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After all that, this is probably the most important thing: You don’t make moves like the Wolves did last summer — moves that were supposed to make them noticeably better — and start 1-6 with a murderous schedule between now and Thanksgiving — without someone getting blamed. So who’s it going to be first: The coach? Kevin McHale and his staff? Or a significant player or players?
Something’s going to happen. The question is who and when?
No, where Wittman fell down on the job was in leaving Kevin Love on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and overtime. It was inexplicable and had me swearing at the television set with a fervor normally reserved for stupid commercials and politicians.
Mayo’s certainly making a believer out of Griz head coach Marc Iavaroni, who originally fought to keep the draft rights to forward Kevin Love rather than use it in a deal to acquire Mayo from Minnesota.
From Charles Hallman/Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder:
“I don’t think I was a bad coach when I was here,” said Casey.
“I don’t think I was a bad coach when I was here,” said Casey.
He wasn’t. The Wolves were 20-20 when he was canned almost midway through the 2006-07 season. The team hasn’t been at .500 since. Casey’s 53 wins place him second all-time among the team’s winningest coaches.
Here is a list of some of the best values currently being offered in the sports marketplace:
Season Tickets
Minnesota Timberwolves: The Minnesota Timberwolves are offering a "Buy One, Get One Free" season ticket promotion for lower bowl seats at the Target Center. As part of the promotion, fans also receive one authentic autographed jersey and a meet-n-greet with their favorite Wolves player.
no commentsWhile O.J. Mayo has become the focal point of Memphis' offense -- his team-leading 21 points-per-game average illustrates that -- Wolves forward Kevin Love is experiencing so far a typical NBA rookie season: up one night, down the next. A 20-point, eight-rebound game in his first pro start Friday at Sacramento followed by an 0-for-7, two-point, seven-rebound game Saturday at Portland, his hometown.
Center Jason Collins has recovered from elbow surgery, but he still hasn't played in a game for the Wolves.
Wittman said he wanted Mark Madsen's energy in the Wolves' lineup against Portland, and Golden State's small-ball, running style made Tuesday's game a poor fit for Collins' debut.
Sooner or later, though, the Wolves will find room in their lineup for the legitimate 7-footer they have been missing.
Charles Hallman/Timberwolves site on Mike Miller:
"He's a gym rat - he is in the gym all the time, before practice and after practice," Wittman said. "I think that's why he created the career he has."
"He's a gym rat - he is in the gym all the time, before practice and after practice," Wittman said. "I think that's why he created the career he has."
Miller affirmed this as well. "Growing up in South Dakota, my only option [if] I wanted to make the next level was to spend a lot of time in the gym."
"His mission is to be the greatest shooter on the planet," said a smiling Bickerstaff. Then seriously, he added, "I've never seen a guy be in the gym as often and consistent as he has been."
Love is also helping to kick off the inaugural Rookie Relief for St. Jude, a fundraising campaign to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Rookie Relief for St. Jude auction is a fundraising promotion created out of the partnership between the NBA Summer League and St. Jude. The auction will be the cornerstone of annual fundraising program featuring top NBA rookies.
As ambassador of the campaign, Love joins the NBA’s top rookies and select league veterans in donating autographed game jerseys for an eBay auction starting today (Tuesday, Nov. 11) and ending on Nov. 20. "Becoming an ambassador of Rookie Relief for St. Jude was an easy decision," said Love, who has committed to matching funds raised through the auction up to $12,500. "As rookies, we are blessed to make it to the NBA and play a game we love as a job. It’s our duty to give back. I hope NBA fans will join us in support of Rookie Relief for St. Jude and help kids fighting cancer."
no commentsNow that one election is over, another begins: The NBA on Tuesday released its list of players on this season’s All-Star ballot. There’s 60 choices for the Western Conference team, and three of them are Wolves: Al Jefferson, of course, at center and Mike Miller and Kevin Love at forward.
The All-Star Game is Feb. 15 at Phoenix and the Wolves better do some winning if Jefferson’s going to have a chance of getting there. You can bet Love will be in the rookie-sophomore game.
Center Al Jefferson is joined by rookie forward Kevin Love and Mike Miller, the Wolves' starting shooting guard who is listed as a forward. An all-star appearance would be the first for each.
The Wolves did not have any all-stars last season.
From PRNewswire:
Minnesota Timberwolves' rookie Kevin Love is helping kick off the inaugural Rookie Relief for St. Jude ( www.stjude.org/rookierelief), a fundraising campaign to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R), one of the world's premier pediatric cancer centers. As ambassador of the campaign, Love joins the NBA's top rookies and select league veterans in donating autographed game jerseys for an eBay(R) auction to be held November 11 - 20. Other participating NBA rookies include Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, Brook Lopez and Greg Oden.
Bryan Armen Graham/SI.com lists Kevin Love at #6 on his weekly rookie rankings.
Love's uneven weekend was typical of a rookie's ups and downs. Last Friday, the 20-year-old power forward made his first career start and had a personal-best 20 points (on 6-for-7 shooting) and eight rebounds in Sacramento. The following night, the Lake Oswego, Ore., native endured a chilly reception in Portland and finished with two points in his homecoming. It seems many local hoops fanatics still resent Love -- a three-time state champion at nearby Lake Oswego High and Oregon's all-time leading scorer -- for attending college in Los Angeles instead of Eugene.
David Thorpe/ESPN also has Love listed at #6:
I like how Love can make plays for himself out on the floor when he's being a bit overwhelmed inside. He is a smooth ball handler and can cover ground more quickly than his defenders expect.
Finishing at the rim will be a problem for him until he is better equipped to explode through contact. But adding Sebastian Telfair to the starting lineup gives Love the pace-pusher he needs to better utilize his outlet passing talents.
Wittman said he will use the same starting lineup he has in the last two games, with Sebastian Telfair and Mike Miller at guard, Al Jefferson at center and Corey Brewer and Kevin Love at forward.
Al Jefferson has provided consistent production from the low-post by averaging 21.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Jefferson will battle an up and coming center against Andris Biedrins, who has more than doubled his scoring output this year. Biedrins averages a double-double and is a key component to the Warriors offense. CJ Watson and Kelenna Azubuike are the featured backcourt for Golden State as the two young players will start opposite of Sebastian Telfair and Mike Miller. Kevin Love will look to bounce back after a rough game against Portland where he scored only two points in the loss.
no commentsWolves record: 1-6
Mired in a 12-day victory drought, the Wolves were hoping to wrap up their West Coast swing with a slump-busting win over a depleted Warriors team playing without guards Monta Ellis (suspended) and Corey Maggette (hamstring), and forward Al Harrington (back).
Instead, the Wolves will take a 1-6 record into Saturday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center, thanks to Warriors guard Stephen Jackson, who scored six of his 30 points in overtime.
From the Associated Press:
Al Jefferson had 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for Minnesota, which seemed in control when it led by 10 with 7:06 left. The Timberwolves missed their first five shots in overtime before Randy Foye's basket with 1:07 to play.
Minnesota hasn't won since starting the season with a 98-96 victory against Sacramento at home on Oct. 29.
Leading by 13 early, trailing by 13 in the third quarter and leading again by 10, the Wolves were outscored 13-3 in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter when the Warriors slapped down a zone defense that vexed the Wolves, Wittman and point guard Randy Foye...
Down the fourth-quarter stretch, the Wolves once again turned into a jump-shooting team after they used their defense and transition game to orchestrate a 14-2 third-quarter run, led by Foye, that got them back in the game.
no commentsClick here for the forum's thread on tonight's game at Golden State
Previews for tonight's game:
Randy Foye has regained his shooting touch in the two games since Sebastian Telfair replaced him as starting point guard, hitting 9 of 18 shots while splitting time between shooting guard and the point.
The downside to that is it cuts into the playing time of other guards such as Rashad McCants and Rodney Carney. Carney didn't play at Portland after getting just six minutes at Sacramento.
"It hurts minutes there; there's no question," Wittman said. "Right now you're searching for different ways to get your team to play."
McCants grimaced when asked about the crunch for minutes.
"I've been searching for minutes for four years, man," he said when asked about playing 19 minutes Saturday. "So I don't know what's going to happen or how it's going to sort out. We need to win some games. I don't know, I really have no answers for that. All I know is we've won one game and we've lost five, so we have to find some answers, some way, fast."
no commentsBoth Teams Played Hard hosts the latest edition of the Carnival of the NBA, a roundup of the latest news from around the hoops blogsophere.
The Wolves practiced for about two hours this morning at Oracle Arena, working to stop their 1-5 start (exactly the same as a year ago) and a five-game losing streak with a victory at Golden State Tuesday night to end their three-game Western swing.
At practice’s conclusion, Kevin Love sang “Happy Birthday” to Craig Smith, who turns 25 today.
“He has no singing voice, no rhythm at all,” coach Randy Wittman cracked. “It’s hard to believe that he’s got a relative that seemed to have that.”
Love, in his defense, said happy birthday isn’t his song and that he would have nailed the Star-Spangled Banner.
Asked if that was his first and last singing gig, he said: “No, I’m going to have to do it again. They’re going to make me dance, too, so I’ve got to figure out what new flavor I’m going to bring next time.”
Marc Stein/ESPN has the Wolves at the bottom spot in his weekly power rankings.
Looks like pulling out a two-point win over the Kings on opening night wasn't exactly an omen. The Wolves are 0-5 since and showing their youth, with three of those losses coming by four points or fewer.
The Wolves will look to end their 5-game losing streak on Tuesday in Oakland when they face off with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State, who lost Baron Davis to the Clippers during the off season, will be without Monte Ellis Tuesday after he injured his ankle in a moped incident this summer.
Wolves assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff said even with those guys out, the Warriors do have Corey Maggettee, and a Don Nelson-coached team will create some match up issues.
"With a Don Nelson coached team, they can go off at any moment. They have the ability to score the basketball and they are gonna try to score in a hurry. So you have to be consistent in your game plan and what you do, and play at your pace. You can't get caught up in the game that they want to play; they want to go up and down, up and down. You have to control the tempo, not saying you don't want to run when you have opportunities, but you don't want to get caught up in their style of game."
From Jay Weiner/MinnPost:
Sports fans and cheerleaders must also ponder the real numbers. Add up the attendance of the Twins (2.3 million fans), Vikings (630,000), Timberwolves (600,000) and Wild (760,000) on an annual basis and it doesn't come close to the 14 million Minnesotans who attend art shows, concerts and theater statewide.
Sports fans and cheerleaders must also ponder the real numbers. Add up the attendance of the Twins (2.3 million fans), Vikings (630,000), Timberwolves (600,000) and Wild (760,000) on an annual basis and it doesn't come close to the 14 million Minnesotans who attend art shows, concerts and theater statewide.
(Of course, citizens watch their teams on TV and listen on radio, too, adding to the level of interest.)
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Stephen Litel/Downtown Journal interviews Ryan Gomes:
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So, to put you on the spot a bit then, how do you define your role on this new look Wolves team?
"What I was told by the coaches is I’m one of our best help defenders, so I’m out there, trying to clog things up..."
From John Canzano/The Oregonian: Hey, you haters, why no hometown love for Kevin?
I suspect that you're mostly blaming the kid for his parents buying a home in an affluent suburb of Portland, and, also, for being exceptional with a basketball in his hands. Because there's no other reason for repeatedly booing the guy who came home and scored two lousy points on Saturday.
Said Love: "They think I'm some snotty-nosed kid from Lake Oswego."
Officially, it's time to let all the hate for Love go today, Oregon. The next time Love comes to town, you ought to cheer the kid like he grew up in your neck. Because he did. And, because Love really does believe he's one of you.
If it comes to pass that Wittman too gets scapegoated, I humbly request that the coaching duties fall to McHale. Not only is he the second best coach (behind Saunders) in Timberwolves history, but he's the guy who has praised both Jefferson and Love to the high heavens, consistently lauded Smith for the mismatches the Rhino can generate, pooh-poohed position purists, and in general is on record as believing an inferior version of this squad could win 40 games this season. He's not only the architect of the blueprint, but the head of its public relations campaign. And right now the blueprint is messed up.
The Wolves, though, have so far been hurt by the drawbacks of going small without seeing any of the benefits. As they did in the first game of the season, the Kings’ big men took advantage of the Wolves’ lack of frontcourt size, shooting a combined 14-21 on Friday. Portland’s long, athletic frontcourt, particularly LaMarcus Aldridge, hurt the Wolves as well. Aldridge scored 24 points on 8-15 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Many of those boards came when Love or Jefferson had inside position; Aldridge simply used his strikingly long arms to grab the ball over his opponent’s head.
Wittman chose that critical moment to justify his job as head coach and, at the same time, expose his insecurities. Rather than encourage the exceptionally assertive and clever rookie to shake off an obvious mental mistake (committed in Game 4 of his pro career), rather than pat him on the rump and tell him to focus on the next play not the last, Wittman punished Love by taking him out but leaving in Jefferson and Foye (Sebastian Telfair had fouled out; Kevin Ollie was available), who regrouped and buried two long jumpers, one a trifecta.
It's this sort of insensitivity and thoughtlessness that gets coaches fired long before their guaranteed contracts are up.
Why wouldn't an ex-player like Wittman know better than to mess with the mind of a 20-year-old whose performance had the Target Center crowd and an NBA-TV audience in awe? Why would Wittman think he was in a stronger position with Ryan Gomes on the floor at crunch time (Spurs up four) than Love?
Foye called the game a "step forward" after Friday's "step backward" because the Wolves displayed defensive intensity -- star Al Jefferson blocked three shots, all in a first half when he hustled to keep up with Portland's sprinting big men -- from the start and offensive priorities at the end. Jefferson scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, when the Wolves' offense flowed through him.
"They've proven they can do it," Wittman said about playing defense. "Now we have to do it on a nightly basis."
In defeat, they seemed to find some of their lost mojo Saturday at Portland, responding to coach Randy Wittman's rant against their commitment to defense a night earlier at Sacramento with an inspired effort that came up just short.
If the Wolves can duplicate that performance Tuesday night and going forward, they have plenty of time to deliver on their promise of being an improved team this season.
Through one win in the first four games, Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman had been alternately pleased, unhappy and generally positive, but never had he been so fire-breathingly furious as he was after Friday night's 121-109 loss in Sacramento.
That prompted him to take the unusual step of holding a morning walk-through Saturday before the second of back-to-back games at Portland.
Call it Remedial Defense 101.
"When you lose with effort, that's all you can ask of a player," a considerably calmer Wittman said. "Guys are going to make mistakes. That's what this game is. But if we're going to make a mistake, it can't be because of effort. Not because we were tired. It's got to be because we were overaggressive and we overcommitted. And (Friday) night wasn't one of those. I can't sugarcoat it because that's when you do fall into accepting coming out and playing that way.
Randy Foye, who shot 8-for-35 in the last three games before losing the starting point guard job to Sebastian Telfair, has gone 9-for-18 in the two games since.
Wittman didn't call out Jefferson by name Friday, but it sure sounded like that's who he meant when he said, "We're not committed individually and we're not committed as a team defensively. It's not everybody. Right now, we're running up and down the floor, if I get my touches, that's all they're concerned about. ... We have some guys who have been two, three, four, five years in the league that have lost. At some point, your pride has to kick in, your heart has to kick in."
Asked about the message Wittman sent by removing players abruptly, Jefferson said: "I don't know. That's him, that's him."
From the Charlotte Observer:
Kevin Love is moving into the starting lineup for the Timberwolves, following a 14-point, nine-rebound, three-block game, mostly paired against Duncan. Had he been available when the Bobcats picked at No. 9, I have no doubt he would have been their guy.
Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on Kevin Love:
He was asked before he started his first NBA game in his home town if he expected a different reception this time.
“I hope so, that would be nice,” he said. “When (Portland natives) Damon Stoudamire made, when Mike Dunleavy, Jr. , made it, people applauded them. When somebody makes it from their hometown, from Portland, from Oregon, if you made it, I think people should respect that. If they don’t, that’s their problem.”
On Saturday, he returned to the arena -- just 10 minutes from his home in the suburb of Lake Oswego -- where he attended games as a boy and was politely received during pregame introductions. The home state fans saved their boos for Love and his father, Stan, until after the opening tip.
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Wolves record: 1-5
This time, he and his teammates left the Rose Garden owners of a five-game losing streak only after Blazers guard Brandon Roy once again down the stretch tormented Wolves fans still watching back home late and only after Travis Outlaw's two free throws with 4.6 seconds sealed a 97-93 victory.
The night before in Sacramento, the Wolves surrendered 98 points in three quarters.
That's a threshold the Blazers never reached on an evening when the Wolves led by a dozen points in the second quarter, trailed by six points with less than eight minutes remaining and tied the score twice in the final minute before Roy proved one more time that he and the Blazers will not be denied.
Al Jefferson scored 27 points to lead the Wolves, who played much better than they did the night before in a 121-109 loss at Sacramento, but he missed two short shots in the final 16 seconds.
Rookie forward Kevin Love also missed a shot in the final seconds for Minnesota on a night when he went 0 for 7 from the floor and scored just two points in his Portland homecoming.
"That was just the story of my night," he said.
From the Associated Press:
They have lost five in a row against the Blazers, and last won in Portland on Dec. 7, 2005.
Minnesota coach Randy Wittman was mostly positive after the game.
"If we play with thus kind of intensity and effort every night then we are going to be all right,'' he said. "They've got to be able to see that. It's just as simple as that.''
no commentsThrough one win in the first four games, Wolves coach Randy Wittman had been alternately pleased, unhappy and generally positive, but never had he been so transparently furious as he was after Friday night’s 121-109 loss in Sacramento.
So it was that the team took the unusual step of holding a morning walk-through today before the second of back-to-back games at Portland.
From Melody Gutierrez/Sacramento Bee, Kings coach Reggie Theus on Kevin Love:
"I actually worked him out when he was in eighth grade," said Theus, who coached the Southern California All-Stars, a 17-and-under Amateur Athletic Union team, before joining the college coaching ranks.
Asked what the 6-foot-10, 260-pounder looked like then, Theus said Love was a "big boy."
"He's just big-boned," Theus said. "I know a couple (similar) players. One that comes to mind is (Hall of Famer) Wes Unseld. He was a heck of a player, too."
The Target Center game-night staff had it easy when Al Jefferson arrived from Boston last season. They simply play the theme song from the 1970s sitcom featuring George and Wheezy over the sound system whenever he excels.
Kevin Love's presence is something different altogether. An Internet database lists 3,321 songs with Love in the title. The Timberwolves chose the B52s' "Love Shack" for the first preseason game, but the rookie forward objected -- "Sorry, but I can't stand that song," he said -- so now they play the Beatles' "All You Need is Love," an obvious, uninspired choice...
Moving Kevin Love and Sebastian Telfair into the starting five, didn’t stop another bad start (10-2 this time), but Love continues to impress, this time with a 20-point, eight-rebound, 30-minute game that included some second-half foul trouble. He already has lost as many games (four) in nine days as he did all last season at UCLA, but when you consider how fast a guy who just turned 20 in September is beginning to figure out this pro game…
Already Wittman is suggesting if players don’t change their ways defensively, either he won’t play them or his bosses will deal them, but you know what you usually happens first in pro sports…
The Portland Tribune on Kevin Love:
He’s averaging 25 minutes, 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocks. Love, listed at 6-10 and 260 pounds, is shooting .514 from the floor, .923 (12 of 13) from the free-throw line and .200 (1 of 5) from 3-point range.
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