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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.

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In the aftermath of the Kevin Garnett trade, Wolves fans were left with a roster full of strangers.  In addition to losing KG, the Timberwolves cut ties with Mike James, Bracey Wright, Troy Hudson, Trenton Hassell, Ricky Davis, and Mark Blount.  As the roster currently stands, only Mark Madsen, Marko Jaric, and Rashad McCants were Timberwolves two seasons ago.  And counting players who suited up for the team last year only takes one hand as Randy Foye and Craig Smith are the only players to join those three.  What's even more mind-boggling is the fact that after Wednesday's trade which sent Davis and Blount to Miami, the T-Wolves had managed to add eleven new players to their roster this off-season.  In order to make the "getting to know you" period a little easier, the folks here at TWolvesBlog decided to put together a set of profiles on some of the Wolves up-and-coming players.  We posted a new profile each day as a countdown to the start of the season.  This post contains a link to each of those articles so that those of you who missed the pieces during their original run can view them.

Al Jefferson
Randy Foye
Ryan Gomes
Craig Smith
Corey Brewer
Rashad McCants
Gerald Green
Chris Richard
Sebastian Telfair

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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.

(Click "Read More" to continue...)

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To mark the long-awaited opening day of the team's season, we asked our favorite Wolves writers, bloggers, and fans to send us their predictions for the upcoming year.  

10,000 Takes
Predicted record: 20-62

An inept and dysfunctional front office, an owner who should be seen and not heard, bad coaching, serious injuries (Theo Ratliff, Rashad McCants & Randy Foye), fat guys (Antoine Walker), redundant guys (Craig Smith & Chris Richard), guys who love guns (Sebastian Telfair), a lack of a point guard to run the show (Fred Hoiberg on Randy Foye: "I don't think he's a pure point guard.") and Marko Jaric all add up to a half empty Target Center by December. As the crowds dwindle, so will the interest in watching the talent and potential of Al Jefferson and Corey Brewer. The Wolves' new direction and commitment to youth may initially leave us filled with promise and hope for the future, however, once the losses start to rack up we'll all be pissed that we didn't whip out the plastic and order the $159 Early Bird special for the NBA League Pass so we don't miss a minute of KG and the Celtics this season.

The Wolves' new potential and the story lines that will flow throughout the season from the team's ups and downs have me excited. My greatest concern is Randy Wittman's capacity to rebuild the team and succeed as head coach.

Alex Halsted/Talkin’ T-Wolves
Predicted record: 30-52

I'm still staying optimistic about this team, and whether they win or lose, it'll be fun to watch a team that for the first time in a while seems to have a sense of direction.

Britt Robson/On The Ball
Predicted record: 23-59

The Wolves could win anywhere from 14 to 35 games this season. Yup, that's a ridiculously wide span, but 80 percent of the team is new, the most crucial player to this season's fortunes is out "indefinitely" with a "stress reaction," and no one knows if there will be gelling or tanking taking place in April. In the end it's about growth, not doubleyas anyway, but if you put a starter's pistol to my head I'll say 23. Trenton Hassell's old number.

College Wolf/Twolves Blog
Predicted record: 21-61

The Beginning of a new era starts this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Can this revamped roster come together as a team throughout the course of the season? Regardless of the team's success, it should be exciting for fans to see what these young guys can do.

Darren “Doogie” Wolfson/KFAN
Predicted record: 26-56

They are arguably the worst team in the conference, but will be fun to watch...the last 3 yrs, with KG, were awful. When does a MVP, in his prime, miss the playoffs 3 straight years? It finally appears they have a plan...get draft picks and target the summer of '09 or the summer of '10 to land a solid free agent or 2...but in regards to this season, they're just too young. This year is all about finding out what you have in Randy Foye and C. Brewer. Also, we have no evidence Randy Wittman can coach. I like Randy a lot, but his win-loss record is Dan Monson like.

Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune
Predicted record: 29-53

Now, I know the skeptics think this is the franchise pre-Kevin Garnett, back to the old lousy expansion days. I covered those days and remember them well -- Tod Murphy and Scott Branch, Adrian Branch and Randy Breuer and Myron Brown -- and this isn't, not nearly, expansion Timberwolves. There's talent there, a good bit of it, but it's going to take time. A lot of time.

Kent Youngblood/Star Tribune
Predicted record: 33-49

The Wolves will work harder than last season. They will rebound more and defend better. But, especially in light of Randy Foye's knee injury, is there enough game-in and game-out scoring? The Wolves will hustle themselves to 33 wins.

Michael Rand/RandBall
Predicted record: 24-58

They will be young, kind of short, will win 2-3 truly memorable games (remember how much fun it was when the terrible Wolves teams of old would conjure up a big win every once in a while?), will have about 9 different second-leading scorers in every 20-game span, will use 37 different starting lineups in an 82-game span and will surprisingly be more popular and in the news than either of the teams from the past couple of seasons.

Mike Trudell/Timberwolves official site
Predicted Record: 27-55

Predicting how many games the Wolves will win is a bit like trying to ascertain the number of days Lindsay Lohan will spend in rehab this year. You know she'll be there for a hot tick, but what if she does most of her damage inside locked doors? So, let's start with a range: 20-35 games. The fact is, there is enough talent on this team to produce legitimate NBA wins against good teams, particularly because Minnesota will often be taken lightly. In the West, who says Sacramento, Portland, Seattle or the L.A. Clips are any better? This pack of Wolves gets along really well, and is flat-out going to work hard every night. Plus, there are only three or four guys in the league that can produce on the low block like Jefferson ... But when teams double- and triple-team him in the fourth quarter, will the Wolves be able to score? Foye and McCants have shown flashes, but until we see it for a full season, let's go in the middle of our range: 27-55. 

MNSportsFans.com
Predicted record: 28-54

Wolves finish fifth, but not by much, in the Northwest and likely will be last in the Western Conference, finishing just behind Seattle and possibly Sacramento. The Wolves may start slow and have a poor first half of the season but as the roster grows together into a cohesive unit the positive chemistry should help to galvinize the Wolves to a strong finish to 2007-2008. A 30 win season, while difficult to attain, could be the best case scenario if everything breaks right. We think they'll finish with 28 wins on the season.

Neil Olstad/Timberwolves Today
Predicted record: 24-58

While the national NBA media is shortsighted to have the Timberwolves as the absolute worst team in the league, they are not far off. This season will have its gruesome moments, but with a solid foundation for the future now in place, Wolves fans finally have something look forward to.

Anytime a team loses a player like KG and rebuilds with so many young parts only losing a handful more games than the previous year should be looked at as a success. The goal this year isnt to win games, but to test the young players with a trial by fire and find out who has what it takes to build around. In order to do this they will need shots, minutes, and fan support. It will be an exciting year as we set the ground work.
On a positive side, on paper we could catch fire and be in a playoff hunt if our young guys grow up fast and Whit does the coaching performance of his life.

Rick Kamla/NBA.com
Predicted record: 30-52

There is no doubt in my mind that Al Jefferson becomes a true 20-10 player this season and I really like the young nucleus around him. Randy Foye could be a star, he just needs minutes. Corey Brewer is a TO waiting to happen (for the other team) and Craig Smith is a beast among beasts.

Scott Henneboehle/Wolves Watch
Predicted record: 25-57

I think this season will say a lot about the direction of the team in the next couple of years. If some of the players they acquired in the KG deal pan out and can play in the NBA, we should have a decent nucleus to build the team around, but they don't develop into quality players, the team could be in even more dire trouble that it is right now.

Steve Aschburner/longtime Star Tribune NBA writer now with SportsIllustrated.com and MinnPost.com.
Predicted record: 24-58

All the basketball purists who like the idea of rebuilding might feel a little different about that come March and April, after suffering through the worst Wolves season since the days of Jack McCloskey, J.R. Rider, Stacey King, Marv & Harv and the smiling dog logo. Forget the problem at point guard for the moment; the most pressing question at 600 First Avenue is whether Minnesota has a better shot at the NBA's No. 1 pick next June by unloading Antoine Walker, or by playing him.

Tony Lang/Twolves Rube Nation
Predicted record: 27-55

The fact is KG is gone. It never worked out and it was time to move on. It might be a hard season to watch but this is the best time to become a Wolves fan because you get to see an entirely new young group of players come together and build for the future.

WD/Canis Hoopus
Predicted record: 22-60

With 2/3 of the roster new to Minnesota, this team will likely match last year's Grizzlies (12th in the league for offense, 30th for defense). It will be a great opportunity for the youngsters to sort themselves out, but it's going to be painful to watch most nights. With our beefed up frontcourt, though, McHale should get the marketing department to consider "We Bang" as part of the new campaign.

Thanks to all those who participated.  

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