Punch Drunk Wolves

Category: Features

  • Sunday Jottings: Shooting Woes, Respectable Defense, Long Outlets and Extended Thoughts about Kevin Love

    The Timberwolves have won four of their first six games and sit tied with the Blazers for second place in the Northwest Division. They’ve blown out the division-leading Thunder and have been manhandled on their home court by the Warriors.…

  • Photo Diary: A Road Trip to Quicken Loans Arena

    For the second straight season, Punch-Drunk Wolves attended a Timberwolves road game. Last year was easy: Pat lived in Washington D.C., where — you know — an NBA team plays. He moved to Pittsburgh in the off-season. While The Steel…

  • Timberwolves Season Preview: The Trent and Mikey Version

    The NBA season is less than 24 hours away. The Timberwolves begin theirs on Wednesday Night versus the Magic. For the past six months we’ve relied on secondary sources to satisfy our appetite for pro basketball: The Timberwolves-less playoffs and…

  • Basketball Combat: What’s Cool and What Isn’t

    Andy G: I don’t remember the 80s Pistons very well. I know they won back-to-back titles, I know the names of their core players, and I know they earned the “Bad Boys” nickname for physical play that often crossed the…

  • When Michael Jordan Refused to Tank

    If you were following pro basketball in 1985 then you probably remember when Michael Jordan broke his foot. MJ wasn’t quite the world icon that he would soon become, but he was a big star, and clearly on the rise.…

  • INBOX: Are the Heat still hated? (Now with more Ricky Buckets and Master P)

    Andy G: In I Wear the Black Hat, Chuck Klosterman devotes a chapter to hating rock bands.  He runs through a list of every band he’s ever hated, explains the specific point in his life, and why that particular group…

  • Excerpts on Kareem

    I caught myself day dreaming about sky hooks yesterday.  I’m not sure why.  Long day in the office?  Not enough *real* basketball to keep my mind occupied?  Whatever the case, I was specifically thinking about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — the NBA’s…

  • A Loss, and the Feeling of Loss

    Farewell Transmission, Magnolia Electric Co. The Timberwolves lost their first Vegas Summer League game on Saturday to the D-League Select team, 83-81. The basketball wasn’t pretty. There was no Ricky Rubio. There was no Kevin Love. There was really no one.…

  • Dispatches: The NBA Finals in the Philippines

    I’m back from the Philippines. Jet lag is my master. But it was a good visit. Basketball euphoria was high in Manila. Everyone was all about the Finals, despite the fact that we were tuning into games live at 8:30…

  • Punch-Drunk in Japan: Day 1

    So, I’m temporarily stranded in Tokyo, after being temporarily stranded in Atlanta. At this rate, I’ll make it to Manila by the time I’m scheduled to return to DC. Stay classy, Delta. But hey, it’s summertime, and the living’s easy…

  • Should David Stern punish player speech?

    Pacers' Roy Hibbert fined $75k for "using inappropriate and vulgar language" Saturday night after win over Heat. — Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 2, 2013 Roy Hibbert was fined 75 large for one of two reasons: 1. He said something offensive…

  • Hill –> Bradley –> Flip

    1. Grant Hill He retired last night during the TNT pregame show. Hill is one of the most successful, post-Wooden college players. He won two national titles and was runner up for a third. He was an All-American and ACC…

  • Assessing DeMarcus Cousins’ Potential

    Bill Simmons’ ever-intriguing “Trade Value” series of columns has begun over at Grantland. He has lots of provocative, interesting opinions, whether or not you agree with any/many of them. Simmons, tongue-in-cheek as can ever, also talks a lot of sense…

  • What Did the Glen Taylor Interview Really Tell Timberwolves Fans?

    Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor did a long interview with Ray Richardson that appeared in the Pioneer Press on Sunday. There’s a lot there, and it’s worth reading in full: Taylor talks about the status of Rick Adelman and David Kahn for…

  • Should the Timberwolves Sign Greg Oden?

    In case you missed it, ESPN reported that a Greg Oden comeback tour may be in the works.  Oden, of course, had the misfortune of being selected over Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant with the top pick in the 2007 draft…

  • 1,000 wins is a time to reflect

    One thousand is just one more than 999 and Rick Adelman is no better coach today than he was yesterday.  But large, even numbers serve as milestone thresholds that, when reached, afford the opportunity to reflect on all that led…

  • “Practice?!”: Why Ricky & the Wolves should copy Kermit Washington

    Spring is here (no really, it began two weeks ago), which means summer is coming.  For the Wolves, as is often the case, it also means the off-season is coming.  Most off-season discussion, here and elsewhere, will focus on free…

  • INBOX: Kahn, Adelman, and 600 1st Avenue North

    Andy G: New topic and one that seems to get discussed less and less often: David Kahn.  You reminded me the other day about the time he gave Kurt Rambis a homework assignment. (!!!) We’ve come a long way from…

  • Glory Days & Ghost Games

    “I try to stay away from that, and the reason is: I would never ask a player to play against a ghost; past, present, or future.  We could only play against the guy that showed up while we were playing.”…

  • Rashad McCants: Actor, Teacher, No Longer a D-Leaguer

    Not too long ago, we chronicled Rashad McCants’ comeback to pro hoops with the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League team, the Texas Legends. So quiet is kept that it was only yesterday that I learned Shad had been “deactivated” by Texas on February…