Props

Congrats to Johann Santana, 2006 American League Cy Young winner.

11/14/06 - Portland 89, Wolves 101

Timberwolves.com wrap-up

Video Highlights

Some pros from the game....

-Ricky Davis: Just as I called him the antithesis of the Wolves' problems, he steps up with an excellent game: 27 points on 11 for 18 shooting, only one 3 pointer taken, 4 assists, and only 1 turnover. You saw him get aggressive and make his way to the basket, and although he still was shooting some jumpers, they were in the flow of the offense.

-Passing: The Wolves dished out 27 assists on 38 made baskets, and were playing the draw and kick game to perfection. When the Blazers tried to double team Kevin, he was able to pass out to an open team mate. Overall, a much better team basketball effort.

-Rebounding: The Wolves outrebounded the Blazers 50-31, and everyone got involved. KG had his usual 13 rebounds, but if you look down the stat sheet, everyone was getting r or 5. Craig Smith grabbed 8 in 13 minutes, providing a much needed big body off the bench.

Some cons from the game....

-Eddie Griffin: The more I see him play, the more I'm convinced that he doesn't belong on this team. He had a solid first game, but since then, it's been nothing but inconsistency. Add that to Craig Smith's emergence, and I just don't see him getting big minutes.

Not too many cons from this game!

General thoughts....

This is the kind of basketball that reminds me of the 03-04 season; KG would get his normal 20-10, one of the two guards would get 25+, and the Wolves would win. Guys came off the bench and played into the rhythm of the game, which was to attack the basket and either get to the line or kick it out to an open teammate. Even Troy Hudson looked to be more in control and had a decent game. It was also nice to see Mark Madsen get back into the lineup and get some decent run. His energy, enthusiasm, and rebounding will be valuable to this team.

Other NBA thoughts.....

-The Jazz, at 7-1, are the best team, record-wise, in the league. Wow....

-Peja drops 42 on the Bobcats, including 20 in the first quarter. People seem to have forgotten that this guy is the best shooter in the league....maybe this will remind them.

-The Wolves cut Vin Baker a few days ago. Ho hum.

-Darius Miles needs microfracture knee surgery, ending his season and perhaps his NBA career. Good thing the Wolves didn't trade for him....

Wolves' Overall Record: 3-4
Division Rank: 5th

Wolves' next game:

Friday, November 17th
@ Cleveland
6:30 PM on KSTC 45

Game Preview

This game will depend on if the Wolves can force two things: 1) the Cavs not named Lebron James to beat them and 2) when Lebron does get the ball, beat them over the top. I liked the way they played Zach Randolph last night; when he got the ball, they quickly doubled and forced him to pass out of the double team. With a non-offensive point guard such as Eric Snow, Mike James should be able to help out when Lebron gets the ball. Drew Gooden can't guard KG, so I'd like to see the Wolves' offense running through him on nearly every possession. Trenton isn't really strong enough to bother Lebron offensively, so getting a bigger, stronger defender like Justin Reed to put on Lebron might be valuable.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

Update

I have a few things to discuss....

First of all, sorry for not updating as much as before. I go in spurts with journaling, so sorry in advance.

Back to sports....

The Timberwolves, after a promising 2-0 start, have lost 4 in a row, with the last 3 being convincing losses. Not surprisingly, players are starting to get frustrated. A few thoughts on this....

-I don't like Dwayne Casey's coaching style. Going into this season, all I heard was that the Wolves are going to run run run, and play a more higher paced offense. I've barely seen any of that. Mostly what I've seen is a general confusion on both sides of the floor, with a lot of guys trying to create off the dribble, and instead of getting to the basket, pulling up for jump shots. Our shooting percentages have been horrendous, and except for KG, just about everyone has been disappointing. This just looks like a team that can't figure out its identity.

-Ricky Davis has been simply horrible. Look at how he plays, and there are the Wolves' problems offensively: tons of dribbling and jump shots. He hardly ever fits into the continuity of the offense, and hasn't been getting to the rim as much as he should, given his athleticism. Defensively, he's been poor also. He gets 4 or 5 assists a night, but his shooting percentages have been horrible and he's also getting 3 or so turnovers a night.

-I'd like Mike James to try to create his offense more. I get the feeling that he's too concerned about trying to fit into the offense, and not trying to get his own shot in the process. This is a guy who could drop 40 on any given night, and sometimes I'd like to see him try

-Going with the Dwayne Casey criticism, this team needs to find a decent rotation. In a perfect world where guys didn't complain about playing time, here's my starting 5....

Mike James
Randy Foye
Marko Jaric
Kevin Garnett
Craig Smith

Those are the 5 guys who have been actually playing well. Ricky, Trenton Hassell, Mark Blount, Eddie Griffin, and Troy Hudson have been amazingly inconsistent, so why not give these guys a try? Craig Smith has proved himself to be an NBA-ready player, and while he gives up some height, his strength and determination make up for it. At least now we have some scorers coming off the bench.

That's about it. I hope that this last 18 point thrashing to an average Orlando Magic team could wake them up to playing as a team, but we'll see on Tuesday night against Portland.

I'd like to talk about the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Here's the format....

Take the best 8 male tennis players on earth. Put them in 2 groups of four. Have them play each other.

It's so great. I've watched 2 matches so far, and the quality has been great. I encourage you, even if you're not interested in tennis, to give it a try. Here are the TV times....

Someone said that I should cover football more often.

The Vikings blow.

There, done.

vintage ball

i love basketball these days about as much as anything, but i also have a great love for vintage nba. the game is much different now than it was then, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily better. with that in mind....my favorite vintage nba mixtapes.















wolves recap later....

11/3/06 - Wolves 86, Portland 88

Timberwolves.com wrap up

Video Highlights

Some pros from the game....

-Guard play: Both Ricky Davis and Mike James had good games, combining for 35 points, 14 assists, and only 3 turnovers. Marko Jaric also had a pretty good game off the bench, playing for 20 minutes, playing solid defense, and grabbing 6 boards.

-Defense: The Wolves played decent defense (although not so much when they needed it), and held the Blazers to 42% shooting and only 88 points. They pretty much shut down Zach Randolph, the Blazers' best player, in the second half, and their other big, Jamaal Magloire, was not a factor.

-Craig Smith: It was good to see Craig Smith have another solid game off the bench, with 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He didn't get much run or touches in the second half, but he helped build that lead back to double digits in the second quarter.

Some cons from the game....

-Aggressiveness: The reason the Blazers ultimately won the game was because they were much more aggressive going to the basket than the Wolves, particularly in crunch time. Down the stretch, the Wolves were far too content with shooting long jumpers instead of forcing this Blazers team to provide a stop.

-The bench: The Wolves' reserves only managed 17 points on 8 of 19 shooting, and only got to the line once. Pretty horrible. You saw the Wolves' 16 point lead disappear in the second quarter as the reserves came in for the starters. Everyone looked lost on both sides of the floor. If the Wolves are going to be a successful team, they'll need a solid bench that can at least maintain a lead instead of letting it slip away.

-Turnovers: Once again, the Wolves allowed too many turnovers to this young, defensively poor Blazers' team. 15 turnovers, to the Blazers, is too many. On the other side, only managing to grab 10 turnovers is too little on the defensive end.

General thoughts....

While the win against Denver made me hopeful for this year's team, this loss brought me back to last year. It seemed like last year, even though we were a sub-.500 team for the majority of the season, there was always a usually-average player who got up for this game. In this game, it was Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, and in the end, Juan Dixon. Chalk some of that up to it being the Blazers' home opener, but still a very disappointing loss. If the Wolves' are going to go anywhere in the West, they'll need to reclaim that killer instinct they had back in '04. When you're up 16 going into the 2nd quarter after thoroughly destroying your opposition, it's not time to coast; it's time to get that lead up past 20 and really demoralize a young team who nobody expects to go anywhere. Hopefully we'll see that later on in the season.

Other NBA thoughts....

-Staying with Portland, everyone seemed to be so excited about Brandon Roy last night, and while he had a great game, I wasn't that impressed. 16 points and 8 dimes looks good on paper, but when I see that he played for almost 42 minutes and went 4 of 17 from the floor.....not as impressive. He also seems to be getting a lot of love from the refs, after looking at some of the questionable calls he got, but Mike James didn't....

-The Rockets blew out the Mavs last night 107-76, with Yao carrying them with 36 points. They might be one of the top 3 seeds in the West, and Yao might finally deserve to be an All Star starter.

-After beating the Warriors by 24 and getting off to a 3-0 start, I'm beggining to believe that the Jazz might be for real.

-I'm glad the fuss about the new ball has died down. Scores and shooting percentages seem to be plenty high. I wish I could feel the ball and see what it's like though....

Wolves' Overall Record: 2-1
Division Rank: 2nd

Wolves' next game:

Monday, November 6th
@ Sacramento
9 PM on Fox Sports North

Game Preview

The Wolves edged out the Kings in their season opener, thanks to the help of Troy Hudson's clutch shooting and Mike Bibby's whining. They'll have to play better in order to win in Sacramento, one of the loudest buildings in the league. I'd like to see Ricky become more of a playmaker in this game, because he's not going to get an inch of shooting daylight with Artest on him. Mike James should have his way offensively with Mike Bibby, and I'd like to see KG really go at Kenny Thomas. Overall, the key to this game will be an overall aggressive mindset; a loss like the Portland loss would send last year's Wolves into a losing tailspin, so let's see how they respond against a playoff team like the Kings.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

11/3/06 - Wolves 112, Nuggets 109

Timberwolves.com wrap-up

Video Highlights

Some pros from the game.....

-4th quarter execution: This is the type of game that last year, the Wolves would've lost by 10 because Denver would've pulled away without much of a fuss by the Wolves. KG was the one that carried them, but it was great to see guys like Mike James, Ricky Davis, and (especially in the final 30 seconds) Mark Blount contribute down the stretch.

-Shooting: The Wolves shot at nearly a 52% clip, and were in the high 50s throughout much of the first half. The great shooting was in large part due to a decent number of assists (22 assists on 42 made baskets) and great inside play by KG and Craig Smith especially (50 points in the paint, great for a predominately jump shooting team).

-Craig Smith: I know we're only 2 games in, but this guy, from all accounts, is for real. 20 points in 16 minutes? 10-15 from the floor? SO encouraging for the rest of the season. Without him carrying the offensive load in the second quarter, the Wolves lose this one easily. His attitude and intensity is another positive. Can someone give McHale some much-deserved props for this 2nd round steal?

Some negatives from the game....

-Turnovers: I feel like I've said this before, but turnovers were, again, the main thorn in the Wolves side. The Wolves gave up 21 points off 19 turnovers (not that bad of a percentage, actually), which is way too much if you want to compete with the elite teams in the West.

-Defensive breakdowns: You know Denver is going to run. You've been told they're going to run. And yet, there were still too many times where you saw guys just jogging up the floor after missed shots and made baskets alike. Some of the best teams in the NBA rely on running (Phoenix, Denver, Dallas kinda), and all of them CAN run when they need to, so it'd be nice to see that defensive intensity.

-Eddie Griffin: After a solid first game, Eddie looked lost out there today in much faster paced atmosphere. His stat line speaks for himself: 13 minutes, 0-2 from the field, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 point. Craig Smith softened the blow from Eddie's lack of production, but they need Eddie to go in there and be intense.

General thoughts....

A very important win, even if it's only the 2nd game of the season. To go into our biggest rivals' arena and steal one from them, predominately in the 4th quarter, no less, is huge for this team's confidence. Seeing KG running off the floor after the win, smiling and pumping his fist (see here.....for some reason, blogspot isn't letting me put this photo up)....it made me feel like we're in for a great season. The defensive rebounding problem that arose in the opener seemed to be solved (or at least improved), with the Wolves outrebounding the Nuggets 41 to 36. Mark Blount should also be applauded, not only for his huge bucket at the end of the 4th, but also for holding an extremely dangerous Marcus Camby to only 4 points and 7 boards in 30 minutes. You can tell he realizes he needs to be much more physical, and you can see it on the court.

Other NBA thoughts....

-The Jazz beat Phoenix, at Phoenix. Uh oh.

-Artest and Ben Wallace finally face each other since the Malace at the Palace....they made up, apparently. Bah.

-Seeing LeBron go right at Tim Duncan, and not only draw the foul, but be strong enough to finish, makes me think he'll be the best player on the planet within a few months, if he isn't already.

-You obviously hear a lot about how the Wolves should do KG a favor by trading him to a winning team; perhaps those same critics should look to Seattle to see a (seemingly) similar situation with Ray Allen. Seeing him drain jumper after jumper and keep his team in it makes me feel bad for him.

-Hubie Brown, aside from Hanneman and Jim-Pete, is the best color (ironic he'd be a color commentary guy, considering how pale he is) guy in the business. Put him with anyone, and it suddenly feels like you know exactly what each team is doing because of Hubie's basketball knowledge.

-The Lakers have started 3-0, and it's because of Lamar Odom. If he keeps up this pace, look for him to take Most Improved honors.

Wolves' Overall Record: 2-0
Division Rank: 1st

Wolves' next game:

Saturday, November 4th
@ Portland
9 PM on KSTC 45

Game Preview (a new part to this blog!)

If the Wolves are to be a playoff team, these are the games that they need to win. Portland is a sorry, sorry team, but they still have some weapons that have hurt the Wolves in the past. Darius Miles always seems to step up when he plays against his hero KG, and Brandon Roy has had a strong start to his rookie season. If the Wolves can pressure Zach Randolph and force the Blazers to beat them over the top, they'll have an easy win.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

11/1/06 (Season Opener) - Kings 83, Wolves 92

Timberwolves.com wrap-up

Video Highlights

Some pros from the game....

-Defense: The Kings only managed 4 fast break points and shot only 35%, and it seemed like the Kings hardly ever got a shot without a hand in their face. Trenton Hassell did a great job on Ron Artest, and Mike Bibby was held below his average.

-Offensive Distribution: The Wolves did a nice job spreading the ball around on the offensive end. KG, as expected, got his 24, but if you look down the stat sheet, it seemed like everyone had 10 points or so.

-Troy Hudson: With everyone focusing on Mike James and Randy Foye coming to the Timberwolves, people seemed to forget about Troy Hudson's return from various ankle injuries. Troy did a great job down the stretch, providing an offensive spark that helped the Wolves close it out.

Some cons from the game....

-Defensive Rebounding: Yes, a lot of them were off long three pointers and air balls, but still, the Wolves allowed 22 offensive rebounds. Cut that in half, and the Wolves win easily.

-Turnovers: Maybe it's just because everyone is still getting to know each other and everyone is still learning the system, but 21 turnovers is way too much, especially when the Kings managed 26 points off of them.

-Troy Hudson: I'm saying this just because I'm so apprehensive about Troy's game. A lot of the shots that he had down the stretch were what you'd call "bad shots"; shots that you're saying "no no no" until they go in. I'd prefer that Troy try to fit his attempts more into the offense instead of just dribbling around and trying to create his own.

General thoughts....

A decent opener. KG sparkled as usual, having his typical 24 and 12 double-double. Trenton Hassell also had a great game, shooting 6 for 10 with 13 points. Mike James and Ricky Davis had rather unextraordinary games, combining for 14 points on 7 for 17 shooting. With that being said, the more I think about this team (particularly the nucleus of Garnett, Davis, and James), the more it reminds me of the '04 Wolves, except much more athletic and younger. Speaking of young, Randy Foye only played for a few minutes with no points, but I'm not too discouraged about that. Craig Smith, on the other hand, got some pretty big minutes, but not unexpectedly, fouled out. Expect big things from him off the bench.

Other thoughts....

-Ron Artest is the best defender in the league. 7 steals, and shut down Ricky Davis everytime he went at him.

-The NBA wasn't kidding about the zero tolerance policy with whining....Mike Bibby was ejected in the space of about 30 seconds.

-Talking about the Kings, it's sad to see the "old" Kings style be replaced by this new grind-it-out, defensive style brought by Eric Musselman. Ho hum.

-We, as Wolves fans, are so lucky to have the broadcast team of Tom Hanneman and Jim Petersen. They're as good as any NBA broadcasters I've ever heard.

-Mavericks-Spurs tonite, 7 pm on ESPN, should be great.

By the way, this will be the format for how I cover these games. Any suggestions would be appreciated and considered.

Wolves Overall Record: 1-0
Division Rank: 1st

Wolves' next game

Friday, November 3rd
@ Denver Nuggets
9 PM on KSTC 45

I LOVE THIS GAME!

2006-2007 Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview

2006-2007 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES SEASON PREVIEW

Before we get started, a few articles on the web also previewing the Timberwolves....

ESPN.com

Yahoo Sports

Sports Illustrated

The Sporting News

With all that being said....let's get started.

05-06 Season Review

The 2005-2006 season was probably one of the more disappointing and depressing for the Timberwolves, for a number of reasons: the first, and most important, being the dissatisfaction of Kevin Garnett. With the possible exception of the first 25 games of the year, it looked as though KG was lost and dismayed as to the direction of his team. Also, the "KG will demand a trade" or "KG deserves to be traded" talks started going last year. That couldn't have been very nice for KG to have to deal with; he's a private man who lets his basketball speak for himself. Who wants to talk about him not wanting to be on a team he single-handedly brought to prominence?

Then there was the mid-season trade with the Celtics. I was a supporter of the trade (something needed to be done), but I also feel like this year, the parts coming in from that trade (Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Justin Reed) needed a solid training camp to mesh together before they would be working cohesively. It was sad to see Wally Szczerbiak go, but that's the nature of the business.

People seem to forget that this was a team that, early in the season, was 10 or 11 games above .500, and leading our division. This was also a team that lead the league in games lost when going into the 4th quarter with a lead. The opportunities were there; the execution wasn't.

2006-2007 Season Preview

The Starting Lineup

Point Guard - Mike James



The Wolves' most significant offseason pickup was the addition of Mike James. Let me get this out there....I love Mike James. I love his game, I love his attitude, and I love how he'll look next to KG and on this team. He can drive to the basket where he's strong enough to finish, he's 40% plus from 3, and can also hit the midrange jumper. His defense is also far superior to anything the Wolves have had at the point guard position in some time. He reminds me of a younger, more athletic Sam Cassell; not only in game, but in attitude. Mike James brings an attitude to this team that was sorely needed. This is a player who wants the ball in crunch time, and he'll get it.

Shooting Guard - Ricky Davis



The main piece of the trade between the Wolves and the Celtics last year, Ricky showed that he could be a legitimate sidekick to KG. His midrange jumper is one of the best in the NBA, and when he sets his mind to it, he can play decent defense. He also provides the slashing ability that the Wolves have sorely needed. Ricky is another guy who has a definite attitude to his game, which again, I love. Ricky is not afraid to take the big shot, as he proved several times last year.

Small Forward - Trenton Hassell























Trenton, along with KG, is the only piece in the starting lineup that remained from the Wolves' Western Conference Championship run back in 04. Fortunately, he has gotten better since then. In a lineup filled with potent offensive talent, Trenton is the one wrinkle; a defensive minded 3 who could not score in a game, but still feel happy with his performance. Trenton is usually assigned to guard the opposing team's best player, and more often than not, does a great job on them. He has the quickness to take on guards like Allen Iverson and Mike Bibby, and also the length to guard forwards like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. An invaluable piece to a winning puzzle.

Power Forward - Kevin Garnett



What can you say about KG that hasn't already been said: a phenomenal talent, a winner, a passionate performer, etc etc. The only question is how patient is KG: if the Wolves don't get out to a solid start, will he want out? Certainly nobody would berate KG for doing so; he's been about as solid a player and teammate as you can ask for. As far as his playing goes, nobody really questions KG...everyone knows he's going to be productive and fill the stat sheet like no other. If the preseason is any indication, KG is being more aggressive and getting to the line more often, which is an excellent thing; other than that, you can expect the same old MVP-caliber Kevin Garnett.

Center - Mark Blount









































Another piece from the trade with the Celtics, Mark Blount is another fine offensive player with questions on the defensive and rebounding end. As far as offensively, he's about as good as you'll find in a center; he has solid post moves and a smooth jumper which he can extend out to 15-18 feet. He also runs the floor well for a 7 footer, which will give the Wolves a suitable running attack. The question is, is he tough enough to compliment KG properly? For a 7 footer, he doesn't rebound particularly well, and is prone to ticky-tack fouls. The Star Trib had Blount working out with Navy Seals, and apparently he weighs the same as last year, but is more cut and defined. Good thing, because in order for the Wolves to be successful, they'll need Blount's offense AND rebounding.

Staring Lineup Overview

I'm a big fan of the Wolves' starting 5. I think there's a great mix of styles that can beat you any way: they can run with you, they can play the grinding half court game, they can shoot, they can get to the basket, they can get to the free throw line, and they can defend. I have some concerns with rebounding (aside from KG, of course) and turnovers (particularly with Blount on both counts), but expect good things out of the whole starting 5.

Key Reserves

Randy Foye - Combo Guard



The other big offseason move for the Wolves was drafting Randy Foye. Dare I say McHale has hit his stride with the draft? Foye is a player who could be the X factor for the Wolves off the bench. If he could average 15 points a game coming in for Mike James or Ricky Davis, it would be a huge boost for this team. Again, he provides more slashing ability and can get to the rim virtually at will. A possible Rookie of the Year winner.

Eddie Griffin - Power Forward/Center

































EG is another player who needs to come up big for the Wolves to do anything in their division. Last year, he looked lost out on the court: heaving up 3s at a miserable percentage, picking up unnecessary fouls, and looking generally confused. In the offseason, EG worked on his fitness (he lost 20 pounds) and finally got Lasik eye surgery (his eyesight was terrible), and looks excellent in the preseason, particularly in the rebounding department. If Eddie can come off the bench, get a few garbage baskets, grab a lot of rebounds, and block a few shots, he'll be an excellent part of this Wolves team.

Marko Jaric - Combo Guard/Small Forward

















Another disappointing part of the Wolves' season last year was the play of Marko Jaric. Physically, he's a matchup problem; a 6'7, 220 pound point guard? With that kind of size, you'd like him to either A) be exploiting the size disparity with his fellow guards or B) play the 2 or 3. Marko seemed to do neither, and was resigned to shooting jump shots and picking up fouls as the quicker guards blew past him. I feel like this year, Marko will be in a much better place coming off the bench. He has the versatility to play 3 different positions, and I like him particularly at the 2. Look for him to have a great season off the bench.

Rashad McCants - Shooting Guard



Rashad McCants impressed me a great deal last year. I remember when we drafted him, everyone was angry that we didn't get Hakim Warrick and some other players, but near the end of the season, Rashad was regularly putting up 15 points a game off the bench. Unfortunately, he'll be out for the first 5-8 weeks of the regular season, but just knowing he's coming back makes me very optomistic for this Wolves bench. While defense isn't the best part of Rashad's game, he has a smooth inside-outside game which could make him a star in this league.

Troy Hudson - Point Guard































Troy is an enigma on this Wolves team. In one game, he'll have 25 points and be hitting his shots from everywhere on the court...in the next, he'll have 6 and be 2-15 from the floor. It's this kind of inconsistency that have drove Wolves fans, including myself, crazy. I'm happy he'll be coming off the bench, where he can be a dangerous 3 point shooter....but still, not a big fan.

Mark Madsen - Power Forward/Center

















Not much you can say about Mad Dog this year. If Blount and Eddie get in foul trouble, he'll be called upon to grab boards and play good defense, both of which he can do. His size is a concern for both positions he plays, but his tenacity and concentration seem to make up for it.

Justin Reed - Small Forward/Power Forward

























Justin was a surprise off the bench last year for the Wolves. His work ethic impressed KG, and he has a solid offensive game. His jumper is a little shakey, but he's strong and quick enough to get to the hoop and finish strong. His defense is also solid, so another solid bench player to back up Trenton or KG.

Bracey Wright - Shooting Guard




















I'm actually excited about Bracey for this year. Wright, the scoring champ of the NBDL, had a pretty good end to the season with the Wolves (when none of the games really counted), so he might get 7-10 minutes a game. He sometimes, similarly to Troy Hudson, goes a little crazy and takes shots that he has no business taking, but when he's playing well, he's slashing to the basket and using his smooth jumper to stretch the defense.

Vin Baker - Power Forward/Center



I liked this pickup for the Wolves for a number of reasons: 1) he's cheap 2) he's a veteran, which KG likes 3) there's virtually no risk involved and 4) he's a former all-star, so he has to still have some talent. I would be shocked if Vin got more than 5 minutes a game, but who knows.

Bench Overview

I like (not love) the Wolves' bench, particularly when Rashad McCants returns. There's a solid mix of players who can score and defend. Rebounding is still a concern (hopefully Eddie Griffin will be able to address that), and it'd be nice to have that lights-out 3 point shooter coming off the bench (aka Fred Hoiberg), but still a good, solid bench.

Coach - Dwayne Casey


















I didn't think Dwayne did a bad job last year, but I didn't think he really did a good job last year either. With that being said, it was his first year, so it wasn't entirely surprising. The team struggled with its identity; are we a running team? a grind-it-out defensive team? a mix of the two? Nobody really knew, including the players. With a training camp under their belt, I think Dwayne will do a much better job and be much more conscious of his players' roles on the team.

Season Preview

50-32
Northwest Division Champions

I LOVE THIS GAME!