SB Nation - Sebastian Telfair

Why You Should Watch, Part 1: A Suns Fan's Cheat Sheet to the Rest of the League

Mike Lisboa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:00:40 -0000

Coach Gentry cheers on the Suns at every game. You should, too! (Photo by Max Simbron)

The Phoenix Suns are 11-3 and heading into a December full of must-watch games against top flight NBA teams. No Suns fan worth their salt is going to miss a match-up against the Lakers or Spurs or Mavericks. Those teams have been lifelong (or at least decade-long) nemeses to our beloved Suns and each of those games is like a basketball rite of passage.

But what about the rest of the League? Why should you watch the Suns beat up on the Timberwolves or Bobcats? And what about those random teams that never get any pub way out west like the Bucks or the Nets? Below is part one of list of things to look for and reasons to watch our Suns play every team in the NBA. Feel free to print it out and keep it on the fridge next to your official Phoenix Suns schedule or next to the remote so you can crib from it on gameday. Also included is each team's SBNation site if you'd like to learn more about them.

But mostly you should watch because it's the Suns!

Atlanta Hawks, Peach Tree Hoops: Another early season surprise, just like The Suns. The obvious angle here is former Sun, Joe Johnson, aka Daisy Buchanan aka The One That Got Away. While in past seasons, one could have argued that perhaps he was the only reason to watch the Hawks, this year Atlanta done went and put together a ball club. Josh Smith will put you on a poster after rebounding your miss that he nearly blocked on the other end and Jamal Crawford will go from 0-15 points in the blink of an eye. This is a fun team that, like the Suns, seems poised to make an unexpected run at an assumedly superior division rival (the Orlando Magic).

Boston Celtics, CelticsBlog: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce. For me those are reasons enough to watch them. For Suns fans, KG represents an alternative dimension where the Suns won the trade lottery a few years back and miraculously transformed into a defensive championship-winning machine. Ray Allen was a Suns assassin with the Sonics seemingly ending every contest against the Suns with a 3 as time expired. And Paul Pierce is the The Truth. Probably a little underrated around these parts, Pierce is a ferocious competitor and maybe the 3rd most important Celtic in history behind Bill Russell and Larry Bird. However, time is catching up to the Big 3 and this may be the last chance to catch them before they retire/go their separate ways. Oh, and for added Suns angles, former Sun/Sun Devil Eddie House is always conscienceless good times firing 3s off the bench and Rajon Rondo causes some current fans to look at Goran Dragic coming off the bench and cut themselves since he was in fact a Phoenix draft pick that the Sarver and company sold on eBay back in the day.

Charlotte Bobcats, Rufus On Fire: True story: I nearly canceled League Pass after coming across a Bobcats/Nets game a couple weeks ago. It was eye murder. That said, there's some fun to be had here. First, you can boo/cheer Boris Diaw as you see fit. Watching him play waffle croissant frustrate another team is much more liberating without worrying about how his 9 milli a year is affecting the Suns' cap situation. Raja Bell is gone, but in his place is former Suns division rival Stephen Jackson who should up the excitement quotient in the Queen City. And if you though Mike D'Antoni had a thing against young players, you can practically see the Charlotte faithful's collective head getting ready to explode as rookie lottery pick Gerald Henderson continues to ride pine even in garbage time.

Continued after the jump...

Chicago Bulls, Blog-A-Bull: Joakim Noah will make you eat your words. Derrick Rose is going to be a very good point guard for a very long time. Vinnie Del Negro has one of the best tans I've ever seen. He's the NBA's answer to George Hamilton. If you want something of a Suns angle, John Salmons shunned the Suns leading them to eventually sign Marcus Banks to one of the worst contracts in Suns history AND Luol Deng was also a one time Suns draft pick. Alternately frustrating and fantastic, there's a lot to watch any time these Bulls take the floor.

Cleveland Cavaliers, Fear The Sword: Little known fact about these Cavs... just kidding. If ever an NBA team suffered from overexposure, it's this year's Cavs. Whether or not, Shaquille O'Neal puts Cleveland over the top or drags them under, LeBron James' presence makes Cleveland must-watch basketball every time he takes the court... at least for another few months.

Dallas Mavericks, Mavs Moneyball: Well, well, well, if it isn't a rejuvenated Shawn Marion back in the Western Conference! With Jason Kidd and Tim Thomas on the roster, that's 3 former Suns who could make life miserable for their ex-team. Then there's notable Suns killer and former Wildcat Jason Terry who gets all Bill the Butcher on the Suns every time they play. And of course, Dirk Nowitzki is a straight up animal. New to the mix this year is rookie Frenchman Rodrigue Beaubois, who might be the only 6'0" player in the NBA with a go-to alley oop play drawn up especially for him. So, yeah, watch these guys.

Denver Nuggets, Denver Stiffs: This is quite simply an electric basketball team. Defensively suspect perhaps, this Nuggets team is simply terrifying on the offensive end. Carmelo Anthony's most dangerous spot on the floor is, well, the floor. From the baseline to the top of the arc, he is making opponents lives miserable this season. Off the bench, rookie PG Ty Lawson is quickly making a name for himself as a capable and dangerous back-up to Chauncey Billups' unwaveringly steady hand. These cats are slick and worth watching any time they take the floor.

Detroit Pistons, Motown String Music: The most exciting development in the world of Dee-troit Basketball is Will Bynum's transmogrification into the explosive substance, Bynumite. And he's a former Wildcat, too! Also, the Suns whupped them handily so they're good for the occasional Alando Tucker sighting. And I <3 a healthy Rip Hamilton.

Golden State Warriors, Golden State of Mind: There's a lot to like here: Steph Curry, Anthony Randolph, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrens and hey -- it's Raja Bell! I was a big Anthony Morrow fan at Summer League and after one game, even D-League call-up Chris Hunter is making some noise. The problem is with Don Nelson running the show mailing it in, you never know what version of this team you're going to get. As a Suns fan though, with 14 games worth of hindsight, try and figure out how that rumored Amare trade would have worked out this season (my 2 cents: not well).

Houston Rockets, The Dream Shake: No T-Mac? No Yao? No problem. Sort of. After a hot start, the Rockets have cooled off to the .500 level in their last 10 games. What they lack in star power, the team is attempting to compensate for in effort and ingenuity. While that combination may make for a middling season, it also makes for smart, hard-fought basketball games that the Suns will have to earn.

Indiana Pacers, Indy Cornrows: Because Danny Granger is the brightest star you've never heard of. While off to a bit of a rough start in 2009, Granger is capable of taking over games and should not be slept on. Also, Tyler Hansbrough will help you find your dog.

Los Angeles Clippers, Clips Nation: This is a team on the verge of... something. They've got a solid if unspectacular commingling of veteran and youth presence in the starting line-up and on the bench and it will only get better once Blake Griffin joins the mix. Boom Dizzle and Eric Gordon make for an above average (and occasionally dynamic) backcourt. Chris Kaman is playing as if he is actually from another planet this year. Marcus Camby is ol' reliable and Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair are providing serviceable minutes off the bench. In short, these Clippers are ready to break out of the cellar and into the NBA middle class, but they won't because Mike Dunleavy is a terrible, terrible coach. So why should you watch? For the novelty of seeing a team whose locker room cancer is actually roaming the sidelines in a suit.

Los Angeles Lakers, Silver Screen and Roll: "Hate Leads to Suffering; Or, How I Learned to Stop Suffering and Appreciate the Los Angeles Lakers." I'm not sure when I stopped hating the Lake Show, but it's a relatively recent phenomenon. There's just too much good basketball happening when they're on the court. Kobe Bryant is the pre-eminent basketball technician in the league right now. Pau Gasol might be the most sophisticated power forward in the NBA. Andrew Bynum is morphing from man-child to man with each passing minute on the court. Lamar Odom is the Ghost of Earl Clark Future and Ron Artest has gone from dangerously crazy to lovably eccentric with a change in area code. Oh, and that guy on the sidelines has 12 rings (2 as a player... haters) to legitimize any complaints of "Fakerism." For weaknesses, Derek Fisher is showing his age and then some and that bench is the basketball equivalent of Russian Roulette (there's about a 1 in 6 chance they will cost the Lakers the game). But you know, watch for the hate. It feels good, doesn't it, young Skywalker?

Memphis Grizzlies, Straight Outta Vancouver: Because Allen Iverson is must-watch basketball! Watch these guys so that 2 years from now you can say you were there when... Rudy Gay announced his presence with authority, O.J. Mayo came into his own, Zach Randolph quietly resucitated his career, Marc Gasol began working his way out of Pau's shadow, Jamaal Tinsley was brought into stabilize (!) a team's roster, and Hasheem Thabeet began fading into obscurity. It's kinda like watching the X-Files before the X-Files was cool (and that also started in Canada!).

Miami Heat, Peninsula is Mightier: Because if you don't watch, Dwyane Wade will throw himself at you and you WILL be called for a foul. While it's easy to mock Wade's penchant for reckless drives and refs tendencies to bail him out, it's impossible to argue that he's not a hardwood hurricane when this team needs him to be. Without Wade, this team's win total is somewhere in the 30s, but with him, they're a dangerous playoff foe... which isn't to say there isn't some talent around him. Udonis Haslem defines "unsung hero" outside of Miami-Dade County. Jermaine O'Neal and Quentin "P90X" Richardson are both having mini-renaissances this season and youngsters Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley provide inconsistent if effective support to their leading man. But mostly, it's all about Wade being a force of nature that you can watch from the comfort of your home without worrying about losing your home in the process.

To be continued....

Game 8 Preview: Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Clippers

Zorgon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:58:45 -0000

More photos » by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

We probably won't see D.J. White tonight, but that doesn't make his, "Puffer Fish" dunk any less hilarious.

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 9:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

TV: KSBI-TV 52, Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Clips Nation, ClipperBlog

Backstory: More than anything else, the Los Angeles Clippers are known as the unluckiest team in the NBA. That moniker continues into this season, as they've had recent injuries to Black Griffin and Eric Gordon, all leading to an underwhelming start of 3-5. I mean, if I told you a team had a lineup of Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Craig Smith, Al Thornton, Rasual Butler, Eric Gordon, Ricky Davis, Baron Davis, and Sebastian Telfair along with a Championship Coach in Mike Dunleavy Sr. and the 2nd largest market in the US, you'd think I was talking about a championship winning Lakers team, right? Wrong. I'm talking about just another sub-.500 Clippers team.

Despite the talent-laden roster, this is a very winnable game. The Clippers have only won against the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Grizzlies, who are possibly the 3 worst teams in the West. They've lost to the Lakers, Suns, Jazz, Mavericks, and Hornets. This game will determine exactly where we will be on the map for this season. Will we be lurking around the 12th or 11th seed, waiting for the lottery and mired in mediocrity, or will we be around the 10th-8th seed, fiercely competing for a playoff spot? Lets hope it's the latter.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Chris Kaman vs. Nenad Krstic

Chris Kaman is a better inside banger, and will probably get some crucial points against Krstic inside. Hopefully Krstic can pay him back with his mid-range jumper, but all of that will depend on if he's feeling hot or cold tonight. Still, I'd tend to think that Chris Kaman will have the better day.

Power Forward: Marcus Camby vs. Jeff Green

A mismatch if I ever saw one. Camby is a good ball handler for his size, but if Green can get hot from the perimeter, then it will be all over. If the Clippers can slow our game down I'd give the win to Camby, but otherwise, I think Green gets the win.

Small Forward: Al Thornton vs. Kevin Durant

Al Thornton is and will be a solid player, but he's no Kevin Durant. Thornton has been cold so far this season, so lets hope Durant can take advantage of that and exploit him.

Shooting Guard: Ricky Davis vs. Thabo Sefolosha

Ricky Davis is a good name, but he's not much more than a streaky shooter. He might drop more points than Sefolosha, but Sefolosha will beat him in every other area of the stat sheet.

Point Guard: Baron Davis vs. Russell Westbrook

Ah, the young versus the old. I used to watch Baron Davis on the Warrior teams of old, and it was good times. But now, he's trapped on one of the unluckiest organizations in history, and his scoring production has seen a serious hit. He'll beat Westbrook in assists, but it will be interesting to see who gets more rebounds and who can score more points, especially after Westbrook's cold performance last night.

Battle of the Benches

The Clippers have a deeper and more talented bench than we do for sure, but we have a more cohesive unit. Still, I think talent wins in this case.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Clippers have played 4 games in 6 days, and the Thunder are on the second game of a back-to-back, so both teams will be tired. The Clippers are at home, but they've had two crucial injuries, so I'd say this category is about even for both of us, unless you're counting the style points brought on by the suit of Mike Dunleavy Sr. In that case, the Clippers win.

Bottom Line

The Clippers are more talented, but they're older and bigger, so if the Thunder can exploit bad matchups, then they'll have a serious advantage. Remember when I said that if the Thunder lost to the Kings, it wouldn't matter that much? Well, if the Thunder lose here, it will put us 2 games in the hole, and it will matter.

Prediction: Thunder 97, Clippers 95

I feel like a homer here, but somehow I think that we can pull this one out against the Clippers, since their main scorer in Eric Gordon is out, and they have a lack of athleticism on their front line.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

RECAP: LA Clippers 118, Golden State Warriors 90- It's a Great Time Out for Clipper Raj!

Atma Brother ONE — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:17:08 -0000

Seriously, what is going on here?

Preview/ Game Thread (1015+ comments)

Final Box Score

Blog Buddy: Clips Nation : Now THAT's Really More Like It

Warriors Nation and Clippers Nation. Clippers North and Warriors South. We're like peanut butter and jelly, Redman and Method Man, milk and cookies, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Donald Sterling and housing discrimination, Chris Cohan and tax evasion, Windows Vista and Cntrl + Alt +Dlt-- we just go together. So naturally I went to tonight's festivity at the Roracle (or should I say the Boracle?) with my main man Clipper Raj. Getting blown out at home by a long time frenemy tonight was pretty unexpected, but hey at least Clipper Raj had a great time out!

Final - 11.6.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Los Angeles Clippers	30	27	34	27	118
Golden State Warriors	19	26	16	29	90

Complete Coverage >

Jump for the reasons why our buddy Clipper Steve decided it was an opportune time to kindly host Clips Nation + GSoM Night 1 in SoCal.

Clippers Backcourt vs. Warriors Backcourt

Let's get this one out of the way first. The Bad News: Stephen Curry (-13) probably had the worst night of his NBA career tonight. The Good News: At least he got that one of his system early. Curry was shooting blanks (1-5) and getting abused on defense (fouled out) by the bigger and more imposing Clips guards for the entire duration of his 21 minutes out there tonight. We'll go easy on the rookie.
Monta Ellis (-29) just doesn't look like that Ellis to the Rim of 2008. Baron Davis not being there to guard the opposing team's best backcourt player and provide low-mistake ball handling and distributing the rock sure does hurt. But as my man Feltbot will tell you things have changed, Monta Ellis is not a star. Not anymore. Monta's J is way off and his court vision and decisions were very shaky tonight (SIX turnovers).
To go cliche on you for a second Baron Davis (+26) looked like a men among boys tonight. BD looks absolutely chiseled and in fantastic shape. He pretty much had his way with anyone the Warriors threw at him. He was savvy. He was smart. He was hungry and diving for loose balls. He was picking pockets (4 steals). He even hit 61.5 of his shots coming into the game shooting well below 40%. He is missed.
Eric Gordon (+29) also looked like a men among boys tonight. Gordon looked wise beyond his years. He abused the Warriors backcourt with his scoring. The Clippers have had their fair share of bad draft picks over the years, but they sure got this one right. A Dizzle-Gizzle backcourt is more than serviceable.
I'm easily in the top 1% of Anthony Morrow (-10) fans, but that was a sad performance. He looked like a one-trick pony out there and that trick wasn't quite working right. What made Morrow particularly intriguing last season was his rebounding in addition to his stellar shooting. It didn't look like Ammo was that interested in trying to clean up the glass tonight. His usual scrappiness and effort on defense wasn't there at all either. Not that he was the only Warrior in this regard, but Morrow was a defensive liability all night long. Very disappointing.
Oddly enough even Stephon Marburry's cousin Sebastian Telfair got in on the fun. The Warriors backcourt (particularly Morrow) just couldn't hang with this guy. 13 points (50% FG), 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in under 20 minutes? Telfair outplayed both Ellis and Curry in Oakland. That's not supposed to happen... ever.
By the way what's up with all those losers booing Baron Davis at the Oracle? What's there to boo? Boom Dizzle is not here because 1) Robert Rowell couldn't wait to get him out of here so he could foolishly build around Monta Ellis and 2) Elton Brand pulled a sucka move. Not once did BD ever publicly whine like "Captain" Jack about his teammates. BD lost a prime year thanks to the silly roster Chris Mullin assembled around him and Coach Mike Montgomery's complete incompetence as Warriors head coach. Did you see BD complaining about that? Boo the "Captain", not the beard. Along with Nellie, Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, and yes even Stephen Jackson, Baron Davis made this team relevant for one fine spring and then some. Show some gratitude and class.
C.J. Watson sighting! Acie Law sighting! That means 1 of 2 things- 1) the Warriors are blowing out some unsuspecting squad or 2) the Warriors are somewhat expectedly getting blown out. Unfortunately tonight it was the latter.

Clippers 1, Warriors 0

Clippers Frontcourt vs. Warriors Frontcourt

Chris Kaman (+19) must have had his calendar marked for this game or something. He looked very, very good. Sure the Warriors were physically overmatched all night long against him mostly due to injuries to Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf, but that was an All-Star caliber performance tonight from Kaman. 22-9 through 3 ain't no joke, especially when it looks that easy. Don't be surprised if Kaman is donning an All-Star jersey in February. His competition in the West really isn't that tough either. Our man Matt Steinmetz has more in It's Early, But Chris Kaman Breaking Out. (Seriously Matt got off easy! He can choose to write about the Clips and not the Warriors for FanHouse.) Elton Brand made a really dumb decision ditching Kaman- that would have been a top 4-5 combo, especially with Dizzle-Gizzle in the backcourt and Camby up front.
In addition to Kaman the ever-underrated Marcus Camby (+26) really protected the rim tonight. His 12 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks were a fantasy hoops delight. The Warriors found out the hard way why this guy has a Defensive Player of the Year trophy at home. Andris Biedrins should be studying tape of this guy nightly. It's a reasonable goal for him to try to be Camby 2.0. The jumpshot won't be there, but there's no reason why the D and overall savvy can't.
Thanks to Biedrins and Turiaf nursing injuries and Anthony Randolph's current funk, MIKEY! Moore (-20) got the start. When Larry Riley signed MIKEY! in the offseason I don't think he envisioned him playing 18.5 minutes in a single game, but honestly the Warriors really had no other options especially with Randolph racking up so many pointless fouls. He wasn't quite Ronny Turiaf Sr. out there tonight.
It was pretty much more of the same from the big money veteran players on this team Stephen Jackson (-30) and Corey Maggette (-15). Lots of blanks (8-21 FG "good" for 38.1% FG) and questionable decisions with the rock (Jack with twice as many turnovers as assists). Thanks to poor front office decisions these guys have been thrust into roles they shouldn't have. Both are nice complementary vets, but nothing more. Sorry I know this is all like a broken record.
Anthony Randolph's night (-8) can be summed up in one word: CLUELESS. For all those Nellie haters demanding the Randolph "play through his mistakes" this game is exactly why that's not a good idea. To reinforce or encourage anything Randolph did tonight would be a huge mistake. From not cutting off the baseline against an infinitely slower Kaman to trying random And 1 moves at the top of the key and launching several ill-advised jumpers (5-15 FG), Randolph was just not playing smart tonight. His statline of 13 points and 14 points (mostly collected in garbage time) are incredibly misleading. If he's going to routinely play like he did tonight and play for 30 minutes a game, the Warriors are not winning a single game the rest of the way. It's frustrating because we all had so much hope for the guy.

By the way did you know Stacey Dash was 29 when she played the part of teenage BBF Dionne in this movie? Amazing.

Clippers 2, Warriors 0

Sadly both The Forward and The Guard had horrible games.

Garbage Time in the 4th Quarter

Clipper Raj: So it looks like this game is about over.

AB1: You kidding man? We got you guys right where we want you.

Clipper Raj: You wanted us to be up by 30?

AB1: 30 points? That's only 10 makes from downtown from Anthony Morrow.

Clipper Raj: Riiiight. Keep dreaming.

AB1: How about I dream about the Warriors winning the lottery sweepstakes for a gifted power forward destined for greatness, but then that dream quickly turns into a nightmare as he injures his left patella, probably costing the team any chance at the playoffs, before he even plays his first game?

<golf clap> <golf clap> Blake Grffin: "That's not very funny at all."

Clipper Raj: Hey Grffin picked up 6 less fouls than your GQ boy Masala tonight.

AB1: Okay, yeah that's pretty "Unstoppable Baby!"

Clipper Raj: Speaking of the Unstoppable-ness...

AB1: Yeah what about it.

Clipper Raj: You know how you cats over at GSoM have that world famous mantra:

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

Golden State Warriors rookie Marc Jackson to the Mavericks' bench, after hitting a lay-up during a 29-point loss (2000)

Well a new Clipper one for matches against the Dubs is about to be formulated today.

AB1: Whatchu mean man?

DeAndre Jordan's dunks and celebrations during garbage time were pretty hilarious.

Clipper Raj:

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

LA Clippers DeAndre Jordan to the Clips' bench, after throwing down a nasty jam for the umpteenth time during a 28-point win in garbage time (2009)

AB1: Good one.

Clippers 118, Warriors 90

Tonight's award goes out to Coach Don Nelson. Nellie's about to irrationally get bashed left and right by the histrionic and randomly vengeful "Fire Nellie" crowd. I'm not sure why. Honestly what is the man supposed to do? Tonight was on the players. Injuries happen (Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf), but the guys who were out there tonight were absolutely awful.

Did Nellie have the greatest coaching performance tonight? Doubtful, but tonight the players and their collective low hoops IQ, limitations, and raw-ness were the problem. Coaching was not the problem tonight. I give Nellie credit for not going AWOL.

A picture says a 1,000 words.

via s3.images.com

Video "highlights" courtesy of our friends at Yahoo! Sports and the NBA

Postgame video courtesy of our friends at CSN Bay Area

Poll

Who gets your vote for tonight's main Warrior Killer?

Eric Gordon with an easy 25 points

154 votes

Baron Davis picking pockets with 4 steals and more

88 votes

Chris Kaman with 22-9 through 3 quarters

180 votes

Rasual Butler with the best +/- of the game at +31

12 votes

Marcus Camby using Windex to collect 12 rebounds

7 votes

Sebastian Telfair outplaying Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry

43 votes

DeAndre Jordan's garbage time dunkfest and celebrations

66 votes

550 votes | Poll has closed

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:

Minnesota Timberwolves Previews

Jeff Clark — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:57:56 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Big Al and firends

Browse more photos »

The new GM David Kahn has taken a scorched Earth policy to the Twolves. Are they on the right track?

2009 Season Preview - Canis Hoopus

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.

Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview | Empty the Bench

What are Minnesota’s biggest strengths? Al Jefferson, rebounding, and a fresh start. Jefferson is one of the brightest young stars in basketball. He’s an All-Star caliber player with fantastic work ethic and post moves. Honestly, he may have the best low-post footwork in the NBA and his shooting touch is coming along. And while he’s miscast as a center, Jefferson can also clean the glass very well on both ends. Kevin Love will miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season with a broken hand, but when he’s in the game he’s one of the top five rebounders in the NBA already. Hopefully these two can learn to play defense together.

2009 Timberwolves Blog Network Preview

What are the goals for this team? 1. Not surrender our pick to the Clippers. The Wolves owe our first to LA for the dreaded Marko Jaric trade that occured several years ago. It is top 10 protected. Considering this season is a wash, I am not overly concerned. The emergence of Love's injury helps this case and helps solidify our pick in what scouts consider to be a deep draft. That was a negative goal, but unfortunately the truth.

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

Thoughts in Advance of the Weekend Games

Steve Perrin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:22:44 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Blake will likely get another start against the Jazz.

Browse more photos »

I stopped by Playa Vista today and got to watch a fair amount of the Clippers' practice. Unfortunately, I also got to see Craig Smith sort of roll onto Marcus Camby's ankle and watch Camby hobble off the court. (I guess my iPod touch wasn't connected to the Wi-Fi after all, because I thought I sent a quick Tweet out about that, but it didn't get sent. Fortunately Lisa Dillman got the job done.) I don't think it's serious - I've seen a lot of ankle injuries and it wasn't a full force, step on a foot, roll the ankle with all your body weight on it thing. Smith fell, and sort of rolled into Marcus. It was actually the kind of play that could produce a very serious injury, like a hyper-extended knee or something. But since the team has said it's a sprained ankle, I'm actually relieved. If it's a sprain (i.e. if x-rays were negative) I don't think it's a bad one.

Sebastian Telfair practiced today, but coach was non-committal on whether or how much he'd play this weekend. He wanted to wait and see how Bassy responded to the practice today. He was also pretty inscrutable regarding rotations - wouldn't say who he was thinking of resting, though he did say that he'd like to start working back to a more normal rotation. Of course Camby will be out for these games - no reason to rush him out there, especially when DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin are probably the two players who benefit most from the pre-season reps. The weekend is further complicated by the back-to-back, not to mention the crazy mini-tournament format. Since the team doesn't yet know who they're playing Sunday, they haven't done any prep on that team. So they'll just have a walk through about Sunday's opponent Sunday morning, and that will have to do.

For those who want to look for clues in the practice about what the coach is thinking about his lineup, he's not tipping his hand yet. During three-team drills today, the first team remained the same - Kaman, Camby, Thornton, Gordon and Baron. When Camby limped off, Griffin switched his jersey, as you would expect. DJ remains on the second unit, deservedly so, with Craig Smith being forced down to the third unit. The Clippers are just deeper at the big spots, and I expect Smith to get rotation minutes, but he's the fifth guy up front. Ricky Davis remains on the second unit, pretty much by default - they are thinner on the wings.

As for Saturday's opponent, Utah is one of the playoff teams from last season that the Clippers hope might possibly slip up this season and open the door. The Jazz are pretty hard to explain. They went to the Western Conference Finals in 2008 - and then with the same team, and nice improvement from young players like Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap, they regressed last season. Like the Clippers, they suffered some injuries - but also like the Clippers, injuries don't seem to completely explain their issues. In fact, Utah was finally fully healthy at the end of the season, which is exactly when they were playing their worst ball. They went 4-8 in their last dozen games, and fell to the eighth seed and a first round matchup with the Lakers, who promptly ended their season. And to complicate matters, they had a strange off-season. Carlos Boozer by most accounts has one foot out the door, but because of the salary cap and economy, decided to play his option year rather than becoming a free agent (same for Mehmut Okur). That left the Jazz in the position of having to pay to retain Paul Millsap, Boozer's backup and heir apparent, while still paying Boozer, who they've been trying to move. So for now, the small market Jazz have one of the biggest payrolls in the league and are going to be taking a massive luxury tax hit. And that's a situation that won't last long.

All of this is pretty irrelevant to pre-season - who knows if we'll even see Williams and Boozer in this game? But the Jazz are a team to watch when the season starts. They have plenty of talent. But the way the closed last season, plus the strange off-season they had, makes you wonder where their heads will be this season, especially with Boozer and Okur in contract years with little chance of being re-signed.

The Jazz, like the Clippers, are 3-1 in pre-season so far. If the Clippers don't give anyone the night off, I would expect Griffin to replace Camby in the starting lineup with Baron, Gordon, Thornton and Kaman. But Baron is due for a night off soon, so don't be surprised if Bassy gets the call in one of these games.

Defensive Improvement

Dave — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:04:32 -0000

When we did our "What One Thing Do the Blazers Need to Succeed?" survey the other day we got a lot of brilliant answers. Many revolved around Greg Oden. Some mentioned Andre Miller. But the most intricate discussion surrounded the team's defense. I'd like to explore that further, as I tend to agree that this could turn out to be the factor that defines whether the Blazers are darn good or legitimately great this coming season and beyond. Fast or slow, the offense is going to be more than fine with the current cast plus the addition of Andre Miller. Despite fielding some individually mediocre rebounders, as a whole the Blazers will be taken care of on the boards as long as Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla are around. Defense, not a traditional strong suit around these parts, has far more wiggle room. And if you're looking to be great, wiggle room is not the best characteristic to have.

This is not to say the Blazers are poor defensively. To the contrary, they racked up a fairly impressive defensive season last year. They were 11^th in defensive rating, 4^th in points allowed (thank you, slow pace, but it was part of the +5.3 point differential), 17^th in opponent field goal percentage, 18^th in opponent three-point percentage, and 4^th in free throws allowed (thanks again, slow pace fairy). By the metrics you could easily rate the Blazers in the high average defensive range. How much you think that needs to improve depends on your assessment of the offensive and rebounding strengths. We're not going to be that comprehensive yet. Suffice it to say that the Blazers will need to improve if they are to eke out those difficult-to-get extra wins above 54 and challenge for greatness and defense is the general category with the most room for improvement.

The Blazers were actually quite strong in their paint defense last season. Their design has been basic: deny the easiest shots no matter what the cost and make the opponent subsist on perimeter attempts. Anyone who remembers the halcyon days of Zach Randolph, Theo Ratliff, and Sebastian Telfair when the lane regularly parted with sweet sorrow can attest to the wisdom of such an approach.

The cost of vigilance in the key has been a reliance on scrambling and rotations outside. The oft-mentioned pick and roll schemes are an example. The Blazers put heavy pressure on their big men to get out and shadow opposing dribblers. You also see extra pressure on high-powered opposing penetrators and rotations away from distance shooters. You see a fair amount of zone-man switching and disguised defenses as well. These schemes are hardly unique to Portland, but they require considerable vision, knowledge, and timing...sometimes in rare supply on a team populated by young 20-somethings known for their offense.

The Blazers need to keep their interior defense strong while finding a better rhythm, and perhaps more individual responsibility, on the perimeter. Upon what (or whom) will the Blazers rely in order to achieve such improvement?

Having another year under their belts individually and as a team Portland should see some natural progression in their defensive reliability, if nothing else because of recognition. But aging alone won't make the decisive difference. Defense takes physical repetition. If you've been playing a certain way for years it's going to be hard to change that pattern even if your knowledge of the game improves. You actually have to start playing better in order for better play to get ingrained. Seeing where you should have gone above the screen doesn't help until you actually do and that process becomes instinctive. For that reason it's doubtful the Blazers will have improved leaps and bounds over the summer.

There's some hope that body development will also provide an edge. Nicolas Batum is a prime defender with room to grow physically. Martell Webster has an impressive physique as well. LaMarcus Aldridge may be stronger this season. That's the advantage of being young. You always hope there's more forthcoming.

Beyond that, the two names mentioned most often as providing possible edges are Oden and Miller. (Keep in mind we're not talking best defenders here, we're talking the best chances for providing improvement.)

Oden, assuming he remains healthy, should get a handle on defending the interior this season. That's his stronghold. His strength makes the most difference down low. He looked no more impressive last year than he did against the lumbering behemoth Yao Ming when Yao was playing with his back to the basket in the playoffs. That ought to continue. The obvious rub is that the Blazers have already been strong down there. What they really need from Oden is the mobility and awareness to get outside to impede an opposing wing and then back in when called for. Coupled with that comes the need for better decision making on when to take a foul or let a play go. Not coincidentally, these are the parts of Greg's game that will be the hardest to develop both in a physical and mental sense. Offensive rebounds? Pencil in Oden with an exclamation point. Show and recover? Better put a question mark.

Andre Miller is not a premier defender. He's a well-seasoned veteran who's seen approximately 92 billion screens in his career, which is the great hope. You don't expect him to stop opponents single-handedly. You want him to be able to help instead of getting rubbed off every time someone sneezes. He should be able to handle that. That should make the Blazers at least marginally better, causing a chain reaction by which less pressure is put on rotations, especially those involving Oden. That's the hope anyway.

But this is my point. When you're talking offense the Blazers are walking tall. When you're talking rebounding you can bank on production. When you're talking defense you're still leaning on question marks and hopes. Those question marks could straighten out and hopes could come to fruition, but it's generally true that when you start from that basis you're going to struggle. The Blazers shouldn't be worse, but you can't say definitively they're going to be better defensively next year.

This is the issue, more than any other except Oden's physical condition, that should have us holding our collective breath. In the end defense will probably demarcate the line between the first or second round of the playoffs and something more special. We'll have to see how things shake out.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Minnesota Timberwolves - Donde esta Senor Rubio?

R Dizzle — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:00:18 -0000

Senor Rubio,

Donde esta mi ago? You were drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with this 5th pick back in June, and yet unlike Eddie Murphy in a fine film, you did not end up Coming to America.

Instead you decided to stay despite wanting no more from your former team, DKV Joventut. So you got them to trade your rights to Regal Barcelona, and poof, you signed a 6 year contract with them. Does this mean you're staying there all 6 years? No. But it does mean it will be a while before you end up coming to the States.

Now what you ask?

Listen Ricky, I get it. I understand why you didn't want to be a part of the T-Wolves. Although they have a great fan base (if you haven't I suggest checking out our SB Nation brother Canis Hoopus), they don't really have a great team. Let's be honest, a record of 24-58 is pretty hard to go to. They lack a superstar and an all-star, but hey, there's potential right? Trust me, I know how that feels.

Gotta love potential.

But let's look at what this organization did for you without even signing you!

Key additions:

Ramon Sessions,Antonio Daniels, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Oleksiy Pecherov, Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins, Ryan Hollins, Mark Blount, Sasha Pavlovic

Key subtractions: Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Mark Madsen, Kevin Ollie, Q-Richardson

Essentially, the T-Wolves traded away two capable players (Foye and Miller) to the Wizards in order to draft you at number 5. They hired a new coach, former Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis. New T-Wolves GM , David Kahn, even made plenty of trips to Spain in order to speak with you and your family as well as DKV about a potential buyout. They even claim that the details were worked out. It would have been hard since due to the rookie pay scale, the buyout clause from your DKV contract would have prevented you from making any money directly from the T-Wolves. But hey, there would have been crazy endorsement contracts to sign and you would have made some good money.

Nonetheless, I can see your point. Why go to the T-Wolves? They're a terrible a team, especially since losing KG. That trade was straight up silly, but hey, whatever works to get the Celtics a championship, right? Furthermore,with the T-Wolves original pick at #6, they chose another point guard! Jonny Flynn + Ricky Rubio = weird back court. I get that. But so does Stephen Curry + Monta Ellis, right? Take a look at the Warriors, it's going to be a great year for us!

Moreover, I get that you want to be the focus of the town. Kinda hard when some old guy keeps wavering around a comeback all summer and then finally decides to join a team mid-training camp. No names to be mentioned here. Only pictures.

WHY WON'T YOU GO AWAY?!?!?!

Gotta respect the T-Wolves, though. They didn't really want to only have Jonny Flynn this offseason, so they picked up restricted free agent Ramon Sessions. Great player if you ask me. Lots of us in the Bay love him too. Best of luck for that.

So what's it going to be Senor Rubio? Well let me break down my predictions about the 'Wolves.

Win less than 27 games
Sessions + Flynn = strange back court, but somehow it manages to work
Kevin Love has another monster year
We all see a ton of potential

Like I've said, I get it. You want to come out to USA, but not to Minnesota. Ending up in California, New York, or somewhere on the coasts is ideal for all of us. Luckily, us Warriors fans (well, most of us) enjoy Sunny California. Maybe we'll see you out here, maybe we won't. Most likely, you're not ending up with the 'Wolves. All good, I wouldn't want to either.

See ya in 2011!

Your amigo,

R Dizzle

For more on the Minessota Timberwolves check out Canis Hoopus :

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

Fill in the blank. The Minnesota Timberwolves are....

Going to have a Rubio + Flynn backcourt in 2011.

73 votes

Never going to see Rubio in a T-Wolves jersey.

559 votes

Going to win the NBA title this year.

78 votes

710 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets- The Year of the Yi

Atma Brother ONE — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:15:10 -0000

Movement? What is this movement you speak of?

Coming straight to YouTube or Hulu soon!

We cut down the Nets like it's the NCAA spring tourney after the JUMP!

I won't pull any punches. The 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets season depends on one man and one man alone.

I'm of course referring to none other than Yi Jianlian aka The Movement.

Linking ain't Yi-zy:

I feel like a lot of otherwise smart hoops folks are quick to write off Yi as a bust. People are entitled to their own prerogative, but I'd like to take a second to highlight this comparison between Yi and KG.

Yi Jianlian (per 36)

Rookie: 28.6% 3pt, 84.1% FT, 7.5 rpg, 2.0 tov
Sophomore: 34.3% 3pt, 77.2% FT, 8.3 rpg, 1.8 tov

Kevin Garnett (per 36)

Rookie: 3pt, 70.5% FT, 7.9 rpg, 1.7 tov
Sophomore: 28.6% 3pt, 75.4% FT, 7.4 rpg, 2.1 tov

In case you're having trouble seeing it for yourself let me spell it out for you:

FACT: While KG's 3pt % flat-lined across his first two seasons, Yi's showed dramatic improvement from year 1 to year 2, jumping nearly 6 percentage points.
FACT: Yi was a superior free throw shooter compared to KG.
FACT: Yi showed nice showed improvement in his rebounding rate, while KG's rate declined.
FACT: Turnovers are incredibly costly in the game of basketball and Yi was able to cut his turnovers in year 2. On the other hand KG turned the ball over more in year 2, even surpassing Yi's year 1 rate.

These are the facts. I'm just here to illuminate them. Nothing but the facts.

One billion and one people know Yi is about to have a breakout season this year. Do you?

(Okay, I'll readily admit I've barely been able to hold in a big burst of laughter while while everything above this point in this article.)

Yi Jianlian

#9 / Forward / New Jersey Nets

Height: 7-0

Weight: 238

Born: Oct 27, 1987

College: None

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Yi Jianlian	61	23.3	3.1	8.2	38.2	0.8	2.3	34.3	1.6	2.0	77.2	1.1	4.2	5.3	1.0	1.1	0.5	0.6	2.6	8.6

(Thankfully) Moving on...

Rewing 2k8-2k9 Season: 34-48, tied for 11th in the Least

Wow they sure did miss that future Hall of Fame point guard who resurrected their franchise. No Kidding. (Normally I'd duck for cover from angry Nets fans pointing out the emergence of Devin Harris, but I have no fear here- there are no Nets fans. QUICK: Name the SB Nation Nets blog!) The Nets have just posted back-to-back seasons of 34 wins.

Projecting 2k9-2k10 Season: 34-48, Lottery bound

The Nets will be going for the trifecta this year. Back-to-back-to-back seasons of 34-48. How will they accomplish this mean feat minus the Vinsanity? I do like the TWill aka Gatorade Protector pick in the 2k9 draft and I'm looking for the Stanford big man to continue his rise. That should be more than enough to protect their very Warrior-like 34 win pace. The Nets aren't bad enough to win the lottery (odds are not in their favor) or land a valuable top 5 pick, but they're not good enough to make the playoffs. It's a frustrating situation to be stuck in, as we all know all too well here in Dubs land. Hey at least both teams are consistent.

Golden Predictions

Brook Lopez continues on his path towards being the Diet Coke of Tim Duncans by dropping 15 ppg, 9 rpg, and 2 blks.
Terrence Williams shows some flashes and looks to be a steady rotation swingman for the next 8+ seasons in the NBA.
The Nets rank in the bottom 5 in fan attendance in the entire association.
Devin Harris and Monta Ellis have eerily similar stats.
Skip to My Lou and his expiring $5.25 million contract get traded before the deadline.
Sean Williams makes a nice comeback.
Yi Jianlian's got next!

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

How would you characterize The Yi Movement in 2k9-2k10?

It's all well and alive like 2Pac and Biggie baby!

72 votes

Sadly it's dead like De La Soul.

184 votes

What's The Yi Movement?

211 votes

467 votes | Poll has closed