. Which is a shame, of course, because it’s the most anticipated Wolves game of the season, and their only game airing on ESPN.

Jefferson, asked after the game about the possibility of KG sitting out Friday, said it was probably the right thing to do. “This isn’t the biggest game of the year for them at all,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a playoff game.”

As a player, of course, he’s right. But as a fan, we're hoping the Big Ticket will give us our money’s worth on Friday.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at February 5, 2008 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

Growing Up

Filed under: Timberwolves

Wolves 83, Bulls 67
Season Record: 9-36

Wednesday’s Timberwolves game against the Bulls started off as brutally as any in recent memory. Simply put, neither team could find the basket. After numerous missed jumpers, layups, and even a blown dunk by Al Jefferson, the Wolves found themselves down by a score of 3-2 with 5:45 remaining in the first. At the time, the teams were shooting a combined 1-22 from the floor.

Then, just as the sorry first quarter was coming to an end with the Wolves down 14-8, Coach Randy Wittman, in a moment of evident lucidity, put in Michael Doleac. With Chris Richard designated to the D-league to make room for Randy Foye, with Theo Ratliff still weeks from any sort of return to action, and with Mark Madsen more of a feel-good Mormon benchwarmer than a force in the paint, it would seem only natural that Doleac would get his share of minutes. And yet, even as the Wolves have improved these last games (and improve they have!), and even as Jefferson has demonstrably done better when at Power Forward than at Center, Wittman has had a strange aversion to throwing the white guy with the shooter’s touch out there. Before the previous game, in which Doleac registed 2:19 on the floor, he’d sat out seven straight.

Last night, it took both the abysmal start and the Bulls playing fellow tall white dude Aaron Gray to get Doleac in the mix. And the blond bomber responded by igniting the Wolves’ offense in the second quarter, silkily hitting two outside jumpers in a manner most reassuring at a point in the game when the team was shooting a combined 3-21.

“That’s one good thing about having a vet around,” Big Al would remark after the game. “He’s always ready. Always ready.”

The game, ugly though it was, was won at the end of the third quarter. After the horrendous start and brief lift offered by Doleac (who was pulled midway through the second and didn’t get back in until fourth quarter garbage time), Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson led the team to a 52-52 tie with three minutes left in the third. Then the Wolves took over.

Randy Foye started things with a three from the corner. After a Bulls timeout, Foye hit another deep jumper to increase the lead to five. Ryan Gomes stole the ball on the next possession, tipping it ahead to Telfair. Bassie missed the layup but was fouled, and hit both shots.

After a terrible pass by Bulls’ forward Thabo Sefolosha (who may be the first Swiss national ever to play in the NBA) to a dude seated in the first row, the Wolves got the ball back again. Foye missed a jumper, but Gomes, who has a knack for getting in position for offensive rebounds (four of his 10 boards in the game were off the offensive glass), put back the miss.

And as time was expiring in the third quarter, Bassie Telfair, as petrified of missing open jumpers as he is lighting quick, hesitated for only a few seconds before shooting an 18-footer and draining it. Quarter over. Wolves up 63-52. And game, for all intents and purposes, over. The Bulls would never get closer than seven the rest of the way.

A few thoughts: Corey Brewer works hard, and cannot shoot the ball to save his life. And it is tearing us in two. While it is nice to see the young man continue to take his shots (when he does take them) with seeming confidence, the team has improved to the point where even his hustle, enthusiasm, and quickness on defense cannot make up for the terrible liability that he is on the offensive end.

Randy Foye has come back at an opportune time, when the team is playing its best ball of the season, and figures to contribute right away. It’ll be interesting to see whose minutes he winds up taking. The bet here is that Marko will be the biggest minutes loser.

Telfair, despite a crippling shyness for outside shots, has proved to be a mostly solid point guard. He’s quick, he gets the ball to the open man, and he takes the ball to the hole fairly effectively. Rashad McCants, who missed last night’s game with the flu, has been a little less mercurial of late, hitting more shots within the flow of the offense and providing at least the potential of another scorer in the game. Ryan Gomes, who is playing out of position at the 4 a fair bit lately, has established himself as the second best player on the team the last several games, and he’ll continue to get his minutes.

Which leaves Marko. Another point against him: He’s older than the rest, and everyone already pretty much knows what he’s apt to deliver.

Locker Room Notes
Gerald Green, as you probably know, has been invited back to the All-Star weekend to defend his prestigious slam dunk title. We asked young Gerald what he had in store.

“It’s a secret," he said, with an actual wink. "I got something I don’t think even the video game can do. Quote that.”

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at January 31, 2008 2:42 PM | Comments (0)

 

Several Kinds of Ugly

Filed under: Timberwolves

Wolves 107, Nuggets 118
Wolves 78, Mavericks 101
Season Record: 4-29

It is quite possible that there are no answers for this Wolves team, that however you roll the dice, you keep coming up with a pair of dice that smell like shit.

But it doesn’t seem to us that matching up Craig Smith (6’8”) against Dirk Nowitzki (7’), or, when that proves to be a silly idea within three minutes of trying it, to bench him and shift the burden to Ryan Gomes (6’7”) instead, is a particularly good gamble.

With Jefferson manning up on DiSagana Diop, the Wolves spent the first quarter of Sunday’s game conceding a combined seven inches between the C and PF positions. The results were predictable: After six minutes played, the Wolves had not snagged a single defensive rebound, Nowitzki was shooting 3-3 for nine points, and the Mavericks were up 18-7.

Aside from a brief flirtation with a single digit deficit in the second quarter (answered by three straight threes from Dallas), the Wolves never made it any closer.

But let’s not lay the blame entirely at the feet of Randy Wittman, and his odd inability to match his players up against opponents within five inches of their height. There was also the question of effort.

Wittman, in an abbreviated but fiery post-game press conference, touched on this very subject. He likened his team to a dog that has repeatedly been kicked, but that had yet to bite its owner. He said he was waiting for the dog to bite.

And he’s got a point. Jefferson, who finished with 16 points on 15 shots, along with 11 boards, did a lot of settling for mid-range jumpers. Rashad McCants, who got hot late to take the team on his back and turn a 31-point deficit into a 23-point disadvantage, spent much of the first half on the bench after committing one too many stupid fouls before sullenly telling Wittman they were unintentional.

The bottom line is this: The team, both collectively and as individuals, is playing worse basketball than it was at the start of the season. There is less fire, there is less execution, and there is a palpable sense that the game is lost before it has begun. For instance, after the game in the visiting locker room, one of the Wolves’ equipment guys told players on the Mavericks that he hadn’t bothered watching the game, and that “it was over the minute you guys flew into town.” When the team’s support staff is embarrassed enough to crack jokes like that, it’s a problem.

Locker Room Notes
After the game, we had the chance to catch up with Juwan Howard, late of the Timberwovles. We asked Howard if, given how things are going for his former team, he feels a tremendous sense of relief at landing in Dallas. Howard, in a display of why he is a consummate professional, declined to take the bait.

“I wish this organization well,” he said. He added that the Wolves “are having a rough season, but in the future they're going to be a playoff team. It just takes time is all.”

Inspired, we asked him how much time he thinks it might take.

He declined to guess. "I wish them well, man."

Over in the Wolves’ locker room, we found a nude Antoine Walker and a fully dressed Marko Jaric holding down the fort. We opted for Marko. He chided us for always coming in late, and said that he’d already “expressed my feelings.” But he was nice enough to answer our questions anyway.

In yet another indication that Marko is in a bad place, this is what he told us: "There is no answer. I don’t even know. It's one of those days that you try to forget. You wish you didn’t wake up."

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at January 6, 2008 7:19 PM | Comments (3)

 

Not Very Good

Filed under: Timberwolves

Blazers 90, Wolves 79
Season Record: 4-27
Current Streak: 6L

Here's the good news: On Wednesday night, the Timberwolves out-rebounded the Trailblazers both overall (46-44) and on the offensive glass (15-9), leading to a 20-11 advantage in second-chance points. They also held a dominant 40-20 advantage in the paint. They hit only two fewer free-throws (20-25 vs. 22-27) than their opponents, and, by and large, played decent defense, holding the red-hot Blazers to a 39 percent shooting night.

Big Al, despite a long stretch in the middle of the game where he vanished entirely, had another solid game, scoring 29 points on 24 shots to go along with 16 boards, including eight offensive boards that led to a couple nifty put-back dunks.

Here's the bad: The Wolves could not buy a basket from beyond the paint. Aside from a brief (believe us, it was brief!) two-shot flurry from Gerald Green in the third period, the Wolves turned out one of their worst shooting performances in a season of putrid shooting performances. The Wolves' wingmen shot a combined 15-49, including 3-14 from beyond the arc.

After the game, when asked if the woeful shooting was a matchup thing or a "roster issue," Wittman answered pseudo-diplomatically. "It's not our strength," he said, before going on to talk about how the Blazers, by contrast, are a team loaded with guys who can nail open (and not-so-open) shots.

After showing a fair amount of emotion in a string of recent post-game press conferences, it sounded and felt on Wednesday a little as if Wittman, who insisted he wasn't "making excuses" by citing the team's travel schedule as a possible cause of the flat shooting performance, had thrown in the towel.

It also felt that way when he ended the third and started the fourth periods by putting McCants, Green, Jaric, Walker, and Jefferson on the floor together. It's not clear if this grotesque troika of underperforming shooting guards is one that we will ever see on the floor again in a game anywhere, ever, but it does say "Fuck me, fuck the world, and fuck this fucking game" like little else we've seen this season.

Marko Dark
Speaking of Marko, he registered a notably absent effort in Wednesday's game. In 16+ minutes on the court, he posted exactly one assist and one turnover. He didn't even attempt a shot. His most memorable play was driving the lane and planting the ball firmly in the hands of Channing Frye. It resulted in a jump ball, which Marko lost. Jaric's confidence has always been razor thin, and it has pretty clearly been shattered since his return from a gimpy ankle, and, more recently, the flu.

When it comes to undisguised emotions, Jaric is up there with Gerald Green as the most open-feelinged dude on the team. And Gerald sets a high bar. In the locker room after the game, Jaric sat at his locker in the corner.

As the rest of the team dressed and departed, Jaric sat with a towel wrapped around his waist, staring sullenly into space. When we approached to ask how things were hanging, he answered in a small, non-malicious voice.

"Could we just skip it tonight, please?"

Sure, we said, no problem.

"I just have no idea what to say," he explained.

Ouch.

Locker Room Notes
On another bitter note, we also had occasion to speak with Brandon Roy after the game. Called "The third best player in the league" last week by Magic Johnson, he was friendly, well-spoken, and eager to get to the team bus. We asked if it felt weird coming to Minneapolis—the city he was drafted into before being traded minutes later for Randy Foye and cash considerations.

“A little. Minneapolis is a nice city. It’s a little strange walking around and thinking, what if my family lived here?”

However, he pointed out with evident pride (and probably a fair bit of relief), “I’m a Trailblazer now.”

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at January 3, 2008 12:34 PM | Comments (1)

 

Losing Is No Longer the New Winning

Filed under: Timberwolves

Warriors 111, Wolves 98
Season Record: 3-21

The top half of Antoine Walker’s courtside attire Wednesday night consisted of a natty, form-fitting, four-button sports coat over a crisp dress shirt. The effect was sharp and sleek. Perhaps even a hair imposing. This was in grotesque contrast to his pants: Zubaz-like in their bagginess, just different enough a shade of brown from the top to trigger a violent clash, and embodying that intangible sort of terrible that makes one yearn to look away even as ones stares, helpless and horror-struck, into the void as it overtakes one’s soul.

Toine’s outfit was a fitting metaphor for the team’s effort in Wednesday night’s loss to the ever-exciting Golden State Warriors.

A confident, tight first half, coupled with a frightened/frighteningly wretched, flabby display in the second. It was enough to make Randy Wittman very angry in the post-game press conference—the angriest we’ve seen him this season.

"It's not who's getting minutes or who's getting touches," he fumed. "I wish it was."

The man has a point. The numbers were there for the Wolves Wednesday night. Judging by them, Al Jefferson had an above-average game (24 points on 17 shots, along with 14 boards). Rashad McCants had a great game (23 points on 16 shots, six assists, three steals, and only one turnover). Sebastian Telfair had an almost-decent game (eight assists, albeit with five turnovers). And Gerald Green, second off the bench because of a flued-out Marko Jaric, had his most productive outing of the season, nailing four treys off the bench, grabbing eight boards, and managing to convey his range of emotions to the scrum of reporters after the game (“I was kind of disappointed. But kind of proud of myself, too.”)

But starting the third quarter with the Wolves up 62-54, the Warriors came out swinging, knocking down pull-up jumpers. And the Wolves reeled, breaking down on defense and allowing easy layups.

"We walked off with our heads down after three minutes," Wittman said of his players' response to the timeout he called early in the third quarter with the lead at three points. And in the ensuing huddle: "I couldn't see any of their eyes and I'm sitting right in front of them."

Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors intensified and extended their run, capitalizing on five straight T-Wolves turnovers(!) to score nine straight points. Those five turnovers were committed by five different players, so it's not easy to pick out any individual's failing.

But with the Wolves down by six points halfway through the third quarter, this much was clear: The players knew they were going to lose the game, and so did the alleged 13,000-plus in the stands.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at December 20, 2007 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

 

Fuzzy math

Filed under: Timberwolves

Pi Press sports gossip Charley "Shooter" Walters has this nugget in today's column:

The Timberwolves, 3-21 this season after a 111-98 loss to Golden State on Wednesday, are on pace to become the NBA's all-time worst team. That 61-year distinction currently belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73 in the 1972-73 season.

Which is somewhat interesting, but not quite accurate. Elementary math will tell you that the squad currently has a winning percentage of 12.5 percent. Over an entire 82-game season this works out to 10 victories--one better than the storied 1972-73 76ers! Show the team some respect Shooter.

Posted by Paul Demko at December 20, 2007 10:29 AM | Comments (2)

 

Encouraging!

Filed under: Timberwolves

Hawks 90, Wolves 89
Wolves 100, Suns 93
Season record: 2-15

In case anybody asks, the Wolves victory against the Suns on Friday night was foretold by God. The revelation lay in the order of the Wolves’ victories and defeats thus far this season: Five losses. A win. Five losses. A win. Five losses. And, against the red-hot but dog-tired Phoenix Suns: A well-deserved win.

Before we get to the W against the now 16-5 Suns, we should note that it followed a plucky, hard-luck effort at Atlanta. In that game, the Wolves were down by 19 in the first, clawed their way back, and in the last 20 seconds executed two inbounds passes to Jaric for layups, each putting the team up by a point, but each countered by the Hawks, including the last-gasp, heartbreaking, what-can-you-do jumper by Joe Johnson to ice the game 90-89 as time expired.

The most important storyline out of that game—even more than Jaric’s near-triumphant return after two games out with a sore ankle (which, not incidentally, were the two most miserable and lackadaisical losses of the season, against the Bobcats and the Lakers)—was the coming out party of Corey Brewer.

It’s a little weird to talk about a 3-15 shooting performance as a breakout game, but so it was. Brewer was everywhere on defense, disrupting passing lanes with those long, skinny arms, picking up four steals, tallying a blocked shot, and hauling in a shocking 18 boards. Rounding out his line, Brewer had five assists with nary a turnover. The latter is truly remarkable, given that he looked as if he was going to trip over himself several times while running the break after a steal. In each case, though, he managed to stay balanced, although he blew a couple layups failing to get himself fully under control before attempting to finish.

Brewer reminds us a little of Marcus Camby. Not in terms of size or his position—Camby’s got a good three or four inches on Brewer, plays center, and is one of the most explosive shot-blockers in the game. But in terms of energy, which is largely to say disruptiveness.

In the last two games, in pretty much every offensive set the other team ran with Brewer on the floor, it felt like he might do something to completely throw them out of their rhythm. Although Brewer had no steals against the Suns, he pulled down 11 rebounds, and was +9 on the night, second only to Jefferson’s +13.

At one point in the second quarter, Brewer even fought Jefferson for a defensive rebound (which AJ hauled in—one of his 20 boards in the game). After the game, Jefferson was asked about Brewer’s impact on the glass and how that changes things. “He’s taking all my boards,” Jefferson said, tongue-in-cheek.

Clearly, the growth Brewer has shown the last two times out bodes well for his future, if not for the playing time of Ryan Gomes (or Gerald Green).

In one final Camby parallel, both he and Brewer have broke-ass jump shots. Just, ouch.

Jefferson's win
Al Jefferson won the game for the Wolves against the Suns. He took the ball strong to the hole, scored 32 points on 13-26 from the field, and hauled in 20 boards. His little jump hook, his spin move. These are enjoyable things to watch. And his tentativeness in the previous couple games, his willingness to settle for 15- and 20-foot jumpshots, was largely missing. Let's hope it stays that way.

Future Trends
We’ve looked into our crystal ball, and it has told us the future of Rashad McCants. It is as a Quincy Lewis-style sixth-man, providing instant offense off the bench. Whether he’s filling this role in two years for an NBA contender or for Efes Pilsen Istanbul will be determined as much by his willingness to pass the ball before exhausting all his options off the dribble as by his ability to hit outside shots with some consistency.

The Phoenix game was a microcosm of the point-counterpoint for McCants’ future.

First, the point: In the third quarter, just after McCants had checked back into the game, Telfair had the ball on the perimeter. Jefferson, with his back to the basket and with good inside position, was calling for it. From the bench at the opposite end of the court, a street-clothed Antoine Walker bellowed “GIVE HIM THE BALL!!!” Instead, Telfair swung the ball around the perimeter to Gomes who quickly passed it to McCants, also beyond the three-point line. Unlike the others, Shaddy actually passed the ball to Jefferson, who promptly spun to the basket, was fouled, and hit both his foul shots. Shortly thereafter, with the Wolves having relinquished the lead and with the game tied and seeming ready to slip away, Shaddy hit back-to-back threes, putting the team up 85-80. They led the rest of the way.

Now, the counterpoint:

Shaddy missed all four of his shots in the first half, including two on a single possession, in which he missed a bad jumpshot, got the ball back after Gomes got the board, then shot again and missed. He was taken out of the game shortly thereafter.

McCants still has an ugly habit of dribbling the ball, staring down his defender, only then taking an ill-advised shot or, when he submits to the knowledge that there are no good scoring options for him, finally passing the ball to a teammate, in the process sapping the offense of any kind of flow.

He's coming off the bench now, and that makes a lot of sense to us.

Statistical anomaly? You tell us.
Craig Smith had what amounts to a very solid game against Phoenix. He was 7/11 with 16 points, along with eight boards and only one turnover in 36+ minutes. Yet he was –8 for the game, meaning the 11+ minutes he was on the bench, the Wolves were +17.

Locker Room Notes
Shawn Marion has a fantastic belt buckle. It’s big, it’s probably silver, and it sports a stylized skyline of the Windy City. Above the buildings, it reads “Chicago.” Below it: "S. Marion." It’s sort of urban cowboy, which is kind of how we’ve always pictured Shawn Marion in his daily, non-basketball life.

Steve Nash, by contrast, favors cardigans, and wears a beaded wood bracelet that he slips on his left wrist after games.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at December 10, 2007 2:17 AM | Comments (0)

 

Living in a Fantasy World

Filed under: Timberwolves

Spurs 106, Timberwolves 91
Grizzlies 109, Timberwovles 80
Season Record: 2-13

First off, apologies for the tardiness of this report. The snow worked its way into our brain yesterday, and before we knew it we’d watched two movies, eaten half a pizza, and managed to miss the T-Wolves getting trounced at Memphis. Anyhow, to business.

We won’t bore you with a game recap of the Spurs victory on Friday except to say a couple things. Firstly, the Wolves looked really great for nearly three quarters. With McCants out with a sore knee, and with Jaric leaving in the first quarter after turning his ankle, the Wolves took it to the Spurs at both ends of the court. Telfair played especially well, finding Craig Smith for a couple nifty give-and-go's, hitting a bunch of floaters in the lane, and driving to the hoop against Tony Parker with impunity.

Secondly: The Wolves were up 80-66 toward the end of the third, then were outscored 40-11 the rest of the way. You know the drill: Complete collapse against a better, more experienced opponent.

Locker Room Notes
There’s a rule in the NBA that the players' locker rooms shall be open to the media 10 after the game. Much to the chagrin of the sportswriters assembled outside the vistors' locker room Friday evening, the Spurs pushed it to closer to 25. Which, reigning league champs that they are, is sort of how they roll.

Once inside, we were disappointed to find Tim Duncan had already ducked out. Understandable, given that he’s likely not used to the harsh glare of the Minneapolis sports media, playing as he does in San Antonio and all. But we were pleased to find Brent Barry, who for years was one of probably the 10-best fantasy players in the league. We wanted to know: Do you have a sense of your fantasy greatness?

Brent Barry: I guess it’s gotten a little different the past couple years because I haven’t been playing as much. I hope I’m not ruining people’s year. But maybe I’ve got to start looking into that. Really study the numbers. And if I start becoming more effective fantasy-wise I'll know that I’m doing good out on the court. Cause for players it works the opposite way. We know that if we play well on the court it transcends our fantasy numbers. But I’m going to go the opposite route.

Continued Barry:
I’ve got some buddies that were playing in a league for the first time this year and they called me during the draft and were asking me about some of the players. I was a good source for a couple of them. I told them, look out for Josh Childress off the bench. I told one of my buddies to pick up [Kelenna] Azubuike [13.3 pts, 5.2 boards in 31 mpg] before the year started. I knew Don Nelson wasn’t gonna play [Marco] Belinelli [2.3 pts, .6 boards, 9 mpg, w/ 5 DNP-CD’s]. That kind of insider trading—I hope I don’t get a Martha Stewart kind of thing.

...

As we should have mentioned above, Mark Madsen had a particularly effective game Friday, in that he managed to piss off Tim Duncan enough to get the normally unflappable superstar a technical foul. We asked Bruce Bowen, veteran on-court asshole, what it’s like to play on a team opposite Madsen.

“I don’t even know how to answer that,” Bowen responded, not disguising his impatience with the question. “Just play basketball, that’s all.”

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at December 2, 2007 5:08 PM | Comments (2)

 

Unchosen

Filed under: Timberwolves

Cavaliers 97, Wolves 86
Season record: 1-8

LeBron James has a tattoo across his back that violates both traditional rules of modesty and AP style. It reads: “Chosen 1.” The point being, LBJ—we’d call him “King LeBron,” but we’re not looking to vomit in our mouth today—is a preternaturally cocky guy. But with games like Wednesday night’s effort against the Wolves, it’s hard to argue much with the man. He scored 45 points on 26 shots, and he hit six of 10 three-pointers, including back-to-back treys in the middle of his minute-and-a-half personal 10-0 run that extended a four-point lead to an insurmountable 14 with less than two minutes to play.

Indeed, James hit shots all night long. He also penetrated at will, drawing fouls, and finding the open man with nifty, seemingly effortless no-look passes. Not only was he the best player on the floor while barely breaking a sweat, but, to bring out an old chestnut, he made those around him better.

The Wolves, by contrast, struggled. Depleted (Foye still out with that troubling knee injury, Telfair attending his grandmother’s funeral), they relied on Marko and Buckner at the point. Not helping matters was a dreadful performance from McCants, who forced his shot on a night when it wasn’t there, and turned the ball over with impunity. Four minutes into the third quarter, Wittman sent him to the bench, where he remained for the rest of the game.

Truly, Madly, Deeply
With Ratliff’s gimpy knee keeping him out another game, the Wolves rotated three players at center. They put up a combined one shot for zero points (albeit with only one turnover and eight boards). But one of those centers was Mark Madsen, making his first appearance this season after a jet-ski accident over the summer. And while we enjoyed his array of charcoal and off-blue courtside suits, it was nice to see the Mad Dog on the floor. He was like a puppy who’d been cooped up all day finally set free to spaz out on the lawn. He was running here to there, there to here. Going for the ball, getting offensive rebounds. It made us tired just looking at him, and sort of hopeful.

Intrigue
After the game, Wittman was the most pissed we’ve seen him this young season. It wasn’t so much the refs (“We’re not getting calls. Jiminy Christmas, I don’t want to get into that,” he said, referring to the 33-13 disparity at the free-throw line) or even players showing up late to shootarounds (Corey Brewer sat out the first half as punishment, but played the entire fourth quarter). It was more Rashad McCants, who Wittman implied was playing like a petulant wuss. “We’re not talented enough right now to just play and hope that it happens,” said Wittman, who spoke ominously of looking for five players who wouldn’t quit when the team “gets punched in the mouth.”

“I found some guys there at the end who at least fought back,” he said. And who, pray tell, was Wittman talking about? Primarily, Gerald Green.

Last Friday, we spoke to Green after he logged zero minutes in a loss to the Wizards, his latest in a string of DNP-CDs. He expressed his frustration, talking about how hard it was to ride the bench when he could be out there helping his team.

Well, tonight he got his chance. Green responded with easily his most productive game of the season. He wasn’t looking to shoot immediately, he moved well without the ball, and he took good, open looks at the basket. In 20+ minutes, Green hit 6-8 shots for 13 points, including a thundering dunk after a floor-length run off a tipped pass. As Wittman put it, in a barely veiled shot at McCants, “He didn’t care what the score was or who was guarding him. He just played.”

After the game, we asked the Green Monster if he thought the performance was a harbinger of things to come—if coach would have to keep putting him in the game.

“I’m just here to help my team any way I can,” he said, clearly having cranked up his platitude machine in preparation for questions from reporters. “Every decision that coach makes is always going to be a great one.”

But look for Green to get 15+ minutes in Friday’s game. And if he responds, look for him to keep getting minutes. And look for those minutes to come at the expense of Rashad McCants who, only nine games into the season, has already exasperated his head coach.

Locker room notes
After the game, we popped by the visitors’ locker room to catch a glimpse of LeBron James. As we were waiting, we saw: Zydrunas Ilgauskus, with both his legs in buckets of ice water, looking sage and a little sad and, also, 7’3”. An aside: 7’3” is very tall. 6’10” is like, shit man, you’re a tall dude. But 7’3”? It’s like, do you live in one of those houses with telephones the size of television sets and television sets the size of sideways refrigerators? Wow. But he was very nice, and said nice things about Al Jefferson, who he’d guarded for much of the night.

Also, Drew Gooden. You probably remember him as the guy with the awful round nubbin of hair surrounded on all sides by shaved scalp just north of his rear neckline. He’s shaved it off, which we should all be able to agree is a good thing. But why, we were curious, had Gooden leveled his terrible hair island?

“I was getting jealous of it,” said the affable, approachable sidekick to the self-appointed Second Coming. In an instant, his friendly nature made us regret many nights of making fun of the dude’s unsightly misplaced hair-poof.

Jealous?

“Yeah, it was getting more attention than I was. And it was causing too much grief for my family.”

Apparently, his mom was getting shit from her friends about it. So it had to go. Rest assured, Gooden is focusing his attention elsewhere, follicle-wise. He’s growing a full beard, which gives him a measure of gravitas. (As for who it makes him look like, says Gooden: “I’ve been getting a lot of Common.”)

Oh, and LeBron eventually came out of the shower, but was immediately surrounded by a swarm of reporters asking questions like “How did it feel to be so awesome tonight?” and “Is it awesome to be so awesome? It must be. Tell me about that.” We’re paraphrasing, but you get the idea. We left before Adrian Peterson, who’d taken in the game courtside, came in to pay his respects to the Chosen 1. We’re sorry we missed their conversation. No doubt it was totally awesome.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at November 22, 2007 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

 

1-7, and ready for more

Filed under: Timberwolves

Friday: Wizards 105, Timberwolves 89
“We pissed down our legs.” At least that’s what we think Randy Wittman said in the post-game press conference after his team’s second-half collapse against the talented and resurgent Washington Wizards. Half-assed reporter that we are, we didn’t have our tape-recorder with us. In any case, it’s an apt characterization of his team’s second-half effort.

After strong first-half performances from Sebastian Telfair (3-3 shooting, 3 dimes, no turnovers) and Antoine Walker (3-4 from downtown, with 3 steals), our heroes were up four at the half. Further, they managed to build a 12-point lead midway through the third quarter. But that +8 stretch in the third was something of a mirage. In those six minutes, the Wizards missed several open looks, while the Wolves, with Jaric running the point, settled for jump shots and, thanks largely to McCants’ hot hand, managed to make some of them. But when the Wizards inevitably started hitting, and as the Wolves kept settling for jumpers and inevitably started missing, the lead evaporated within four minutes. And when Wittman finally put Telfair back in to run the point with less than three minutes left in the period and with the Wolves suddenly up by only two, the young guard wasn’t able to get his team back in a rhythm. And then Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler took over.

In other news, in a likely nod to the unwatchable Nacho Libre, Arenas has taken to hollering “Nacho” instead of "Hibachi" after his made shots.

Saturday: Hornets 100, Timberwolves 82
We could talk about Telfair having a solid game (7-11 from the field for 15 points, along with three assists), or McCants struggling (2-10 for seven points, along with three turnovers, and long stretches of the second half on the bench), or Peja Stojakovic having the prettiest jump shot in the league (4-6 from downtown, mostly guarded by Corey Brewer), but we’ll just leave it at this: It’s a bad sign when your team doesn’t have an answer for Melvin Ely. The Hornets put their backup center in to start the fourth quarter, up 74-61. And he delivered. Playing against Jefferson, he hit a nifty jump hook, then, on the next possession, tipped in a missed shot. Recognizing the mismatch, Wittman subbed Jefferson out for the redoubtable Chris Richard. Unfortunately, our favorite rookie (sorry, Corey Brewer) didn’t fare much better, with Ely dunking on him less than a minute later. Ely’s final line: 10 points on 5-6 shooting in under 10 minutes. Ouch.

Locker Room Notes
-After Friday’s game, we asked Gerald Green how it feels to spend all his time on the bench.

“I ain’t gonna lie,” he said. “It’s hard. It’s hard watching your team out there losing and knowing you could go out and help.”

In professional sports, every benchwarmer, everyone toiling in the developmental or minor leagues, believes they’re one fair shot away from the big time. You have to. Because if you don’t, it’s time to find a new line of work.

On Saturday, we’re happy to report, Green got a few minutes of garbage time in the fourth. His line was unimpressive. In six minutes, he missed all three shots he took, picking up one board and one assist.

After the game, munching on lukewarm pizza in the locker room, he seemed bummed out.

“I missed some jumpers,” he said.

But he had taken good shots, we pointed out, and it didn’t seem as if he was trying to force things. Unlike, we didn’t point out, some of his earlier efforts.

“I’m not going out there looking to score right away,” he said. Which, all things considered, is a good sign.

-After Saturday’s game, a teammate was admiring Antoine Walker's remarkably large and glittery watch when we made the mistake of asking about it. 'Toine wasn’t interested in humoring us: “I’ve been in the league 20 years, son,” he said, adding that watches like that come with the territory.

Fair enough, although it’s really been more like 13 years. For the record, we were just trying to make friendly conversation. We suppose when you're dealing with dudes who rarely show up at games and write ad hominem shit (see last paragraph) about you on a semi-regular basis, it gets old talking to reporters. Again, fair enough.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at November 18, 2007 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

 

Wolves Win!

Filed under: Timberwolves

Wolves 108, Kings 103

"Finally." That was the first word out of Randy Wittman's mouth at the post-game press conference Wednesday night. And why not? It sucks to start a season with a prolonged losing streak, even a season that everyone is preemptively chalking up to a rebuilding effort.

Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine the Wolves winning too many more games like this one. Here's the problem: Pretty much every T-Wolf had a good--or at least decent--outing. And they beat the Sacramento Kings (1-5 against the rest of the league, with their only win coming against the lowly Supersonics) by five points. At home.

You can go right down the list.
-Rashad McCants had 33 points on 13 of 22 shooting, including 4 of 7 from downtown.
-Al Jefferson was fantastic in the low post, shooting 11 of 16 for 23 points, to go along with 7 boards and 3 blocks.
-'Toine hit half his shots for 19 points and gave up only one turnover.
-Marko actually ran the point effectively in the second half, didn't shoot too much (2 of 6 for 9 points), and picked up 8 boards.
-Even Chris Richard, in less than four minutes of action, hit a bucket and picked up an offensive rebound.

It's a simple point, but a sobering one: Good teams find ways to win on off nights. The T-Wolves picked up their first win in game where pretty much everyone contributed.

Well, except for Gerald Green, who never got in the game. But even the normally surly-looking benchman was seen doling out a couple high-fives, and helping Ratliff up from his supine position when the big man was called back to battle.

Don't get me wrong. It's great that they won. It's certainly more fun for everyone when they do. All's I'm saying is, don't hold your breath for the next W.

Favorite Moment:
With the Wolves up 96-90 and just over two minutes remaining, Brad Miller made an ill-advised pass into the paint. Reading it all the way, Rashad McCants picked it off, dribbled the length of the floor, and finished with a nifty finger-roll. It iced the game, and it was only fitting that it was McCants--who was hitting from pretty much everywhere, all night long--that made the decisive play.

A pattern?
T-Wolves' record in games where Al Jefferson scores a double-double: 0-5
T-Wolves' record in games where Al Jefferson does not score a double-double: 1-0

Trillion Report
No trillions to report tonight. Oddly, though, in what turned out to be Antoine Walker's most productive game since joining the Wolves, he started the game with a five trillion.

Locker Room Notes:
Speaking of 'Toine, it was just a few days ago, after registering his first career DNP-CD, when he told the Strib that "I don't know what I'm doing here."

Thirty minutes of playing time later, and it's all "I'm here to help the team" and "I get the situation with Craig." (Craig Smith was out for the game with a turned ankle, enabling Walker to get all that playing time).

In a league full of epic tattoos, Rashad McCants has a couple that stand out for sheer self-important amazingness. The tats in questions are prominently displayed on each of Shaddy's million-dollar arms. On the right: Born To Be Hated. On the left: Dying To Be Loved.

Which brings up an important issue: The NBA is home to some remarkable tattoos. Perhaps it's time we had an NBA all-tattoo team?

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at November 14, 2007 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

 

Dwight Howard-the rich man's Al Jefferson

Filed under: Timberwolves

Let’s start with for starters: Dwight Howard is a very good basketball player. He is young, he is tall, he can jump very high, and, for most of Tuesday’s T-Wolves—Magic game, he made Al Jefferson look like an intimidated, overmatched, borderline-incompetent defender.

Jefferson got his game going late—he wound up with an entirely respectable 25 points on 11/20 shooting, along with 10 boards—but for the first three quarters, it was painful watching him try to defend Howard. At one point in the second quarter, Howard had the ball a good six feet from the basket, and Jefferson decided his best option was to wrap his opponent in a bear hug. Not a good sign, but an entirely emblematic one.

The score reflected this mismatch. The Wolves started the fourth quarter down 88-74. But as Jefferson got in the flow of his offense—hitting his patented running leaners and his turnaround ten-footers—and as others, like Marko Jaric, hit a couple big shots down the stretch, the Wolves used a 14-0 run to close the gap to 92-90 halfway through the final frame.

Fittingly, though, it was the Howard-Jefferson match-up that sealed the game. The Magic were up 104-100 with 1:50 remaining when Howard, deep in the shot clock, missed a point-blank shot in the paint. Jefferson, playing Howard tight, was in position for the rebound, but Howard reached around him—it’s a cliché, but he just seemed to want it more—and put his own miss back up. He missed, but Jefferson fouled him, and Howard nailed both free-throws.

There were some positives. Marko Jaric had easily his best game of the season, with 10 points, 10 dishes, and only one turnover. With Rashad McCants out for the last three quarters with an ankle sprain (and possibly out for a while, unfortunately), Jaric alternated between the point and off guard. Among other things, he got into a nice rhythm with Antoine Walker, setting him up in the block a few times.

The Serbian Stallion still seems a step slow—especially against quick point guards like Carlos Arroyo—and a little out of control. Kind of like he might trip over himself at any moment and all will be lost. But when he’s confident, which he was for most of the night, he gets to the hoop and isn’t afraid to finish strong. This helps his game tremendously, as it frees up passing lanes—for all his faults, Marko is an above-average passer—and gives him the space he needs to take his shots. Marko hit a couple big deep shots down the stretch.

In other news, Bassie Telfair, while not the smooth floor general we all hope he will one day become, took a lot fewer shots—five—than he had in recent games. True, he only made one of them, but he also did a better job of getting the ball inside to Jefferson.

Trillion watch:
We're happy to report that we have witnessed our first trillion of the year. The honor goes to Trevor Ariza. In a way, it's only half a trillion, since he only played 32 seconds. But! That's not how the stat sheets read. In basketball, as in life, we round up. Trevor, here's to you, and to many trillions more.

An honorable mention goes to Chris Richard, the Wolves' rookie making his NBA regular-season debut tonight(!). Checking in midway through the third quarter, Richard notched a personal foul and a blocked shot-and nothing else-in 4:22 of action.

Locker room notes:
If Antoine Walker is fat, we don’t know what that makes us. Dude was topless during the post-game press availability, and we just have to say, he is not fat. Svelte? By professional athlete standards (John Kruk notwithstanding) it’s probably the wrong adjective. But fat? Only if you’re looking at his reflection in a funhouse mirror. He has a round face. Always has. That much we’ll give Pat Riley. Also, he did take—and miss—more than his share of shots. But that's a different issue.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at November 7, 2007 12:12 AM | Comments (3)

 

Marcus and Melo, AI, oh my!

Filed under: Timberwolves

Well, the Wolves played incredibly well against a very, very good Denver Nuggets team for much of the game Friday night. They ended up losing 99-91, but it was a terrific, exciting game. In the first quarter, as they were embarking on a 19-2 run, they played aggressive defense, ran the break and moved the ball beautifully. Sebastian Telfair (who winked at me during his post-game interview as he told a joke. Shucks. Also, he was wearing an amazing shirt with birds on it) was energetic and yet controlled in running the offense. Playing patiently within the flow of the offense, Rashad McCants started out 4-4 with a combination of nasty dunks and threes. It was great.

But the Nuggets slowly crept back against the Wolves second unit, unably led by Marko Jaric (see far, far below). In the second half, Carmelo Anthony (whom, I swear to you, the Chinese have nicknamed “Sweet Melon”) began calmly hitting shots and drawing fouls. The Wolves just didn’t have the poise and experience to hang on. I have a feeling that’s not the last time that line will be written.

When things are going well for the Wolves, when they are creating turnovers and running the floor and getting easy baskets, their offense has a lovely ease and grace. They are able to play with pace and still allow the offense to flow through their post players, Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff, creating interior passing angles and open jump shots. But good teams are able to execute and score even when things are not coming easily. And when Denver turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter, the Wolves became a bit disheveled. When the Nuggets made their big run and Marcus Camby began to dominate (see below), the Wolves, admirably, were able to match Denver’s increased intensity. The difference in the game was that, at those same moments, Denver relaxed and executed on offense (as we saw the Spurs do so often in the playoffs last year) while the Timberwolves became frantic and undisciplined. After sitting out most of the third quarter because of foul trouble, McCants forgot his earlier patience and was forcing passes and taking contested jumpers.

After the game, much was (very delicately and euphemistically) made of the huge foul disparity—the Nuggets took 38 free-throws to the Wolves 19—and the fact that the star-laden Nuggets commanded a measure of respect from the officials that the Pups have yet to earn. This is true, no doubt, but the disparity also came about from the way the two teams drove to the hoop. Sweet Melon and AI always appeared poised and controlled as they drew contact. The Wolves, especially McCants and Telfair, looked out of control when they went to the basket; they looked like they couldn’t have made their layups even if Camby hadn’t been there to swat them away.

With Efficiency, Like a Fish in Sea
Right now, efficiency is the hot new word in measuring the worth of NBA players. Scoring is not necessarily the best way to tell how much a player contributes to his team, since there are lots of players (Gilbert Arenas, splendiferous though he is) who score lots of points by using up tons of possessions and others (Shawn Marion) who help their teams immensely without ever dribbling.

This is a useful way to view the relative worth of Allen Iverson vs. Marcus Camby. Iverson is an incredibly dynamic, energetic and creative player, but he needs to dominate the ball in order to be effective. Very often he does something magnificent, something no one else can do—like when he shook Sebastian Telfair with a stunning crossover dribble amid traffic in mid-drive. Or when he elevated to the basket, drawing 11 Wolves defenders to him, brought the ball down to his waist as if to attempt a scoop shot and, in midair, fired a perfect chest pass to Sweet Melon for a wide open three. But he often shoots poorly (he was 4-14 last night) and turns the ball over. In other words, he’s inefficient. Amazing, beautiful, but inefficient.

Marcus Camby, on the other hand, though he almost never has plays called for him and cannot really create his own offense, does something good almost every time he touches the ball. He scored a modest 14 points against the Wolves, but did so on 7-10 shooting and added 21 rebounds and six blocked shots. Readers, that is a lot of rebounds and blocked shots.

Those tiresome folks who like to complain that the NBA regular season is meaningless and boring because of the players’ lack of intensity have either never sat very close to the court or have done so for so many years that they’ve become heartless and cynical. Because, especially in the fourth quarter, things get pretty heavy down there. And in those intense, chaotic moments, the influence of a player like Camby becomes obvious. Camby forced Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff (could he really have been guarding them both? It seemed possible), both players who normally shoot a high percentage, into many awkward misses. After the game, Ratliff admitted that, because of Camby’s disruptive presence, shots that normally would have been dunks turned into forced layup attempts. When the game was close in the fourth quarter and the Wolves were desperately trying to hold on, Camby got every rebound and tap-out and block and follow up dunk. Sweet Melon made a lot of shots and Iverson was fast and intense, but Camby was completely dominant.

There are Trillions and Trillions of Scrubs Out There
Nuggets guard Yakhouba Diawara came achingly close to recording a “trillion.” (A trillion, you may recall, is that hallowed record in which a player logs at least one minute of playing time while not registering a single other statistic on the box score, creating a soothingly harmonious uninterrupted series of zeroes on the stat line.) Diawara played a full 7:19, leaving a lone personal foul as his imprint on the world. Sadly for Wolves fans, and maybe for Yakhouba as well, he was outdone in sheer ridiculousness by the Wolves’ very own Marko Jaric. Marko’s line starts o