The Wolves embarked on this week’s three game road trip shorthanded, something a team so inherently fragile can ill afford to do. Sure, they had enough to stride confidently through a culture of failure in Detroit, but Philadelphia and Washington while not exponentially better, were still equipped to withstand our best efforts this weekend. The losses did nothing for morale, of course, but when considering that we are in year one of yet another rebuilding project, it’s important to remember that no single number will be indicative of failure or success. There are more than moral victories to be claimed this season and any team worth its salt uses this time to re-focus their efforts on experimenting with solutions for the coming year. So perhaps it was best that Darko, Wes and Martell were gone this weekend. It gave us an opportunity to reconsider some things.
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Corey Brewer’s NYC vacation did not last long. It seems our boy has been waived after three inactive games with the Knicks. If you think that’s a little unjust, you should check out this post of Henry Abbott’s on the Truehoop main page, in which Brewer’s virtues are duly extolled. Check it:
Smart teams, I’d wager, have been watching Corey Brewer for a long time for this exact reason. And what they have been seeing is a defensive show. Once you clue in to the guy, it’s glaringly obvious that no one on the court is defending like him. He’s narrow, long, strong, quick and feisty — which is a perfect set of attributes to fight over a screen. He has great hands. He goads non-shooters into shooting, and keeps great shooters from making a catch. He talks constantly on defense — he’s not only in the right place, but he knows where everybody else is supposed to be, too.
Supporting Henry’s “smart teams” assertion: the Celtics, Mavs and Spurs have all expressed some interest in that skinny guy. I wonder if this would be happening if Wes Johnson or Anthony Randolph were waive today.
As we’ve discussed before, Corey was very, very far from a being a perfect player. But all the same, it’s nice to see some recognition for the striking things this uniquely energetic and positive dude did while he was with us.
Pardon me for looking a gift horse in the mouth, but my despondence has only been slightly alleviated. Target Center’s occasionally faithful finally had something to celebrate besides a box score and as they gleefully filed towards the exits, Michael Beasley was interviewed for all to hear. The key to this afternoon’s win? “Just scoring more points than they did.”
I have to admit, I laughed, as did several others. Because he was serious.
The novelty has worn off. For many of you it probably did some time ago, but I couldn’t help but be enthused by my friend Ben’s smiling optimism. He can be quite influential, as I’m sure you know. So even as the losses piled up, I was able to take solace in Michael Beasley’s resurgence and Kevin Love’s historic breakout season. I saw the potential in Wesley Johnson’s deft touch and defensive energy and to this day I prefer him over the churlish petulance of DeMarcus Cousins. Even Martell Webster’s achy back proved to be a worthwhile addition. A bit of a chucker, yes, yet still a stabilizing locker room presence worthy of my trust. There were plenty of things to love about this basketball team. I wanted to believe and in order to be of any worth to you, our fair readers, I still need to. But nights like these make it hard.Very hard.
If you can’t tell by now, Ben wasn’t at last night’s game. For the most part, neither were the Timberwolves.
When it comes to the Timberwolves, it make little sense to mince words. After consecutive pleasant surprises against New Orleans and Houston last week, the Wolves’ final four games leading into the All-Star break were pretty disheartening. These games were wrapped in an aura of grim defeat. Physical and emotional fatigue permeated the air.
But let’s please be a little bit generous with our Wolves. These losses were the culmination of an exhausting string of injuries and absences, in which the depleted Wolves struggled–admirably, for the most part, if futilely–to craft some coherence from the ruins.
And so I’m not prepared, on the basis of those four unpalatable losses, to call this season an unmitigated disaster. This is not rock bottom. The truth is that, win totals notwithstanding, this team is an improvement over last year. They have played competitive basketball against some of the best teams in the league. They are more energetic and athletic; they are more creative. They can usually shoot the ball pretty well; sometimes they even engage in the kind of sublimely unconscious ball-movement that is the hallmark of the Triangle offense.
The Denver Nuggets have been an impressive collection of talent for quite some time. Carmelo Anthony remains one of the league’s premier scorers, Nene’s reliability is criminally underrated and J.R. Smith-the very personification of this volatile unit-is dynamite in sneakers; wildly unstable, yet effectively explosive. Unfortunately, the same carefree demeanor that’s allowed them to fill up stats sheets and highlight reels has continued to define them in moments that demanded far more poise. Plainly put, they’ve never been considered a contender because they’ve never been able to get out of their own way. So it was particularly amusing to see them move at such a deliberately slow pace as they set about picking the Wolves apart.
Despite the visitors obvious intentions, our boys proceeded with business as usual to predictably varying results. Postgame, Kurt Rambis was asked to comment on his unit’s 8 scant turnovers, yet neither coach nor scribe acknowledged that such supposed ball control was actually due to unconscionably poor shooting: the Wolves attempted 95 field goals and made just 39% of them. This however, didn’t keep us from witnessing an entertaining affair in which both teams tried to wrestle victory out of their own hands. The Wolves gave the game away early, the Nuggets tried to give it back, but we-being such gracious hosts-refused to take it.
Hey, who was that crabby dude talking about the Wolves at Raptors Republic this morning? Oh that was me. Evidently, the Kevin Love snubbing robbed me of my optimism and my sense of humor. On the other hand, when it comes to previews of a Februrary Raptors/Wolves matchup, dry and pessimistic is probably not a bad way to go. Check it out, if you’re inclined.
"That's a lovely tie, Greg."
Sean Elliot has forgotten more about our fair sport than I’ll ever know. But he still makes me feel much smarter than I should. You see, former jocks who trade in their…well, jocks for headsets tend to fall into one of two categories: Those who are unable to articulate their wisdom and those who haven’t much wisdom to articulate. Elliot is definitely the latter.
Again, it’s not that the man hasn’t gleaned a nugget or two from his years between the lines, but much of his wisdom is conventional instead of personal. Nothing we haven’t heard before, just re purposed and repackaged in supposedly charming little anecdotes that encapsulate his employer’s greatness. Many of which show little regard for the truth, the opponent or the listener. It’s enough to make you long for Reggie Miller.
Upon returning from a second half commercial break, Sean began another of his syrupy soliloquies on the meaninglessness of statistical achievements. Specifically those in losing efforts. More specifically, Kevin Love’s double-double streak. “It hasn’t translated into victories. A lot of people put up numbers. Wins are far more important.”
Hey y’all. Just wanted to point out that I hosted Truehoop today. Which meant: hours of staring at the olde computer and the chance to write about some things that had very little to do with the Timberwolves. Check it out, if you’re of a mind to.
I’ve always been a bit wary of advanced stats. I certainly find them to be useful at times, but there are also several instances where I feel they’re devoid of the necessary context to provide actual insight. Perhaps I’m less accepting of change than I thought, but I see all of these PER, eFG% and win shares bandied about only to wonder who’s actually watching the games anymore? Too often I see numbers used not as a complement, but a replacement for the naked eye, leading to the meme of the day.
But this isn’t about me. It’s about our pal Ben, who done growed up on us. Ben spends every pregame espousing the merits of these metrics to me while I inhale cheesecake and every other post game sharing his wisdom with the lot of us, but it was time to take his show to, well, “the show”
Over on True Hoop’s main page, Mr. Polk addresses the conventional wisdom regarding our Timberwolves and waters those seeds of doubt planted by statisticians with the fluid perspective of an insider. The result is a magnificent bloom of true analysis.