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Minnesota Timberwolves

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Minnesota Timberwolves Members (1)

Chris Fry Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com.

 

nba.com

Wolves Taken Down by Rockets

Al Jefferson returned to the lineup and had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves in a 97-84 home loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night. Jefferson made his first eight shots from the field.

Wolves vs Rockets Gameday

Following a loss to the Suns on Tuesday, Houston enters the Target Center with a 6-5 record. The Wolves hope to snap a losing skid and welcome back Al Jefferson to the lineup.

5 on 5: Around the League

Jonah Ballow and John Focke discuss the Wolves' gameplan after 10 straight losses, the possible retirement of Jordan's jersey, Jennings' success, challenges for the Lakers, and a recent trade move.

twolvesblog.com/

Worst Timberwolves Team Ever?

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven't had the most successful of histories, and that's putting it lightly.  So when somebody comes out and says that this current Timberwolves squad is THE worst ever, that's a pretty big claim.  After all, if this season continues on it's current pace, you're going to need a third hand to count the number of times that Minnesota failed to win 30 games, and this is the team's 21st season.  Below is an edited transcript of an ongoing conversation in our TWolves Blog forum.  It's a place that's pretty much visited by only the most die-hard of die-hards, but I felt that it was a conversation that was worth sharing with the NBA blogging community to let them know what's really going on with the Wolves and where the collective psyche of their fans currently resides.  Here we go...

TWolf2324: I know it is way too early but I have this terrible feeling that this is the worst Timberwolves team ever. It makes the Laettner-Rider teams from mid-90's look respectable. Heck, it even makes the Tony Campbell-Pooh Richardson teams look better. I don't know why but I easily became a David Kahn believer, but now I realize all what he did is a big garage sale and sold average players (Foye, Telfair) for nickels. Look at this: He moved Telfair (a nice backup PG. Pretty much at the same level as sessions) and a fan favorite (Mad dog) for Q-rich. Then he moved Q-Rich (who is much better than any SG we have right now) for Mark Blount and some leftovers. He traded Ty Lawson (a great player to be in my opinion) for a future draft pick, and absolutley wasted the 2nd round picks. He did a terrible job by picking both Rubio and Flynn and then not trading one of them (If he had combined Rubio and the 18th pick wouldn't Sacramento agree to give us Evans?).

I don't think Kahn is stupid. I think he's a liar. He thinks he should tank a season or two to get very high lottery picks and clear the entire roster. The problem is that you cannot sell tickets when admitting something like that. So he tells the media and the fans stupid stories like Flynn and Rubio can make a great backcourt when playing together.

Another big problem is coach Rambis. Here in the Euroleague a coach (especially a rookie coach) shapes his strategy according to the players he has, especially his stars. Rambis is ignoring the fact that his best player is Big Al, a half court, undersized center who can do magic around the paint. Instead he decides to install a "run and gun" system alongside the triangle offense. The only problem is that for these systems you need to have players who can actually shoot from mid-range at least. Aside of Gomes and Pavlovic he has no shooters on this team, and Pavlovic is way too streaky. By combining the current players with this strategy you get a team that is beaten by 20 points on a night to night basis like we have right now. Yay!!

Oh, and one last thing. Everybody says that Big Al is not 100% YET. Who knows if he ever gonna be? Most guys never return to the same level after such injury. Plus, this diet he's doing (with the sandwiches or whatever) can actually hurt his game. He needs his mass. This is why they call him "Big" I guess. "Lean Al" is just not the same player.

Too bad, but this is probably the worst Twolves team ever.

Wolves Updates 11/20

From Rod Simons/Timberwolves site:
I'm asked all the time, do these guys (the Wolves) care if they win or lose?! My reaction is, "you gotta be kidding me". YES, they care!! Geez. But I will say that they have perspective on it and much of the credit for that goes to head coach Kurt Rambis. So, losing this early in the season is bugging the the home team but it doesn't show, at least outwardly. You KNOW it's killing 'em inside. They are young, talented and unfortunately making adjustments, learning to play with so many new teammates. They are still understaffed, especially in the front court where being short handed means fewer rebounds, more points allowed and in the Wolves case, a few too many losses




Perhaps it's that experience -- a season in the D-League, a season and a half with the Bucks before signing with the Wolves last September -- that has helped him grow gradually more effective as Minnesota's primary backup to point guard Jonny Flynn. Sessions' four most productive games in a Wolves uniform all have occurred in the past 10 days, with the best coming in Wednesday's loss to Houston.

Sessions posted a season-high 16 points against the Rockets by hitting seven of 11 shots from the field, while also dishing out a team-high five assists.




The Wolves stared across the court at a team they aspire to be in the near future. On Wednesday night, Houston answered every run from Minnesota, including a strong 20-point performance from Al Jefferson.

"I didn’t feel like they were ready to play. They should have brought more energy. They played a team that played last night. They did in small pockets and short periods of time but they didn’t sustain it," head coach Kurt Rambis said.




While the Rockets have developed a remarkable group instinct for the pace and flow of the game, the Wolves often seem lost to each other, scrambling from moment to moment, un-attuned to the game's greater logic. This really is going to take a while.



Kevin Love may be sidelined during games, but he still has his right hand to scoop stuffing. On Monday night, Love, along with the entire Timberwolves team, coaching staff, Dancers, and Crunch, participated in the Give-Thanks event at the View restaurant in Minneapolis. The players served a Thanksgiving-style meal to a mixture of Purple Heart recipients from WWII, Vietnam and Iraq, families of soldiers killed in action and military service members that have recently served in a combat zone.



Peak Sport strives to expand its Peak brand internationally. Since 2006, the Group has already entered into endorsement arrangements with seven NBA players, and in September 2009 and October 2009, the Group additionally entered into endorsement arrangements with two new NBA players. They are Kevin Love from Minnesota Timberwolves and Carl Christopher Landry from Houston Rockets. The Group believes that these endorsement arrangements will enhance the professional and international images, as well as the popularity of Peak's brand.



Wolves Updates 11/19

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:
• The first 5,000 fans at the Nov. 27 game against Phoenix get a pair of handsome plastic black-rimmed eyeglasses, sort of like the ones Rambis so stylishly wore when he played for the Lakers. That game, by the way, is an unusually late 8:30 p.m. game on the night after Thanksgiving because it's an ESPN game.


• Wolves forward Damien Wilkins will distribute to needy families today nearly 200 Thanksgiving dinner baskets he has purchased. The Wolves also are offering two tickets for anyone who makes a $30 donation to the Emergency Foodshelf Network (www.emergencyfoodshelf.org).

 

The Wolves entered Wednesday's game ranked fourth in the NBA in steals with 8.72 per game. Corey Brewer ranked third in the league with 2.27.

Though Rambis said the Wolves' defense has improved, he had a mixed opinion on one of the Wolves' few positive statistics.

"If the steals are coming out of a byproduct of our defense, I'm happy with that," Rambis said. "I've never been too happy with guys who gamble. If they miss, it puts their teammates in jeopardy when they're out of position."

 

 

From Howlin' T-Wolf: Translating David Kahn

 

From Ben Polk/City Pages: Kahn to Wolves fans: sorry we're so terrible


Bottom line: No matter what Kahn says or writes, it’s difficult to appear competent when your team will be lucky to win more than 18 games. Perhaps we should just embrace his candor.

mvn.com/nba-timberwolves

Cubs Rumor Mill: Roy Halladay Edition

Here’s a rumor worth getting excited about: Carrie Muskat reports that the Blue Jays contacted the Cubs about sending Roy Halladay to Chicago. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are one of the teams the Toronto Blue Jays have contacted regarding former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. Before Cubs fans start salivating at the prospect of having [...]

Cubs Rumor Mill: Roy Halladay Edition

Here’s a rumor worth getting excited about: Carrie Muskat reports that the Blue Jays contacted the Cubs about sending Roy Halladay to Chicago. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are one of the teams the Toronto Blue Jays have contacted regarding former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. Before Cubs fans start salivating at the prospect of having [...]

Packers Midterm Grades, Volume II

I will now grade the defense and special teams. I would like to remind everyone of my first prediction before the start of the season: “The defense will finish the season in the top quarter of the league.” Let me read some of the comments I got from doubters on both Sports Scribes and Bleacher Report [...]

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