T-Wolves -vs- Orlando Magic (11.06.07)

 

 I went to the game last night with little expectations for a win.  That’s ok though, as I’m just hoping to see improvement from our guys and blah blah blah, you get the gist.  For some reason I just thought Orlando would come in a take care of business.  A quick trip through the game thread in the forum (and other places around the net) and you’ll see that quite a few people thought the Wolves could pull out their first win. My guess is that a lot of people think that we’ve been playing well (which we have) and that Orlando is only a “so-so” team.  I was concerned as to who on our team was going to slow down Dwight Howard, with Theo possibly out for tonight.  It turns out that Theo was a late scratch, and the answer to my question is “no one.”  Anyhow, if you are looking for pre-game happy hour establishments, I can’t recommend “Gameworks” enough.  Great deals, stiff drinks, and bartenders with selective memory when it comes to adding up the tab.  There is a good chance that Bonk and I set up camp at Gameworks last night.  There is an equally good chance that I may or may not have a pounding headache right now.  

(Click "Read More..." for thoughts and analysis.)

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First win of the season?  It'll be a tough one for the Wolves, but it'd be sweet to take one from this Magic team.

First quarter:

*Rashad was taking that shot the whole way.  Great pump in the paint to get an open look...let's hope he can get off to a hot start. 

*What's that?  A Wolf getting sent to the free throw line?  Get outta here! 

*Man, that's the second team foul on the Magic in the first two minutes.  How about that. 

*Loving the post move by Jeff...sweet hook shot.  Man, that guy has such an immense array of moves in the low block.  I'm continually amazed by his footwork. 

*Another foul on Orlando?  That's their third team foul so far...this is a great sign that a) the Wolves are finally drawing some fouls, and b) the refs are actually blowing the whistle. 

*Wolves off to another quick start, as they lead 13-4.  Of course, the big question is how long they can maintain this early advantage. 

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Join me tonight at 7:00 CST as I live blog the Wolves/Magic game (the game is on FSN)...1-2, here we come!  Alright, maybe not, but it should still be an entertaining game. no comments

If you have nothing to do tomorrow night, and you're a fan of the NBA and its more spectacular players, I would suggest trying to get a ticket to the game against the Magic.

Everyone is well aware of the highlight-explosiveness of guys like Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo and D-Wade.  Everyone is aware of the highlight-inspiring team play of the Phoenix Suns and the visually arousing play when someone like Jason Kidd is allowed to run an offense.  Those guys are definitely must watches (as is KG), but, again, everyone knows about them.

What I want to do is single out the three guys who you may or may not know that are 100x more impressive to watch in person than on TV.  The first guy is here tomorrow night and, if you don't know him, you will.  The other two guys you probably know, one for the wrong reason, and the other for being boring.  I wanted to single these guys out because if you take away their media personas and come watch them in person, you gain a different perspective into how good and entertaining they are.

Since he's here tomorrow night, my first must watch is DWIGHT HOWARD.

Please hit the "Read more" link to go after the jump and hear about why you should check these guys out.

It didn’t take long for the 18,000+ at Target Center to see evidence that things have drastically changed for their squad. From the opening tip, this team’s rediscovered energy was obvious- the offense was electric, they moved the ball extremely well, and the Telfair-directed attack was always one step ahead of the Denver defense. Simply put, the first quarter was an offensive showcase for the Wolves.

The quick start didn’t last, unfortunately, and the Wolves offense gradually slowed down until it became absolutely stagnant in the fourth quarter. That opened the door for Denver to grab control of the game…and the Nuggs took advantage. Carmello simply couldn’t be stopped in crunch time.

It was a disappointing loss, for sure. We gave the Nuggets a battle for the first 42 minutes, and lost it in the last six.

But there’s still a lot to feel good about. no comments

Fresh off an early morning TiVO viewing, here are my thoughts on the Wolves' season opener...

1. This team is fun to watch! 

When this game began, I really wasn't sure what to expect.  We were facing a Nuggets team that should be in the post-season and features big names like Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony.  The Wolves, on the other hand, were basically composed of youngsters and veterans who had been tossed aside. The optimistic part of me wanted to believe we'd play harder than the Nuggets and hustle our way to a victory.  The realist inside of me thought we were horribly outmatched and were due for our first home opener loss since before the Kevin Garnett era. 

In actuality, this game was a little bit of both.  There were times when the Wolves play was a thing of beauty.  The offense was flowing with good passes and smart shots.  The defense held strong and the Wolves cleaned up the boards.  And then there were times when our inexperience was fully on display as the Thuggets, er Nuggets, completely overpowered us. Regardless, this is clearly the most fun Wolves team we've gotten to watch in years. We've finally got an inside game going - something we've haven't had for over a decade.  We've also got a fair amount of players who can stroke the three in McCants, Buckner, and occasionally Gomes and Telfair.  But perhaps the most fun part of watching this team is that they just make you feel good when they're playing well.  When guy who have been tossed aside and criticized for so long like Ratliff, Telfair, and McCants start making things happen on the court, it's exciting.

I might be getting ahead of myself here, but there were times during the first three quarters where this team made me thing, "The playoffs aren't out of the question".  They would make me debate between, "Is it better to be an 8th seed, or take our lumps this year and add another top rookie to our roster?".  After what we've been through the past three years, the fact that I can have those thoughts is a very good thing.

In anticipation of the 2007-08 Minnesota Timberwolves season, TWolvesBlog is counting down the days 'til tip-off by featuring some of our team's players.  These player articles were written by several of our forum members, as well as the site's regular contributors.  The final piece in this series was written by our forum member, "WhiskeyDizzy."  I'd like to present to you the new face of our franchise, power forward Al Jefferson. Good luck in the home opener tonight guys.

 

 AL Jefferson - "The New Face Of The Franchise"

by: WhiskeyDizzy

Number 25 for the 2007-2008 Minnesota Timberwolves was born Albus Jefferson in the small town of Monticello, Mississippi on January 4th, 1985.   Al attended Prentiss High School in Mississippi, where he excelled as a lost post scorer and dominate big man, winning the Missippi State Class 3A High School Championship in 2002.  In 2003, SI.com rated Al Jefferson as the number 1 High School big man in the country ahead of Dwight Howard and Lamarcus Aldridge, saying “Jefferson is a specimen with size, skill and more importantly he produces results…Super prospect.” During his Senior year, Al averaged 42 points, 16 rebounds and 9 blocks per game and was named to the 2004 McDonald’s All-American team. Jefferson initially signed a Letter of Intent to play for the University of Arkansas, but later declared himself eligible for the 2004 NBA draft, where he was selected 15th overall by the Boston Celtics.

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I'm very excited to start the Wolves regular season tomorrow.  I'm kind of relieved to enter a season in which not finishing last will exceed my expectations.  The past two versions of the Minnesota Timberwolves were not only disappointing, but also very boring.  KG's style of play requires competent shooting and continuous effort out of his teammates and, unfortunately, the Timberwolves could give Kevin neither with any consistency.  I cannot even count the amount of times I watched the Wolves get up by ten points in the first half, only to watch them fail in the end.  As a fan who came to 40 of 41 home games last season, the sports entertainment value was unnacceptable.

This offseason, the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett in the least attractive of the several deals out there for him.  However, the organization did a solid job of retaining its stated cornerstone for the new project (Jefferson resigning) and has earnestly opened the door for the future.

Now, I will give you the opportunity to see what I'm looking for this season and my NBA picks (if you click "Read More") or to skip over this entirely and move to the next post (likely).

Randy Foye: "All Heart"

Background:

Randy Foye was born September 24, 1983 in Newark, New Jersey. Foye's father Antonio was killed in a motorcycle accident when Randy was three. Three years later, his mother Regina dropped him off at kindergarten, and Randy and his brother never saw her again. Foye doesn't know what happened to her. However, Foye's grandmother took him in and his neighbor helped him learn the game of basketball. Foye keeps alive the hope that he will someday see his mother again, and he even has an image of her face permanently tattooed onto his left pectoral. In June 2006, it was reported that Foye has the rare condition situs inversus, which means his organs are arranged as the mirror image of a normal person's: for example, his heart is in the right side of his chest rather than the left. However, it is not expected that this fact will have an impact on his game.

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Garnett is gone, but we'll still fight on. [image2]

Note: This article appear on the Minnesota Timberwolves Den at DeROK.Net

For the first time in my life, I'm about to experience a Timberwolves season without Kevin Garnett. Yes, I've been a fan of the team since its inception, but for all intents and purposes, Friday night will be the first time I watch a season begin without No. 21 pounding his chest and making a chalk cloud. You see, in the era before Garnett, things like the internet and NBA League Pass were futuristic technologies. If you lived in New Jersey and liked the Timberwolves, you were forced to follow the team through a box score in the paper. The only way you even knew what the role players on your team looked like was if you were fortunate enough to get one of their basketball cards in a pack. Back then, being a fan of the Timberwolves meant owning a t-shirt and always picking them on NBA Live '95, even though they were awful. Eighteen years later, things are extremely different. Kevin Garnett isn't able to sneeze without a complete play-by-play of the event being instantly sent to someone's cell phone. Hardly a minute passes by without some fan making a blog post about his thoughts on the team.  If I had the time, I could easily plunk myself down in front of my computer and spend a solid two-hours every day reading all the latest Timberwolves news.  Being a fan of the Timberwolves has a completely different meaning in medical school than it did in elementary school.  And so that's why I say that Friday, November 2nd will be my first time that I truly begin a Timberwolves season without Kevin Garnett.

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