This morning was this.
This afternoon was this:
and
and
Who knew our barely-read blog had such powers?
This sucks.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Cheering for Other Teams
This feels like Christmas Morning. I don’t mean that figuratively–I mean that it literally feels like December 25, 2011, when the NBA season was about to kick off with a full slate of great games on national TV. In a couple of hours, the NBA Playoffs begin when the Bulls host the Sixers. Continue reading
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Will Scott Brooks be Dungy’d?
When Tony Dungy took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996, he inherited a team that went 7-9 under Sam Wyche in ’95, and hadn’t won half its games since 1981. Dungy’s Bucs would take an initial step back, winning only 6 games in his first season as a head coach. But then they’d rip off season win totals of 10, 8, 11, 10, and 9. Prior to Dungy’s arrival, the Bucs were the most pathetic franchise in the history of sports. Continue reading
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Searching for Princeton
When it was announced that Rick Adelman would replace Kurt Rambis as head coach of the Timberwolves, there was a palpable buzz around the team with all that was transpiring. Ricky Rubio (finally) arrived, Derrick Williams was drafted, Kevin Love was still here, and now we had not only a competent head coach, but a future Hall of Famer and innovator. After the immediate and knee-jerk reaction of “this is awesome” wore off, some conversation turned toward what the offense would look like under Coach Adelman. Continue reading
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The Alumni Team
As the Wolves season inches closer to its end, (we’ve been screaming ‘uncle’ for weeks now, it seems) I’ve taken a bit more interest in some of the team’s former players, many of whom are playing meaningful roles on competitive teams. After watching Randy Foye posterize the mighty Serge Ibaka last night on national tv (more on this, below) I thought it’d be fun to scan the league for former Timberpups making various levels of noise in their respective situations. Without further ado, here is your 2011-12 Minnesota Timberwolves Alumni Team:
Filed under Features, Timberwolves
SAMPLE SIZE!
Graphic courtesy of http://epiville.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/
So, the graph is a bit misleading–this post isn’t about power functions or estimated effect sizes. Just some lighthearted fun below the fold after last night’s depressing effort.
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Filed under Features
Total Destruction
The Wolves effort tonight doesn’t justify a game wrap. Just let me say I’m disappointed with our effort and continue to be impressed with the Pacers’ effort.
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What is Anthony Randolph’s Upside?
Derrick Williams sucked Thursday night against the Clippers after looking great against Denver the night before. Williams only managed to muster 4 points against the Clips after thrashing the Nuggets’ front line.
Meanwhile, you have Anthony Randolph. Randolph almost never plays. But he played exceedingly well against Denver (28 pts in 31 mins, 11-16 from the floor) after Kevin Love got concussed, and he followed it up with a nice 16 and 9 night against the Clips.
Randolph’s solid play of late is not a revelation.
Filed under Timberwolves
25 Best Top-3s in 25 Years: A Fantasy Draft-Style Take On The Best High-Draft Pick Performances, 1984-2008
These guys were good as rookies
The Wolves aren’t much fun to watch anymore. We like the draft. We like history. We (usually) like controversy. We brought lots of these things together into a FANTASY DRAFT of top-3 picks from 1984-2008. Why just top-3 picks, and just 1984-2008. ’cause that’s what we felt like doing. Peel back the layers and you’ll understand.
My picks are the ODDS; Andy G’s picks are the EVENS. And we’re only dealing with rookie-year performance. This is about who was the best when they entered the league; not who had the best career.
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The Anthony Randolph Appreciation Post
With the Clippers coming to town at full strength and with hopes of contending for the Western Conference title, a Wolves victory was not realistic. As they remain without Love and Rubio (and Ridnour and Wayne and Darko) tonight’s game was watched not with expectations of a good competition, but with an interest in the performance of specific players. In my case, that player was Anthony Randolph who had just burst out of his (usual) spot on the bench for 28 points and 5 blocks in last night’s near-win over the Denver Nuggets. Continue reading
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Things couldn’t get much wor–nevermind.
With last night’s loss to Denver, the Wolves extended their losing streak to 7 games. Since we last checked in, they’ve fallen to the Hornets (16-42; dead-last in West), been destroyed by the Suns at Target Center, and dropped last night’s game while losing Kevin Love to a scary head/neck injury. So, things aren’t going so hot. Continue reading
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Tanked (Warriors 97, WOLVES 94)
Klay Thompson, son of former Gopher great, Mychal Thompson
The game wraps have become fewer and farther between, but I attended this game so it makes sense to post some notes.
For much of the 2nd Quarter, this game felt like a breeze. The Warriors scored 4 points in the first 9:03 of the period while the Wolves built up an 18-point lead near the half. For the final 26:57 of the game, the Warriors would outscore the home team 72-51. Those 72 points came the easy way; many from Charles Jenkins uncontested layups. Kevin Love was needed as a help defender, but he either lacked the energy or inclination to play that part on this night. On multiple–possibly consecutive–possessions, Love watched dribblers take the layup when he was within range of at least a foul, if not a solid contest. Continue reading
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Taking Inventory
As I see it, there are five different types of NBA teams at this point in the season:
1) Great teams locked into a high-playoff seed, looking to stay healthy and sharp for the playoffs.
2) Playoff-bound teams jockeying for seed position and/or a division title.
3) Average teams fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot.
4) Bad teams tanking for the lottery.
5) The Minnesota Timberwolves, ravaged by injuries but without its own lottery pick and therefore without a tanking incentive.
What a weird place to be. Here’s a brief rundown of where things stand as we head down the home stretch: Continue reading
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Punch-Drunk Wolves 