SB Nation - Damien Wilkins

Bad Ball

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:21:54 -0000

about 1 month ago: Minnesota Timberwolves' Corey Brewer scores as Cleveland Cavaliers' Mo Williams looks on in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 in Minneapolis. Brewer scored 11 points in the Timberwolves' 104-87 loss to the Cavaliers. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Near the bottom of last night's comments a few important things were pointed out:

Anthony Parker

has 6 points from 2/7 shooting and was +23

That statistic has very definite limitations.

Judd: "...I've since watched some Steven Seagal movies and I realise that pressure points are no laughing matter.".

by Auswolf on Oct 31, 2009 12:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

...

Hey, everyone:

This was a game against one of the top 3 teams in the league, 0-2 start be damned.

I think we would all benefit by making literally no — not a single one ~~- definitive statements about the team after this game. Of course Flynn was going to have a terrible +/~~. Of course we were going to look bad. Do not worry about it. Hold your judgements for when we get blown out by a bad team.

Thank you, and good night.

by LoveTo on Oct 31, 2009 12:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

There are going to be a few things that we all need to keep in mind when discussing the Wolves this season:

They are going to put up some crooked stat lines.
+/- is going to be even more flawed than usual as a stand-alone stat used to gauge individual game performances. The Wolves are going to take it in the chin this year on more than a few occasions. That doesn't mean that individual players won't play well within any given blow-out (Brewer played decent during last night's atrocity). It also doesn't account for the roles that certain players inhabit (Ramon Sessions as a backup point; Sasha Pavlovic as a defender off the bench) or the fact that the team's two best players are either inactive or playing at 70%. +/- is a nice part of the equation but it will need to be downgraded this year as the Wolves, as a whole, are going to be going through some bumps and bruises beyond what was expected last year when they had the ability to trot out a relatively respectable and experienced lineup of Sebastian Telfair, Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Kevin Love, and Al Jefferson. Also, we're really, really, really early in the season and until we see how some of these lineups look over the course of 10-15 games, +/- is going to have some pretty hefty limitations and should be used in conjunction with other observations/stats. For instance, Jonny Flynn ended last night's game with a -23 in 25 minutes. This is a bad, bad number but it could mean that he was on the court with the team's most ineffective front court (Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, and Damien Wilkins) and LeBron James for a long period of time. It could also mean that Jonny Flynn is not an NBA point at the moment and while he can score until the cows come home, he has some fairly big issues facilitating the offense. Or, it could be a combo of the two factors. Either way, simply citing +/- isn't going to cut it with this team right now.
Al Jefferson is not anywhere near 100%. Yes, it looks like he has no business being in the new offense and he is the last person on earth you want directing traffic out of the high post, but a serious injury is still a serious injury and the Jefferson Discount should be taken into account when discussing his overall worth to the squad.

I'm sure we can come up with a few more gentle nudges for game discussion but these are the ones that have quickly risen to the top in the first two games of the season.

Enough about the Wolves for a second. The most notable thing about last night's game, for me, was the composition of the Cavs. This team is not as good as it was last year and it is not a championship contender. The most glaring issue that they have is that even with LeBron on the squad, they are the most unathletic non-Wolves starting-5 team I have seen in a long, long time. Shaq and Ilgauskus may be the slowest and most earth-bound frontcourt duo in the league and their non-LeBron wings stand around the three point line and do not crash the boards. This team will be taken apart by any other squad with two players who are both athletic and above 6'10" Witness Toronto, Orlando, and Boston. Witness the change in the game when Ryan Hollins entered the contest. Hell, even Nathan Jawai was able to change the pace of the game for a few moments. This team will always have a decent shot at winning any single game because of LeBron James (who I firmly believe is the best player in the world). However, any team that is thinking about giving 80-90 minutes of court time to a Shaq, Varejao, Ilgauskus front court trio doesn't have the top end to compete with the Bostons, Orlandos, and yes, even the Torontos of the world over a 7 game series. They don't need a Steven Jackson; they needed a Rasheed Wallace or a Marcin Gortat. Mike Brown will eventually take the heat for what happens to this squad but it's the damn Dukie who did the damage.

Let's wrap this up with a few bullet points:

There is no reason on God's green earth to front or double Shaq at this point in his career. This didn't stop Al Jefferson from trying the former and Damien Wilkins from attempting the latter (off of LeBron James, no less). Make them go over the top and if they beat you with Boobie Gibson, so be it.
The FSN game was apparently brought to us by Bret Michael's November appearances at Grand Casino.
The Wolves' starting front court (Jefferson, Gomes, and Wilkins) went 0-for-their-starting-stint. The first front court bucket was made by Ryan Hollins. Sasha Pavlovic was the next front court player to score followed by the White Hole himself, Oleksiy Pecherov. The starting FC ended the game on 9-28 shooting. This comes on the heels of their 9-30 effort against the Nets.
My first Wolves prediction of the year: Ryan Gomes plays himself out of his team option at the end of the year. David Kahn isn't going to pick up a $4.2 million tab on a guy who can't really play the 3 or the 4 in a year where guys like Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick, and Travis Outlaw could be on the open market.
Speaking of options, today is the day for the White Hole and Corey Brewer. Will their options be picked up by the team? I think Brewer gets his but my money is against Pech. Putting the last two points together, ESPN currently has the Wolves with between $8.9 and $12.5 million in 2010 cap space. This is with a cap projected between $50 and $53.6 million. According to the definitive Hoopus cap page, the Wolves are on the books for roughly $37.5 in pre draft pick 2010 salaries. If they decline the options on Pech and Gomes, they can reduce that number by roughly $6.5 million. In other words, by not picking up Pech and Gomes, the Wolves can be sitting at $31 mil at the start of the 2010 free agent without taking into consideration slotted 1st round draft picks. Could the Wolves be in the Mark Stein ballpark after it's all said and done with? Yes, but they also could be at the top of the heap with about $15-18 mil to spend even after all the draft picks are signed. We think Stein and ESPN underestimate the amount that the Wolves could have to spend at the end of the year, especially if Pech and Gomes are voted off the island.
How sad is it that we're already talking offseason cap space and draft picks? Yes, it will be a long year. An entertaining one at times, but a long one nonetheless.
There was a play in the 2nd half that really illustrated just how not-there Big Al is at times. The Wolves were about to enter the bonus when the Cavs got a fast break opportunity. Instead of making his way down the court to contest the shot, Al fouled the Cavs player at half court, conceding the foul and the trip to the line. If you are willing to give the foul and the trip to the line because of the bonus, why not contest the shot?
To say one good thing about Al, he did blow by Shaq on one play like Shaq was a 37 year old 360 lbs oaf....oh wait.
Corey Brewer played solid defense on LeBron when he wasn't spending time on the dangerous Anthony Parker. I know that LeBron can get his against anyone in the league but it would have been nice to see Brewer get a bigger crack against the guy.

Well, that about does it for the game wrap. What did you notice about the game? What guidelines will you have for critiquing the team's performances? Do you think Pecherov's option gets picked up? What about Gomes at the end of the year?

Until later.

Loud Links: 10.30.09

daddydai — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:20:03 -0000

Green Street " Bill Simmons talks some hoops
(Bill Simmons places Kevin Durant over Lebron James again.) Do you want to claim temporary insanity on the statement that, when all is said and done, that Kevin Durant will be better than Lebron James? Well, I think he is going to be more successful. You know. I said that, when everything was said and done, that we might book back on both their careers and say that Kevin Durant was better. And it is going to come down to, from day one, they put him in a better situation. They weren’t rushing him, they were building a young team around him, they have cap space. They have money to spend next summer. Cleveland, from the get go, were panicking to put guys around [Lebron]. They were signing older guys, over-paying for guys. They never had a plan. He’s been on bad teams and he has had a coach that has never known how to use him and now we are in Year 7. You watched the game the other night, he is still a one-man team. This is Year 7, he should have teammates by now. What if he goes to the Knicks? In my opinion that is Gretzky with the Los Angeles Kings all over again. It is just Lebron carrying this crappy team in his prime. I think the stars are aligned for Durant. They have four straight lottery picks, they have a ton of cap space, they have one of the best executives in the league. He is in a position where he could be the best player on a really good team for 12 to 13 years, potentially.

Detroit might have to play in home opener without Rip Hamilton
Friday's opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are a very difficult opponent for your hometown Pistons. Kevin Durant is on the verge of stardom (or is he there yet?), Jeff Green looks like a legit #2 option, and Russell Westbrook appears to have grasped the point guard position after all. Points are not very hard to come by with this group. They might not have a very deep bench, but we know James Harden can pour in points, and Nick Collison defines that steady, proven NBA big man role. At the very least it should be an highly entertaining game as each team does their best to light up the scoreboard. The ball tips at 8pm ET. Check it out on Fox Sports Net.

Northwest Division preview: Oklahoma City Thunder | Blazers Blog - OregonLive.com
(Darnell Mayberry breaks down the Thunder for Blazersblog) Durant will have to show as much all-around improvement as he did in his second season. And that's asking a lot. He needs to become a better and more consistent defender, rebounder and playmaker. He also needs to lower his turnovers and make better decisions. But without question the most important trait he needs to show is an ability to carry his team down the stretch of close games with more than just his scoring. I don't think the savviest observers will truly recognize him as an elite player until he leads his team to a respectable win total and becomes the guy who does the damage when the game's on the line. As for his All-Star chances, I don't consider Durant a lock. He'll have to beat out last year's starters Amare Stoudemire and Tim Duncan and reserves Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and David West. He'll also have to contend with Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carlos Boozer and, to a much lesser extent, Shawn Marion, Josh Howard and Richard Jefferson. I think it'll come down to the Thunder's win total at the All-Star break. Durant will certainly get his numbers and be in the conversation. But if the Thunder is, say 15-36, I don't think he has much of a chance. All of the aforementioned players he's competing against are in positions to be big contributors on much better teams.

First Hero of 09-10 Is ... Damien Wilkins? -- NBA FanHouse
(Former Thunder Damien Wilkins put a game winning shot for the Wolves) It's guys that will eventually be answers to trivia questions making huge shots that endear them and their teams to the hearts of young fans who first make a connection with this crazy, random, beautiful game. The heroes aren't just the guys on posters and All-Star ballots, sometimes they are journeymen who show up every day, don't shoot a great percentage and get the job done. Wednesday was Damien Wilkins' day.

2010 Top 55 Most Influential In Basketball
(Sam Presti is ranked as the 35th most influential person in basketball. Really? Number 35?) 35 - Sam Presti, General Manager, Oklahoma City Thunder – Presti has become the model for the next generation of basketball executive. There is not anyone in the industry who does not want to do business with Presti; he is honest and he takes extreme care of his players and staff. Presti has an eye for talent that is almost unmatched. If he can turn Oklahoma City into a perennial playoff contender, he may be able to write his own ticket for the next 15 years.

Rip Hamilton may miss tonight's home opener | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
(Oh yeah, you might have heard that Rip might miss tonight's game) Rip Hamilton suffered an ankle injury in the Pistons' opener and his status for today's home opener against Oklahoma City is in question. Hamilton was hurt with 5 minutes left in the Memphis game Wednesday night when he landed on O.J. Mayo's foot. Hamilton shot two free throws and eventually left the court for treatment. He spent Thursday's practice with his foot and ankle in ice and under the watchful eye of Arnie Kander, the team's strength-and-conditioning coach. "It's hurting and it's sore; it hurts more than yesterday when it happened," Hamilton said Thursday. "Hopefully it'll get better soon. We don't think about not playing. I've been locked up all night since it happened. We haven't taken off the tape to get a good look at it.

Kevin Durant finds the key to winning | NewsOK.com
(KD likes video games. Everyone on twitter knows that.) If you had one guess, what would you say is driving Kevin Durant this season? The scoring title? An All-Star appearance? A playoff berth? How about video games? "People might not believe me, but when I go home (after practice) I play video games and I lose all the time," Durant said. "And I get so mad that I come back and I want to win everything. Something that small puts that winning mentality into my head."

Thunder notebook: OKC aiming to avoid last year's miserable start | NewsOK.com
(This is why OKC has a special team.) "We like playing with each other," Collison said. "We want everybody to do well, and we’re just concentrating on playing the right way. Nobody’s angry. Nobody’s upset and feels like they’re getting the short end of the stick. Everyone is pulling for everybody else, and it’s easier to play like that."

Thunder signs G Sefolosha to 4-year extension - Taiwan News Online
(More on the Sefolosha extension.) Sefolosha, 25, was married with three young children. He said the stability for the family was "something that also pushed me to do this this year." "It's a relief," Sefolosha said. "It definitely feels good just calling the family and telling them, `OK, it's done and I'm going to be in the NBA for a few more years.'" Zucker said the deal came together quickly in a 24-hour period after team chairman Clay Bennett "stepped up and improved the offer significantly." He credited Presti for "pushing it and pushing it" to get the deal done. "It's a fully guaranteed deal," Zucker said. "He was seeking stability and longevity and so were they."

List Ranker - Rank 'Em: Best NBA Players - ESPN
(Share your opinion! Rank KD with the league's best.) With the curtain being lifted on a brand new season of NBA action, we want to know how the league's most prominent players rank in your mind. Does another ring on Kobe Bryant's finger solidify him as the best player, or does that title go to the King himself, LeBron James? Is Brandon Roy more talented than rookie of the year Kevin Durant? And where does fantasy-favorite Chris Paul (arguably the best point guard in the league) fit into the mix? Give it your best shot and rank 'em!

Kings aren't OK in season opener - Sacramento Bee
The comfort level was gone, along with the swagger. "Two-Easy," as Evans has been known since dominating the prep ranks in Chester, Pa., and later in his spectacular solo season at Memphis, had the hardest of times in his pro debut. He had company almost every time at the rim, as rising star Russell Westbrook pestered with his length. Evans hurt his cause by uncharacteristically missing the few layups that went uncontested. The contrast of his counterpart emphasized Evans' struggles even more, as Westbrook was electric in every way with 14 points, a career-high 13 assists and just two turnovers.

TNT has most-watched night of its NBA coverage - USATODAY.com
(This seems like an exciting year for basketball) The doubleheader featuring title contenders Boston, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers produced Turner's most-watched opening night in its 26 years of airing the NBA. TNT drew nearly 3.7 million viewers Tuesday for the Celtics' 95-89 victory over the Cavaliers, followed by the Lakers' 99-92 win over the Clippers. That was a 43 percent increase over the 2.6 million that watched last year's opening-night doubleheader.

Jonny on the Spot

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:08:38 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

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(Quick pre-post note: Before you read this, you really need to click here or scroll down to read Britt Robson's season preview. Go ahead, do it.)

OK, we all knew that there would be an adjustment period to the new offense, for the new rookies, with the new players, and amongst the new coaches. I think the general consensus is that this time frame would be a few months and that there would be a bunch of games that would be little more than a prolonged series of bumps and bruises before we saw some improvement near the end of the year. Let's see a show of hands from those of you who thought we would see a condensed version of this little bit of theater play out over the course of a single game.

I cannot for the life of me think of another Wolves game that played out in direct relation to the way I expect the season to play out as a whole. In the beginning there was a brief moment of competitiveness followed by a long stretch of holy-crap-this-team-isn't-even-an-NBA-squad-and-they're-completely-overmatched, finished with a nice run of up-tempo ball led by two rookies, a big man forced to play a different role, and...wait for it...actual 4th quarter defense.

Let's talk a bit about the holy crap moments. Specifically, a third-year shooting guard.

There were periods in the first three quarters where I found myself wondering how many games Corey Brewer would last in the starting lineup on a 24-win team with no solid replacements on the bench. His offensive performance was so unwatchable, so infuriating, so off-the-charts terrible that I couldn't help but wonder just how much of a defensive dynamo he would have to be just to sniff court time.

In his first 3 quarters of action, Brewer posted a -11 on 1-11 shooting. In situation after situation he found himself in fantastic position only to a) miss the shot, b) flub the pass, or c) do things you would not expect a professional athlete to do when the rock ends up in his hands. Corey Brewer open in transition...can't cleanly catch the pass. Corey Brewer making a nice spin move into open space...passes the ball to the opposition. Corey Brewer moving off-the-ball into the receipt of a wide open pass....clank. This is perhaps the most frustrating thing of all about Mr. Brewer: He's energetic, athletic, and smart enough to find himself exactly in the spot he needs to be in on the offensive end of the court...only to muff the execution in spectacular fashion. This is the primary reason why I find myself rooting for the guy. He's soooooo close. If he could just hit 2-3 of those jumpers. If he could just finish on 1-2 of those whirling dervish drives to the rim. If he could just catch a ball in traffic. Everything would be A OK.

Brewer's saving grace during the first 3 periods was his work on the glass (he ended up with 4 OReb and 8 total boards) and the equally bad shooting of Sasha Pavlovic, who put up a 1-5 1st half effort in less than half the time it took for Brewer to jack up a 1-8.

Corey's saving grace for the entire game was his work on the defensive end, particularly in the 4th quarter when he was asked to match up against Yi Jianlian at the 4 along down the stretch. Brewer was all over the place. Jumping the post, doubling from out of nowhere, popping into passing lanes; you name it and he was doing it on the defensive end, including coming up with a game-saving last-minute double stop on Yi in the lane with both a block and a strip. If he ever figures it out on the offensive end, I think we're all in for a nice surprise. However, if last night is any indication, we may be a loooonnnnnggg way from seeing him put it together on that end of the court.

One final thing about Mr. Brewer: It's not a bad thing that he ended up with a team-high 14 shots. Yeah, that's a big number but they were spread out 5/3/3/3 over 4 quarters, and they weren't exactly terrible looks. Again, this guy has a knack to get open in the 1/2 court and in transition. He just can't finish.

The second big theme of this contest was the in-game development of Jonny Flynn. Yes, I know it's just a single game. However, it was pretty hard to ignore what changed during the course of 4 short quarters with the Wolves' s shiny new point guard. He started the game playing like he was thinking a bit too hard about what was going on out there on the court. In his second and third stints he looked out of place, especially in relation to the cool performance of Ramon Sessions. My main guess as to why this was the case is that Flynn has to work himself through the maze of his team's pecking order. He just can't come in and attack, attack, attack while not passing the ball, and he balanced his sometimes out-of-control 1st 1/2 play with a tentative approach to the 1/2 court offense. In other words, he was all-on/all-off and very little in between for most of the game.

In the 4th quarter, Flynn traded in his point guard hat for an Alpha Dog one and he placed himself at the top of the team's pecking order by attacking the lane, pushing the tempo, and getting to the line. The only times the 4th quarter started to drag were when Flynn would make attempts at dumping the ball down to Al Jefferson. This shouldn't be a bad thing in the long run, but Big Al's legs clearly weren't there and he really struggled from the floor.

Getting back to Flynn, he was able to get wherever he wanted to with the ball in the 4th quarter. Granted, he was getting to where he wanted to score, and he showed very little in terms of using his speed for facilitation, but anytime you see a player quick enough to make Devin Harris look like a lead-footed plodder, you have to hope that he can eventually find a way to make his quicks work for the good of his teammates. It was fantastic to see Jonny get to the rim at will; it will be even better when he turns on the jets in order to set up a lob pass or to collapse the weakside defense. These are the sorts of things that will turn him into a top flight point and not just a more likable Nate Robertson.

Let's finish this thing up with some bullet points:

The Wolves' starting wing players (Brewer, Damien Wilkins, and Ryan Gomes) went 10-35 from the floor. If you throw in Pavlovic, they did a 13-46 number on the home rims.
While Flynn had the flashy 4th and Wilkins hit the game-winning shot, my game ball goes to Wayne Ellington, who quietly played the entire 4th quarter while showing defensive grit, ball-handling skills, and an ability to hit the open shot. He was active on the offensive end and he even grabbed 4 rebounds (2 of them offensive) down the stretch. Again, we're only talking about one game, but Ellington had the best all-around game of any Wolves wing player last night.
Brian Cardinal was the team's best player in the 1st three quarters.
The winning formula for this game was 60/40 Wolves' effort to the Nets' late-game buffonery. Brook Lopez could have scored 50 points last night and for the life of me I will never understand why Lawrence Frank didn't ride that horse all the way home.
At one point in the 4th quarter, Frank ran out a lineup of Lopez, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Terrence Williams, and Rafer Alston. 3 wings, a sort-of point, and a big. Again, I have no idea why they didn't pound the ball into Lopez when he was getting whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but maybe the Wildcat offense has made its way to the NBA. This lineup gave up a -5 in the heart of the 4th quarter. It allowed the Wolves to not be exposed at the 4 (which had been a huge problem up to that point) as well as to keep their most effective players on the court. Thank you Coach Frank.
In something we will be keeping our eyes on all season long, Ramon Sessions got Kevin Ollie's minutes....all 19 of them. Sessions and Cardinal deserve credit for holding down the fort when nothing was going right during the middle of the game. Last year, the Wolves go down by 20+ in that situation with Mr. Ollie or Randy Foye running the point. I love having Sessions at the helm for those minutes but can they really give the guy only 17-20 mpg?
Did I mention that Wayne Ellington had a really nice game and completely bailed out the team's poor offensive wing play with his excellent 4th quarter?
Ryan Gomes, where art thou? I think we have this one nailed down by now: Gomesy only works when playing big at the 3 or small at the 4. Last night he found himself up against his natural foils at both slots and was appropriately ineffective.
The White Hole played 5 minutes and took 4 shots. Awesome.

Well, that about does it. One thing I want everyone to pay attention to going forward is the number of shots the Wolves take compared to their opponents. Last night that mark was 93 to 81. Getting 12 more shots than your oppoent while beating them by 6 FTAs at the line will make up for a lot of bad shooting. How did the Wolves get 12 more FGAs and 6 more FTAs? They were +12 in the turnover department. They didn't shoot that well and they were out-rebounded without Kevin Love, but they won the offensive rebounding, turnover, and free throw battle and that's why they won the game. Solid defense (i.e. generating turnovers) and hustle on the offensive glass generated 18 more scoring attempts than the Nets. Wilkins had a nice shot to end things, but a single possession is not why they won the game (BTW: credit for Wilkins' shot should go to Big Al's work on the offensive glass, as he's the one who tipped it to the open man). If only they could shoot the ball...

Until later.

3 In the Key - Toronto Raptors Game-Day Preview vs. Timberwolves

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:42:28 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

One of Minny's two core pieces won't be playing tonight, and it's time for the Raptors to take advantage.

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Franchise takes a look at tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and what he expects from the Toronto Raptors, in their last game of the pre-season...

This is it.

Last game of the pre-season.

Last chance to use the old "oh, these games don't count" excuse.

The Raptors take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight to conclude their pre-season experience; one which has been met with mixed reviews.

On one hand, there's the record of course, an unpleasant two wins and five losses. On the other, the hope that the real goal of the pre-season has been realized, that is to say, the team has used these past few weeks to learn Jay Triano's offensive and defensive schemes, while acclimatizing themselves to each other on and off the court.

The reality is that until we start seeing some real action, no one really knows just how the latter has gone, and so as fans, we're stuck with looking at the former. And unfortunately as some have recently pointed out, so far team's pre-season records seem to be a good indication of how they'll do come regular season. The hope is that the Raptors are the exception to this rule.

And why not?

After all, the Denver Nuggets, a team expected to challenge for a top spot in the West, would miss the playoffs based on their current 3 and 4 record.

And in the East, the Miami Heat have equalled Toronto's record of futility as well. I don't think anyone's expecting them to finish second last in the conference (barring a major injury to Dwyane Wade of course.)

So let's put pre-season records aside and forget that tonight represents the battle of the 2 and 5 teams. Yes, Minny sits in the West's basement with the exact same record, although it could be argued that they haven't faced the same level of competition as Toronto. Instead, here are the three key points the HQ team is going to be keeping an eye on this evening:

1) Defence.

One of the biggest areas of concern for most fans going into the season is the big D. The Raptors in the past few seasons have struggled in this area, and so far this pre-season hasn't given much reason for optimism. With Antoine Wright back at last, and considering the offensive woes of their opponent, I'm expecting to see Toronto finally show some ability in this area this evening. That means making Al Jefferson work extra hard for baskets, and keeping players like Ryan Gomes and Damien Wilkins from getting easy looks on the perimeter.

2) Rebounding.

Oooh, we're hitting all the basics aren't we? The sad thing is the Dinos have only won the battle of the boards twice in pre-season play, once in their win over Washington and then last Sunday (however only 38 to 37) in their loss to Boston. Along with defence, this is probably the area that the team needs to focus on the most come regular season. The offence should get their eventually, there's too much talent for that not to happen, but this team needs to learn to become a much better rebounding team. For individuals, especially those not predisposed to the boardwork like Andrea Bargnani, that means fighting the urge to stand around when a shot goes up and instead, making it second nature to crash the glass. And on a team level, it means understanding where the rebounding threats are on the court at all times, and ensuring they don't get to loose balls.

To put it plainly, there's no way Toronto shouldn't lose the rebounding fight this evening. Kevin Love, one of the league's best rebounders already, is on the shelf for Minny due to injury, and outside of Gomes and Jefferson, there's just not a lot of rebounding muscle.

3) Cohesive Play.

Not only is there a lack of rebounding prowess on Minny, there's simply a lack of talent and Toronto should be able to win this game without too much trouble. In my estimate, the Timberwolves are going to be fighting it out with the Jersey's and Sacto's for the league's worst record this year, and that's with Kevin Love.

So instead of worrying about match-ups (unless for some twisted reason you're pumped to see the Corey Brewer- Sonny Weems, or Oleksiy Pecherov-Andrea Bargnani contests), let's see this Raptor squad start to put some of the pieces together out there. Fast-breaks, good ball rotation, nice cuts to the hoop...all those things that have been trademarks of the Raps' offence in years past when things were going well. I'm suddenly expecting to see a blur of 3-man weaves tonight for easy looks, but it would be nice in the team's final match to start showing some signs that they're on the right track.

And again, especially considering their opponent.

No excuses, it's time to see this Raptor team make like Big Daddy Kane, and get the job done.

Making it Wayne

Stop-n-Pop — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:53:53 -0000

OK, credit is due where credit is due, and I can't think of any better way to start this post than to give the Line of the Year (So Far) to LoveTo for his catchy turn of a phrase for when Wayne Ellington gets hot from beyond the arc. It's a long year and it will be a hard-fought contest, but LoveTo is in the early lead.

Getting around to the game, the Wolves finally put together 48 minutes of exciting ball. I can live with losing. I can live with being outmanned. What I can't live with is a sports entertainment franchise being boring. For far too long the Wolves have been both bad and unentertaining. Last night the Wolves scrapped, ran, moved the ball around, played scrappy defense, and out-efforted the Pistons by a wide, wide, wide margin, especially in the second half.

The Wolves had six players in double figures, two more with seven ponits apiece, 22 assists (well above their 16.3 average in the preseason), 46 FTAs, and only 9 turnovers. With their two best players out of action, the Wolves turned in an all-around team effort built on grit and hustle. The result isn't something you'd really want to bet on, but the effort was more than enough to make you want to watch...and that's about the best we can ask for with this young team.

A few random observations:

Ben Gordon is an $11 million bench player who duplicates what Rip Hamilton brings to the table...sans 4 or 5 inches.
Before the start of the Pistons game, 31.3% of the Wolves' preseason points have come from the charity stripe. That's a lot of free throws. Over 40/game to be exact. I could learn to live with that.
"Pinch Post" and "weak side action" are words casual Wolves fans will have to get used to with this new offense. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these terms, here is a link to a Pinch Post description and here's a video:

In other words, keep your eyes on the side of the court with two players. Also, get ready to fully understand why the Wolves will need a versatile swing man.

Speaking of swingmen and weak side action, the most important possession of last night's game started with just under 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter:
- 10:30: Richard Hamilton personal foul (Damien Wilkins draws the foul)
- 10:25: Richard Hamilton personal foul (Damien Wilkins draws the foul)
- 10:12: Richard Hamilton personal foul (Damien Wilkins draws the foul)
- 10:11 Jonas Jerebko personal foul (Brian Cardinal draws the foul)
That was the ballgame right there. 4 fouls in under 20 seconds and the Wolves were in the bonus with less than 2 minutes gone in the 4th quarter.
Hanny will always be a homer and he'll be easier to stomach when the Wolves finally turn the corner, but I have a feeling that J-Pete is in for a solid year of color commentating (is that even a word). I'm really looking forward to hearing how his coaching stint with the Lynx is going to affect his coverage. I want to hear about offensive sets, off the ball decision making, advanced stats, and other pro nuances and I think Jim is going to deliver. He's off to a solid start this season. Best of all, Jim is a big internet follower and I think he has a firm grasp on the role of blogs in team coverage and fan conversation. The guy knows ball and I think he's going to work his way into a solid groove where he will enable casual fans to have a much deeper understanding of the pro game.
Speaking of offenses and nuances, I was watching the Wolves' version of the Triangle and all I could think about was that one of the big things the Triangle offense is not known for is upper-level point guard play. I'm not saying that I'm not glad that Ramon Sessions, Jonny Flynn, and the rights to Ricky Rubio belong at 600 First Avenue, but does it qualify as an irony that the Triangle's "weakest" position is the one the Wolves sunk the most resources into? BTW: As a long time Bassy fan, let me put in my vote for Sebastian Telfair as the league's Most Improved Player. He was my favorite T-Wolf and I never did get my Bassy jersey. At least my daughter got an autograph.
Ramon Sessions needs more minutes. Dude can ball and he is a deceptively good defender. He hides in traffic and bursts out of nowhere into passing lanes. I have a bad feeling that Mr. Sessions will be involved in a mid-season trade.
Ryan Hollins is an athletic foul machine. He also jumped 7 feet in college. Holy. Crap.
Mr. Ellington, you are here to shoot the long ball. Good game.
Corey Brewer is showing some signs of being a...wait for it...NBA starter. For the first time in a long time, I watched a Wolves game where it was obvious that Brewer had confidence with his game and his shot. He was disruptive, all over the place, and he even had a few nice moves to the rim, one of which almost looked like George Gervin, with a sweet finger roll at the end. Brewer is my de-facto favorite Wolf now that Bassy is gone and I'm really rooting for the guy.

Well, that about does it for the wrap up. What say you?

Until later.

BTW: How cool was it to see this:

2009 Season Preview

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:00:25 -0000

Team Name: Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year's Record: 24-58

Key ~~Losses~~ Additions By Subtraction: Calvin Booth, Bobby Brown, Rodney Carney, Jason Collins, Randy Foye, Mark Madsen, Rashad McCants, Mike Miller, Kevin Ollie, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Shelden Williams, Kevin McHale.

Honorary Member of the Addition By Subtraction club: Mark Blount.

Key Additions: Wayne Ellington, Jonny Flynn, Ryan Hollins, Sasha Pavlovic, Oleksiy Pecherov, Jared Reiner, Ramon Sessions, Damien Wilkins, Kurt Rambis, Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, Dave Wohl.

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

Grab a chair folks, this could take a while.

I think the best way to illustrate just how much has happened here in Wolves Land is to take a look at last year's opening day starting line up:

Randy Foye
Mike Miller
Corey Brewer
Ryan Gomes
Al Jefferson

...add in the key reserves:

Kevin Ollie
Rashad McCants
Rodney Carney
Craig Smith
Kevin Love

...compare them to the line up and reserves from the last game of the 08/09 season (and yes, Kevin McHale thought it would be a good idea to give the paying customers at the Target Center their own special version of a Seniors Night):

Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown
Mike Miller/Rodney Carney
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
Mark Madsen/Kevin Love/Craig Smith
Jason Collins/Shelden Williams

...before finally taking a peak at the rotation in the team's first 2009/10 preseason game against Milwaukee:

Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions/Mustafa Shakur
Corey Brewer/Sasha Pavlovic/Wayne Ellington
Ryan Gomes/Damien Wilkins
Kevin Love/Brian Cardinal
Al Jefferson/Ryan Hollins/Jared Reiner

Let's take a quick peak at those starting/closing day lineups with the dearly departed x'd out of existence:

~~Randy Foye/Kevin Ollie~~
~~Mike Miller/Rashad McCants~~
Corey Brewer/~~Rodney Carney~~
Ryan Gomes/~~Craig Smith~~
Al Jefferson/Kevin Love

~~Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown~~
~~Mike Miller/Rodney Carney~~
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
~~Mark Madsen~~/Kevin Love/~~Craig Smith~~
~~Jason Collins/Shelden Williams~~

And no, I do not believe there is another team in the league with only three remaining players from the rotation of their final 08/09 game. Only the Raptors come close.

What did the Wolves lose?

Net Production by Position

Position	FGA	eFG%	FTA	iFG	Reb	Ast	T/O	Blk	PF	Pts	PER*
PG	-0.5	-.061	-1.5	0%	-1.9	-0.7	-0.2	-0.0	-1.1	-3.8	-7.0
SG	0.1	-.034	-0.1	4%	0.1	-0.3	-0.2	-0.0	-0.3	-1.1	-2.4
SF	-3.5	+.001	-2.5	-1%	0.9	0.5	-0.5	0.1	-0.8	-5.5	-4.2
PF	0.3	-.016	-0.3	8%	-0.2	0.3	-0.6	-0.9	-0.3	-0.5	-2.3
C	6.1	-.057	2.1	4%	1.8	-0.9	0.2	-1.1	0.8	6.0	+2.4

They gave up a whole lot of nothing at the point, a Randy-Foye-January-fueled-it-was-really-worse-than-the-final-numbers-suggest basket of crap at the off-guard, a bowl of ineptitude at the 3, some holy-crap-there-is-nobody-behind-Love at the 4, and Al Jefferson and Kevin Love at the 5.

Enter David Kahn.

While I think it is safe to say that most Wolves fans who were paying attention at the time of his hiring (all 1,700 of us) were upset that the team seemed to have bumbled its way through its most important new addition in years (Kahn seemed to be a secondary choice and candidates from the Blazers and Spurs appear to have walked away from the position), The Demolition Man quickly and confidently made a series of moves that have placed the Wolves in a position to win.

He turned Kevin McHale, Jerry Sichting, and Dean Cooper into Kurt Rambis, Reggie Theus, Bill Laimbeer, and Dave Wohl.
He turned two moderate-sized expiring contracts into Ricky Rubio.
He turned a Sebastian Telfair/Kevin Ollie point guard rotation into a Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions one.
He picked up an athletic big who can play the reserve 4/5.
He drafted the 2nd best shooter in the draft late in the 1st round.
He cleared (probably) between $13-15 milion in 2010 cap space.
He picked up another 2010 first round pick.

Best of all, Kahn has made the Wolves interesting again. The process has been full of goofy quotes, funny interviews, nearly weekly roster moves, and the entire Ricky Rubio saga, but the bottom line for Kahn and the Wolves is the results:

Their core is good and tremendously young.
They have drafted the 2 best Euros in the past 2 drafts and stashed them overseas.
They have 3 likely 1st round picks in the 2010 draft.
They will have in the neighborhood of $15 million below the cap in 2010 free agency.
Chances are, they now have a functional point guard on their roster.

This thing is clearly still a work in progress (the team needs help on the wing and the Rubio situation still needs to be resolved one way or another) but it is also clearly pointed in the right direction.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding, and more rebounding. Kevin Love is one of the league's top 3 rebounders, Al Jefferson's game is built to be close to the bucket and he collects a net positive on the offensive boards, and Corey Brewer can hold his own at either the 2 or 3. If there is a player from last year's squad to get a little chippy about his departure, it is Mike Miller. Despite not shooting the damn ball, Miller was a very solid defensive rebounder and it will take a well above average effort from Pavlovic, Brewer, and Gomes to match Miller's efforts on the glass at the 2/3. Miller was the team's 3rd best rebounder and he did so from the wing. That's going to be harder to make up than what I think most people first realize, especially with the crew of Pavlovic, Brewer, Gomes, and Ellington trying to make up the difference. Ramon Sessions should make up for some of the lost rebounding production vis-a-vis Sebastian Telfair, but Miller's loss probably will have some effect on the glass. How much is something that remains to be seen.

In theory, the Wolves should also be a very good free throw shooting team this season. Last year Ramon Sessions had the 25th best FT/FG rate in the league at 36. Kevin Love was 18th at 39. Big Al was all the way down at 154 with 19. By all accounts in college, summer league, and his small sample of preseason games, Jonny Flynn has all the makings of a high-contact guard who will draw a lot of fouls in an up-tempo system. Last year the Wolves had one fairly legit threat of getting to the line at a high rate: Kevin Love. This year they have 3 players who should draw a ton of contact with one guy (Jefferson) who will have a modest rate but a high volume due to his number of touches.

It's pretty hard for me to overstate just how big of a deal improved free throw shooting will be for the Wolves. Last year the Wolves averaged 2.3 fewer FTAs than their opponents. The year before that they were a league-worst -6.9 in that category (which should give you an idea of the relative merits between Kevin Love and Craig Smith). For a team with a -4.9 point differential these are points that simply cannot be left on the board. With the addition of Sessions and Flynn, and with the continued development of Love, the Wolves appear to have addressed one of their biggest weaknesses of the past 2-3 years and turned it, hopefully, into a positive. For those readers who are just casual fans of the game, I cannot stress enough how important the free throw differential is to the bottom line. I also cannot stress enough just how bad the Wolves have been on this front over the past several years.

The final thing the Wolves are going to be good at is physicality. This is something that will be pretty hard to define over the course of the year but I have a pretty good feeling that they are going to be scrappy. One of the most striking things about their play in camp was they way in which guys like Love, Brewer, Sessions, and Ryan Hollins were getting after it. This has a chance of positively impacting the play on the end of the court they need help with the most. I'm not saying that they are going to be a defensive dynamo, but this year's squad has the opportunity to run out a rotation of Sessions, Brewer, Pavlovic, Jefferson/Love, and Ryan Hollins, which is a fairly significant defensive upgrade over anything they were able to offer up in the 08/09 campaign. This especially becomes the case if Brewer develops into the plus-defender we all hope he can morph in to. Sessions/Brewer/Pavlovic has the potential to turn the epic defensive weakness of Telfair/Foye/Miller into a positive for this club. It's probably not a lineup you'd run out there for long stretches of time, but it is something that this club did not have at its disposal under McHale. All three of those players held their 08/09 opponents to below their average production. The same could not be said for Telfair (-0.009% of opponents' average), Foye (whose opponents went 10.8% over their average production against the former Villanova star), and Miller (a mere 5.6% over average production). If you throw Ryan Hollins into the mix, the Wolves may have something approaching an effective defensive unit that they could trot out on the floor for 4-8 minutes per night.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Defense, wing play, turnovers, and outside shooting. I don't really know if there is a good way to break this down in much greater detail but the Wolves are still going to have problems on defense; their 2 and 3 will be manned by a rotation of Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington, Sasha Pavlovic, and Ryan Gomes, and their backcourt will be led by 2 point guards who will be in their first year with the team. David Kahn has been pretty frontal in his assessment that Gomes and Brewer are both in put up or shut up years. Pavlovic is on a 1-year contract. Nothing is promised or owed to any of these players and if they can't figure it out this year, I think it is becoming more and more obvious that when the Wolves do cash in their draft/free agency chips, it will be for a wing player. At media day and during camp both Gomes and Brewer said enough to make everyone well aware of the fact that they too know the score. As you can see from the positional chart listed above, the score on the wing isn't exactly in the Wolves' favor to begin with.

While I mentioned the possibility of a fairly solid perimeter defensive rotation with Sessions, Brewer, and Pavlovic, the fact remains that there is nothing on this team to suggest a significant overall improvement in defensive efficiency. Until we see some improvement in action, it's hard to believe it in theory. Ryan Hollins gives them a lengthy shot blocker but he fouls a ton. Corey Brewer has the potential to be an A+ defender but he is coming back from injury and is close to completely ineffective on the offensive end of the court. Ramon Sessions is a slightly above average defender at the point but he could end up with a lot of minutes at the 2. The point here is that even with the defensive positives the Wolves have some issues when it comes to weighing their best overall lineups against their best defensive ones. I'd be peachy keen with anything close to a neutral OE/DE ratio.

It can also not be overstated just how bad of an outside shooting club the Wolves are going to be this year. Wayne Ellington is probably their best shooter, their likely starting two guard (Brewer) has a career .250 three point average, their best point guard has 41 career three point attempts (with a .220 average), and Sasha Pavlovic's numbers from beyond the arc have seen a four-year fluctuation of .365, .405, .298, and .410. Could Ryan Gomes be the team's best outside shooter? If that's the case, then the Wolves are in for a long, long year from a perimeter shooting perspective. It's already proving to be a big problem in their limited preseason action.

4. What are the goals for this team?

a- At least a neutral OE/DE rating. Last year the Wolves had a -5.3 point gap per 100 possessions. While this was an improvement over the -7.4 point gap per 100 possessions from the year before, it still is a giant pile of suck. With the addition of a real starting point guard, and the maturation of Kevin Love, here's hoping the Wolves can pick up 2-3 pp/100 poss on the offensive side of the ball and that the return of Brewer and the addition of Sessions and Pavlovic can gain a point or two on the defensive side of things.

b- An increase in pace and shots within the first 10-15 seconds of the shot clock. If the Wolves' new offensive is going to pay dividends we should see an increased pace with more shots taken in transition. 36% of the Wolves' shots in 2008/09 were in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and 26% came in the next 5. If those numbers go up, it means the Wolves are running and getting opportunistic buckets. Last year the Wolves finished 15th in the league with 91.6 possessions/game. That number needs to go up.

c- Free throw neutrality (or more). As mentioned above, the Wolves should have an increase in free throw attempts this season. I have been harping on this point for two years now: You can't win games while losing by a mile at the free throw line. It can't be done. Between Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and Jonny Flynn, the Wolves have three guys who can really draw contact and get to the charity stripe.

d- Injury free.Will Kevin Love break the Wolves' 2nd year injury curse? From Shaddy to Foye to Brewer, 2nd year draft Wovles draft picks have all suffered season-ending injuries in their 2nd campaign. This is one curse that needs to be broken this year. (UPDATE: Of course, as this goes to post, Kevin Love breaks a bone in his left hand and will likely be out 6-8 weeks.)

5. Did David Kahn screw the pooch on draft night?

Let me begin by giving a simple yes or no: No. However, the (excellent) addition of Ramon Sessions begs the question of whether or not the Wolves could have walked away from the Draft with Rubio and, say, Demar DeRozan instead of Jonny Flynn. Sure, it would have been a big bet to wait out for Sessions, and who knows what would have happened with Sessions' negotiations if Rubio stayed in Europe and Flynn wasn't sitting there as a sure replacement, but..well, it's pretty hard to ignore the fact that the Wolves had two big first rounders and a free agent signing over the summer and they were all at the same position. Yes, it's at a position that has killed the Wolves since the days of Sam Cassell but isn't there a nagging little thought in the back of your head that is whispering "it could have been done better?" I think Kahn has done a terrific job but it will ultimately depend on which point guard(s) stick around in 2-3 years and how much he can get with the one (or two) that gets sent away. Will that equation end up being more valuable than the previously mentioned Rubio/DeRozan/Sessions combo? Who knows?

Projected Finish: 31-51

Poll

How many games will the Wolves win this year?

Less than 15

28 votes

16-20

83 votes

21-25

147 votes

26-30

183 votes

31-35

83 votes

More than 35

30 votes

554 votes | Poll has closed

Kevin Love breaks the 4th metacarpal on his left hand

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:30:17 -0000

Here is what a broken 4th metacarpal looks like. According to a few WebMD-style sites, it takes about 4-6 weeks to heal.

UPDATE: According to our doctor sources (including one physical therapist for a local sports team), this is a 4-8 week recovery depending on the type of use after the cast is removed. Probably closer to 8 weeks for a high contact sport like basketball.

UPDATE ii: Zgoda reports that Kahn says an early estimate is 6-8 weeks.

UPDATE iii: While we're at it, let's use this post as a quick wrap up of the game:

The Wolves' 1/2 court offense is a mess and it's not just the result of a transition to a new system. At one point in the 3rd quarter, Ramon Sessions, Ryan Gomes, Wayne Ellington, and Damien Wilkins were 0-20 from the field. They finished with 3 made field goals. This team needs shooters in a bad way.
Wayne Ellington is suffering from a big case of not being decisive with the ball. He needs to have more catch-and-shoots instead of putting the ball on the floor. He was 0-9 from the field before catching-and-shooting a corner three. He looks apprehensive when the ball heads his way.
Moving to the other end of the spectrum is the White Hole, Oleisky Pecherov. Granted, he makes a decent amount of shots but he is without conscience. His late three attempt was beyond-the-pale bad and Kurt Rambis is to be applauded for his restraint in not choking the White Hole on his return to the bench.
The Chicago broadcasters were brutal. At one point in the game they spent a good minute or so talking about the class in which Benny the Bull goes about his business conducting between-timeout fan activities.
Jonny Flynn showed some promise in this game by getting 8 assists and ending with a +1. There was a period in the 2nd half where he was able to get his teammates open looks on just about every trip down the floor. Granted, his teammates didn't exactly capitalize on the open looks, but they were there.
Before he left with a broken finger, Kevin Love was being man-handled by Tyrus Thomas. It's the preseason but Love has been on the wrong end of the +/- equation so far this year.
The Wolves are going to put up some weird boxscores this year. Early in the 2nd half they had more turnovers than the Bulls, 10 less FTAs, and a far worse FG% but were only down by 3 because they had 10 more field goal attempts. They ended up with a -10% on FG%, -12 FTA, -2 reb, and even turnovers. They only lost by 4. That's weird. I'm not sure how they ended up with 11 more shots.
The Wolves played their best stretch of ball with Love and Al Jefferson on the bench.

That's about it.

What say you?

Grizzlies Beat Thunder 91-99, Kevin Durant Likes The Team's Work Ethic, and Kyle Weaver who?

Mr Pappagiorgio — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:01:08 -0000

The Thunder saw their very first live game action of the 2009-10 (pre)season last night, and unfortunately ended up on the bottom side of the scoreboard. They were still able to take away some positives from last nights game as you probably read in our game recap last night, and if you didn't, well good, because we got you covered in todays edition of Loud Links which includes about five different game recaps plus our own. If you are just looking for the score, I'll even make it easy on you by telling you the Grizzlies won 117-89, but then you'd look stupid when talking to your friends about the game last night, so I suggest you read on, and make the jump so that you can actually know the real score of the game, as well as some details while at the same time helping our little blog out, ya dig? Thanks.

Outside of last nights game, todays edition of loud links hits on Kevin Durant (What's new?) and how he likes the work ethic of this Thunder team, and also Dime Mag lists Kevin Durant at #15 in their top 30 "Go to" players in the NBA. Darnell Mayberry (The most unenthusiastic journalist on television) thinks Kyle Weaver is the forgotten man, and he may be right. The NBA is going to televise the NBA D-League draft, so get ready to wait, and wait, and wait until picks #16 and #17 to see who joins the Tulsa 66ers for the 2009-10 season. The addition of the Thunder has helped push Oklahoma City to #37 on the list of best sports cities. Finally Lakers blog continues their "Know thy enemy" series with their Oklahoma City Thunder Preview. So take a flying leap and check out todays Loud Links.

Grizzlies Take Over in 4th, Thunder Play Well for 3 Quarters, Lose 91-99 - Welcome to Loud City
Well, I gotta be honest here, it wasn't a whole lot of fun listening to a basketball game on the radio, but what are you gonna do? This game was apparently not broadcast anywhere on TV, so the only option Thunder fans had to get in on the action tonight was to listen to the game on the radio.

Preseason: Grizzlies beat Thunder - Straight Outta Vancouver
WIN, WIN, WIN. The rivalry is settled -- the Grizzlies proved they are exactly eight points better than the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies won the game 99-91 after posting a spectacular 4th quarter blowout. Sam Young played the hero by scoring 15 in the 4th quarter, rallying the Grizzlies behind a slashing attack that got him to the free throw line almost at will.

Young's big 4th carries Grizzlies past Thunder - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Kevin Durant(notes) scored 17 for the Oklahoma City, which was playing its preseason opener. D.J. White(notes) had 16 for the Thunder, and rookie James Harden(notes) finished with 12. Nenad Krstic(notes) and Shaun Livingston(notes) contributed 10 apiece.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies - ESPN Recap
Kevin Durant scored 17 for the Oklahoma City, which was playing its preseason opener. D.J. White had 16 for the Thunder, and rookie James Harden finished with 12. Nenad Krstic and Shaun Livingston contributed 10 apiece.

Memphis Tops Oklahoma City, 99-91
I’m honestly just relieved we made it through this thing with everyone alive. After Dez Bryant being declared ineligible today, I wondered if this sports year was just cursed in Oklahoma. What was built up to maybe be the biggest year of sports ever in this state has now seen Sam Bradford get hurt, Jermaine Gresham get hurt, Ryan Broyles get hurt, OU lose two games, OSU unexpectedly lose to Houston and now Dez Bryant out for the season potentially. I honestly feared for Kevin Durant’s life tonight. One down. 88 more to go.

Pre-Season Game 1 Recap: Memphis 99, Oklahoma City 91
Well, I'll be honest, I only heard the last few minutes of this game, and without any footage to watch, there's not much to say. The Thunders' starting five kept a fairly consistent lead over the Grizzlies until the 4th quarter, where we put in our scrubs (Harden, Livingston, White, Bowen, Mullens) and they got completely dominated. The people who are known quantities produced pretty much as expected.

Q&A: Kevin Durant likes team’s work ethic | NewsOK.com
I’ve noticed in these two years that I’ve been in the league every time I work out after practice I have a good game the next day so I kept going with that. I want to get better. That’s the thing I’ve been taught ever since I was young. Always get better so that’s why I do it.

The NBA’s 30 best go-to players (#15: Kevin Durant) | Dime Magazine
Durant may have more natural scoring ability than anyone — yes, anyone — in the NBA. But those skills that seem like his birthright overshadow the real reason why he’s on pace to run this League: He also has a ton of learned scoring ability. Durant couldn’t drop 25 a game with an entire defense planned around him if it was as simple as throwing a ball into a basket on instinct. He does it because he’s a student of the game, with the work ethic of a Shaolin monk.

Kyle Weaver: The Forgotten Man | Thunder Rumblings
But that’s the predicament Weaver finds himself in as the Thunder opens its preseason schedule tonight in Memphis. Against the Grizzlies, though, Weaver might finally catch a much-needed break. Sefolosha sustained a mild concussion in Monday’s practice and did not travel with the team. That leaves an open spot at the starting shooting guard position that Weaver is itching to fill. It’s an opportunity for playing time that Weaver must take advantage of and show Thunder coach Scott Brooks he’s worthy of minutes. Fail to do so and Sefolosha and Harden are waiting in the wings to turn a three-man battle for minutes into a headache-free, two-man rotation.

NBA TV To Televise 2009 NBA D-League Draft On November 5
Tulsa, Okla., October 7, 2009 - The Tulsa 66ers and NBA Development League announced today that its 2009 Draft will take place from the NBA TV studio in Atlanta, GA on Thursday, Nov. 5. The live selection show highlights the ninth-annual draft which offers NBA D-League teams the opportunity to build their rosters from a pool of promising players. The draft will be televised on NBA TV and streamed live online on NBA.com (www.nba.com/dleague) beginning at 6 p.m. (CST).

Oklahoma City jumps to No. 37 on list of best sports cities | NewsOK.com
"Jumping into the major professional sports scene with the arrival of the Thunder is a big deal for Oklahoma city when it came to our 12-month city snapshot," Sporting News chief of correspondents Bob Hille said in a statement.

Know thy enemy: Oklahoma City Thunder | Lakers Blog
Oklahoma City Thunder Last Season: 23-59 (.280, 5th in the Northwest Division, 13th in the Western Conference) Key Additions: Drafted James Harden, BJ Mullins, traded for Kevin Ollie, Etan Thomas Key Subtractions: Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins. I'm willing to wager that a healthy portion of NBA teams- lottery and playoff squads alike- would trade their lot in life for what the Thunder have cooking in their big cast iron, high plains basketball kettle. A killer core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, none older than 23, with more potential added in first rounder Harden. Scads of draft picks...

More Camp

Stop-n-Pop — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:12:13 -0000

It was night two for yours truly at Wolves training camp. A few thoughts:

Al Jefferson sat out the late scrimmage with two gigantic bags of ice taped to his knees. According to Kurt Rambis, this was simply a precaution for Al's knees and that he had shown no signs of limping or favoring the injured leg. Rambis also said that Al participated in the earlier scrimmage game and was able to practice during the day. Whatever the case, Al looked a little ginger after everything was all said and done.
The 2nd scrimmage saw Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions share the court for a couple of minutes. Not much to report on this front other than that I was witness to a fantastic showing of Small Sample Size Theater against a bunch of training camp reserves. When asked about the amount of time that Flynn and Sessions shared the court together so far, Rambis answered that they have been working together but that it will be a process for them to not force things and simply learn to play together. I'm not really sure what that meant but I nodded anyway.
The last game of the night featured a black team of Jonny Flynn, Ryan Hollins, Ryan Gomes, Ramon Sessions, and Devin Green against a white squad of Corey Brewer, Kevin Love, Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, and Jason Hart. I have no idea who won as I stopped paying attention to the scoreboard about 23 seconds into the action.
Flynn looked much better tonight than he did during last night's session. He was beyond confident, vocal, and he was able to get pretty much wherever he wanted with the ball.
Flynn and fellow former Syracuse Orangeman Jason Hart seemed to be having a blast guarding eachother. It was pretty obvious that they each wanted to get the best of one another. I would say they went after one another a'la Syracuse Style but it was man d.
Corey Brewer looked great running the floor. I caught up with Fred Hoiberg after the practice and he said that Brewer is in fantastic shape and that fans should look to see great improvement in his transition game. Like I mentioned last night, Brewer is going to have all types of open court opportunities in this new offense. His combination of length, athleticism, and speed is pretty rare and if he can ever develop a moderate handle and a moderate jumper to go along with his athletic gifts, he's going to be a solid pro. It is also pretty obvious that Brewer is going to be a defensive stud. The guy is all over the court. I think he has a fairly legit shot at guarding the 1, 2, and 3...which is a good thing if you are thinking about playing Flynn and Sessions together.
Speaking of my fellow Amesian Fred, NBA rules prevent him from commenting on the guy who supplanted him as the best player from Ames (Harrison Barnes) but he did have several nice things to say about Ryan Gomes and there seems to be a fairly open feeling within the team that this is going to be an important year for a guy who has a non-guaranteed contract that turns guaranteed just after the season ends.
Hoiberg also said that despite the basketball operation cutbacks of other franchises the Wolves will maintain their regional scouts.
The last interesting bit of Hoiberg-related news was that he singled out Jack McClinton and Devin Green as the free agents who have caught his eye in camp. McClinton looked much better during today's scrimage, hitting a few open shots and not looking lost with the ball in his hands. I'm rooting for him to make the squad as I really enjoyed watching him play at Miami and I had a chance to chat him up in Little Rock during the NCAA tourney 2 years ago as I was staying at the same hotel as Miami and Mississippi State. I also heard a lot of nice things about Green from other folks throughout the facility.
David Kahn once again wore shorts.
After getting run over by Ryan Hollins while sitting in the front row during a previous session, Papa Glen caught this practice from about 10 rows up.
Brian Cardinal was in mid-season form in terms of attitude, as he jawed at the refs about their lack of calls. Perhaps the janitor has a strictly pro-union stance and was merely against the scabs that were overseeing the scrimmage. Interesting side-question: Does the Players' Union have solidarity with the refs? Is it something of a dick move if they don't support the refs? Moving on...\
Kevin Love got a brief and mild tongue-lashing/correction from Kurt Rambis about making good passes. Beyond that, Love really showed off his mid-to-long range touch. I can't repeat it enough: Love will be the team's best player this year. He is going to present massive matchup problems and he will put up huge numbers in the gaps of the offense. Even in a short scrimmage, I counted 4 possessions that he kept alive with offensive boards, taps, positioning, etc. He dove after loose balls, made slick passes from the top of the key to wide open outside shooters, and forced the defense to play him honest whenever he had the ball. Best of all, he did something we haven't seen for a long, long, long time with the Wolves: he ate up space in the paint on defense. Throughout the session, Love showed a fantastic ability to absorb contact, remain straight up and down, and alter shots. His lateral movement has clearly improved and he doesn't get caught out of position nearly as much as he used to do. Last year the Wolves had a single functional two-way player: Ryan Gomes. This year I'm pretty confident in saying that they have Gomes, Love, and Sessions.
Speaking of Ramon, he's a cool customer and he should be in the starting lineup on opening day.
The following easily qualifies as one of the weirdest things I have heard in a long time: Billionaire owner to front office employee concerning where they would meet for supper: "Just head on up the hill and take a left at the McDonalds." Say what you will about Papa Glen but the guy still has a fair amount of small town guy in him. As something of a neighbor, the guy has kept it local and pumped a ton of money into the community in which I live. It's a good thing.
Funniest part of being around an NBA team = the number of 40 year-old+ men in tracksuits. It's like a condensed trip to the Jersey shore. If only they could bring an old Camero out onto the court the stereotype would be complete.

Well, that about does it in terms of notable items from practice. I would like to write a few words about blogs and media access before I call it a night...

To put it as simply as possible, Wyn and I do not have the resources to run a truly full-time news operation that covers the Wolves. Between significant others, jobs, and families, this is still a hobby and while we like to think we have passed the legitimacy test in the eyes of the Wolves' excellent PR folks, we simply do not have the manpower or time to do what folks like Jerry Zgoda or Jon Krawczynski do very well: build meaningful behind-the-scene professional relationships with the folks we cover. Actually, that's not completely accurate. Let's throw in a "in a time-sensitive manner" at the end of that sentence. I'm not saying we can't do that sort of thing; it will just take us a lot longer to do so.

Where am I going with all of this?

I understand the importance of verifying legitimacy when working with folks in the new media. My point here is that it is going to take some time for us to build a solid "blog plus" relationship with the team and with the folks on it who we want to get information from. We have started that process and we are grateful to the team for allowing us to do so, but we also want to let our readers know that we still place a big premium on creating content that is focused on opinion, fan-perspective, and as little behind-the-scenes sausage-making as possible. We have made it passed the "dirty blogger" stage but we still have a lot of work to do. We hope you stick with us.

Until later.

Campy

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:49:08 -0000

I had the good fortune of attending the last part of the Wolves' Wednesday night practice session at Bresnan Arena in the Taylor Center at Minnesota State University. I got to catch about an hours worth of action where the team scrimmaged for 2 curtailed quarters. It wasn't the cleanest of practices and you could definitely tell that these were a bunch of guys just learning to play with one another under a new coach but there were a few notable things that I would like to pass on to all y'all:

The scrimmage started out with a white team of Corey Brewer, Jared Reiner, Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and Wayne Ellington going up against a black squad of Al Jefferson, Jonny Flynn, Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, and Ryan Hollins. For those of you keeping track at home, the white team took home braging rights for the night.
Ryan Hollins has a ridiculous combination of length and athleticism. On the down side, it is pretty obvious that he lacks advanced ball skills and is probably not someone you want on the ball for a great deal of time. That being said, the guy is a bundle of energy and even in a scrimmage it was apparent that he is the most athletic big man the Wolves have had in a long, long time. Long time readers of this site know that we have long called for the Wolves to round out their Jefferson/Love frontcourt with a Joakim Noah/Jason Thompson type player and while we'll need to see him in game action, Hollins fits the physical bill and he will be one of the most interesting story lines heading into the season. Oh, I also caught a peak of Tuesday night's scrimmage during which Hollins put down a slam on...well, the entire opposing squad. BTW: Over at the Strib Jerry Zgoda just put up a good article on Hollins and his potential in the front court.
David Kahn likes shorts

One of the most interesting things about watching training camp ball is seeing how hard the free agent invites work to make the team. The most vocal hard worker of the night was former Syracuse guard Jason Hart, who really got after it on defense while being the only guy on the court without a number. The guy wants a roster spot and he's working like hell to get it. Hopefully he can get a number before it's all said and done with.
In a full arena filled with piped-in music, cheerleaders, screaming fans, and a whole host of other noises, it's pretty remarkable to watch an NBA squad from a few rows up in an empty arena. Watching on TV or from the upper level of the Target Center makes it easy to forget just how vocal and physical of a game professional basketball is. It was especially interesting to hear the interaction between the coaching staff and the players. It was also kind of cool to see a coaching staff that includes Hang Time's Coach Fuller, a Detroit Bad Boy, and the guy who wore the best basketball glasses of the 80s. Note to the Wolves' PR staff: every night at the Target Center needs to be 80s night. If Hungry Like the Wolf isn't played at tip off in about a month I'm going to be pissed.
Oleisky Pecherov spent the practice jogging up and down the sidelines and talking to the training staff. He also gave out a big cheer to Sasha Pavlovic when he made a three. Perhaps it is a Eastern European thing.
Jonny Flynn is going to be a very good player but I think he's going to be in for a long rookie season. On several possessions he looked like a seasoned pro; getting to whereever he wanted to go with the ball, making shots, and expertly facilitating action. On others, not so much...to the point where I'm not sure how he could start over Sessions. Assistant coach Dave Wohl spent a lot of time talking to Flynn about his game inbetween plays. Wohl is the 70s bookend to the 80s Rambis/Theus/Laimbeer sandwich (JB Bickerstaff represents the 90s).
A lot has been made of Al Jefferson's lost weight. I'll just say this: it's pretty striking.

Kevin Love also looks like a new man. He hit a few mid-range jumpers as well as a nice corner three. As always, he controled the boards and he appears to have focused on defense over the summer. As many of you already know, I'm pretty high on Love and I think he has the potential to be something of an evolutionary player at the 4/5. With his combination of ball skills, shooting touch, and rebounding, I think he has the rare opportunity to be something we don't often see in the NBA: an upper level role player who is effectively unguardable while operating in the gaps of the offense. I honestly think he sees an All Star game before Al Jefferson. Scrapping, getting opponents out of position, crashing the boards, keeping possessions alive; Love is going to dominate these aspects of the game and the better the Wolves get, the more these things are going to be apparent and matter.
With the new up-tempo offense in place, Corey Brewer is going to have all the chances in the world to prove that he does or does not belong in the NBA. As the weakest offensive link, he will have no shortage of transition opportunities, 3 point shots, and 15-18 foot jump shots in the 1/2 court. The big question for Corey will be this: Does he have a good enough handle to thrive in transition and can he make as close to 40% of his jump shots as possible? He could be the best defender in the Western Conference but if he can't catch a hot pass from Flynn in traffic, dribble effectively in transition, or be a modestly effective jump shooter, he won't be able to balance his net +/- and be of great use to the club. In this context, Brewer was a mixed bag during the scrimmage. His shot looks dramatically better and he has a much more fluid release than last season. When he hit a 15 foot jumper from the corner, he got a big rise out of his teammates. You can really tell guys are pulling for him. He was also very active in transition, using his length and speed to get out well ahead of the defense. On the down side of things, you never know if he's going to cleanly catch a pass in transition and even when he was able to put together a solid drive into the lane he was unable to get to the rim to finish in what you could call a coordinated fashion. I'll say it again: Brewer is going to get a big chance to shine this year. It could work in his favor or it could be quite awkward. Here's hoping for the former.
Ryan Gomes, Ryan Hollins, and Brewer will get all of the open mid-range jump shots they can ask for this year.
Get used to seeing a lot more cuts in the new offense.
I'm pretty sure I heard Jared Reiner tell Al Jefferson to warm up the bus about 20 seconds before the scrimmage ended in Reiner's team's favor. I'm not sure Big Al took too kindly to that.
Papa Glen was in attendance and he looked pretty good for a guy who, according to the newest Forbes list, lost $1.1 billion dollars last year.

Well, that about does it. If my schedule permits it, I'll be back at the Taylor Center for Thursday and Friday night's practices. If there are any questions you want me to ask to the folks on the team, please leave a message in the comments section.

Until later.