Howlin' T-Wolf A Fresh Perspective and Completely Biased Blog About Everything Minnesota Timberwolves

In statistical analysis there can be a lot of noise in small sample sizes, you know for instance when looking at just one game. Regardless of that fact I feel compelled to explain to you that for the 19 minutes that new Timberwolf Darko Millic was on the court last night the Wolves outscored the Thunder by 35, yes 35, points. Meanwhile during the 29 minutes that Al Jefferson was on the court the Wolves were outscored by the Thunder by 37 points. Even in a small sample size like just one game, a 72 point differential between two players is worth talking about. But I took the day to fully marinate my thoughts on it because last night I was ready to sign Darko to a long extension and ship Jefferson straight out of town for whatever we can get on the wing. Snap judgments come naturally to a fan of weaker team like the Wolves and especially to guys who blog about them. It’s how things like “#Darkogasms” come to be.

Getting back to last night’s game though some may argue that Darko did his damage on court against the Thunder’s bench, however for 15 of those 19 minutes that Darko and the Wolves outscored the Thunder, Kevin Durant was on the floor as well. I’d also like to point out that although Nenad Kristic starts at Center, backup Nick Collison is just a good or better and definitely a better defender and rebounder. He played about 9 minutes against each and mostly against Collison down the stretch.

The real question after the game was what Stop-n-Pop over at Canis Hoopus tweeted:

What other team’s best player gets yanked down the stretch for an out of shape replacement on his first day with the new squad?

This really is unprecedented in my opinion and is something that could only happen with our beloved Minnesota Timberwolves. Did Jefferson play poorly last night? On offense? No. He was 5-11 for 10 points along with 6 rebounds and no turnovers. On defense he even chipped in 3 blocks. But while he was on the court the Wolves got badly outplayed by the Thunder. The verdict: we need to see more from both Jefferson and Darko. One game is just not enough. The other thing that no one has mentioned is that Darko and Big Al didn’t play a minute together. There is certainly the possibility that Darko could complement Jefferson just as well as he did Love.

The good news we do know is that I don’t think Darko could have played any better in his Timberwolves debut. And to think this is the “out of shape, I don’t want to be here” Darko Millic. He looked bigger than I remember, like a legitimate NBA center. He looked fluid in the triangle offense easily moving and playing at either the high or the low post. Best of all he was alert and aware on defense. Overall he looked the opposite of Ryan Hollins (who always looks awkward), like he really is a basketball player who belongs out there.

In the end us Wolves fans have something to hope for and be encouraged by for the last 25 games. We can hope that in our complex and messed up little franchise Darko Millic can find a home and that in him we can find a legitimate center to complement our 2 good power forwards.