Distractions: Timberwolves Triage

The post-KG days of the Timberwolves will be remembered as dark days in the franchise's history. The T-wolves may have been struggling before they lost KG, but now they seem completely turned on their backs. With every change made to the roster and the staff, I have attempted to see the positive, and some sign of hope. But even the most resilient fan, including myself, has a dark cloud hanging over their head. Hope for the team, especially this season, seems simply impossible.

With almost an entirely set of players, the Wolves faced similar problems last season, but ended with a glimmer of hope. They were able to face down almost any team for a full 48 minutes, having a relatively successful second half of the season. Logically, this hope carried over to this season. The idea with a young new team is to get better with each season, right? The Timberwolves retained keystone players, and made trades that seemed to be in our favor. I'm not sure about ditching O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love, but I though acquiring Mike Miller (and kicking Marco Jaric's butt out the door) more than made up the balance. Winning the season opener was something to revel in, but since then has been nothing but a downward spiral. My boy Corey Brewer is out for the season, and here we are, almost two months into the season, with only 4 wins.

I never liked Randy Wittman, but when he started blaming the players publicly, that was when Wittman had gone too far. Thankfully, Glen Taylor thought so too. Maybe it was less his pathetic soundbites and more a lack of leadership, but either way Wittman was shown to the door. Then in a bizarre turn of events, Taylor put GM Kevin McHale in the hot seat. "Relieved of his front office duties," McHale stepped down to be head coach. Not interim head coach, but head coach. McHale immediately started complaining about the hectic travel schedule.

I wonder if Glen Taylor has actually though about finding a coach who wanted to coach? I see his logic in "This is the team you built - you coach it," but he might want to find something that is a little better for the moral of the players. Clearly things are not going so well. Tune into the second half of any game and you will see a team that is beaten way before the buzzer. I stop short of having much pity for the players - most of them make more money in one year than I am likely to see in my lifetime.

I like basketball, and I particularly like NBA basketball. If I had cable and if I could afford the NBA pass, I would find another team to follow. But instead I am stuck here in Minnesota with temperatures of 15 below zero and the Timberwolves. Nonetheless, this is my state and the Wolves are my team. The last game I went to was Kevin McHale's first coaching gig against the Jazz. The Wolves had some good fight in them, but lost the game in the last 3 minutes. The most disparaging thing about the game was not the teams performance or even the lose, it was the empty Target Center.

Is there any hope for the season? I have no idea, but something or someone has to provide a spark for these guys and it's not going to be Kevin McHale. Like every season, there is always next season.

Worst team ever?

The Worst Team Ever. That was the title of a front page article in the Star Tribune today. Well, that just makes wins that much sweeter. The Timberwolves win against the Pacers 131 to 118 was one of the funnest games I've ever watched. Just look at the stats: both Jefferson (29 points, 13 rebounds) and Telfair (27 points, 11 assists) with double doubles, Walker with 23 points, Gomes 16, Smith and Green with 12, and Brewer with 10. The Pacers outscored the Wolves 40 to 20 in the first quarter, but the Wolves came back in the second quarter to outscore the Pacers 40 to 15.

Sure, the T-wolves are the worst team in the NBA with only 4 wins and 21 loses, but you just never know what is going to happen. Near wins don't count, but a win against Phoenix does count. I'll be the first person to admit that it gets pretty depressing watching them lose so many near wins. But in the end who cares. Although it is hard to think about guys making millions as underdogs, it is fun to cheer for the underdog. Perhaps there will be good news out of a poor season for the Timberwolves: nice picks in the draft or maybe someone will lose their job? You just never know.

Go Timberwolves!

Who cares about movies and DVDs. The Minnesota Timberwolves had their first home game last night without KG. It was a preseason game against the Pacers. Although they lost, it was pretty obvious that Randy Wittman is still trying to figure out how to best play this team of mostly young newcomers. And all in all, they didn't look half-bad with Al Jefferson knocking out some amazing plays. The frontcourt is looking very strong with Al Jefferson, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green and Corey Brewer, but the backcourt with Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye still out, is lacking. We need more there than Ricky Davis and Marco Jaric.

Overall, I am excited about this new start for the T-wolves. Since the beginning the Wolves were defined by KG, and more recently let down by the expectations. All expectations are gone, and these guys actually have a chance to build a team. It may not be a winning season for the Wolves, but I think it will be a fun one.