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TWolves Blog - Minnesota Timberwolves News and Articles
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 18:40 |
Click here for the forum's game thread
Wittman said he will make one change in his opening lineup tonight, starting Ryan Gomes at power forward with Foye and Mike Miller at the guards, Corey Brewer at small forward and Al Jefferson at center.
Update:
The Minnesota Timberwolves wrap up the preseason tonight as they host the Milwaukee Bucks for the final preseason game at Target Center.
Minnesota suffered just its second loss of the preseason last night falling to Chicago 85-75. The Wolves were down 29-9 after the first quarter and while they did cut the lead to one with 7:43 remaining in the fourth, it was not enough as Minnesota falls to 0-1 at the Target Center in preseason play...
Tonight's game tips off at 7pm and can be seen on FSN North with Tom Hanneman and Jim Petersen on the call. The game can be heard on the Wolves Radio Network and the Wolves flagship station KFAN-AM 1130 with Alan Horton and Kevin Lynch bringing all the action.
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 18:30 |
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Wolves coach Randy Wittman said he’ll have some roster cuts after tonight’s exhibition finale against the Milwaukee Bucks at Target Center, but he insists no final decisions have been made.
“Those decisions are still up in the air, to be honest with you,” Wittman said after the morning shootaround. “There will be a lot of debating going on, I’m sure.”
Ricky/Sixers4Guido chats with College Wolf about the former Sixers currently on the Wolves roster.
Back to McCants. Which means back to shuffling the Janus masks. The guy came off the bench lethargically, seemingly without his head in the game, at either end of the court. He also seemed scapegoated, given that the "ball movement" mantra had produced one assist (Brewer to Big Al) and a whopping 9 points in the 10:02 he'd been sitting--and not coincidentally because Brewer and Love were getting as many "good" shots as Jefferson.
"No matter what position you take on McCants, he'll prove you wrong within 30 seconds," I said to the guy next to me (Ben, from citypages.com, a perceptive writer worth your time), and almost right on cue in the second quarter, Shaddy stole the ball and then passed it into a turnover. He repeated the same thing sequence in the third period--a nicely anticipated step into the passing lane, an ill-advised dish that made turnabout fair play.
The Timberwolves are clearly making strides but have little chance to contend in the ultra-tough Western Conference.
"As I told the guys, we're going to have nights like this where we didn't get a bounce on layups. We have a lot of 1-for-7s, 1-for-10s, another 1-for-7, a 1-for-5... We put that upon ourselves in the first quarter. We didn't move the ball when we were doubled. After that I thought we did, and we got back into the game. Defensively, the first eight minutes we did no talking, but then they got after it defensively."
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 06:40 |
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Click here for the forum's thread on tonight's (final) preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Target Center.
That's because your always-cautious Star Tribune commentator is ready to declare the trade for Kevin Love a budding disaster -- and it's being done a week before the start of his rookie season...
Meantime, the Wolves made their Target Center debut in their seventh exhibition on Wednesday night against Chicago. They scored nine points in the first quarter, duplicated that in the fourth and lost 85-75 in a display of NBA basketball (by both teams) that was beyond ugly.
And when it came to ineptitude, no one compared to Love. The rookie played 24 minutes and went 1-for-10 from the field. He was credited with five rebounds and two turnovers.
There was one glaring impression from the time Love spent on the offensive end: How is this rookie going to get the ball in the basket against NBA big men?
NBA teams don't have to reduce their rosters to the regular-season limit until Monday, but Wittman said the Wolves would do so after tonight's game.
Minnesota has 18 players on the roster and must get down to 15, any 12 of whom can be active on game nights.
Wittman said guard Sebastian Telfair's three-game NBA suspension to start the season could influence the numbers.
"With Bassy's suspension for the first three games, there's some different things that we can do to protect ourselves," he said. "You could look to go with, not counting Bassy, three guards still."
Kevin Ollie and Blake Ahearn have been competing for the job of third point guard behind Randy Foye and Telfair.
More important than the Timberwolves' winning exhibition record, owner Glen Taylor said, is his team's new intensity on defense..
Taylor is in New York for NBA business meetings. Meanwhile, the Wolves have no trade talks going. Their biggest focus is trying to whittle from 18 players, all of whom they like. Teams are allowed to keep 15 players for the regular season, and 14 of the Wolves' players have guaranteed contracts.
Taylor said his team's goal is to get into the playoffs.
"We know that's a huge challenge, but we're going to put that before us," he said. "I think they'll hustle like they did last year; I'm not worried about that."
His contract secure, Gomes has spent the preseason getting ready to do whatever it takes to get on the floor. At 6-7, he has experience at both forward positions. Though he has proven to be a solid outside shooter, other parts of his game have been just as valuable to the team.
Teams shot 47.2 percent against the Timberwolves a year ago, fourth-highest in the league, so coach Randy Witt-man has stressed defense all preseason.
One of Gomes' jobs so far has been to maintain defensive sharpness.
He's been one of our best team defenders," Wittman said...
Not surprisingly, the Wolves didn’t get much respect from league general managers in NBA.com’s annual GM survey.
Forward Kevin Love didn’t make the top three in projected rookie of the year voting, having to settle for “others receiving votes” behind Miami’s Michael Beasley, Portland’s Greg Oden and Memphis’ O.J. Mayo.
It's not his fault. He took over a lousy team here, just the way he did in Cleveland. Right now, it's about small steps. Very small steps. There isn't going to be any major turnaround this season. Why would there be? A major, turnaround type of player wasn't added to the roster.
Kevin Love, swapped on draft night for O.J. Mayo, isn't going to have an immediate impact. So far, he gets buried near the hoop. When his shot is off — he was 1 for 10 Wednesday — he doesn't bring much to the table. Mike Miller, also from the Mayo deal, isn't going to carry the team. Other than a few peripheral guys, it's still pretty much the same team as last year.
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 06:13 |
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Wolves preseason record: 5-2
After playing their first six exhibition games on the road, the Wolves came home to Target Center and played their worst quarter of the preseason in an 85-75 loss to the Chicago Bulls...
How bad was it?
Love and Corey Brewer each went 0 for 4, and new sharpshooter Mike Miller went 0 for 3 and even missed a free throw after a technical foul.
My colleague, the always affable Patrick Reusse, called Wednesday’s first quarter the worst quarter or period of a sports event he has seen in 40 years of sportswriting. And remember, this guy has seen how many Gopher football games?
Eight days after coming from 19 points back to beat the Bulls in Chicago, the Wolves this time spotted them 20. They trailed 29-9 after that first quarter. That’s right: 29-9! Then they duplicated that feat by scoring nine points in the fourth quarter, too. The disparity in that closing quarter, though, was only 13-9...
The best thing about the night: Al Jefferson looked like he’s ready for next Wednesday’s opener against Sacramento at Target Center. He was his old, unstoppable self, with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting and 11 rebounds...
Rookie Kevin Love made his Target Center debut when he checked into the game as the first player off the bench and received polite applause from the sparse crowd. Love, though, did not impress. He finished with four points on 1-for-10 shooting. His lone made field goal was a slam dunk with 2:19 left.
"Most of them were right there," he said of the nine misses. "The easy shots you make 80-90 percent of the time I just missed. Hopefully [today] they'll fall."
...Center Calvin Booth (back spasms) and forward Brian Cardinal (calf) were both cleared to play following the morning shoot around. Neither had seen preseason game action prior to Wednesday. However, only Cardinal got into the game against the Bulls. He played four minutes, picking up two quick fouls.
Al Jefferson scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota, which lost its Target Center preseason debut. McCants also scored 19, including 11 straight in a 2-minute stretch late in the third quarter to pull the Timberwolves within four points after trailing by double-digits for most of the first half. Randy Foye also finished in double figures with 12 points.
Team sources said Hughes would miss six to eight weeks after dislocating his right shoulder late in the third quarter of the Bulls' 85-75 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Target Center.
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Written by SG
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Wednesday, 22 October 2008 19:47 |
Click here for the forum's game thread
The Wolves will open tonight’s exhibition game against Chicago with the following starting five:
PG Randy Foye, SG Mike Miller, SF Corey Brewer, PF Al Jefferson, C Mark Madsen...
Tipoff is 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on Fox Sports North.
Update:
The focus tonight, as it has been every night, is defense according to Coach Wittman.
"That's what this team is gonna have to do, we don't have a lot of individual lock-down guys, so we have to be a team that plays defense team-wise. That's what we have been stressing (in the preseason)."
Brewer, who is one of the team's best defensive players, said that focus is one of the reasons this team is 5-1 heading into tonight's contest.
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Written by SG
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Wednesday, 22 October 2008 19:30 |
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ESPN's Daily Dime has posted their preview of the team, including a contribution from TWB's Jon Marthaler.
This season should be an improvement. A healthy Foye and a healthy (or, at least, fully-rehabbed) McCants will mean quite a bit. Adding Miller for next-to-nothing will be huge for a team that had to hand minutes to Greg Buckner and Marko Jaric last season. Jefferson will only get better, Love will play well until he hits a Brian Wilson-in-1978-sized wall in February, and the offense will perk up.
On their present roster* (as of 10/21) , the Timberwolves sport five white players**. That’s 28 percent of their club, up 11 percent from ‘07, and above the league average of about 21 percent. A coincidence? It appears not. Of the NBA’s 28 American cities (eschewing Toronto; L.A. has two teams), Minneapolis has the 6th highest white population, according to numbers taken via the 2006 U.S. Census. The Borough of East Rutherford, New Jersey has the highest at 78 percent, although the Nets are set to move to the Borough of Brooklyn in 2010.
Leiweke, the energetic CEO and president of AEG, the nation's most powerful facilities management firm, breezed into Minneapolis Tuesday and jump-started an effort to renovate 18-year-old and tired Target Center...
Leiweke, 51, met with Finance Director Patrick Born, Mayor R.T. Rybak and Timberwolves execs. He declared that he has a vision to refurbish the Target Center and to turn the deficit-laden building into a profitable enterprise.
The cost?
"Somewhere between zero and $100 million," Leiweke said, adding, "It's a fraction of what a new arena would cost."
A South Dakota radio station is coordinating a trip to Minnepolis to see their "very own Chad Greenway and Mike Miller play for their respective professional teams."
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Written by SG
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Wednesday, 22 October 2008 07:01 |
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Exhibition or not, the 7 p.m. game against the Chicago Bulls is the first for rookie forward Kevin Love and veteran guard/forward Mike Miller in their new Target Center home, and both are looking forward to it.
"It's always fun to play in front of the home fans for the first time," Miller said Tuesday. "It will be exciting to see. Hopefully, we'll come out and put on a good show for them."
...Fox Sports Net North will broadcast the Wolves' final two exhibition games, tonight and Thursday.
Though coaches want to use these back-to-back games to get their last look at all players in game situations before it counts -- especially Blake Ahearn and Kevin Ollie, both in contention for the team's third point guard spot -- candidates for the Timberwolves' starting group already have emerged.
Sunday in Bismarck, N.D., against Denver, Minnesota went with forwards Ryan Gomes and Mark Madsen, guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller and center Al Jefferson for the opening tip. That's the same staring group the Wolves used in the preseason opener Oct. 6 in Milwaukee.
For the other games, the starters have been different, yielding a mixed bag of results.
Former Purdue basketball players Brian and Danielle Cardinal have donated $250,000 to the Mackey Arena renovation project.
Cardinal, who plays for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, and his wife, the former Danielle Bird, will have the arena's new practice facility named in their honor.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and eight members of his family are back after spending 12 days in Egypt, where they donated and disseminated 2,350 hearing aids to needy youngsters and adults.
5. Ryan Gomes, Timberwolves: He can score without taking a ton of shots, he can defend and is efficient with the ball.
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Written by SG
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Tuesday, 21 October 2008 22:51 |
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From Don Seeholzer/Pioneer Press:
The Wolves, who open the regular season Oct. 29 against Sacramento, play back-to-back home exhibitions against Chicago and Milwaukee on Wednesday and Thursday...
Randy Foye’s 15 assists Sunday night against Denver are the most by a Wolves player in any game (exhibition, regular or postseason) since Troy Hudson had 15 against Cleveland on Feb. 28, 2003.
If the Wolves win their last two exhibitions, they would tie the franchise record of 7-1 set in 1995.
7. Randy Foye, Minnesota. We will cut him some slack for the knee injury that wiped out half of his second season, but the message to Foye hasn't changed from Day 1 as a Timberwolf; if he's going to make it as a point guard, he has to run the team's offense, not just his own.
Look for Wittman to play Al Jefferson, Randy Foye, Mike Miller and Ryan Gomes together some to get a groove going for the Oct. 29 opener; he liked how they spread the floor for Big Al in Sunday’s game in Bismarck. Also look for him to get a last good look at the Ahearn-Ollie competition and there might even be a Calvin Booth sighting for the first time in a game this preseason.
The first annual Minnesota Timberwolves Radio Caravan hit the road Thursday beginning a journey that would bring the Radio Broadcast team to ten cities in four days. Day one began with play-by-play voice Alan Horton, analyst Kevin Lynch, and studio host and producer John Focke heading north to Duluth.
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Written by SG
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Tuesday, 21 October 2008 05:55 |
Center David Harrison, signed as a free agent two weeks ago, hasn't participated in a full practice yet because of an injured calf and he's not expected to play in either of the final two preseason games. The Wolves need to reduce their roster from the current 18 to at least 15 by 5 p.m. Monday. The most likely options: Veteran center Calvin Booth, who hasn't played yet in the preseason, will be bought out of his one-year, $1.14 million contract, and one of the two candidates for the third point guard spot (Blake Ahearn or Kevin Ollie) will be released. That still leaves at least one more decision. Harrison's one-year contract is not guaranteed, but he does have some big-man potential.
Dates with some of the Twin Cities top singles will be auctioned off at the second "Date for Life" event Wednesday. The event raises money for Children's Cancer Research Fund.
Hosted by WCCO-TV's Jeanette Trompeter and Mark Rosen, Date for Life bachelors and bachelorettes will include Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Hoag of Minnesota Vikings fame and ABC's "The Bachelorette," John Hansen of 5 Eyewitness News and Alexis Walsko of FM107.
The Timberwolves' Mark Madsen will conduct a basketball clinic at 3:30 p.m. today at St. Paul's West Minnehaha Rec Center, which has a renovated court thanks to a $10,000 donation by the Wolves' FastBreak Foundation.
Corporate arena naming-rights sponsor Target is buying a bunch of tickets for the Timberwolves' regular-season home opener against Sacramento on Oct. 29.
It wasn’t a great night for rookie forward Kevin Love, whose stat line showed five points, one rebound and six fouls in 11 minutes.
“He got a couple rookie calls,” Wittman said. “We had a veteran crew last night and he got some whistles that his eyebrows were raised up on. It’s another growing experience.”
Guard Rashad McCants practiced Monday after sitting out Sunday night.
“He tweaked his back a little bit in warm-ups about 45 minutes out before the game,” Wittman said. “He said he could go, but it just didn’t make any sense in the preseason.”
Randy Foye and Sebastian Telfair got a good talking-to after Thursday’s game at Toronto, where Blake Ahearn was the best Wolves point guard on the floor, and Foye responded with a 15-assist, 2-turnover game. Foye acknowledged that it sure does help the stats when you throw the ball to Mike Miller and he shoots the ball.
KXMB.com on Sunday's game and Blake Ahearn's return to Bismarck.
Ryan Gomes doesn't figure to start 74 games again this season, but the versatile Timberwolves forward is making a strong case for some serious playing time.
Three days after scoring a team-high 17 points off the bench at Toronto, Gomes put up 20 in a starting role Sunday night to lead the Wolves to a 111-107 exhibition victory over Denver in Bismarck, N.D...
It will take more than that to unseat Corey Brewer as the starting small forward, but coach Randy Wittman said Gomes is playing as well as the numbers suggest.
We like Randy Foye and Corey Brewer a lot, and we don’t see why Al Jefferson couldn’t become the next Elton Brand - a brawny, consistent 20-10 guy. There just isn’t enough around them to form a competitive team on a nightly basis. In the most optimistic of cases, we’re thinking 35 victories.
Minnesota's biggest problems will be on the defensive end. Jefferson is a great scorer and rebounder, but can't defend to save his life. Love is a rookie with questionable size and quicks. Foye hasn't established himself as a stopper. Overall, they have a lot of young and somewhat mismatched parts that will make it tough to stop the ball, something they absolutely did not do last season. But despite issues defending the goal, Minnesota should be an improved team this year. Not playoff good, but better. It's worth remembering they splatted out of the gate in 2007 with a 6-34 record over their first 40 games, and improved from there.
The addition of Love should also give Jefferson more room. Love is still a work in progress but the team has been impressed with his ability to battle inside and play the high post.
Al Jefferson: "I always call him the white Al Jefferson because he`s got some great post moves, he can shoot it, he`s smart, he knows how to pass, he`s an all around player and were real lucky to have him."
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