(I told Wyn and S&P I'd drop in with a little cynicism once in awhile, just to spice things up. What better way than another diary missive from Master McHale? I mean, If you can't laugh at this club, what's left?- Peter)

Kevin's Journal Entry - December 14,2008
"A Hall of Fame career, an elite basketball broadcaster, and way over a decade of developing this team, and it all comes down to this:

Head coaching.

Traveling on planes with poor leg room, having to answer stupid questions in triplicate from no-nothing reporters or--heaven forbid--wannabe bloggers. After years of putting this franchise on my back, this is what I get.

Crap!

There are days where I'd like to march right up to the front office, confront all of my "friends", and pull a finger pointing Laettner on them..."loser, loser, loser...winner (pointing to myself of course). I mean, what's Stack ever done, really? Babcock? Please. I think Vince Carter is still laughing at the way he was able to get out of Toronto. Hoiberg? He'd be nothing without me!

This is what "corporate loyalty" and the "old boys network" are all about?  During the holiday season? It's like reading that two of the three wise men turned their back on the other one and told him to get lost.

Well, I'll show them. I have assembled the best young talent in the NBA; it's not my fault that no one else can coach these kids. Yeah, I'll have to get on the whole X's and O's thing, and be better at adjusting my schemes (it was embarrasing how Anthony rung us up for 33 in one quarter; couldn't any of my "assistants" produce a plan to stop him, and help a Hall of Famer out? Who hired those guys, anyway?). But, I'll get some wins out of the club (mostly in February and March, when no one else cares), just enough to make it really difficult to bounce me. Then we'll see what happens.

I'm going to love the look on Stack's face when I tell him his proposed trades are crappy, and I can't use the players he wants to bring in. Or Hoiberg and Babcock, when I tell them how worthless those draft choices are. I am going to be such a pain in the tush that Mr. Taylor--it used to be Glen until last week--is finally going to have to choose between them, and me. He'll have to choose between an accomplished, loyal, Hall of Famer, one of the best basketball minds in the world, and those other rubes. I simply need better people to execute around me...like Petersen. He gets me.

I wrote it here first...I'm not going to be 0-3 for long!

Merry Christmas."

Looks like the Pistons finally shook up their team...from the AP:

DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons shook the NBA in a big way Monday -- landing former MVP Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets.

The Pistons gave up All-Star point guard and former NBA finals MVP Chauncey Billups, top reserve Antonio McDyess and project Cheikh Samb.

"We just felt it was the right time to change our team," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press. "Iverson gives us a dimension that we haven't had here and we really think its going to help us"

I think the trade may help both teams. Denver wasn't going anywhere this year standing pat; whether it helps Motown get over the top will now become a fascinating storyline for the rest of the year.

On another, much less important note, I'll be ducking out of doing regular posting here at Canis. It's been a lot of fun; this joint is one of the best blogs around. I'll be doing some stuff over at my initial site--Hoops Springs Eternal--and I might drop in here to do a Madman Diary or two, depending on how the year goes. A big thank you goes to Wyn and S-N-P for putting up with me since last February. At least I didn't break any china.

Photo Credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

"What do I think of Love now?

I can only think how lucky we are not to be stuck with Mayo, who debuted with a 5-for-20 (including 0-for-7 on threes) and 10 points in the Grizzlies' 82-71 loss at Houston.

This gets tiring, but once again it's time to bow to the personnel genius of McHale, not to mention the coaching wizardry of Wittman."

Patrick Reusse - Star Tribune

Signs of schizophrenia Wednesday:

Bill Clinton campaigning for Barack Obama

Patrick Reusse gushing over Kevin Love (albeit sarcastically)

Watching the Wolves edge the Kings.

Since I am a terrible prognosticator, and a huge Wolves fan, let me first say it was great to see them win, especially since I dedicated an entire post to the victory last week. There was a lot to enjoy, particularly the ball sharing, balanced scoring, shutting down Kevin Martin, and the successful debut of Kevin Love.

But it shouldn't have been that hard. With Sacramento missing Brad Miller and Francisco Garcia, the Wolves shot poorly at the free throw line, didn't involve Big Al and Mike Miller much in the second half offense, and barely escaped with a two point win. Minnesota was out rebounded--again, in the second half--and allowed the Kings a number of second chances and opportunities to get back into the game.

So, I'll enjoy the "W", but against better competition, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been as joyous. Britt Robson mentions this in his missive about the game, but the idea that Randy Foye sat so long in the 4th has to concern folks both inside and outside the organization. He was a -10 for the evening with only 3 assists against 4 turnovers. For a club that shared the ball well last night with 25 assists, the reality that the point guard had a assists-to-turnover ratio in the negatory category is not a delicious one at all. It's a long season, though, and there'll be plenty of time to turn that around.

On the good side, we had the best two rookies in last year's draft on display, statistically speaking. Both Love and the Kings' Jason Thompson had impressive debuts, and far and away outdid anyone else in the Class of '08 in the opening Tuesday and Wednesday games. Love had a +20 for the night; in fact, the Wolves bench outshined the starters in the plus/minus category. For anyone that doubted the retention of Kevin Ollie over Blake Ahearn...ahem...please watch the last minutes of the game. The ability of Ollie to shut down Martin while Corey Brewer was able to guard John Salmons in the last possession of the game was huge.

I've said all along that on a team that overall is poor defensively, if you can play well in stretches and get a stop when necessary, for this year that will be good enough. The Wolves, with 10 steals, played opportunistic defense and translated those steals into easy points. Combine that with the ability to stop the Kings from getting a good look in the last possession, and we have the makings of progress, at least against the weaker teams.

So, there was lot to enjoy about the victory, but a lot of concern for the team as well. Sounds about right for a mid-30 win team. For today, I'll split the difference and stay positive.

Different uni's, different court, different...team? Tonight we'll continue the great Wolves rebuilding experiment.

Game Notes:

7:00 pm, Target Center
vs Sacramento Kings
TV: KSTC-45
Radio: KFAN-AM 1130

Preseason Records:

Minnesota - 6-2, Sacramento - 1-7

Minnesota plays a Sacramento team in search of an identity, especially after losing Ron Artest during the off-season. Kevin Martin was seventh in league scoring last year with a 23.7 PPG average, and had a 20.7 average this preseason. He's surrounded by folks such as center Brad Miller, T-Wolf-for-an-hour Beno Udrih at the point, Artest replacement John Salmons, and Mikki Moore at power forward. Young bigs Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson are initially coming off the bench for the Kings, along with old familar combo guard Bobby Jackson.

Keys for the game: Coming out of the gate with some intensity at both ends of the court, and not giving Martin easy looks at the basket. Offensively, getting people other than Jefferson in the scoring column early.

Projected Starting Lineups

Minnesota: Randy Foye / Mike Miller / Corey Brewer / Ryan Gomes / Al Jefferson

Sacramento:  Beno Udrih/ Kevin Martin/ John Salmons/ Mikki Moore/ Spencer Hawes

[Thanks to Sterno for the correction...Miller is suspended for five games - Peter]

My Sundays are precious; I love spending some extended time searching for interesting hoops tidbits. HoopsHype does a wonderful job of aggregating b-ball info, but I never hesitate to check with other pundits who didn't make the link list, like the NY Post's  Peter Vecsey, and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel's  Ira Winderman.  For your browsing pleasure, I'll give you a few links, and try to connect some Wolves dots in the process, in regards to rebuilding the team.

First off, let's start with Newsday, and Ken Berger's article about the Knicks already preparing for LBJ's free agency. What's it got to do with the Wolves? Check out this small morsel, buried in the middle of the article:

"My understanding is, he's [Lebron] out for sure," the executive said. "He'll run it out to free agency for sure, and Cleveland is definitely not the highest chance of the teams. Everyone that knows him and that he talks to privately says he wants to get out of there. Obviously, New York's been talked about, but there's going to be lots of teams with money that year, 15 or so."

One of the Wolves current strategies is to manage the salary cap for the 2010 sweepstakes. If this unnamed executive is correct, we'll be up against about half of the league competing for big names like D-Wade and James. I mentioned this awhile ago in a post about acquiring Shaun Livingston, what big names would actually be serious about coming here? There's not only the Tundra and Taxes, but serious competition from some mighty big markets. My take: I wouldn't buy any hype from the Wolves front office that they will be able to hook  or lure any of the big fishes. Strike one for the club.

We don't need those top names you say? We'll find second-tier talent who can make major contributions? Check out this Draft Express post about  the current exploits of Josh Childress, once in Atlanta, now in Greece. Here's an interesting quote from former Pacer PG Travis Best, who's also playing in Europe:

"First of all, in Europe the quality of life is high," Best told us. "3 or 4 years ago my decision could be considered strange, but now it's almost quite normal. Obviously, money plays a big role; top European teams can spend a lot of money without the limitation of salary cap. A lot of astonishing players prefer to come overseas and sign big guaranteed contracts instead of being content with the mid-level exception. Here they continue to play great basketball, enjoy tax advantages, and live in amazing places with perfectly organized teams".

My take: If the Europeans can continue to attract upper to mid-tier talent at attractive prices, that hurts the American small market teams. Sure we're in the NBA, but the world is changing before us. Money talks. A potential strike two against the Wolves.

So, continuing to follow the logic here, if the Wolves need more talent to continue a successful rebirth from the KG years, but we can't nail the top players, and struggle to get the next tier who could make an impact, what's the path to success? Trades and the draft? Well, here's we have some hope...maybe. Check out talking point #5 of  Winderman's latest column:

5. Weighing the trade.

The draft-night blockbuster between the Timberwolves and Grizzlies figures to draw increased inspection.

Take last week, for example, when Memphis' O.J. Mayo was torching the Heat for 28 points, while Minnesota's Kevin Love was fouling out in 11 minutes against Denver and then shooting 1 of 10 against Chicago.

At the end of the day, it might be the ancillary part of the deal that saves face for the 'Wolves, with Minnesota getting Mike Miller and Memphis now stuck with Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric.

My take: Given all the failed efforts to surround KG with talent, and the resulting rebuilding from scratch, we really have only two proven players to speak of: Big Al and Mike Miller. There has been no Iron Ranger draft choice or draft day acquisition that has emerged as a solid, dependable player from the recent draft pools. True, the jury is still out on Brewer and Love, but for players like Foye and McCants, how much longer will it be before folks will say they're just decent, but flawed? If the Wolves are going to rejoin the ranks of the playoff contenders, some of these recent top ten draft picks--or the stockpiled first rounders--are going to have to emerge, big time. It's where the Wolves ultimate success or failure will be determined.

A couple of other notes...three interesting articles about  former Wolves Antoine Walker, Marcus Banks, and Gerald Green. I have to feel a little sorry for Walker, who's maybe not good enough to hook on to another contender without giving up some salary.  Looks like he's going to sit with the Grizz this year as well.

Photo credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

The Wolves rebounded from a listless performance against Chicago with a 95-76 win over the Bucks last night, closing out their preseason with a 6-2 record. News of the three roster cuts and speculation about further moves overshadowed a sub par game, but as with last year, the decisive win over Milwaukee gives the club some momentum heading into the regular season. We can only hope, pray, beg, plead, petition, demand, cajole, insist, ask or request that the Wolves season start out better than last year. Whatever works.

Positives and Negatives:

Positives:

Big Al. Once again, he's the most consistent offensive threat on the club. Against the Bucks he went for 19 points, 5 rebounds, and a +9 for the night. One problem with the Wolves presently is that all the other roster "weapons" are going for long dry spells. While the regular season will bring hopefully a more balanced rotation and substitution scheme, those folks might want to shake off whatever first half shooting issues they have and help Al out.

Kevin Love. I've often thought that Jim Petersen and Tom Hanneman would make an excellent political rapid response media team. (They can't be any worse than Michelle Bachmann) Given Reusse's recent article torching Love, the spin on K-Love was in full force last night on FSN North. Of course, the REAL way an athlete can prove a scribe wrong is to perform, and to his credit Love did, with a 14 point, 10 rebound, +11 night. It doesn't negate the things Reusse said, but goodness, let's at least give the lad half a season before we mercilessly rip into him and scald McHale again for his personnel evaluation ineptitude.

Mike Miller. He stunk offensively in the first half, but got his shooting touch back a bit in the second, scoring 12 points, with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a +7 for the evening. Here's what savvy veterans do; when they don't have it going shot-wise, they contribute the other little things to make their team better.Miller gets this, and his all-around game should be an example for people like McCants who still is at a "me-first" stage of his career.

Kevin Ollie. A + 14 for the night, one could debate at this point why on a team that probably won't make the playoffs do the Wolves need a veteran like Ollie at the third guard. I know Ahearn shot well, but I'm happy Ollie stuck. He's not spectacular, but the Wolves core players still need a little quality veteran mojo, and this guy seems to have it. Ahearn isn't really a point guard, and if you DO want to get the season off to better start than last year, given that Telfair is sitting out the first few games, having Ollie come off the bench gives you a better chance at success.

Ball Movement. The Wolves had 23 assists last night. Good for them, because in order to get "anyone but Al" off, the ball should be flying around the court to get folks open looks.

Negatives:

Perimeter Defense. Yeah, Milwaukee only shot 36 percent for the night, but the way Luke Ridnour started out, it looked like it was going to be a long night--again--on the perimeter for the Wolves. Given that it looks like the club is going to go with a small frontcourt for starters, there's going to be a lot of double teaming down low, which will naturally prompt teams to swing the ball around to someone open on the perimeter. Foye hasn't demonstrated much ability to guard anyone, and no one seems to want to pressure the ball coming up the court on a consistent basis. How many years have we seen that?

Corey Brewer. It looks like he's going to make the starting five. Okay, given the defensive issues on this club, I kind of get it, but it still looking like he's hurting the club more than helping at this point. He's losing his shooting touch, so his defense better be mighty good, because there are other starting configurations on the roster that would be more successful, especially when Collins gets healthy.

Anyone but Al. I've mentioned it throughout this post, but again, what about all these other weapons we were supposed to have? Can't more players start out a little better? Please?

Summary:

As I mentioned last post, the Wolves have a ton of stuff to work on. It looks like they're going to start the season with a small front court, they can't guard anyone on the perimeter, and they need more balance and consistency from their offense. Still, there's a little buzz about this motley crew that could keep us interested and engaged for the entire season. Hopefully, this will be the year where we can finally find out whether Foye can handle the point guard position, and Wittman can coach without excuses. They have a great chance to start the season with a win, and if they can pull an upset or two against some initially tough competition (Mavs, Spurs, Blazers), breaking even in November would represent real progress. I'm a die-hard cynic, but I'm ready to be proven wrong.

Photo credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

Nope, I'm not talking about the World Series, it's the Wolves failed comeback attempt last night, losing to the Bulls 85-75. After taking another first quarter off against Chicago like last week, this time the club decided they could also use a break in the fourth, scoring only 9 points in each of those quarters. At home. Ouch!

Positives and Negatives from the game:

Positives (not many):

Big Al. Offensively, he's back. Defensively, he's still a work in progress, but his low block play is beautiful to watch. Jefferson scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, and was +5 for the night. The fact he had no assists was more from the fact the rest of the team had shooting issues all night.

Rashad McCants. This one could go either way, but given the poor play of the other players, and the fact he was a +1 for the night, he gets a positive rating. His entrance into the game was underwelming with two straight turnovers, but he made some shots in the second half, and seemingly saved most of his scowls for the bench. Given what Chief Vindicator Jim Petersen said about Shaddy accepting the sixth man role, and needing to be in the team flow, I still have a feeling Wittman and McCants will be butting heads throughout the season.

Derrick Rose. Yeah, he's the opposition, but this kid can play. Even with 5 turnovers against 6 assists, he had 17 points and a +12 for the night. He needs to develop a clutch mid range shot, but barring injury Rose is going to be a very good to excellent PG in this league.

Negatives:

Kevin Love. Last night, K-Love was awful, with 1-10 shooting and a -19 for the night. But he only had one foul in 24 minutes of play, which is better, because this year he may well replace Craig Smith as the referee's favorite whipping boy on the Wolves team. I'm still on the fence regarding Love's future in the league, but Reusse's article on the rook this morning was unfair and premature.Give Love a Chance!

Corey Brewer. On the telecast last night, I swear I saw mothers shielding their kids as he was shooting. After a nice start to the preseason, he's reverting to form, clanking shots with impunity. I'll say it again, with the type of game he's got, he can score points with defense, hustle and transition opportunites. Yes, he needs to shoot better, but concentrating on what he does best and letting the rest come to him as he develops is his primary challenge.

First Quarter Starts. The Wolves have the shooters--and the low block stud--to get out of the gate faster in most games. Maybe if they came out ready to play defense, it would help them on the offensive end. Get some easy buckets, apply pressure, and for Jim Pete's sake, guard the perimeter better.

Summary:

Shooting 32.5 percent doesn't win many games, so let's just say it was an off night, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of tonight's contest, the Wolves have had a decent preseason. There's a ton of stuff to work on, and some roster decisions to be made, reportedly starting today. We still don't know what big men will be sticking around, or getting signficant minutes. As long as the expectations are kept reasonable, this should be a more fun team to watch. They really need to come out of the gate with more intensity though, especially at home.

As S-N-P said in the thread below...remember to cast your Love Song vote!

Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

I've been watching Sacramento--our first regular season opponent--over the last couple of preseason games, and all I have to say is: what happened to THAT club? As much as we've followed the Wolves descent into mediocrity over the last few years, the Kings have devolved into a nondescript bunch; I can't tell who they exactly want to be.

Like the Wolves, they're in rebuilding mode. Kevin Martin is a nice player, but similar to Milwaukee's Michael Redd, I'm not so sure I'd want to build a team around him. Their attempts to refresh their front court with players such as Spencer Hawes, new number one Jason Thompson and Shelden Williams via the Bibby/Atlanta trade is inconclusive to date. John Salmons and Francisco Garcia are decent wing players, and in hindsight Udrih would been nice for the Wolves last year, but can you imagine a deep playoff run with any of those players?

Sacramento is right around where the Wolves are, a mid 30 win team with two first round draft picks in next year's draft and some expiring contracts (Kenny Thomas, Abdur-Rahim, Brad Miller, etc.) for the 2010 sweepstakes. For this year, it looks like they can generate enough offense to win some home games, but on the road, it will be Martin having a hot night against indifferent teams that will keep them in games. I can't believe the Wolves will be indifferent on Opening Night; therefore we should notch win #1 against this regal bunch.

Photo credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

Well, it IS only preseason, but suffice it to say that if the Wolves played the entire game like they did the first quarter, the tone of this post would be much different. Tuning in on Chicago's Comcast SportsNet, I thought I was watching a track meet, as opposed to basketball. Minnesota responded nicely, however, for a 96-86 win. A video recap of the game can be found here. We'll save in-depth analysis for the real tilts, let's talk positives and negatives:

Positives:

Corey Brewer. His outside shooting still scares me, but there's clear improvement over last season. Here's where the cliche "playing within yourself" comes to mind. His overall speed and defensive abilities will produce offense for him; if he stays focused and carries the improved stroke into the regular season, his obvious hard work will pay off. Brewer was a +8 for the night, scoring 15 points with 9 rebounds.

Kevin Ollie.  He was the best point guard for the Wolves last night, and demonstrated he won't screw up the team if called on to play. For a third guard, what more can you ask? Ollie ran the team well, hit a couple of clutch shots in the 4th, and exuded veteran calm. Unless a better player becomes available, he should make the roster. He was a +22 for the night, with 8 points and 3 assists.

Al Jefferson. He started slow, but finished pretty big, with the usual low post scoring, and one important block in the 4th. He was a +17 for the evening, with 13 points and 7 rebounds, but it was the 4 assists that impressed me the most. He's learning how to pass out of a double team. He'll never be a KG or Bill Walton, but he doesn't have to be.

Ryan Gomes. He didn't play too much (19 minutes), but his impact was felt on the court. His energy and scoring really helped the Wolves in the second quarter; he was a +24 for the night, with 11 points.

Interior Offense. The club dominated the points in the paint last night, 48-26. Add consistent outside shooting, with better defense, and we'll have something.

Negatives:

Interior and Transition Defense. This got a little better as the game went on, but in the first quarter, the Wolves shot around 22 percent, and the Bulls big men consistently beat our club down the court. Drew Gooden took all of our front court to school. Hmm...do you think other teams won't try and exploit that weakness? Again, here's where "good enough" would be welcome; simply look to improve, not take a step back, especially when Kevin Love will be under the refs scrutiny in his rookie season.

Randy Foye. He was bad last night, a whopping -19 in 26 minutes of play, with one assist and 4 turnovers. Yeah, the games don't count yet, and Telfair started at PG, but he has to get better.

Summary:

I thought Chicago let their foot off the pedal last night and allowed the Wolves back into the game. To their credit, Minnesota came back and played a lot better, especially in the second half. The Bulls have a lot of issues like the Wolves; but a mid 30 win season makes them contenders for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And, they have Derrick Rose, who showed flashes last night, but still has to find some level of synchronicity with his new team, as does K-Love with the Wolves. After the Nuggets blow out, I was happy to see Minnesota respond with a road win. No one will remember the victory by November, but it was a positive sign nonetheless.

Let me see...in the last week and a half I've lost serious investment money, heard some KTLK radio maroons claim Magic Johnson faked AIDS, saw some lady from Shakopee insist to John McCain that Obama is an Arab (she repeated her opinion, then added the two other often whispered but bogus Muslim and terrorist claims to a Star Tribune reporter), and watched the Lakeville town hall crowd boo when McCain told them Obama was a decent fellow. Not a great time to be in the middle class here in the Tundra.

Properly depressed, I hit the bunker for awhile, complete with my new HD screen, Wii, a great Vodka martini, and an Internet connection, scanning my universe for signs of hope. Given my ongoing distrust of our local NBA franchise, you can imagine how rock bottom my world is to say I have found a spark of promise in our club. How 'bout them Wolves anyway?

As much as I've joked about the Iron Ranger and the Wolves front office, they continue to make the little moves that have low risk and potentially high reward. Yes, they swung and missed on Shaun Livingston, but adding Kevin Ollie and David Harrison could be small gems during this long season. Harrison is a potential problem child to be sure, but has much more talent than either the just departed Rafael Araujo, or certainly Cal (Tattoo) Booth. If healthy and focused, Harrison gives them another legitimate big body; from what we've seen so far this preseason, Kevin Love will have some defensive adjustments to make against quality big men, which equates to fouls and extended bench time. Having both Harrison and Collins playing minutes at the 5 means no "forced feeding" of the rookie (pun intended); if Love has it going, keep him in, if not, slide Big Al over to his natural power position and let the Wolves work with a bigger front court. Here's hoping Harrison can get healthy and force the club to either buy out or waive Booth by the beginning of the season.

Ollie isn't a great player by any stretch of the imagination. However, like Greg Buckner last year, he can be enough of a glue guy to help out 5 -10 minutes per contest, or be DNP for a number of games and still make a contribution when his number is called. Other than Mike Miller, the veterans on this roster aren't particularly talented, but they seem to be straight up guys. That should help in the locker room if and/or when those extended losing streaks occur.

It may have been Fatigue Friday against the Nuggets (without Anthony, I might add), but my sense is the Wolves will increase their overall win total on the backs of teams like OKC, Milwaukee and Memphis this season, but still struggle mightily against the elite teams--save for a couple of exciting upsets. Hope is what we're looking for, so if those upsets come, say, against the Spurs, or a certain green clad team from Boston, that and 30 or so other wins will be enough for the majority of us.

Speaking of the Celtics by the way, it looks like they may have added some talent, also under the cover of low risk contracts. Here's Peter Vecsey's column today in the NY Post about one Patrick O'Bryant. We'll have to see if Darius Miles has anything left, but O'Bryant is showing some serious upside in the preseason. Good for them, bad for the rest of the league...maybe.

Looks like everyone everywhere could use a little more hope, even the champs.

While the Shaun Livingston watch has now been renewed (really, when has more effort been made on a third point/combo guard?), let's roll back to Monday's "10 Questions Facing the Wolves" article written by the Strib's Jerry Zgoda. The best piece of his feature was speculating on who's more or less on the bubble. His conclusion was on the mark...it's Shaddy's time to rain or shine. At last season's training camp, he was talking big time about filling KG's void, in terms of leadership. We all know that didn't happen, and by the end of the year was chafing at coming off the bench.

While the injury to Jason Collins might force Kevin Love to start from the get-go, as opposed to working him in as the season progresses, unless there's other injuries that would affect the rotation (or Corey Brewer gains 9 pounds and a jump shot), it seems as if Rashad will be coming off the pine again this season, in the microwave role.

A look at Shaddy's career numbers from NBA.com:

and, from 82games.com:

Based on the numbers, some folks would think McCants might be primed to have a breakout year.

That's where stats are deceiving.

We saw consistently at the end of last year's games, or when the pressure was off, McCants effectively padded his numbers by scoring meaningless points. Often holding on to the ball for precious seconds on offense, he resembled a smaller version of JR Rider. His defense ebbed and flowed with his on court demeanor. In order for him to become a solid starter or rotational player, he's going to have to finish when it counts. It might be--in a spread offense with Foye and Miller on the floor--he will flourish, making quicker decisions and attacking the rack with abandon. A strategically used small ball lineup of Jefferson, Gomes or Love, Miller, Foye and Shaddy would even put a smile on crusty Don Nelson's face at times. Even though they haven't proven a thing yet, the Wolves on paper have that type of versatility on offense.

In the end, it will be the mental game that Rashad has to succeed at to be a productive player in this league. Whether he makes or breaks it with the Wolves, he will certainly get a flyer with another club, and can effectively argue that he wasn't used properly by Minnesota. I think he would lose the argument, but in addition to Minnesota playing at least adequate team defense, if we can see a mature McCants morph into the clutch scorer he claims he can be, that would be a catalyst to propel the Wolves past the mid-30 win predictions offered by just about everyone this year.

In the end, it's up to him.

Livingston's apparent decision to go elsewhere is an important reality check for the Wolves, in their strategy to manage the cap for a future free-agent run.

Dudes, it's cold up here!!! And, it's flyover land!

Besides, even though I think taking a flyer on Shaun would have been worthwhile, of the two Kevin's currently managing ball clubs--Pritchard and McHale--I'd trust the Blazers brainiac more than I would ours. He had the inside track, and he walked away from the rehabbing youngster. That's no accident, I have to believe.

It's hard to think of anyone in the upper player echelon who would come here of their own volition, unless we had an edge, like, being on the cusp of a championship. I'm not being pessimistic here, it's just that the historical evidence doesn't so far support the strategy. Savvy drafts and trades are our two main tools in rebuilding this franchise; managing the cap will allow us to add an impact role player, or pay our own developing stars in an effort to keep them on the roster.

Give the Iron Ranger credit; in past years, a swing and miss like this would have sent folks into a tizzy, worrying about the support KG's not getting. Given the roster moves of the off-season, there's still enough optimism and storylines to go around.

Hopefully, with another ten wins or so, the Woofies can start heating up the place.

Journal Entry - September 24, 2008

I'm excited, Glen's excited, heck, I think even Shooter Walters over at the Pi Press is excited about this season. Not to separate my shoulder by patting myself on the back, but what other sports executive can generate this much enthusiasm for a 20 win team? Not many, I'll tell you. The only things left for me to do would be to sign that Livingston kid and find some Palin-esque rimless glasses (men's, of course). I gave the club a makeover with new uni's, right? Why shouldn't I turn myself out? I won't slick back my hair like Riley, so rimless glasses would be a perfect compromise, a real new look for me. If only I could limit my media exposure like Sarah does...note to self.

But training camp is right around the corner, so I guess I do have to show up for media day and tell everyone how much better we're going to be. I love to see Wittman sweat when I mention the 20 win improvement. It's like doubling the bet with Chuck Barkley on the 18th hole, I can't lose! I have added talent, worked with the cap...if we go into the crapper, it's not my fault. The only thing that could wrong this year is if Mayo wins ROY. I'll have to go into Foye mode, and do the whole " you have to judge a player over the course of a career" rap again. I can't dip from that well too often, but I have every confidence we're going to do great this year. I love this bunch of kids; I traded for and drafted them, didn't I?

Maybe I should really shake things up and get Steph back here when the Knicks let him go at the end of the week. He knows he screwed up when he left here, KG is gone, and he makes more money than Big Al. I've heard he's in great shape, and if he doesn't work, it would be all Steph's fault, since he hasn't gotten along with anybody, anywhere. If it does work, it's the playoffs, baby, and I could leave...ah, who am I kidding, he'll never come here. And do you know what? We don't need him.  We'll be just fine, I absolutely love this team. I just hope Randy can do something with them...

Celtics in the land of Bush, pre-Financial Market Bailout plan

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Just to get everyone's juices flowing on a Monday, here's the 1,765,893.343th quote from KG on his trade from Minnesota, from ESPN's Jon Robinson article "The Secrets to His Success", under the heading "Even Great Players Need Help ":

Did Minnesota get swindled or was Kevin McHale helping his old team build a new dynasty? "You need to ask McHale that," Garnett says, pauses while trying not to laugh in a Dr. Evil sort of way then continues: "It just goes to show what can happen when you get a guy some help. Minnesota did the deal for a reason, and they seem pretty upbeat about what they did, and I'm pretty sure Boston is happy about what they did (laughing). But to me, it just feels good to be in Boston. It feels good to have a chance. It feels good to have other guys on your team who have experienced things. It feels good to have a coach, owners, and an organization who actually believe in you. One of the things I've learned in this league is to never point fingers or blame anyone for the past, that's not how I do things. But I embrace my new situation ... totally."

As a once fervent (but not as much as Britt Robson) KG admirer, can anyone shut this guy up? That section of the article should have been named "Even Great Players Need Paul Pierce to Step Up in the Big Games".

He deserves his moment in the sun, but it's funny how he praises his OBF for straight talk and honesty, and yet no one wants to tell him him and his salary demands were part of the problem. Okay, we get it, you're loved and trusted in Boston, the Wolves didn't believe in you any more. You won, we still kinda suck. Now, stay in the yard and play 2K9, until training camp starts. You'll have better competition in the East to focus on this year.

Sheesh.

"From Midwest Sports Cooperative.com, excerpts from an interview with Randy Wittman, head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. After 41 games, the team is last in the Northwest Division, at 13-28, and there are rumblings that Wittman's job may be on the line. At the mid-season break, we sat down with Randy to get his perspective on the season so far:

MSC - Thanks for taking the time with us!

Randy - I'm always happy to talk to fledgling news organizations. You may be out of business quicker than I am.

MSC - Okay...give us a thumbnail sketch of how the season's gone.

Randy - Well, of course, once again for the second year in a row, we've had one of key pieces get hurt in the pre-season. Last year it was Foye, and this year it was Big Al.  Jefferson's injury wasn't as bad as Randy's, but given the all the additions on the club this year, it prevented us from jelling early. That set us back, especially on defense, and the chemistry between Love and Jefferson.

MSC - Grade Kevin Love for us...how's the rookie been so far?

Randy - We knew when we traded for him there was talent there. Kevin McHale saw a lot of himself in the rook, and we know McHale was a Hall of Famer, right? But, a pre-season incident seem to shake Love's confidence right at the start...losing the jump ball tip to Randy Breuer at the season ticket holder's celebration in September. We all knew Love was undersized, and how tall Breuer is, but let's face it, Randy's old, and he never could jump a lick. Love's confidence in not being able to out jump a old white guy has haunted him ever since. It'd be like losing the tip to the Mikan statue out in the Target Center. Lately, he's shown signs of coming out of the funk, but we're still waiting for him to emerge.

MSC- How about the backcourt? Who' s been both good and disappointing?

Randy - As you know, Shaddy's had some issues. He's always had trouble accepting coming off the bench, and it's getting closer to free agency, so of course he wants to shine. Foye has been decent, but still lacks the fourth quarter explosiveness we were expecting out of him. Bassy has been a solid backup, but he still misses those bunnies right at the basket. If he wants to play meaningful minutes at the end, he has to provide some credible threat, or else teams will just sag off of him and guard other folks. Mike Miller has been sensational, a true veteran in every way. We wouldn't have won thirteen games without him. Corey is still a work in progress.

MSC- There's been more than a few rumors out there that if you don't improve in the second half of the season, your job is at stake. Any thoughts? What's your plan?

Randy - You can only work with what's been given you. A head coach in the NBA is hired to be fired, so you can't let that bother you. McHale promised a 20 win improvement at the end of last year, and given the talent he acquired over the off-season, if everything went okay, I certainly thought we might have a shot. But as I've pointed out, we had some pre-season bumps in the road, and I think we're still recovering from that. I like our club though, the roster chemistry is great. Regardless of anyone's individual situation, they're all pulling for each other, and working real hard. That's all I can ask of them, outside of a couple of more wins in the close games.

MSC - Thanks for your time!

Randy - Hope we actually talk again...

Part II coming tomorrow, check back at MSC.com."

Okay, so we've all defended Bassy in the last thread; what of our dear, should-have kept-Brandon Roy-combo guard?

Not quite apples to apples because of injury, but here are basic stat comparisons for last year and career between Randy and Sebastian:

Foye:

Telfair:

By any stretch, you can see that Telfair is the more traditional point guard; his role is significantly much different than Foye's however. Randy is still second to Jefferson as a go-to player; hoping to regain the "Fourth Quarter Foye" tag he was given in '06 by our local King of Clichés and Catch Phrases, Tom Hanneman. As a combo point guard, his focus will be playing the number two or three scoring option on the floor. But, given the increased offensive (positively speaking) options the Wolves have added to the roster this year, Foye's ability to run the team and get the ball to Miller, Big Al, and even Kevin Love will even be more vital. Despite the hope that Love will be a dynamic passer out of the front court--especially with an occasional gorgeous full court pass--it's still going to be up to Randy (and Bassy) to get the team into their sets, game-in, game-out.

Though I can see scenarios where both Telfair and Foye are in the back court, with Foye sliding over to the 2 guard, playing scorer to Bassy's distributor, the present lack of a serviceable third point guard makes a consistent pairing of the two a dubious strategy.  The biggest question remains however: what if Foye isn't effective enough at the point, and is a better shooting guard? In that case, the club is in a pickle. McCants and Foye are replicants at the two; one of them would surely have to be moved if it's finally determined that the Foye experiment has indeed failed.

In addition to coaxing a better defensive effort from the team, the Foye-as-point-guard conundrum has to be second or third on the list of priorities for the Wolves front office. Since McHale did give up Brandon Roy to get Foye, how this all plays out has to be of prime importance to the club.

It's amazing how today's news gets delivered, but coming from HoopsHype via Yahoo Sports, it looks like the Blazers, Heat and Timberwolves are competing for the services of Shaun Livingston, the rehabbing, formerly-known-as-the-Clippers PG-wunderkind. You can read about it here. According to Yahoo Sports, Jim Stack, the Mayor, and Wittman went down to Chicago to watch Livingston work out and want to sign him immediately. Competing reports have the Heat and Blazers as front runners to also acquire his services, but we'll have to see how this all plays out.

Career Stats:

My colleague S-N-P has been advocating Livingston's signing for months; as a PG with combo skills. Given that his role would indeed be the third point guard/combo one, if Livingston is healthy, at 6' 7" he certainly  would bring size to the position. It would also allow Wittman more flexibility to play both Foye and Telfair in the same backcourt, knowing there was a reliable backup to sub in. A lot of "ifs" most assuredly, but given the need and his availability, it's suprising that the Wolves couldn't have been a little more aggressive in evaluating and making an offer to the kid. However, with an injury as nasty as Livingston's was, it would give any signing executive pause for thought, although now it seems as if they have seen enough and are ready to move...if possible.

Stay tuned.

Paul Forrester of CNNSI had a good breakdown of the challenges and prospects facing the eight new NBA coaches this year. I thought it might be good to profile our own head wizard in a similar fashion.

Challenges:

• Defense, Defense, Defense. The Wolves were 5th worse last year in point differential, a hefty  -6.78 per game. They gave up 102.37 points per game, 10th worse in the league, and allowed opponents to shoot .472 overall, 4th worse in the league. If Kevin McHale thinks that 20 more wins are coming strictly due to the additions of Kevin Love, Mike Miller and Rodney Carney--all primarily offensive players--there must be truly some fierce hallucinogenic in the Iron Range or North Oaks air. Since the Wolves have no real individual stoppers on the roster--save for an occasional Corey Brewer sighting--Wittman is going to have to develop a team approach to defense, with the idea that good enough may be the best this team can do right now. It's regrettable that McHale couldn't find a Richie Adubato or Dick Harter type of assistant coach who could help Wittman to preach and design schemes on defense.
• The Love Connection. Okay, McHale wanted a shorter, heavier version of himself on the team, albeit with much better passing skills. Only time will tell whether or not the Mayo/Love exchange was justified, but in large part that depends on how Wittman uses Love. The conventional wisdom--both from an offensive and defensive standpoint--has been beaten to death; the time is near to see exactly how Wittman's pairs the kid with Big Al. Will the fans go wild, or be hurling empty chocolate milk cartons toward the Timberwolves bench by mid-season?
• How much progress will be enough? Even the most optimistic Wolves fans probably deep down feel a 20 win improvement is unreasonable. So, no playoffs...again. Yet, fans are starving for some sign of results, and not unlike the current presidential race, may once again be willing to give a failed organization yet another shot at redemption. Too bad Pam Borton signed an extension with the Gophers; she may have been the Palin-esque jolt the coaching staff needs to help Randy keep his job. Seriously though, if the Wolves stay in the 20's, how can Wittman keep his job, other than through his country club connections?

Prospects

The Wolves have stacked their improvements on the offensive end, which should substantially improve their offensive stats (95.59 points per game, 5th worse in the league last year). Given the acquisition of Love, Miller, and Carney, as well as the re-signing of Gomes, Telfair and Smith, the Wolves can effectively argue they have given Wittman a better chance of success this season. If he were an outsider like Dwyane Casey (or even Bill Blair), this certainly would be a do-or-die season for the Hoosier. In an earlier thread, many of us predicted a win record in the mid-30's; if that's realized, the prospects for Wittman to stay on as head coach are decent to good. On the other hand, if the Wolves start out of the gate as poorly as last year, McHale may be forced to bounce Randy mid-season. But, there's too much talent for him to screw up that badly, right?

David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

With the NBA training camps within sight, it's time to bid a fond farewell to the Lynx, who won last night, lost it's two best players to injury, and again failed to make the playoffs. Let's hope both Seimone Augustus and Candice Wiggins will recover from their injuries, as the team closes out their season this weekend. Especially Augustus, in what looked like a very nasty spill to prematurely end her year.

In a missive at the beginning of the season, I "boldly" predicted that the ladies would do better, but wouldn't make the playoffs. Since the team has been positively awful the last couple of years, I didn't go exactly on a limb here, but when they started out 5-0, I thought I'd have to take back every bad thing I said about head coach Don Zierden, along with players Nicole Ohlde, and Lindsey Harding.

I shouldn't have been so hard on myself.

While a lot of positive things happened this season, this team is still plagued with issues of size, point guard play, and defense. Nicky Anosike was an interior godsend, but isn't big enough to handle the likes of Lisa Leslie. Veterans Ohlde and Vanessa Hayden-Johnson have once more demonstrated that they are not starting quality interior players. Anosike and Charde Houston--who was a surprise offensively--are hopefully the beginnings of a revamped front court.

Any criticism of Harding seems unfair given her preseason injury, but as an overall number one league draft choice, she is not an impactful player, and her on-court team management skills have been underwhelming. Coach Zierden's inability to regroup and adjust to league play after the 5-0 start is another indication that as a head coach, he makes a good assistant. Given the overall youth of the team, what could he have done?

Primarily, start and keep the best players on the floor, longer. While Candice Wiggins isn't a natural point guard, she was the best one the Lynx had, and was effective at the position. Anna DeForge has been a disappointment; if the idea was establishing overall team balance and depth, why not bring her off the bench to stabilize the second unit, move Augustus to SG and start Houston, who had some serious energy and front court scoring ability? Or, if the team simply must start Harding to justify the investment of trading for her, start Wiggins at SG? I don't want to go Randy Wittman on anyone here and keep changing a young lineup, but it's been pretty clear throughout this season who were the more consistent, "impactful" players. Zierden did a poor job of asset management.

Still, to go to the games this season was a breath of fresh air. There was energy, excitement and hope, which for rebuilding teams is a vital dynamic. We can see signs from both the men's and women's teams that the organization might finally be starting--after years of ineptitude--to figure things out. If the Wolves can demonstrate the same sort of progress, we just may have something here.

I haven't seen any recent surveys on the subject, but I have to believe that most Wolves fans like the addition of Mike Miller, regardless of the OJ Mayo/Kevin Love exchange. The Iron Ranger has provided himself with cover for the draft day deal; if Love turns out to be a bust, the trade can still be justified from the salary cap and Miller acquisition angles. I'm not forgetting about Brian Cardinal, but for this missive, throw-ins--albeit expensive ones--aren't important.

As a result, Miller becomes the next in a long line of "uber" players touted by the Wolves, joining the ranks of Joe Smith, Troy Hudson, Mike James, Ricky Davis and Marcus Banks. At one time or another, these guys were all touted to be key pieces in providing support for the team's primary star-- either KG in the past or Big Al today. Usually they were also the quickest to get thrown under the bus when the plan failed...but I digress.

Miller is being touted by the Wolves for his veteran leadership and outside shooting. On paper, I won't argue the point, outside of the fact that the Grizzlies--at one time both with Pau Gasol and Miller--couldn't keep their team from sliding down the NBA abyss. Of course, KG couldn't stop the Wolves descent either, so the argument could certainly be made that the NBA has changed; you still obviously need superstar talent, but it's often how organizations fill the third through sixth player slots on a team that determines success. Miller, for both off-court and on-court reasons, has become vital to the continued development of this young Wolves team.

On the Wolves web site, we see these quotes from assistant coach Jerry Sichting:

"The main thing that I like is Mike Miller coming in and showing a lot of leadership in individual workouts. He's an extremely hard worker, and I think for our young guys to see him go about his business ... The way he shows up serious and trying to improve and work on things - that's one of the biggest things I've noticed."

and..

"Mike's one of those guys that's going to do it whether a coach tells him to or not, where as some other guys, I don't know how much they'd work without the coach there. But Miller has a couple of friends that rebound for him, and he has a whole routine he goes through all the time. That becomes a habit, and that's how good basketball players are made. Their habits and work ethic."

As in past years, we're certainly getting our marketing hype. It used to be KG's leadership or team chemistry; last year it was Big Al and the Boston nucleus.This year both Miller and Love are integral parts of the Wolves marketing machine for different reasons. Miller's at least been a proven scorer in the league, whether not  his veteran leadership qualities prove to be as impactful as the Wolves are telling us remains to be seen. Thoughts?

Okay, I admit it, I get bored in August and early September, especially when there's not much going on. After the USA'ers took dual gold, I concentrated on my A-job, and getting my kid out the door to London town for her first study abroad semester. Working with the Brits to try and get any information about visa status was like working with an amateur proctologist. (Using Ron Popeil's Pocket Colonoscopy, I might add. It works exactly the same as his Rotisserie...just set it, and forget it.)  And you thought American customer service was bad!

Then we have the political conventions, Sarah Palin, and her 17 year old daughter. At least Palin played point guard, and Obama hit a three in front of the troops, captured on video, no less. That game however, is political football, not hoops. Only a hurricane could disrupt those events.

About the only interesting items in hoops (outside of wyn's latest offerings of course) was the status of Manu Ginobili's ankle, and Monta Ellis' mysterious injury. Since the Warriors will NOT be contending for a playoff slot soon, the Spurs with a hobbled Manu suddenly look old, especially with the re-signing of Michael Finley. While the Western Conference still on average has the higher quality teams from top to bottom, teams like the Spurs, Suns and Mavericks all look like they're contending for playoff slots, not championships.

As a result, I'm left with seeing whether or not the Lynx make the playoffs (probably not), and the start of training camps. Maybe next summer we can get credentials to some event and start a controversy, just like Olbermann and Matthews.

Until then, I beg for your indulgence.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Finally, a competitive men's basketball game. If anyone doubted the need for three point or outside shooting acumen during this Olympic tournament, please replay the fourth quarter of the US-Spain gold medal contest. Having been blown out by the USA'ers just last week in pool play, Spain played like defending World Champs, losing only by 11, 118-107. The game was much closer than the score indicated; Spain employed a zone defense, limiting USA's decided edge in points off of turnovers, and getting some inspired point guard play from Juan Carlos Navarro.

With Jose Calderon on the shelf due to a groin injury, Navarro ran the team effectively, hitting shots off of curls and runners. The Spainards were actually able to cut the score to within two mid-fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, but clutch play and outside shooting from Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade sealed the deal for the USA'ers. Bryant in particular finally played big time in the fourth, coaxing Rudy Fernandez into his fifth foul and a resulting four point play opportunity. The bonded relationship between Coach K and Bryant was never more evident than it was today, with Krzyzewski seemingly handing the keys (and often the ball) to Bryant after Spain repeatedly cut the score to within one or two possessions throughout the final quarter. 

Although shooting a respectable 51 percent for the game (47 percent from three point range), Spain missed numerous chances to score with point blank misses, or open looks from the outside. At times when offensive discipline and ball movement was needed, Spain looked instead for alley oops, and spectacular baskets. For the game, Spain actually won the "points in the paint" war 56-50, but at key times it's front court--particularly anyone else not named Pau Gasol--couldn't convert an easy look. USA's athleticism was on display, blocking and stripping shots, but I have to believe Spain will look back on this game and kick themselves over their lost opportunities. With a few more breaks and some luck, they might have been able to strike real fear in the hearts of the USA contingent.

The Redeemers, having their points off of turnovers edge effectively reduced to only six points for the entire game, played more in the half court. USA shot an excellent 60 percent overall, but more importantly hit 46 percent on 13 of 28 shooting from the three point line. Unlike Athens in 2004, they were able to make their opposition pay just enough for employing it's zone, although it was only needed for this one game. Of all the head scratching that's been done regarding why the USA shot so much from the outside--given their obvious athletic edge--this game explains it. Could they have won otherwise? Maybe. But, anything less than USA gold would have again sent reverberations around the world.  The fact they outscored Spain today 39-24 from three point range, as well as a 16-2 edge in fast break points tells anyone wanting to listen that not only did this team play to its strength, they also improved on their weaknesses.

USA's depth had it's impact in this tournament, but the fact that so many international stars play in the NBA these days, and basketball is so global represents a shift in how teams are playing. I didn't see as much the ball movement and team play as in years past, I saw teams wanting to play more like the NBA'ers. The world wide melding of hoops play has truly begun; I'm not sure what that means for the future of USA men's basketball.

It's been advocated here by my colleague SnP for the NBA to adopt FIBA rules. I think rules unification makes a lot of sense. In the women's game, for example, since the ladies already make a majority of their money playing internationally, there isn't as much of an issue, but everyone should be playing the same game, period. Economics plays a much bigger role on the men's side, given the steep disparity of men's salaries to women's. However, since Stern and the Gang want to globalize the NBA, and we've seen already the exodus of mid level talent like Childress and Boykins to the Euroleagues, either the global economic market will naturally force change, or folks will decide to change the market themselves. Either way, the 2008 USA Olympic Gold Medal win may be the last time we see basketball exactly like this again.

(Photo credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Ouch. When two of your best players--Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson--are dinged coming into the Gold Medal game against the USA juggernaut, the margin of error for victory is minuscule. Everything--and everyone else--has to be just about perfect. Unfortunately, the Aussies shot poorly against a tough, but not overwhelming USA defense, and got pasted in the championship game 92-65. The final score wasn't indicative of the entire contest; if Australia had managed to hit their open looks, this bout would have been much more competitive. The reality is however that if any team shoots 25 percent overall, they're probably going to lose. Not even superior offensive rebounding--a decided 23-6 advantage for the Aussies--will win the day, if you can't finish around the basket.

After committing five turnovers in the first quarter, the Aussies were able to handle USA's pressure defense, but still couldn't convert either their three point shots, or mid range pick and pops. USA's Kara Lawson came off the bench to lead them in scoring with 11 points in the first half, providing the spark the ladies needed to take control of the game. Lawson for the game went 5-5, scoring 15 points in a superb performance.

The USA lost their focus a bit in the third quarter, when the referees--awful by any standard of international or professional play--allowed the game to get even more physical than normal. Australia kept making small runs to keep the score respectable, but couldn't consistently get enough stops to translate into easy baskets that would have turned the momentum of the game.  USA's depth came through, with Sylvia Fowles, Candice Parker and Sue Bird all putting up great second half numbers to stop any significant Aussie threat.

The real question is if Taylor and Jackson were at full strength, would the result have been any different for Australia? In this particular competition, probably not. Both USA men's and women's team are too deep and focused; the Spaniards will probably suffer the same result tomorrow against the men's team. As contributor Auswolf has pointed out, the Aussies have faired much better in the World Championships, but there seems to be something special about Olympic play. While the men have struggled in past Olympics, the women--with veterans like Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson as cornerstones--have been strong. What's worse for the rest of the world is that USA is retooling--players like Parker, Fowles and Augustus are getting invaluable experience playing supporting roles in these Olympics. Even in this time of changing loyalties, that's an ominous development for the other international competitors.

One last shout out has to go to  Becky Hammon, who after leading Russia to bronze again had to put up with NBC/Turner Sports Craig Sager's last attempt at national guilt, in a cutaway interview during the Gold Medal game. Even staunch, old school traditionalists like Ann Meyers-Drysdale have acknowledged that the world has changed. It's funny, and a bit sad, that folks like Sager can't.  Why NBC would want the subject to come up--after all that's been said about it--is curious. Journalistic freedom?

Please.

Kevin's Journal - Wednesday August 20th

New uni's, a great draft with Kevin Love, dumped some players with HUGE contracts (gotta find out who signed Jaric in the first place!), resigned my own prodigies, acquired better veteran talent, and I raised the bar for Wittman BEFORE I did any of the above. Am I cool or what? This means only one thing: I'M BACK, BABY!!!! It's up to everyone else now, like it always has been. Once again, I've made it incredibly simple for the rest of the org to do their jobs and succeed.  Why do I have to always do the heavy lifting around here?

I mean, just about the only things that have gone wrong this off-season are KG getting the gold in the VERY FIRST YEAR (damn that Ainge!), not finding the blasted combo guard, and Mittster not getting the GOP Veep nod.  Didn't anyone else in the Republican Party see the irony of advancing a Massachusetts conservative? Way better than McCreaky promoting his wife as Ms. Buffalo Chip in Sturgis. Am I the only smart one around here? I wrote it here first...if Barack gets elected it'll be an Obamanation!

Still, I guess we DO have to actually win some more games. I can't count on Souhan to do the "bad cop" Tribune articles/"good cop" FSN Wolves Live appearances to confuse the rubes. Come to think of it though, we could do something like the Love Covenant with PA this year after the games, with Kevin on the team and all. Note to self....

But, if we lose like we did last year, it means Wittman's out as my morning tee partner...and I'll have to put up--again--with Petersen's lobbying for a slot on the bench. I'd have to go beyond club walls to find someone; and, keeping a shorter leash on these outsiders--especially a head coach--is hard work! I can only use the inconsistency argument only so much, especially with this roster.

Well, gotta go. I'm going to watch USA Basketball trample it's opposition later this morning. Gotta love the way these goofs like Kaman got stuffed playing for other countries. And, what about Dirk? I'm SO happy I never traded for that guy. Cuban has to be double pissed--his main guy risking injury for someone else, AND choking in the clutch...against China no less. Kinda makes you wanna try to buy a baseball team, doesn't it?

I'd be yelling too if my team got beat this bad...

Photo credit: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images

So much for better competition.

This time, it wasn't just the defense, but the superior three point shooting that brought USA Basketball another blow out  Olympic victory, this time over Spain, 119-82. The lifeless Spaniards committed 28 turnovers; Pau Gasol led the way with five. USA had a 26 to 7 edge in points from turnovers and an incredible 32-0 edge in fast break points, but the game was truly decided in the first half when Spain's zone failed to stifle the USA'ers who, for the first time in this Olympic competition, were able to shoot the three effectively. USA shot 48 percent from downtown, going 12 of 25. Spain, by comparison, went 6 for 28.

Although the game would have gone in Team Disruption's favor solely via their defensive effort, the fact the Redeemers showed superior ball movement and shooting in the half court has to be distressing to their international opponents.  Other than praying for an off night in the knockout rounds, if this squad can shoot like this, there's not many weaknesses left to exploit.

Overall, the Spanish guards had little impact, but a majority of turnovers came from Spain's front court. The USA defenders simply waited for Gasol and his boys to put the ball on the floor, brought help from the weakside, stripped the ball, and created numerous transition opportunities. They also defended Spain's pick and roll attempts with ease. Even Jason Kidd had a layup! Credit NBC commentator Doug Collins with the observation that the help coming from the weakside was creating havoc with Spain's offense.

While Lebron James is clearly the core of this team, D-Wade has been the alpha stud, coming off the bench with defensive intensity and scoring acumen. Wade shot 67 percent overall from the floor, going 8 of 12. Carmelo Anthony had his best game to date, shooting 75 percent on 6 of 8 shooting, 4 of them coming from the three point arc. About the only bad thing you can say about this team was the early foul trouble they got into. Even that in the end made absolutely no difference.

Spain clearly left emotionally by mid third quarter to fight another day (or to smoke); if everything goes well for them, they could meet USA in the gold medal finals. ESPN's Chris Sheridan, who seems to want USA to lose, frets about the Redeem Team peaking too soon. Given the one and done nature of the medal rounds, anything could happen, but if a statement was made today, it was the Redeemers who made it.

I was hoping for a better game today, but it could well be that this club is just that good.

(Photo credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

As in any other type of basketball, if you turn the ball over 25 times, your chance of losing increases. Exponentially. USA's blowout of Greece--thought to be the first true indicator of how good the Redeem Team is--should give the other Olympic hoops participants cause for pause. Like in the NBA championships, defense rules.

No other Olympic team has yet used the international type of game--outside shooting, crisp ball movement and passing--to their advantage. The type of disruptor defense the USA is playing--full court pressure and traps, for example--precludes many teams from exploiting those advantages because only a few teams have the quality backcourt to withstand such an assault. As we move into the medal rounds, USA's talent has overwhelmed any "team" aspect their opponents used circa 2004 to defeat them. This club so far is better prepared, more focused, and has the athleticism to carry out their mission.

It's just getting good, however. The Greece win felt especially wonderful because we were humiliated by them in 2006 at the World Championships; anyone remember the nickname Lebronze James? Competition in the knockout rounds will be better, and I'm still very interested to see how Spain's guards will handle the sort of pressure the USA is handing out. Calderon, Fernandez and Navarro have been decent to very good in their Olympic match ups to date, with Calderon maybe having a slight edge on the other two.

On the USA side, it's nice to see Chris Bosh get a majority of front court minutes over Dwight Howard. While not as physically intimidating as Howard, his presence in the middle has been felt, and he hits his free throws. As we move further along, USA's outside shooting is still a concern, but it seems like this club has thrown down the gauntlet on the defensive end, and in fact are challenging the whole international "team" premise. Will USA's formula of superior athleticism, talent and focused defense defeat the sum of well coordinated, unified play?

We're about to find out.

(Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Question: When is a win by 31 points NOT impressive? One answer can be found in today's USA Men's Basketball victory over China. USA's defensive pressure won the day for the Redeem Team, but as with the exhibition against Australia, there are trouble signs afoot for this club. USA shot an overall 54 percent for the game, but only 29 percent from beyond the closer 3 point arc, starting out 1 for 12.  They also had trouble defending the three, giving the feisty Chinese hope early in the game, before reality, superior talent and fatigue set in.

The USA ballers were able to exploit China's weakness in the backcourt, creating numerous transition and fast break opportunities. The men scored 24 points off the fast break to China's four, and had 12 points off of turnovers, as opposed to China's two. Whether they will be able to do the same, for example, with the talented Spanish guards (Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez) will be fascinating indeed.

Given the poor outside shooting, especially in the first half, it's interesting that Coach K couldn't find a way to get Michael Redd off the bench until the second half. Given that starting point guard Jason Kidd doesn't even shoot anymore, if Team USA is not scoring in transition, I'm not sure a half court, 4 on 5 offensive strategy is going to work against better international competition, unless he can get the ball moving around to someone who can hit an open look. Teams will zone USA to death, daring them to hit an outside shot.

The USA'ers are also fought urges to showboat and entertain the crowd, which resulted in a number of unnecessary turnovers. The athleticism of this squad is undeniable, and to watch LeBron James in the open court is a thing of beauty, but against good TEAMS, making the right play instead of the spectacular one is going to be crucial.

Finally, how is Dwight Howard going to be able to play in the second half if he can't make free throws? Already undersized and undermanned in the front court, all another team will do in a tight contest is foul Superman, knowing there's kryptonite waiting for him at the charity stripe. Someone call Rick Barry or a hypnotist quick, because Germany, for example, has four seven footers (one with Olympic rings carved into his noggin) just waiting to exploit that weakness.

 With Argentina's loss to Lithuania today, this competition is shaping up to be unpredictable. There's simply too much international talent around to take anything for granted.

Check out the Aussie Uni's!!!

USA Basketball started out with a bang this morning (or evening, if you're in Beijing), with the women handing out a 40 point drubbing to the Czech Republic, 97-57. Comparatively, the ladies have probably have an equal or greater chance to win hoops gold than the men, given that only Australia and Russia seem to have any chance at being competitive. Russia struggled mightily against Latvia today, but the Aussies with Lauren Jackson--and fascinating, skin tight uniforms--should give USA a run for their money. They gave a whupping to Belarus in their first game as well, 83-64.

Kudos to NBC and in my case DirecTV for the way the Olympics are being broadcast. Dedicating a multitude of channels to the different competitions, and providing an interactive menu for me to select a contest of my choosing has truly enhanced my user experience. This morning I was able to watch raw feeds of both USA and Russia in their respective games, with no commercials. During the timeouts, they merely put together replay packages of the last few minutes, while music was being played at the venue. An occasional stat or graphic would appear to explain what had transpired to date, but for the most part it's a very clean, organized and gorgeous way to watch the games.

What wasn't particularly nice in my view was Craig Sager's interview of Becky Hammon, the WBNA All-Star point guard who happens to be playing for the Russian squad. She and the Clippers Chris Kaman are the two Americans who are playing under different flags--Russia and Germany respectively--but only Kaman has any particular ancestory with Germany. That has ruffled a few feathers, and Sager--on loan from Turner Sports, and dressed down from his usual loud and garish attire--decided to go Jim Gray on Hammon, questioning her patriotism with questions like how she felt watching the USA team walk into the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremonies. During a short interview with Diane Taurasi after the USA blow out, apparently Sager hadn't had enough of trying to stir the pot, asking Taurasi how she felt about Hammon's decision to play with the nation formerly known as the Red Menace. I can only imagine when the men's hoops start up, Sager will be looking for an interview with Kaman to question his loyalty as well. During the raw feed, one could hear both Mike Breen and Ann Meyers-Drysdale compliment Sager on his line of questioning, especially the opening ceremonies question. 

While one question regarding the "controversy" is legitimate, to repeatedly ask the same question over and over again borders on jingoism. The Olympics--and sports in general--have morphed into something much different than what I certainly grew up with. With the whole effort to globalize basketball, it would be silly to think that some athletes wouldn't want to find a way to compete on a Olympic stage, especially when their home countries have no interest in their services. Mercenary? Maybe, but ever since the decision to let professionals compete in the Olympics was made, Pandora's box was opened. FIBA rules prevent a wholesale shift of players changing allegences at will; Hammon and Kaman took advantage of the fact they hadn't played in international competition before. In the end however, isn't the Olympics still about the best athletes on the planet competing? If Kaman and Hammon want to try and find a spot on that stage, is it really any of our business if they make it? Don't we have bigger issues to worry about than who's playing on who's team?

Kevin Hench via Fox Sports provides more background on the subject, including USA Women's hoops coach Anne Donovan's reaction to the issue. Of course, being Fox, the conclusions Hench comes to are predictable, but it's worth a read, especially if you think folks like Hammon and Kaman are in the wrong. I don't, but I'd be interested to hear what others think about all of this.