Game #78, Home Game #40: New Orleans 122, Minnesota 90 Season Record: 19-59 1. Trying to Trade Baskets The Minnesota Timberwolves shot 73.3% in the third quarter last night, 11-15 FG, including 3-4 from beyond the 3pt arc. The worst shooting performances were Ryan Gomes and Chris Smith at 1-2 FG; Al Jeffeson was 2-3 … Read more
Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) Game #77, Road Game #38: Minnesota 119, Charlotte 121 Season Record: 19-58 1. Plenty of Blame To Go Around Coach Randy Wittman thought the Minnesota Timberwolves came to play without passion or commitment tonight on the road against Charlotte, and he was spot-on. I wasn’t … Read more
AP Photo/Jim Mone Game #37, Home Game #18: Golden State 105, Minnesota 98 Season record: 5-32 1. Low IQ. Low skill level. Low chance of winning. All things being equal, the Minnesota Timberwolves without Randy Foye and Theo Ratliff, opposing the Golden State Warriors on a sub-zero January night having already clearly established themselves as … Read more
Game #34, Home Game #17: Miami 91, Minnesota 101 Season record: 5-29 1. The Importance of Glue Other players scored more points, grabbed more rebounds, doled out more assists, and generally exerted a higher-profile on tonight’s rare Wolves victory than the two glue guys I consider to be most crucial to the win, Ryan Gomes … Read more
Game #32, Home Game #16: Denver118, Minnesota 107 Game #33, Home Game #17: Dallas 101, Minnesota 78 1. Beating A Dead Horse Al Jefferson and Craig Smith took the floor for the opening tap Friday night so you knew the Timberwolves would fall behind early. And, why, yes, Denver scored the first 12 points of … Read more
Game #30, Road Game #17: Minnesota 82, LA Clippers 91 Season record: 4-26 1. 4th Quarter Follies For those of you with hangovers, either from an excess of alcohol or undue loyalty to a dysfunctional, mentally weak basketball franchise, we’ll start with a Joe Friday straight script on the lodging of the Wolves’ latest L. … Read more
Game #28, Road Game #15: Minnesota 96, Portland 109 Game #29, Road Game #16: Minnesota 90, Seattle 109 Season record: 4-25 1. Play Richard Wolves color commentator Jim Petersen and I probably differ as much as we agree on myriad aspects of the team, but as far as I’m concerned, the only thing missing from … Read more
Game # 25, Home Game #13: Indiana 118, Minnesota 131 Season record: 4-21 I usually condense two weekend games into a single trey, but tonight’s victory over Indiana was sufficiently exciting and worthy of individual comment that I’ve decided to file this now and let you folks add comments to this and tomorrow night’s road … Read more
Game #24, Home Game #12: Golden State 111, Minnesota 98 Season Record: 3-21 First, a confession: An interview for another story I’m working on lasted much longer than anticipated, and as it turned out, I walked into Target Center at halftime, with the Wolves holding an 8-point lead. Thus, I only saw the collapse and … Read more
Game #21, Home Game #11: Seattle 99, Minnesota 88 Game #22, Road Game #11: Minnesota 92, Milwaukee 95 Season record: 3-19 1. Draw Straws, Flip A Coin, Plug a Leak. Or Not. After the Timberwolves fell to the equally young Seattle Supersonics at Target Center Friday night, I asked coach Randy Wittman if he had … Read more