True Blue? Wolves Season Preview

[Riot]

Phew! The slow month of October is almost past us which means the basketball season is just about to begin. Obviously, that means another season of high expectations on my behalf that usually do not come to reality. The truth, and the sad reality, is that I’m still one of the most optimistic Timberwolves fans I’ve seen. As a whole, the Timberwolves fan base has been treated to numerous misfortunes and heartaches throughout the years. So because of that you cannot blame them for being pessimistic about this Timberwolves club. However…I am here to tell you not to be sucked into that false negativity. Yes, Mr. Wolf himself is here to tell you why you should be excited about this upcoming Timberwolves season. This is my Minnesota Timberwolves season preview.

Last season was a very rough year for us. It took a lot out of everyone, including myself. The team started great and it seemed like it was going to be another one of those Timberwolves teams that got the job done despite not having adequate talent around Ticket. Then Hudson got hurt and Marko Jaric suddenly forgot how to play the game of basketball. Dwane Casey couldn’t draw a play out of a timeout to save his life and Garnett couldn’t go a possession without being hammered and double teamed. It all went downhill so quickly. It seems like only a year ago that we were in the Western Conference Finals chanting “Beat LA!” at the top of our lungs. The city was excited about the team and you could feel the bond between city and team. This was Garnett’s team and Garnett’s city. Then Rome fell.

Here we are now in 2006-2007 looking forward to another season. Another season that many “experts” predict will end similarly to the past seasons. A season that those so-called “experts” and “insiders” claim will be the last hurray for Kevin Garnett and his Timberwolves career. But here I am, a normal guy not an “expert”, telling you that isn’t so. This year’s team has something special about it. This year’s team will not miss the postseason. The two major additions to the team were guards Mike James and Randy Foye. Mike James is a big shot maker and a veteran who has experience on a championship basketball team (Detroit Pistons 03-04). James had a stellar year for the Raptors last season despite their awful record. Some people say he was stat-padding and that we shouldn’t take those statistics very seriously. How can you stat pad shooting percentage? The guy was lights out from downtown. That is the kind of threat the Timberwolves lacked last season after they dealt Szczerbiak to Boston.

Randy Foye is an interesting talent. He dominated the summer league and showed everyone why so many people were high on him. He struggled a little bit in the pre-season but he got better and better in each and every game. He hit a huge floater in the lane to tie the Chicago Bulls with 15 seconds left. He seems to have that special something in him. He will be a great player someday. He “gets it”.

There were some other key additions to the club that have gone un-noticed, though. How about the addition of Randy Wittman to the coaching staff? He went to Orlando for one year after Flip left Minnesota. Randy is now back and ready to bring his expertise to Dwane Casey and his young staff. Wittman has great knowledge of Flip Saunders’s offensive system. It was a great move by owner Glen Taylor to bring Wittman back to the Wolves bench. I think he was a big part of the Timberwolves success in past years. The biggest knock on Flip Saunders when he was here was that he went to his assistants too much. One of the assistants he trusted the most was Randy Wittman. I think brining him back to the staff was huge for this team.

If you have paid attention to the Timberwolves this pre-season then you have heard of Craig Smith. He was drafted in the second round by the team and many thought he wouldn’t make the roster. This guy has been extremely impressive so far. He is a tough guy in the paint and when he goes up to get the ball he comes down with it with two hands on the ball. He showed nice touch for a big man and hustled his ass off every play. He got a standing ovation from owner Glen Taylor in the first pre-season game because of his hustle. I think he left a great impression.

If you add those additions to this team then you have yourself a pretty talented group of guys. The loss of McCants hurts but the additions of Randy Foye and Mike James help ease that pain. The biggest thing for the Timberwolves is chemistry. After the big Boston trade the new guys that came in (Davis, Blount, Banks, and Reed) did not know the system or the players. They were really out there winging it and just playing basketball. You could see the disadvantages of that down the stretch when miscommunication can cost you a game. It happened a lot last year. Garnett said last year that the biggest thing this team needed was a training camp together to get to know each other.

Speaking of training camp, Garnett brought the team together a month before training camp so they could get a head start on chemistry. Garnett has adopted a much bigger leadership role now and it’s great to see that he is working on making this season a season to remember. We all know how hard he works on the court but it’s great to know he is willing to use that same work ethic off the court to get to know the guys. The chemistry on this team seems very tight. I don’t think we’ll have any problems with character or internal problems like we did in 04-05 with Sprewell and Cassell.

So, you are probably getting extremely bored with this long article by now. There are a few more things I’d like to point out before I press the submit button. The first is the big men. A lot of people are saying the Timberwolves lack interior presences besides Kevin Garnett. They are right. Eddie Griffin is so inconsistent and usually drunk that you can’t count on him every night. Mark Blount can shoot but can’t do much else. Mark Madsen has a great heart and is a great cheerleader but is good for about 5 fouls and 4 dropped balls a night. Craig Smith is good but a rookie. If you could combine those four players you would have the perfect player. Picture Mark Blount’s shot, Eddie Griffin’s rebounding and defense, Madsen’s selflessness along with Craig Smith’s heart and hustle. That is quite the player, right? There is no reason why we can’t combine them, in theory of course. A platoon of big men seems like a logical solution for this team. If you look at some other teams they don’t have another great big man next to their superstar. Who do the Spurs have besides Tim Duncan? Who do the Mavericks have next to Dirk Nowitizki? How about Shaquille O’Neal in Miami? The Timberwolves had Ervin Johnson starting at center in 2003-2004; it really isn’t that big of a concern to me. This is a guard’s league.

Okay…another big thing to think of is the division. The Northwest Division is one of the worst in basketball. The Denver Nuggets appear to be the “front runner” for the division right now followed closely by the Utah Jazz. The Nuggets are good for a chemistry and character issue or two a year and we all know Marcus Camby can’t play 82 games. The same can be said for Andrei Kirilenko in Utah. Both teams have injury problems that seem to plague them every year. The Timberwolves are just as talented as them but we don’t have the chronic injury problems every year. Mark my words: the Timberwolves will win the division this year.

So in conclusion, this Timberwolves team has a lot going for them right now. The problem is the media and the fans are so fed up with the product and with the lack of success that they can’t see it. It’s time to open your eyes, enjoy the season and cheer for your team. We are Timberwolves fans…we are True Blue. It’s time to start supporting the team like we did in 2003-2004. It’s time to make this team Our Team. It’s time to give Ticket the same love he has given us for over a decade.

Are you ready for the new season? Are you ready to run with the Wolves? Are you True Blue? Straight from the words of Da Kid himself…”We’re comin’, we’re comin’!” I don’t need no damn “expert” to tell me that.

[Matt]

I've got the T'wolves picked to win their division....they better do so, because the pay out is $5.25.

[Silas]

wow that is a long article... It is very informative, I like it, I just don't think that Ricky Davis and Mike James will mesh well together. I think Randy Foye will be great though...

I hope they do well, obviously I'm not as optimistic as you though, especially since my favorite team is also in the northwest division, but I'll still be rooting for the wolves when I see em.

[maes]

It's an interesting team that should be doing much better than it is. I almost think it's because the guards are really all shooters (James, McCants, Foye) and their best playmaker is really a career backup (Jaric)....but then again people said Jason Terry was too much a shooter for being a PG. I think the reality is that because the NBA is so guard oriented now, we should get used to PG's being a primary scoring option.

You're right about it being a guard's league now, a team doesn't need more than KG in the paint. But while a long time ago a team started with it's bigs, a team now starts with its guards and once Minny finds a good guard combo they'll be a force with KG backing them up.

Sadly, although he's one of the best physical & basketball talents in the NBA he's just a supporting member because he's a big man. If KG switched fully over to a guard's game like Dirk or LeBron, the TWolves would be a monster.

[cyanide]

Is it wrong for me to desperately try to trade Mike James in my fantasy league team? I mean, he did put up 20 ppg while shooting something like 44% from downtown, but something tells me he won't be doing the same with Minnesota

[shadowgrin]

If KG switched fully over to a guard's game like Dirk or LeBron, the TWolves would be a monster.

Reminds me of "I can't believe my starting 5" thread.

[Axel]

I'm predicting 35 wins for the T-wolves this year..

[Klayface]

Ask any Raptors fan and they'll let you know about Mike James. Hes a bum, no matter what percentage he shot. I don't even recall him being that big of a part of that Pistons team that won the title. Even though hes early in his career Lebron should take a good look at KG's situation. Sometimes staying loyal to a team means your betraying yourself in my opinion. Just look at players like Karl Malone, Gary Payton, and Patrick Ewing. Malone didn't leave Utah til it was too late and he finally caught the injury bug. Payton was dealt and then let go by the team he was traded to, and Ewing was traded for shit. I really wanna see KG win, just like the most of us but I just can't see them making any noise. 10th or 11th in the west is my prediction.

[Laxation]

Ask any Raptors fan and they'll let you know about Mike James. Hes a bum, no matter what percentage he shot.

Ask anyone who had him in their fantasy team, and they'll let you know he was magnificent...

I would trade him for someone else though... I dont see him putting up the same numbers again. Thats not to say he wont still be good for fantasy, maybe 16-18ppg and 5-6 assists?
Might even be worth giving it a few weeks before you trade him, unless you trade for someone who you are pretty sure will put up similar/better numbers

[Dean]

Great read
I agree about Randy Foye Riot, but what do you think about Ricky Davis?
I didnt see him mentioned, unless i missed it..

[Matt]

I don't even recall him being that big of a part of that Pistons team that won the title.

he came up big off the bench, but with Larry Brown as coach he was on a short leash.

[Klayface]

Ah I see, go figure with Larry Brown at the bench everyones on a short leash.

[magius]

my prediction is: twolves miss the playoffs, garnett gets traded in the summer.

the west is too deep, and the wolves suck too much.