Last night the Wolves decimated a depleted Indiana team in the fine town of Fargo, North Dakota, sparking irrational exuberance throughout the midwest. While other teams are travelling to Spain, China, Germany, Fiji and Bora Bora, leave it Stern and company to "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" at the Wolves and send them to sunny....Fargo. 

As someone who caught the 1980's-esque camera feed supported by radio commentary (which featured a sponsorship from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute...you can't make this stuff up), it was simply outstanding to catch some Wolves ball again. It was somewhat possible to make out the blurry figures of Roy, Kirilenko, Budinger, Shved and the other new faces all making positive contributions on their first official nights as Timberwolves players. All in all, the game was what you would expect: fairly ugly all around. The first few pre-season games typically feature several boneheaded plays as the team rehearses for the real deal. Not to worry. The polish will settle in as the month goes on. Unless JJ continues to start.

From a team standpoint, what stood out the most was the addition of a single attribute: ballhandling. This team is no longer a 1950's era, pass and catch and shoot team. There are ballhandlers throughout the guard and wing spots. Even Budinger (who looked quite good in general, might I add, even getting a 4 point play in the first half) showed he can put the ball on the floor. The Wes Johnson era is over (although he WOULD put up 18 points in his Sun's debut, in a loss of course). Roy, while maybe not as explosive as his former self, showed he still has the ability to score at the NBA level. While going scoreless, Shved already showed he may be a better decision maker at the point than JJ Barea. Stiemsma had a sick block. AK47 was active and annoying. Pek was mobile. Love was rusty. The Wolves won. Again, while it was the first pre-season game, it was great to see the squad. They will go at it again with Indy tomorrow night, playing a game at the International Falls, Minnesota VFW Post 2948.

Rather than go into specific player reviews, I'll post a solid, humorous review forum member DaddyFatSax posted in our forums last night. As always, feel free to join the discussion this season. Here are his thoughts:

I missed the first couple minutes as I was playing basketball myself. The Daddy hit a game winning three, just wanted you all to know that. I will hoop Bonk if we're ever in the same state. I'm like 35 yr old Rasheed Wallace mixed with Eduardo Najera and Sam Mitchell. Minus any of the Mitchell hook shots. Plus the shittalking of Payton, Sheed, + KG in one.

I watched the first half intermittently and most of the second half (save the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter. I had an emergency after eating some greasy thai food earlier).

Barea is even pissed during preseason games.

Adelman still be rockin them turtle necks.

Shved officially looks like Vujabitch. This must change.

Roy Hibbert was either not trying or out of shape.

Kevin Love, Barea, and Pek - just feeling the team out. They seem like their usual selves. Love was going half speed (since he's out of shape) but fine, clearly...same as a month ago in the Olympics.

Barea picked up where he left off at the end of the season, playing unusually well...

Pek looks like a giant sized version of Maurice Jones Drew. He is definitely more cut than last year. Sometimes you see what you want to see but I don't think he looked like he was just lumbering down the lane, he was a bit more fluid, maybe.

AK looks the same as a month ago in the Olympics...Andre Iguodala-esque.

C-Bud looks like he's still in Houston. Very comfortable handling the rock, probably had the best game on the team, but against Indy's backups...so that's ok though.

Derrick Williams...yup. Same guy. So, I watched the Celtics preseason game and sure enough, just like he claimed to be doing in practice, Jeff Green slashed to the hoop like crazy, using preseason as practice for an expanded role and the heir apparent to Pierce. Derrick Williams claimed the same thing...and shot a bunch of jump shots. I think I saw him slash once. Why not practice this stuff? Ugh. Derrick Williams for Darrell Arthur, broken leg and all. I'm going to propose absurd, random proposals until he plays like an adult.

Shveddy looks like Vujabitch, plays more like Rubio. Passing was awesome, shot was fine. I think he even blocked two shots. I can't imagine what will happen when he plays a thick wing like Kobe, Iggy, or Corey Brewer...They are going to toss his little ass around. But between the players that this game mattered for - Shved, Williams, and Roy - He impressed the most. But he did help Paul George up off the floor. The Wolves are trying to start a rivalry with this team Shved. Stare his ass down! Step over him! Step ON him! Don't help him up! fyckin team full of nice guys. Bunch of guys Flash likes and shit the Daddy don't like.

Steimsma - throwing shots, hacking people, being mean.

Cunninghamd and Lou - can't finish Shveddy dimes. Pissing me off.

Roy..? I don't know. He looks healthy so far. Looks effective. Can he be a role player? Man, I have no idea how to read him...

Pretty much as expected. Easy to shine against Pacers scrubs. I think they'll play the starters and try on Friday. A better test.

Lastly, here is a link to some post game video interviews from Adelman, Love and Roy.

The Pacific Division went through some major shake ups this offseason.  Below you can find the best insight and speculation for the new look Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Kings and Suns.

Golden State Warriors: Golden State of Mind

Los Angeles Clippers: Clips Nation | Gunnerz!

Los Angeles Lakers: Silver Screen and Roll | Hardwood Hype

Phoenix Suns: Bright Side of the Sun | ValleyoftheSuns

Sacramento Kings: Sactown Royalty

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The NBA season is near! Be sure to check out the below links which each preview an Atlantic Division team. TWB will post its contribution in mid-October.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics: CelticsBlog | Celtics Green | CLNS Radio

Brooklyn Nets: Nets Daily | Baller Mind Frame | Atlantic Twine

New York Knicks: Posting and Toasting

Philadelphia 76ers: Liberty Ballers

Toronto Raptors: Raptors HQ

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55 days without a notable Wolves transaction. The wait is over.

Chris Tomasson of FSN was seemingly the first to report. I'll spare the white jokes: Kahn has signed banger PF Lou Amundson to a 1-year, guaranteed, minimum salary deal. Amundson, 29, played with Indiana last year averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 boards in 60 games for the Pacers. Lou brings an interior toughness to the team. While he is not overly skilled, he fills the bench utility big role of Anthony Tolliver, an energy guy who will work his tail off and piss off the opposition. It remains to be seen how many minutes he will get playing behind D-Will and Cunningham off the bench, but Lou is a serviceable bench big and a safer pickup than Hassan Whiteside (although plenty of good arguments could be made as to why Hassan would have been the better signing). This leaves the Wolves' current roster at 14 players, leaving 1 more spot  that may very likely go unused for now. It seems that, barring a trade, this is the roster you will see to start the season. Lou is a solid acquisition, but I am slightly surprised Kahn didn't go for a true center to help spell Pek and Stiemsma, two centers with feet about twice their respective ages. However, the 14th roster spot is nothing to lose sleep over. Lou is a good pickup at that price.

The writing is on the wall: Anthony Tolliver is a  long shot to be back at this point given the dearth of Power Forwards on the roster. As much as we loved Tolly the person, his season last year was sub-par at best. Hopefully he gets the money he felt he deserved and a solid role elsewhere. 

Editor's Note: Recently TwolvesBlog invited the TimberTrolls to become members of our writing staff. The TimberTrolls are primary Spanish-speaking so pardon the language barrier! We welcome their pictures, .gifs and videos with open arms and hope you enjoy their posts throughout the season and beyond. Before the season kicks into gear, they will post some of their old favorites, as well as some pictures that never really made it onto their Facebook or Twitter pages last season. Here is their first post:

 

Hi Everyone!
 

We are the TimberTrolls, a spanish timberwolves fanclub that follows the team with humor. After a great season, the team became a family. Here you can see them eating together one night:

 

Or sharing the car to go home after a match:

We start this season with changes but i hope the TimberTroll spirit won't dissapear.

The team has changed the roster and become more "white":

 

I hope we can have a great time together and be happy with our team!

 

Regards:

 

TwolvesBlog is excited to announce a partnership with the WORLD RENOWNED group of Spanish Timberwolves fans: The Minnesota TimberTrolls! The TimberTrolls are best known for their extremely hilarious pictures, .gifs, and videos featuring Ricky Rubio and the Wolves, and for spearheading international interest in the team we know and love. Content will be posted on the front page here (as well as in the Minnesota TimberTrolls section above) and can always be viewable on their Twitter, Facebook and G+ accounts linked on the right side of the page. You can read a profile of them featured in the Minneapolis City Pages here.

We here at TWB are very excited to have this group of die-hards on board and we hope you enjoy their excellent work throughout this next season! Here is a collection of highly amusing .gifs from this past season:

 

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After a crazy summer that turned our cute "puppies" into an instant playoff team, we decided to ask our TWB writers what they thought about the offseason.

1.) Is this the most anticipated season in Timberwolves history?

Mike Reynolds: I think at least in the last 8-9 years. The Cassel/Sprewell year takes the cake for most anticipated. A case could be made that last year was huge as well with Rubio and Adelman being signed and the lockout simply being over and saving Winter in Minnesota. It certainly is one of the most critical seasons in team history. I will give it a firm 2nd place, mainly because we aren't starting the year with Rubio at full health which is a huge drag. However, It is the first time since the mid-2000's we can, barring major injury, almost guarantee a winning season. A great feeling. 

Jon Schweppe: Given the complete lack of anything resembling decent professional basketball in Minnesota for almost a decade (except the Lynx, of course), I'd have to say yes. We started to seem our team's transformation last season, before Ricky went down with his ACL injury, but I anticipate incredibly competitive basketball this year and quite a few sell-out crowds at the Target Center. Personally, I can't wait.

Erik Cox: 2nd only to the MV3 year. That was a more popular team in general, plus Ricky's injury and the goofy collection of white dudes will leave enthusiasm tempered until the team produces. 

John Grooms: Most will point to the Sprewell/Casell/KG run as the season fans licked their chops over but I’ll go on a whim and say this year is the most anticipated.  Similar to that season, there is an established franchise player finally receiving support from recognizable stars in the league.  Kirilenko and Roy may not receive the same draw Sprewell and Casell offered, but I’d argue that they are joining more fan friendly players than existed in the 2003-04 roster. With Love, Rubio and Pekovic, this team has become a league pass favorite almost overnight and a team that spectators are begging to entertain them.  Fans may not feel as much confidence heading into this season as they did eight years ago but I think more than ever there is a feeling this team will be both ‘fun’ and ‘good.’

College Wolf: Taking into consideration the entire overall pulse of the fanbase, I don't think you can say with complete certainty that this is THE most anticipated season in the short history of the franchise. I am sure that for some fans, yes, the will most definitely be their own personal 'most anticipated' season.  But don't get me wrong, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, as this is certainly in the Top 5 as far as this subjective measurement metric goes. 

The MV3 Western Conference Finals season was probably the most anticipated, and possibly the follow-up season as well.  Granted, 04-05 was a total dud of a year, but the anticipation was massive coming off our near-Finals appearance. I don't think anyone can deny either of those seasons.  
And then you have the initial season of the franchise back in '89.  For a hoops fan in Minnesota, how could THAT not be one of the most anticipated? I mean, we were finally getting our very own NBA franchise!  Heck, even last season (Rubio... finally, yay!) was pretty darn anticipated as well, especially considering the rising star that K-Love has become.

So while this season is very anticipated to most fans, I do think Rubio's injury does put a slight damper on things.  As far as I can tell, he won't be back before December from what I've been reading.

Click "Read More" to check out the rest of the responses!

Nearly everyone is looking at the Wolves to make a climb in rankings this season.  With an offseason that brought Brandon Roy, Alexey Shved, Greg Stiemsma, Chase Budinger, Andrei Kirilenko and Dante Cunnigham, the expectations for this team will be higher than ever.  While nearly every new player signed is a strong improvement from those who've departed, the team is still deficient in several areas, most notably defense.

Last year, the Wolves ranked 25th out of the NBA's 30 teams in Defensive Rating according to basketball-reference.com.  Even with a rebounding monster in Kevin Love and the goliath of a man that is Nikolai Pekovic, the Wolves were barely able to hold their own against competition on the defensive end.  With a revamped roster and a full training camp, it's worth asking if the Wolves will figure out how to better limit opponent's possesions and make the necessary improvements to propel them to league averages.

Before examining how the new roster additions will affect the Wolves' defenesive woes, let's evaluate who were the biggest contributors this past season.  Not suprisingly, the stars of this team were those who provided the most value.  Love secured the most defensive rebounds, Pekovic held the best blocking percentage and Rubio became one of the most lovable thiefs to ever grace this fine sport.  Yet, none of these players proved themselves to be the complete package defensively.  Even Love, the lone All-Star, is still to this day largely criticized for his defensive shortcomings.  This season, it's likely the Wolves will rely more on the continued improvement of Pekovic and pray for greater contributions from players like Derrick Williams and Luke Ridnour.

Williams will surely be the prayer most in doubt.  Depending on how you view the glass, you either believe Williams needs more time to reach his potential or his play thus far has already proved his ceiling.  Although most will look to his offensive game to determine whether he's worth keeping, his defensive value should also be harshly judged.  During the 2011-12 season, Williams averaged 3.5 defensive rebounds and finished second behind Love in defensive rebounding percentage.  As he tries to shape himself into a small forward this season, it will be interesting to see how greatly these numbers change.  It's likely Adelman will look for Williams to be more active on the boards and more importanly play his assignments with a greater focus and agressiveness.  If he can be more locked in, Williams could provide the defensive boost that would lead to a better transition game for the Wolves bench unit.

Unlike Williams, Ridnour will not be expected to make any great leaps but instead produce minor advancements to become the defensive guard missing in this roster while Rubio is away.  Lest we forget, Ridnour was perhaps the most stable presence on this team following Rubio's injury.  He brought energy, desire and control each night as the Wolves' starting point guard- at least offensively.  The team will look to Ridnour this year to strive for the tenacity Rubio brought each game.  Ridnour's defensive win shares were equal to Pekovic's this past season, proving he was capable of stepping up defenesively when it mattered most; it will be even more important this season that Ridnour continues this trend.  It's clear that management still holds Ridnour's professionalism and modest talent in high regards; with all hope he proves once again capable of leading this team during Rubio's absence, this time around with a defensive edge.

Fortunately, Ridnour will have more help than he did last season with newcomers clearly able to bring more dedication than many of his prior teammates.  Kirilenko, Roy, Shved, Stiemsma, Budinger and Cunningham should all help get this team off to a better start and provide key support during late-game situations.  Right off the bat, fans should notice holes being filled by the team's new talent.  Specifically, shot-blocking, an almost non-existent feature of the team, will be aided by Kirilenko and Stiemsma's time on the floor.  For two seasons in Utah, Kirilenko averaged 3 blocks per game (BPG) and last year Stiemsma averaged 1.5 BPG in just over 13 minutes per game.  Both players will be able to prevent fellow small and power forwards from getting to the rim.  Those that may have been invincible against the Wolves last season (Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, etc.) will have a much more difficult time finding open driving lanes.

Perimeter defense is another area requiring major adjustments.  Ridnour can occasionally provide a spark for this team but otherwise the Wolves often find themselves turning heads as faster and more athletic guards blow by them.  Unfortunately, the additions of Roy and Shved only resolve this issue to a minor degree.  Shved showed in the Olympics that he often had trouble sticking to his man and failed to readjust through mismatches.  Roy can similarly be quite passive on defense, a quality that may be even more emphasized due to his lingering injuries.  With no cartilage in his knees, it's doubtful Roy will easily be able to get around screens or move laterally at all.  Unless Shved turns into another player entirely, it's hard to believe either of these guys will be able to handle the speed and athleticism of their peers.

The best cure for this team's guards and overall defensive weaknesses will be Rick Adelman.  His experience, extrordinary use of in-game lineups and unrivaled reputation for extracting players' strengths should all point to noticable progressions from the whole roster.  Furthermore, a full training camp should be able to show Adelman's coaching staff who signals the most defensive promise.  With practice time and strict direction, it's possible even poor defenders like Shved will ratchet up their play a notch or two.

With the evidence presented and predictions drawn, the fairest conclusion is the 2012-13 Wolves will improve defenesively but not dramatically so.  There is so much room for this team to grow but their offensive strides are likely to be much more apparent early on than any defensive adjustments. With the excitement surrounding the Wolves offseason moves, it's easy to begin forming fantasies of what this team could be.  However, while these Wolves could be a top 10 defensive team in this league, it's more probable they will fall somewhere in the middle of the pack.  That kind of jump should not inspire disappointment but rather a more realistic goal to reach for.

A look back at the Cherokee Parks era.
Update: this prompted a quick search for a Googs throwback mix. Enjoy.
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Per a team release, the Wolves have announced a franchise-record 78 games will be televised locally/nationally this season.. This is great news for fans who, unless you dropped a cool $175 for NBA League Pass, had to miss several big games last season when the Wolves were making a January/February run. Channels are MY29, FSNN, FSN+, NBATV, TNT and ESPN. Here is the schedule in case you are desperately craving news and just want to study it closer. 

 

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