Timberwolves 2011-2012

[Scott K]

It is good to see Beasely have a good game, I wouldnt mind him off the bench like tonight, this way if he is hot, keeping in there, if he is not, keep in out.

[Scott M]

What a third quarter! 42 points.

Nice game for B Easy. 34 points on 10 of 14 shooting in 30 minutes. That is the type of player he is capable of.

Wes Johnson is really struggling. 2-7 shooting, 4 points, 6 turnovers in 20 minutes. Ouch. That 2 guard deficiency is glaring.

Love with 29 and 7. The shocker is that he didn't reach double figures in rebounds.

Rubio 18 and 11.

Pek with 8 and 7 in 17 minutes in the start. Nice job in place of Darko. He's very efficient but fouls a lot.

I wish I could go to the next game Wednday night at Target Center against Indiana. Indy is a good Eastern conference team and the dual throwbacks are going to be cool.

Wolfies are clawing their way into the race, but it won't ever get easier with pacing of games and the level of competition and parity in the league right now. Can't afford throw away games like the Hawks game or Milwaukee.

[Scott M]

ESPN insider had a good article on the Twolves today too. It's all about how they are building a contender much the same way that OK City did. Lots and lots of young talent, with a solid coaching staff.

The Minnesota Timberwolves went into Sunday night's showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers believing the time was ripe to shatter a 15-game losing streak against the former denizens of their fair city. The setup seemed perfect. Los Angeles was on the back end of a back-to-back while the Wolves spent Saturday resting up. Minnesota had won five of seven to climb within one game of .500, while L.A. had dropped four of five. The Wolves hadn't beaten L.A. since Kevin Garnett was still around, but that was supposed to change on Sunday.

It didn't. The crowd at the Target Center was treated to an outstanding game, but in the end it was just another loss to the franchise that abandoned the Twin Cities and headed for the Pacific in 1960. (Taking with them a nickname that no longer made any sense. Oh well.)

A key sequence in the third quarter on Sunday was telling: Kobe Bryant had heated up from the field, as he is wont to do, and the Lakers moved out to an 18-point lead. After a Michael Beasley 3 cut the lead to 14 and threatened to swing the momentum, Bryant spotted up unguarded at the 3-point line, took a pass from Derek Fisher and seemingly killed Minnesota's run with a flick of the wrist.

But these aren't the same sad-sack Timberwolves. With Ricky Rubio directing the show, Minnesota streaked back into the game and led in the fourth quarter before faltering down the stretch. There were behind-the-back passes from Rubio, spot up 3s from Beasley, Kevin Love crashing the offensive glass, Anthony Randolph dunking off lob passes. Even though the Wolves ended up losing, there were some positives. For example, Minnesota outscored the Lakers 16-0 on fast-break points and 32-10 on second-chance opportunities. Sunday's game gave fans a glimpse of where the Timberwolves might be headed, but also demonstrated why they still have plenty of work to do to get there.

Symptoms

The tone of the "Diagnosis" series is typically negative. After all, you aren't ever diagnosed with something when you're healthy. This week is a bit of a departure because we're looking at the league's most improved team. Therefore, we're asking what Minnesota needs to do to continue its climb up the NBA's proverbial ladder. With the Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks getting old, the West could be wide open in the years ahead. The Oklahoma City Thunder might emerge as a perennial power. Could we someday see an Oklahoma City-Minnesota rivalry at the top of the West?

Diagnosis

There really is no easy answer for a team still in its gestation period. The Timberwolves play fairly fast, but reside in the middle of the efficiency pack on both ends of the court. That's good news. Great news, in fact, because Minnesota has ranked in the bottom third of the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency in each of the past five years. Right now, the Timberwolves are mediocre with a bullet.

Prognosis

Certainly, with the talent and youth they feature, the Timberwolves should continue to improve and will remain fun to watch. However, to eventually become an elite team, how much do they need to tinker with their roster?

Treatment

The rise of the Thunder is the perfect path for Timberwolves general manager David Kahn to follow. Turns out, he's already been mimicking OKC, though few have seemed notice. Minnesota has basically been a year or two behind Oklahoma City every step of the way. The similarities are striking.

David Kahn, Ricky Rubio

David Sherman/NBAE/Getty ImagesGM David Kahn is banking Rubio becomes a star and a franchise cornerstone.

Rebuilding invariably starts with losing a ton of games, but you also have to get lucky. In Seattle, the Thunder/Sonics lost 51 games in 2006-07. Not a good year, and just four teams lost more often. It took plenty of luck to get the Thunder/Sonics the second pick of the 2007 draft. It took more luck to get Kevin Durant with that pick after he was passed over by Portland in favor of Greg Oden. Similarly, Minnesota lost 60 games in 2007-08, setting it up for getting Love in a draft-day swap with Memphis for O.J. Mayo in 2008. That's worked out nicely.

So after Year 1, both teams had their franchise cornerstones. Yet the losses kept coming in bunches. For the Thunder, the continued futility allowed them to draft Russell Westbrook at No. 4 in 2008. For Minnesota, it meant Rubio at No. 5 in 2009. Rubio's overseas commitment prevented him from jumping into the fray right away, as Westbrook did with Durant. That and the flurry of non-Rubio point guards drafted by Kahn obscured the overall picture taking shape in Minnesota and slowed the process a bit.

Both Oklahoma City and Minnesota also stockpiled draft picks. Beginning in 2007, the Thunder drafted 15 players in four drafts. Many of those players never played for the Thunder, but instead were moved to add incremental pieces and assets to the organization. General manager Sam Presti drafted Glen Davis, Carl Landry, Rodrigue Beaubois and Quincy Pondexter, among others, and moved them all for trinkets like expiring contracts, cash, more draft picks and even actual basketball players. Kahn has adopted a similar strategy, taking 16 players over the past four drafts, just five of which are on this year's roster.

You even have each team hitting on an international big man beyond the lottery. Oklahoma City took Serge Ibaka at No. 24 in 2008. Minnesota got Nikola Pekovic at No. 31 in that same draft.

Let's assume that Minnesota's current Pythagorean record (the forecasted mark based on point differential) is the team's true talent level for this season. Over an 82-game season, the Wolves' differential would typically get you 45 wins. In 2009-10, Oklahoma City jumped from 23 to 50 wins. The Timberwolves would be jumping from 17 to 45 wins -- basically the same improvement. They're a few wins behind Oklahoma City's pace from a couple of years ago, but, then again, Durant is a step up from Love.

The key here for Kahn is to recognize the path his team is on and just get out of the way. Stay the course. Let his core mesh. Let his fans enjoy the improvement while coach Rick Adelman sorts out his roster. Wayne Ellington, Martell Webster or Wesley Johnson … who's a keeper, who's redundant? Can Beasley learn to accept a supporting role? Can Derrick Williams become more than an athletic marvel? Does the progressing Pekovic have the defensive chops to be a starting pivot in the NBA?

The Timberwolves might not have a first-round choice in the 2012 draft, depending on what happens with a pick that might be coming from the Utah Jazz. (Minnesota's own 2012 pick was traded way back 2005 to the Clippers along with Sam Cassell, but the Jazz owe a pick to the Timberwolves that would be moved this year if Utah makes the playoffs.) That doesn't mean the Wolves can't add talent. If a clear Love-Rubio-Williams triumvirate is set at the end of this season, complementary pieces can be added via free agency. Or perhaps one of the other young players on the roster emerges, as Ibaka did with the Thunder.

No, there is no fix for Minnesota per se. Kahn just needs to keep doing what he's doing. The improvement for a roster this young will come from within. That's what happened with Oklahoma City.

[cjac]

I have my cut of the season tix package for Wednesday against the Pacers, should be fun!

Rubio showed a lot of poise, changing his game a bit coming off Sunday night with the penetration moves. I'm even more inpressed with his game, Love didn't get his dub-dub because we actually shot well and there were less offesnive boards.....

Beasley: He's a wild card, I still like B-Easy, we saw the Beast he can be tonight, plus being perfect from the line sure didn't hurt.

[Flaco651]

Quote:

I wish I could go to the next game Wednday night at Target Center against Indiana. Indy is a good Eastern conference team and the dual throwbacks are going to be cool.

My sister is going. Unfortunately for me, I'll be watching from the couch....and watching her kids.

I'll get to one of these next upcoming games.

[pegleg]

I am going to buy some tickets for one of the games over the next 2 weeks... Does anybody know are the corner sections of the lower deck good seats? It looks like row R or higher are available at a pretty good price - cheaper to go on TicketsNow rather than through the Wolves by the way it looks. I want to take my wife and daughter.

[cjac]

I'm in row S of the 2nd level, but pretty much on the center court line...

To be honest, I'd rather have my upper level mid-court ones than lower level corner. Granted, you're looking at a family night so maybe drop a few more $$$, but you can grab some pretty inexpensive yet decent tickets up there. Fun to watch the whole court and see plays develop.

To each his own, but wanted to throw the option out there......I had people right around me that got tix on stub hub for $4.

[Storm]

Yes stubhub is the way to go. Can get decent seats for under $10.

[Scott K]

The team is getting healthier every day now, and we are beating teams that we would never have thought we would in years past. If we can put together a couple 3 game wining streaks, we could gain some more national attention. Not that we havent been in the eyes of the media now. I think if we can come out tonight with a win against the Pacers, we might start getting a few more games added to national TV. Even now, people want to see Rubio play. Myself, I dont care at all if they are on national TV, but it will help the team in the future to lure in some big name free agents. Since a lot of these good players care more about TV time, then money in some cases. The word is out that the Wolves are a good SG away from being a good team, and there are already good FA taking notice to this.

Just think, good players wanting to play in MN! Really, think about it. The Wolves have one of the best upcoming, promising young teams right now. They are comparing us to OKC, but just a year or two behind them. Playing with Rubio, and getting fed passes for an open shot, being able to play with Love, and being coached by one of the best coaches there is. This team should also be a playoff team for many years, and pretty much in the media every game. Some national games will be forsure in our near future as well. Those sure sound like some appealing reasons for good players to WANT to be a Wolf.

If nothing else, they sure have made basketball in MN fun again.

[SledNeck]

Got tickets to the 19th game vs the sixers row 3 half court. Im pumped up. It'll be my kid's first NBA game!

[Scott K]

I plan on going to a couple more games later this month as well. It sure is fun watching this team live.

[pegleg]

Thanks guys for the info on tickets... Stubhub sure looks like the way to go. Just a matter of now picking where we want to sit. Even my wife and daughter are now excited about going to a game. I guess it is the "Rubio thing"... they are fun to watch.

[Scott K]

The only thing I dont like about going to games, is if we are getting blown out, you can hear a pin drop in there, and if they are loosing early, it can get pretty boring. But this year, they have been in every game towards the end, and it has been exciting.

[schmitty3]

It's going to be very interesting to see how Adelman fits all these players coming back off injury into the lineup.

[Scott M]

Wolves get physically pushed around a little and the game got away from them. Too many turnovers and poor free throw and three point shooting compounded the problem. That Indiana team is tough. For not having a big star, they really have some nice pieces.

Collison

George

Granger

West

Hibbert

Would love to see Hibbert protecting the Wolves rim.

Pek and Love had nice games, otherwise it was forgettable. Wolves needed to make their run in the 3rd when George picked up an early foul and sat down. Instead they let Granger bull his way to the rim for easy ones and then backed off him to give him open threes in the 4th.

Those are cool warmups (Muskies). Love after the game on the jerseys (what I roughly remember, not word for word): "I don't know, we're 0-1 in them. I guess it looks cool, like a fish you would catch while ice fishing or something"

[cjac]

That was just a bad game all around. Indy is a very solid team and tough on defense. No energy tonight, and honestly there was not one play that made you stand up and cheer.

Not sure on how to explain this, but there seems to be too much of a vibe or trend around the bounce pass into the big men, and not just from Rubio. They're not built to handle cute passes, simple as that, they need a pass at their chest.... Also, the big men tried a few cute passes of their own that were destined for a TO.

Johnson is proving to be a bust, and Williams isn't playing like a #2 overall pick. He looks like he just expects things to come easily to him.

Frustrating night.....

[Scott K]

I really have nothing to say about this game. My mommy taught me, "if you cant say anything nice, dont say anything at all", so I am going to take her advice this one time.

Tomorrow is another day, and we should be able to take care of the Nets. Although, we havent had much luck with the East this year yet, so you never know.

[EBass]

I blame the Muskie jersey's.

[ozzie]

yeah not a good game but our shots just weren't falling then Granger goes off...we are bound to have games like that but they kept battling to the end and they will get better by learning from that game. Indiana was the aggresor in the game and we just didn't have anything to push back. I don't understand why Darko started again and then why AR was a scratch? AR is a must play when you have Rubio running the floor as they work well together. JJ Barea can take another week to get better the way he was limping around the court. Oh well we have the Nets on Friday and then the Rockets again on Saturday...those games can both be won and put us up to .500

[PierBridge]

Quote:

To be honest, I'd rather have my upper level mid-court ones than lower level corner.

I'm not real big on upper level but we had upper level center court tickets last night and it was kind of interesting from a technical standpoint seeing them from that view. I still prefer good lower levels but I can see how upper's would be better than some of the lower area's.

As far as the game went the Pacers just have a bunch of athletes and were a joy to watch.

Not surprisingly I'm 0-2 at Wolves games this year...

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[PierBridge]

Sorry about the Wes Johnson picture I just noticed that...DOH~

[Flaco651]

Pek with 27 points and 11 rebounds tonight in the win.

[Scott K]

And he didnt even start the game! Hopefully we solved our center problem, now we just need to figure out the SG position.

[schmitty3]

Didn't get to watch the game tonight, as fsn decided to take the miami oh vs mich hockey game. Anyway good to see they got another win in a close game. Great to see Pek having another big game. When does he get the starting position back? He just needs to work on his D a little. He really struggles against some of the good centers.

[SledNeck]

It appears with my tickets I have access to the backcourt club? Looks nice. Anyone been in there yet?