What started out as the ultimate crap bowl, turned into a graphic demonstration of the gap between a 7-18 team with an interim head coach, and a 4-20 team with an interim Kevin McHale.
Garcia ( A- ) -- started slow offensively with the rest of the team (slow here being an understatement for a squad that shot 1 for its first 14), and you wee thinking maybe Reggie firing hangover. But came on with a streak of hot shooting in the second period that culminated with a three to put us ahead for the first time of the night and never looked back. Was a major part of the party in the third when it was all just too easy, and then got to take the 4th off. Kept the ball moving, the three point shot was on tonight, and he easily dominated his matchup on both sides of the floor, and yes, was the oncourt leader (since I know we have a thread on that). 21pts 3ast 5ast are nice numbers. Doing it in 25 minutes makes them very nice. Now if he had just done it against an actual NBA team...
Hawes ( B+ ) -- in the first half oddly struggled against stubby Craig Smith on offense (of course Smith does have arms the size of Spencer's waist), and wasn't able to dominate the matchup defensively like you thought he should with a five or six inch reach advantage. Also took his turns along with everybody else getting burned by Jefferson. But on the other hand grabbed a lot of boards for the first time in a long whilew (had 9 at half). Finally got the offense in gear in the thrid quarter when anything we tried to do worked against a Wolves team looking every bit of 4-19. And whether it be the coaching staff or Spencer himself (in particular because there was nobody to run from tonight), he seems to have been trying to work more in the post of late. Rebounding dried up after half and he only finished with 10, but as noted last game double figure rebounding was something he had only managed once in the last 14 games, so still a good night for him on the glass. Some good moments as usual, but not dominant, and Smith actually outscored him on the night.
Miller ( B+ ) -- a couple of nights after playing like week old roadkill for his "friend" Reggie, lumbered his way to effective offensive play against Al Jefferson, who the occasional block aside is not a very good defender. Brad was able to get the drive going, and then able to step back and start dropping in jumpers. Got badly lit up by Jefferson in the first half on the other end, but responded with efficiency and the steadier night (Jefferson was all world for a half, and turned into a pouty clueless Zach Randolph clone after half). Also, like Spencer came to work on the glass for one of the few times in recent memory (their rebounding woes coincide -- Brad too had only grabbed double figures once in his last 14 games before tonight).
Salmons ( B- ) -- another of our wing players off to the slow start, but finally began to wake up and realize that this was Minnesota he was facing, and specifically Mike Miller when he began to come alive -- a player he has owned on offense, and he began to become a factor down the stretch of the second quarter. Got whatever he wanted in the breezy third quarter after he remembered the Wolves have no shotblockers and quit chucking threes, and had a solid offensive night. Not a terribly well rounded night though -- gve us nothing on the glass, was minimally involved in our passing game. Nobody he guarded did anything on offense, but then again they barely tried (and Ryan Gomes...my goodness was he garbage). So, shrug. Wasn't really needed, chipped in enough points to keep hs average from falling dramatically, and we cruised off to the win.
Udrih ( C ) -- not as bad as the anemic numbers might indicate this time (4pts 3ast). Very quiet start, but began to get it in gear down the strech of the second quarter, and was slicing through the Wolves' defense at will for layups. Was obviously out there for the thrid quarter party, but was oddly a wallflower, and while we were passing the ball with ease and everybody was getting open shots, somehow our PG was amongst the least involed players. Not that he was actively hurting us, just that he was irrelevant. He did little, the Wolves PGs did little, and the game was decided by others. Could have probably had a few more assists if guys had not blown some easy ones, but stilll can no higher than C here.
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Thompson ( B ) -- limited early numbers, but some hustle and a solid post move. Played some better defense than last time out, where he was the guy victimized by Harrington for those three long bombs that killed us. This time was mostly inside, stayed down, but still managed to disrupt the shortish Wolves and got a couple of blocks. Missed a few of his normal touchless layups (use the glass young man, use the glass), but eliminated the doubt wiht a series of dunks. Eventually got his board numbers up to a decent level, but for the second game in a row was outmuscled by an even more determined rebounder (this time it was Kevin Love). Picked up the bulk of his numbers int eh garbagetime here (think he had like 2pts 1reb at half) which is some factor in the grade.
Jackson ( B ) -- aggressive play in the first half, but some slop and turnovers as well. Gobbled up all of the garbagetime minutes at OG, which has to be discouraging to Quncy Douby if he was thinking he might get one more shot given the new coach. Played well against the scrubs, and again was hitting his threes -- maybe the terrible slump is finally over. On the other hand got lit up badly the other way, whether he was trying to cover McCants (his primary man I think) or switched on Keivn Ollie (!) who might have had a career high with 17.
Moore ( C- ) -- one of those "did he play?" efforts -- had two points, on FTs, and zero rebounds at the half. Then came back to play the entire extended garbagetime (because as everyone knows Mikki Moore and Bobby Jackson need all the development time int he world, unlike those creaky old vets Sheldon and Quincy). And pretty much duplicated his first half effort, except this time he chipped in A rebound! Woohoo! Like Thompson, watched Kevin Love gobble up almost everything on the glass during his minutes. Even Brian Cardinal was more active on the glass. To be fair also chipped in a late blocked shot in his continuing pursuit of Bill Russel's record (actually Bill Russel does not have the record because blocks were not kept as a stat back in his day, so you could say that Mikki actually has MORE blocks than Russel). In any case, not much to play for in garbagetime for an old vet, and did not really hurt us, so not going to go too low here.
Brown ( B- ) -- initially struggled, missing his first three shots, including two ugly ones on one possession. But came back and finally did something good at the end of a quarter -- canning a three just before the half to put us up three going into the break. Got a lot of run in garbagetime where he continued to chuck up bricked threes and got burned badly on defense. But ran the team well, using his quickness to get ino the teeth of the defense (well...there is no teeth of the Wolves' defense) and thn kicking it to various Kings. 3-9 is not so hot. Getting burned by Kevin Ollie is really not so hot. But he is a point guard, and played the late minutes like one, and so this was still encouraging in many ways.
Greene ( A- ) -- did not get in until the end of the first half, and it was maybe not a great sign for how things are gong to go. But immediately made a nice little contribution by blocking an Al Jefferson shot at the end of the half -- just about the first time anybody had stopped Al all half long. Missed a hsot to close the third (may have been blocked) but otherwise blew up int he garbagetime, and one game after I suggested that maybe he wasn't going to turn out as an NBA 3pt shooter afterall, he locked in from that range and just started bombing. Wasn't much else, and showing a distressing bit of Pejaesque one-dimesnionalness to his stat lines -- we are already drowning in guys who score and do nothing else, could not really afford to start another one. But at this early stage of the career just good to finally see a rookie with big offensive potential show some of it for the night. I mentioned last tiem out he had looked much more comfortable out there aginst the Knicks, and that was evident again this time out. Maybe he's starting to get it, although as always with these kids, consistency will be the thing.
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Natt ( B ) -- we got off to the horrendous start which had to have Kenny thinking about stopping off at the unemployment office on the way home. But even in the worst moments, we were just missing shots. That gets said too much -- always the excuse. But this time it was true -- Minnesota has exactly zero good defenders on it, and we were getting whatever we wanted. We just were completely miserable at knocking them down. We hit one of our first 14 shots, and it took us nearly 3 minutes to even a point on the board. Needless to say the fans in the arena (both of them) were just sitting in stunned silence wondering if it could get worse. But it didn't. We woke up, the Woves remained the Wolves, an we pretty much did naything we wanted to out there for the next 36 minutes. A nice little vacation for our guys from the reality of their position in the NBA pecking order. A game that as piksi would note officially launched us on to our playoff push. However reality is likely about to strike. Sitting at 1-0, 100% winning percentage, I suggest Natt retire now with road games at Portland, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio coming up. As far as Natt himself -- he did little, and maybe that is a good thing. did mix up the defenses on Jefferson after half after he torched all of our frontline guys in man to man in the first half. He also used the same vet-centric rotation that Reggie did, which is NOT a good thing. But given that he had only been coach for about 10 hours by tipoff time, perhaps he can be forgiven until he has time to implement his own system. However there are no more 4-20 teams on deck until after Christmas at least, so he's going to have to do it under fire. Have fun Kenny!
Garcia ( A- ) -- started slow offensively with the rest of the team (slow here being an understatement for a squad that shot 1 for its first 14), and you wee thinking maybe Reggie firing hangover. But came on with a streak of hot shooting in the second period that culminated with a three to put us ahead for the first time of the night and never looked back. Was a major part of the party in the third when it was all just too easy, and then got to take the 4th off. Kept the ball moving, the three point shot was on tonight, and he easily dominated his matchup on both sides of the floor, and yes, was the oncourt leader (since I know we have a thread on that). 21pts 3ast 5ast are nice numbers. Doing it in 25 minutes makes them very nice. Now if he had just done it against an actual NBA team...
Hawes ( B+ ) -- in the first half oddly struggled against stubby Craig Smith on offense (of course Smith does have arms the size of Spencer's waist), and wasn't able to dominate the matchup defensively like you thought he should with a five or six inch reach advantage. Also took his turns along with everybody else getting burned by Jefferson. But on the other hand grabbed a lot of boards for the first time in a long whilew (had 9 at half). Finally got the offense in gear in the thrid quarter when anything we tried to do worked against a Wolves team looking every bit of 4-19. And whether it be the coaching staff or Spencer himself (in particular because there was nobody to run from tonight), he seems to have been trying to work more in the post of late. Rebounding dried up after half and he only finished with 10, but as noted last game double figure rebounding was something he had only managed once in the last 14 games, so still a good night for him on the glass. Some good moments as usual, but not dominant, and Smith actually outscored him on the night.
Miller ( B+ ) -- a couple of nights after playing like week old roadkill for his "friend" Reggie, lumbered his way to effective offensive play against Al Jefferson, who the occasional block aside is not a very good defender. Brad was able to get the drive going, and then able to step back and start dropping in jumpers. Got badly lit up by Jefferson in the first half on the other end, but responded with efficiency and the steadier night (Jefferson was all world for a half, and turned into a pouty clueless Zach Randolph clone after half). Also, like Spencer came to work on the glass for one of the few times in recent memory (their rebounding woes coincide -- Brad too had only grabbed double figures once in his last 14 games before tonight).
Salmons ( B- ) -- another of our wing players off to the slow start, but finally began to wake up and realize that this was Minnesota he was facing, and specifically Mike Miller when he began to come alive -- a player he has owned on offense, and he began to become a factor down the stretch of the second quarter. Got whatever he wanted in the breezy third quarter after he remembered the Wolves have no shotblockers and quit chucking threes, and had a solid offensive night. Not a terribly well rounded night though -- gve us nothing on the glass, was minimally involved in our passing game. Nobody he guarded did anything on offense, but then again they barely tried (and Ryan Gomes...my goodness was he garbage). So, shrug. Wasn't really needed, chipped in enough points to keep hs average from falling dramatically, and we cruised off to the win.
Udrih ( C ) -- not as bad as the anemic numbers might indicate this time (4pts 3ast). Very quiet start, but began to get it in gear down the strech of the second quarter, and was slicing through the Wolves' defense at will for layups. Was obviously out there for the thrid quarter party, but was oddly a wallflower, and while we were passing the ball with ease and everybody was getting open shots, somehow our PG was amongst the least involed players. Not that he was actively hurting us, just that he was irrelevant. He did little, the Wolves PGs did little, and the game was decided by others. Could have probably had a few more assists if guys had not blown some easy ones, but stilll can no higher than C here.
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Thompson ( B ) -- limited early numbers, but some hustle and a solid post move. Played some better defense than last time out, where he was the guy victimized by Harrington for those three long bombs that killed us. This time was mostly inside, stayed down, but still managed to disrupt the shortish Wolves and got a couple of blocks. Missed a few of his normal touchless layups (use the glass young man, use the glass), but eliminated the doubt wiht a series of dunks. Eventually got his board numbers up to a decent level, but for the second game in a row was outmuscled by an even more determined rebounder (this time it was Kevin Love). Picked up the bulk of his numbers int eh garbagetime here (think he had like 2pts 1reb at half) which is some factor in the grade.
Jackson ( B ) -- aggressive play in the first half, but some slop and turnovers as well. Gobbled up all of the garbagetime minutes at OG, which has to be discouraging to Quncy Douby if he was thinking he might get one more shot given the new coach. Played well against the scrubs, and again was hitting his threes -- maybe the terrible slump is finally over. On the other hand got lit up badly the other way, whether he was trying to cover McCants (his primary man I think) or switched on Keivn Ollie (!) who might have had a career high with 17.
Moore ( C- ) -- one of those "did he play?" efforts -- had two points, on FTs, and zero rebounds at the half. Then came back to play the entire extended garbagetime (because as everyone knows Mikki Moore and Bobby Jackson need all the development time int he world, unlike those creaky old vets Sheldon and Quincy). And pretty much duplicated his first half effort, except this time he chipped in A rebound! Woohoo! Like Thompson, watched Kevin Love gobble up almost everything on the glass during his minutes. Even Brian Cardinal was more active on the glass. To be fair also chipped in a late blocked shot in his continuing pursuit of Bill Russel's record (actually Bill Russel does not have the record because blocks were not kept as a stat back in his day, so you could say that Mikki actually has MORE blocks than Russel). In any case, not much to play for in garbagetime for an old vet, and did not really hurt us, so not going to go too low here.
Brown ( B- ) -- initially struggled, missing his first three shots, including two ugly ones on one possession. But came back and finally did something good at the end of a quarter -- canning a three just before the half to put us up three going into the break. Got a lot of run in garbagetime where he continued to chuck up bricked threes and got burned badly on defense. But ran the team well, using his quickness to get ino the teeth of the defense (well...there is no teeth of the Wolves' defense) and thn kicking it to various Kings. 3-9 is not so hot. Getting burned by Kevin Ollie is really not so hot. But he is a point guard, and played the late minutes like one, and so this was still encouraging in many ways.
Greene ( A- ) -- did not get in until the end of the first half, and it was maybe not a great sign for how things are gong to go. But immediately made a nice little contribution by blocking an Al Jefferson shot at the end of the half -- just about the first time anybody had stopped Al all half long. Missed a hsot to close the third (may have been blocked) but otherwise blew up int he garbagetime, and one game after I suggested that maybe he wasn't going to turn out as an NBA 3pt shooter afterall, he locked in from that range and just started bombing. Wasn't much else, and showing a distressing bit of Pejaesque one-dimesnionalness to his stat lines -- we are already drowning in guys who score and do nothing else, could not really afford to start another one. But at this early stage of the career just good to finally see a rookie with big offensive potential show some of it for the night. I mentioned last tiem out he had looked much more comfortable out there aginst the Knicks, and that was evident again this time out. Maybe he's starting to get it, although as always with these kids, consistency will be the thing.
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Natt ( B ) -- we got off to the horrendous start which had to have Kenny thinking about stopping off at the unemployment office on the way home. But even in the worst moments, we were just missing shots. That gets said too much -- always the excuse. But this time it was true -- Minnesota has exactly zero good defenders on it, and we were getting whatever we wanted. We just were completely miserable at knocking them down. We hit one of our first 14 shots, and it took us nearly 3 minutes to even a point on the board. Needless to say the fans in the arena (both of them) were just sitting in stunned silence wondering if it could get worse. But it didn't. We woke up, the Woves remained the Wolves, an we pretty much did naything we wanted to out there for the next 36 minutes. A nice little vacation for our guys from the reality of their position in the NBA pecking order. A game that as piksi would note officially launched us on to our playoff push. However reality is likely about to strike. Sitting at 1-0, 100% winning percentage, I suggest Natt retire now with road games at Portland, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio coming up. As far as Natt himself -- he did little, and maybe that is a good thing. did mix up the defenses on Jefferson after half after he torched all of our frontline guys in man to man in the first half. He also used the same vet-centric rotation that Reggie did, which is NOT a good thing. But given that he had only been coach for about 10 hours by tipoff time, perhaps he can be forgiven until he has time to implement his own system. However there are no more 4-20 teams on deck until after Christmas at least, so he's going to have to do it under fire. Have fun Kenny!
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