Milwaukee Bucks (0-1) VS Minnesota Timberwolves (0-1)

Last game: Timberwolves: L, 104-100 vs OKC, Bucks: L, 96-95 vs CHA

The Timberwolves are coming off a simultaneously disappointing and very much encouraging loss to one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Milwaukee choked away a last minute lead to the Charlotte Bobcats, allowing Cardiac Kemba Walker to beat them with two free throws in the last 9 seconds. Don’t feel bad, Milwaukee. You aren’t the first. Or the second. Or the third.

The Key Questions

#1. So about those three pointers…

3-22 last night against the Thunder. 3 for freaking 22. So much positive stuff went down yesterday that it’s hard to REALLY fault a young team for missing some jittery threes, but if the Wolves had even shot 5-22, that makes up for the point differential (and then some) in a game against (did we mention this?) the best team in the Western Conference. 5-22 is roughly 22%. I don’t ask for much guys.

In the first preseason game against the Bucks, Minnesota was much more impressive from long range, shooting 15-24 for 62% from behind the arc. Look for some of the nervous jitters to be gone, and hopefully for some more shots to fall.

#2. How much will Minnesota’s depth and youth help on the second night of a back to back?

As we have mentioned several times before, one advantage Minnesota may have this season is the ability to play in a compressed schedule without being too gassed from the night before. Not only do the Wolves have multiple quality backups at pretty much every position, but the entire team has roughly the same age and energy level of Hickory High School.

This will be a nice test for Minnesota. Milwaukee is clearly not as good as OKC, but this game is on the road, and these teams have faced each other twice already in the preseason. It will be interesting to see if the Wolves can use their talented youth to their advantage.

#3. Which Michael Beasley will show up?

Ok, so I really just wanted an excuse to talk about his performance last night.

Beasley’s box score last night was SO Michael Beasley. He was 11-27, scoring 24 points. A super inefficient shooting percentage, 20+ points, ho hum. Same old, same old, right? That’s what I thought too, especially when his first three shots of the night were contested jumpers that he bricked badly, or airballed entirely.

But to me, Beasley actually demonstrated some incredibly encouraging signs. For starters, he played excellent defense on Kevin Durant, as Jonah pointed out in his recap. He contested, he moved his feet, he bothered Durant, he worked hard. Read that last one again: Michael Beasley worked really hard on defense. I’m aware Durant dropped 33, but take it from an eyewitness: without Beasley’s hard work, it could have been 50. Easily.

But Beasley looked a lot better on offense as well. STOP LAUGHING. Yes, there were still inefficient jumpers, and he missed most of them. But there were also lots of possessions when he played more like a power forward, and that is one of his strengths. When Beasley plays the three, his opponent was very much mismatched, and Beasley seemed to recognize who would be out of position guarding him in the post. Even better, there were several times when Beasley could have settled for a long two pointer, but instead used his blazing speed to drive to the rim. Again: his stat line was inefficient, but he made some really encouraging plays that look like positive first steps. With some patience, maybe Adelman really can work a miracle. Lots of people will think I’m crazy for that last paragraph, and that’s fine. Just don’t write Beasley off as trade bait quite yet.

The Key Match-ups

Speaking of stat lines that are SO Michael Beasley, the Wolves face Brandon Jennings tonight! Jennings scored 22 points on 8-21 shooting against the Bobcats. I wasn’t able to watch the game, so I honestly don’t know if he showed any improvement efficiency-wise, but the smart money is on “no.”

On Minnesota’s end, it’ll be interesting to see how long Adelman keeps Rubio out of the starting lineup. As much as I like Ridnour (and I really do, his mid-range jumper is truly superb), the Timberwolves play their favorite style of basketball with Rubio running the show, as they demonstrated last night, ending the game with Rubio, Barea, Williams, Beasley, and Love in crunch time. For the record, Kurt Rambis would NEVER have thought to put those five players on the floor at the same time. (“Play my best five players and make the defense adjust to us? YOU ARE SPEAKING CRAZY WORDS, SIR. Burn the witch and run the Triangle.”)

Elsewhere, Andrew Bogut did Andrew Bogut-y things, with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Bogut sometimes struggles against Darko’s length, so we’ll see if Kevin Love gets as much time at center as he did last night.

It will also be interesting to see if Michael Beasley can bring the same kind of defensive focus against Ersan Ilyasova that he did against Durant. Ilyasova isn’t the kind of punisher that Durant is, but he’s sneaky good, and it will be a really good sign for Beas if he can exhibit similar defensive focus against a team like Milwaukee.

A bench battle that only geeky idiots like myself could truly appreciate: Beno Udrih and Luke Ridnour are actually exactly the same player. Please, Adelman and Scott Skiles? Give me this match-up just for funsies.

The Outlook

Expect another fun game. Worst case scenario, the Wolves have a letdown and let a winnable game slip through their fingers, which would be painful entering a week in which they play Miami, Dallas, San Antonio, and Memphis. Best case scenario: the first win of the Ricky Rubio era.

Game starts at 7:30 on Fox Sports North

I was asked recently what I’m most excited for this season, and it gave me pause. Was I most excited for Lob City? To cheer violently against the Heat until I lose a tonsil? To see a Timberwolves team that isn’t morbidly depressing?

I came up with my answer an hour later, when I was no longer with the questioner (naturally). See, I became interested in sports because I am an avid reader. I love stories and story lines. I love the development. I love the drama. I love the conclusion, sad or happy. I love seeing everything tie together. In 2008, NBA fans got to see three future Hall of Famers win their first championship together, the ultimate happy ending. Recently, the Brandon Roy saga has given us the opposite. (Seriously, read this article and watch this video knowing what we know now, and if you can honestly tell me you don’t get a little choked up, I can only conclude you are made of stone.)

Anyway. What I decided I’m most excited for is the story lines. Here are six from the Timberwolves that I am most interested in following this year. Give me yours in the comments or on Twitter. Continue reading →

Just announced tonight, the Timberwolves have traded Lazar Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two second-round draft picks and guard Robert Vaden.

Vaden has been waived immediately to make room for JJ Barea, who was just signed yesterday.

The move means nothing more than explained above: just an opportunity to cut the roster down to 15. With this the Wolves may officially be done with moves for the offseason. The only move I foresee is a blockbuster having to do with Michael Beasley but even that will likely wait until the trade deadline. But from what I can tell, the roster is fit as is with only one glaring weakness at shooting guard. They’ll likely keep this core together through training camp and in to the season.

A new rendition of ESPN’s 5-5 on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Who is the most intriguing player on the Timberwolves’ roster?

D.J. Foster, ClipperBlog: Talks of Anthony Randolph’s rise to prominence used to be prefaced with when — now it’s if. If Randolph can combine his size, athleticism and unique skill set while figuring it all out above the shoulders, he’ll be special. At this point in his career, though, that has to be considered an awfully big if.

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: OK, now I’ll gush over Ricky Rubio. After a weekend of training camp, his teammates have proclaimed how special and contagious his passing is. If his passing game can inject life into an offense that wasn’t exactly… well … alive last season (24th in offensive efficiency), then his hype becomes justified. His role isn’t to be an All-Star point guard right away. It’s to galvanize this team.

Benjamin Polk, A Wolf Among Wolves: That’s easy: Ricky Rubio. He has mystical floor vision. Watching him pass the basketball is like taking a bath in warm brandy while Jimi Hendrix plays “The Star-Spangled Banner” right there in the tub with you. But for some reason he shoots like my dad. Can someone fix that?

David Thorpe, Scouts Inc.: Rubio, Derrick Williams, Wes Johnson — they all bring intrigue. But I’m picking Martell Webster. He of the beautiful shooting stroke, the ability to get fouled, a willingness to defend, but not someone who’s ever put together a season saying “I must be a starting wing in the NBA.” If he can return after the New Year and play to his potential, Minnesota has the perfect complement to Rubio, Williams and Kevin Love — a scorer with range and a plus defender.

Royce Young, Daily Thunder: Rubio. What do the Wolves have in Rubio? Is he going to light up “SportsCenter” with Maravich-style no-look passes and alley-oops? Is he going to show off ball-handling skills like he’s Bob Cousy? Or will he just be Jose Calderon but without a jump shot? It’s hard to know what Rubio is or will be, but he certainly is someone that people will be excited to watch.

ESPN:

Adelman announced on Wednesday that Terry Porter, Jack Sikma, T.R. Dunn and Bill Bayno will join him as assistants on his staff.

I love seeing that Porter is going to be back in town. After his time with the Phoenix Suns, I believe he’ll bring something special to the table with his experience with high-octane offenses.

Adelman’s son, R.J., was also named to the staff as the director of player personnel.

The NBA released the revised and shortened schedule for the 2011-2012 season, and the Timberwolves got pretty lucky.

Let me start by saying that this year isn’t going to be easy. At all. The Wolves start off the season with difficult match-ups against some of the league’s best, such as Oklahoma City, Miami, Dallas and San Antonio. Those are experienced teams with perennial players across the lineup that could cause serious line up problems for the Wolves. OKC has Durant, who poses as a threat to any defender. Miami, well, you already know what I’m going to say. And Dallas and San Antonio are two of the most experienced teams in the league, led by two of the best power forwards to ever play the game.

With that said, how in the hell could we be considered lucky? One thing all of those games have in common is that they’ll be taking place on our hardwood, the Target Center. The one place a shaky, inexperienced yet verdant team has any chance at all to at least make the bout close is at home. The one place where the playing field becomes even for under priveledged teams, thanks to thousands of rabid fans, rooting their team on. The Target Center is home to a pro basketball championship now, you know.

But there’s no hiding the truth: the Timberwolves didn’t play well at home last season. They only went 12-29, in fact. But when you compare that to a measly 5-36 on the road, things start to change a little bit. When you analyze some of the league’s other bottom-dwellers, most of them held significantly worse road records than home records including the Clippers, Raptors and Wizards.

Regardless of whether they’re home or not, I believe this team is going to have a rejuvenated hope in what they can become. Kahn only added pieces to the puzzle rather than starting fresh yet again.

Let’s briefly talk amnesty.

For those of you who don’t know, the amnesty clause in the new CBA allows teams to essentially erase one contract from the books. This player still gets paid the money owed to them, but their salary doesn’t count toward the team’s cap limit. This allows teams who have made terrible signing decisions to increase their cap space significantly.

So who would be the most likely candidates from Minnesota to get amnesty’d?

Actually, we don’t have any obvious choices. Say what you want about the T-Wolves roster, but it is chalk full of combo forwards good contracts.

But what about Darko?

It’s ironic that the excellent blog FreeDarko.com closed down this year, since Minnesota has the opportunity to do just that. He remains the most obvious choice for amnesty, followed distantly by Michael Beasley, who, though he owns the largest contract on the team, is still an intriguing talent and also happens to be a restricted free agent after this year.

I can understand if Minnesota decides to keep Darko around. After all, if I had to pay someone $5 million a year just to stay away from my business, I would absolutely balk as well. Without Darko, Minnesota has no centers, and they face uncertainty in free agency, with no guarantees of bringing home an improvement over Milicic. For every Nene in the current market, there are three Kwame Browns and Theo Ratliffs. Signing these guys would be moving sideways rather than forward.

But it’s a bit of a catch 22. The center position is going to hurt for Minnesota all year, if they find themselves relying on Darko. Rick Adelman will suffer a cerebral hemorrhage trying to coach him. None of Adelman’s styles fit. You want this team to run? Darko can’t. You want this team to play better team defense? Darko can’t (he remains a good shot blocker, but a bad team defender). Need some offense from the post to free up your perimeter guys? Unless your opponent ABSOLUTELY can’t defend the left handed baby hook, Darko can’t do that either.

In some ways, this is ok. Centers don’t dominate the league anymore. Dwight Howard, Nene, and Andrew Bynum will cause serious matchup problems for the Wolves, but they cause serious problems for anyone they face.

On the other hand, players like Nene and Tyson Chandler will be available on the upcoming free agent market. While both players will probably be looking for more of a contender than Minnesota, there are several other upgrades from Darko available, such as Samuel Dalembert, whose defense would be a big help, or even someone like Nenad Krstic, who can stretch the floor nicely. (Note: Krstic is currently committed to playing in Russia. He does have an opt-out clause.)

Kahn could also attempt to outbid several teams for restricted free agent centers, including the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, the league’s leader in dunks last season.

A tangent: I’ll admit that DJ is my pipe dream for Minnesota. (There is nothing to indicate that the Wolves will make a run for him, this is just speculation.) The Clippers are owned by Donald Sterling. This man doesn’t care what’s best for his team. He just cares about cutting costs. If the Wolves offer DJ a decent amount of money, do you really think Sterling is going to match it? Of course not! DJ is a freakish athlete, an excellent shot blocker, and great at running the floor. Plus, his alley-oops are ridiculous, and we just got Rubio, who would treat Jordan like his new SportsCenter Top 10 toy. Don’t stop believin’.

Don’t be surprised if Minnesota doesn’t use their amnesty clause this season, which is a testament to the cap friendly contracts they’ve already signed. It’s also a little disappointing for those of us who like debating contracts and roster moves. But if Minnesota ends up making a move, it very well might be time to Free Darko.

Guys? Real basketball. REAL FREAKING BASKETBALL.

Late Friday night, Ken Berger of CBS Sports tweeted what every NBA fan had been dying to hear since June. The NBA and NBPA have reached a tentative agreement.

From @KBergCBS.

BREAKING: Tentative agreement reached, according to one of the negotiators.

Note: there are quite a few issues that need to be worked through yet. For starters, both the players and owners have to vote to pass the deal. Then it needs to be put in writing. Then comes the insanity that will be free agency.

But if all goes according to plan, we will see the first games of the season on December 25.

It’s too late for me to think clearly about…well…anything, honestly. You know what this means. This means Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio. This means more Kevin Love. This means I GET TO COVER ACTUAL TIMBERWOLVES GAMES, AND I NO LONGER HAVE TO PRETEND I CARE ABOUT THE NFL.

I’m tentatively so excited I can barely breathe.

This upcoming Wednesday. New York. 11:30 pm.

A razorwire would have gotten stuck in the tension that filled the room, like peanut butter on a nervous stomach. Billy Hunter stared at the paper in front of him. Derek Fisher leaned over his shoulder, reading it as well.

“What do you think?” Hunter muttered, trying to move his lips as little as possible.

Fisher inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes. He rubbed his hands over his smooth head. To those watching, it was like seeing him spin the ball, preparing for a free throw. He opened his eyes slowly. He and Hunter looked at each other. They nodded slightly, and several of the people surrounding the table could be heard to inhale slightly. Hunter and Fisher turned together towards the owners, sitting across from them.

David Stern stared back, waiting.

“Let’s do it,” said Hunter, breaking into a wide smile.

The room burst into applause, and cries of “YES!” from those assembled. Several whistles rang off the sound proof walls, outside of which members of the media had been waiting for hours, tweeting, eating pizza, and hoping for THIS news to come trickling from the negotiating room, like water dropping into a drowning man’s mouth, through mysterious, unnamed sources in unsatisfying, tantalizing drops. But now, it had happened. It was real.

They had reached an agreement!

As a jubilant group of players, owners, and lawyers, shook each other’s hands, laughing and celebrating, Stern closed his briefcase and stood up.

“I’ll be telling the media, then,” he said.

A tall figure rose from the corner, his suit seeming to unfold beneath him. Towering above the other men standing around him, his dark eyes glared across the table, settling themselves on Stern.

“Hunter should tell them,” said Kevin Garnett, a note of menace in his voice.

The laughter died. Everyone looked around, suddenly nervous.

“Why, Kevin?” said Stern.

Garnett just glowered at him.

“Kevin,” muttered Hunter. “It will be a joint conference. I’ll be there too. I don’t care if David tells them. That’s fine. Everyone will just be happy to see the NBA back in action.”

Garnett shook his head.

“We earned this,” he said, looking around him at his fellow players. “It was us. The players. We gave you our concessions. We should get to look like good guys. We tell the media.”

Michael Jordan stood up. There were audible groans from around the table.

“You will do what WE say, Garnett,” snarled MJ. “We give the conference. You sit and listen behind us.”

The players present immediately began shouting. The owners quickly joined in, and suddenly it was another scene of chaos, this time an angry one. Only Garnett could be heard above the others, yelling.

“You’re a cancer, Jordan!” screamed Garnett. “All of you owners, you are cancerous to these negotiations and to the league!”

Stern sat back down in his chair and rested his forehead in his hands. He looked across the table, and saw Hunter mouthing wordlessly at Garnett, horrified.

Fisher meanwhile, was quietly gathering his things. While the rest of the group was caught up in the argument, he left the room. The media, sitting outside the door, were unprepared, but upon seeing Fisher, they dropped their pizza, grabbed their recorders, and pressed in around him.

Fisher stared at them. He looked back over his shoulder and sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry guys,” he said. “We don’t have a deal.”

“Will it happen soon?” “Will we have a season, Derek?”

Fisher rubbed his head again.

“I can’t speculate on that,” he said, but as he said it, he felt months of frustration building up inside him, and he felt the unfairness of it all come pouring out. “But it’s not looking too damn likely, is it?”

Good basketball related activities during the lockout:

• Watching old games on Youtube.
• Wearing your favorite team’s apparel.
• Cry.
• Spend some time working on your jump shot.
• Learn financial terms you never knew until Zach Lowe stopped talking about pick and rolls and started talking about amnesty clauses.
• Did I mention cry? Weep profusely.

Bad basketball related activities:

• Reading comments sections on other blogs. Ugh.

Fans online (a notoriously venomous bunch, to begin with) seem to have decided that, quite frankly, both sides can just go to hell. A quote from Berbes on Pro Basketball Talk, an excellent NBC sports blog:

~ i hate the billionaire owners
~ i hate the millionaire players
~ my pity is for the bartenders & waitresses in the empty bars & restaurants across the street from the empty courts

Very admirable of you, Berbes. You sound like a working class, high quality individual, used to working with your hands, like the guys in those Red Wing Shoes ads. Oh, also? Shut up.

Let’s take a second to think about this. Last offseason, the Timberwolves signed Anthony Tolliver to a two year deal, fully guaranteed. The contract itself was worth $4.5 million. For two years, Anthony Tolliver was guaranteed to be a VERY well paid man.

But let’s say something awful happened. What if Tolliver blew his ACL? What if something prevented Tolliver from playing basketball? Timberwolves fans (should) love Tolliver because he scraps, and he has a great attitude, but if he wasn’t able to come back full strength from a tough injury, would teams be lining up to hand a damaged, journeyman role player another guaranteed contract? (Answer: no.)

“True,” you say, “but Tolliver is GUARANTEED $4.5 million! That’s more than I’ll ever make in my life!”

A fair point, and I feel you. But let’s do some math. A family budget per year in the United States is $40,000. If Tolliver stuck to this model, he would have enough money to live for 112 years, making only financial decisions for the survival of his family. That’s a good amount of time. He could certainly pull it off.

Glen Taylor, the owner of the Timberwolves, is worth $1.8 billion, according to Forbes. He would be able to survive considerably longer. (Seriously…brace yourself. I’ll even put it in a new paragraph for emphasis.

4,500 years.

Financially, Glen Taylor could survive Y2K, Y3K, Y4K, Y5K, and Y6K before he would run out of money, living in survival mode.

Can you see why players are fighting for a better deal? Much has been made about the owner’s leverage (they have other income, and can survive without an NBA season, whereas players can’t) but that same reasoning is also why the players need to fight for a better deal. Once Anthony Tolliver stops playing and retires, his BRI goes down to zero. That’s all he can make from basketball. Done. The owners will be able to keep being rich and owning until they pass away in the year 4000 on a pile of $100 bills.

Don’t get me wrong: the players have very large contracts, and I certainly am a little envious of the amount of money Jeff Foster has accumulated during his time in the league. The players aren’t (or at least, they really really shouldn’t be) charity cases. They make a lot of money.

But not every player has Foster’s financial savvy, and to be honest, few (if any) of us would have it either. If I was handed millions of dollars at the age of 20, I would have blown most of it on nice guitars, garages full of Nikes, and an indoor, wood floor basketball court in my basement. Berbes, mentioned above, would have bought a lot of nice Red Wing boots. Can we really judge players for buying nice cars when they suddenly realized their dreams? Eventually, money runs out. And that will happen for players much, much sooner than owners.

Canis Hoopus pointed out on Twitter the gigantic difference between a million and a billion, and they were absolutely right. To say that this is purely a matter of millionaires versus billionaires shows a pretty fair amount of ignorance, and to write it off as a bunch of rich, greedy people battling over scraps is severely underselling one side of the debate.