Antoine Walker

You would expect that an off day for the Wolves would be a good thing. Let the kids rest after their back-to-back losses, get some chemistry in practice, let guys know their roles. The list is endless of what can be done. However, apparently one man on this team hasnt been paying attention. That shimmy-shaking man is Antoine Walker. He complained to the press today saying he did not know his role on this team, and that he "doesn't know what he's doing here". It's pretty simple. The Wolves traded for him to lose a year on Mark Blount's contract. Thats it. Not to give him significant minutes, make him into a star, or even to let him jack up 10 threes in under five minutes. However, all those things seem to be what he expects out of coming to a rebuilding team. He said originally that he would love to take a leadership role on a rebuilding team. The only problem is that he is a horrendous basketball player, and, from seeing how he reacts to the MSP press, is also a horrendous leader.

If McHale knows what hes doing, he should look to buy this guy out before he turns for the worse, and asks for a trade. No one in their right mind would want this guy, so meet up with his agent, tell him he won't be playing here anymore, and ask a price for a buy out.

On the note of a buy out you must note that Antoine should not get more than two years pay since we can release him after next year. However, while in discussions, McHale should be using the "he will get another large contract this year from a team looking for that final piece" in order to drop that price even farther. If we can get him to drop his price even 1 million, I see it as a win-win situation, and I know I'm not the only one.

...In other buyout News around the NBA Stephon Marbury the "supposed championship piece alongside KG" from back in the day is reportedly asking to be bought out, or traded from the Knicks. Marbury has also said earlier this year he wanted to play overseas, which would make for a huge shift in the NBA. An all star going overseas to play while still in his prime.

Lost In The Crowd

All the games the Wolves have played have been close. Until the fourth quarter comes around. These kids are young, thats for sure, but if they want to get any recognition, they need to come up big in one of the next few games. Not only are we looking for a win, but the Wolves need a motivational game. One where not only is our offense clicking on all cylindars, but the other team is very off. It will happen at some point this season, but for Wolves fans looking to win soon, it needs to happen NOW.

When The wolves took on the Magic at home for the third game of the season, the media in the MSP area were hyping up the Jefferson-Howard matchup. Three quarters into the game, however, it seemed it was all one sided. After three quarters, Jefferson only had 13 points and 4 rebounds. Not only was Howard dominating the matchup, but he was getting into Jefferson's head. However, when the fourth came around, something clicked, and Jefferson picked it up a notch. Or five. Jefferson got 12 points and 6 rebounds in the fourth, and kept Minnesota within two with a few minutes left in the game. However, Lewis decided to start hitting shots, and hit some key threes to keep the Wolves down. The Magic pulled through, winning 111-103.

Lesson 3: Give Jefferson the ball. Its instrumental to the success of the team, and right now with Foye out and McCants with an injured ankel, we need Al to step it up offensively to stay in games.

On to Los Angeles. Going into the game, the coaches and players all knew we had to contain Kobe to be in this one. We played well all game, but forgot to do one thing. Contain Kobe. The wolves took their usual early lead, and then got taken over quickly, as the Lakers lead from the second quarter on. Our defenders let Kobe get 30 7 and 7, which took any momentum we may have had at any point away. However, McCants did not play at all, so I don't think anyone expected the Wolves to even be close. The only reason it wasn't a blowout was the stellar play of Telfair and of course, Jefferson. Telfair went for 15 3 and 3 in his first game off the bench (Marko started), and Jefferson had his usual 24 and 15 game. The Lakers pretty much showed us what they can do to a team with no offensive players, beating us 107-93

Lesson 4: In order for a team to win, they must be healthy

After being demolished by the Lakers we got to see how this team fared on a back-to-back game. The team flew up to Sacramento, where they met another team that has been struggling early on, in the Kings. This matchup seemed like a decent chance to get our first win, as they were coming off a game the day before as well. However, like most games, the Wolves lead early, and gave in in the end. Brewer was a big reason the Wolves were in the game, as he hit a few key shots and ended with 15 points. If he can average around there soon, we may have quite the young lineup, as he is known more for his outstanding D. Watching this team play you can't help but wonder what our record would look like if we had our number 1 or 2 guy Foye in the mix, but after Kevin Martin put us away for another disappointing loss, we stand near the bottom at 0-5. Looks like our young guys need more time.

Lesson 5: Get a go-to guy. Right now Jefferson can be that some games, but the Wolves need a reliable 4th quarter man to get points and win this team close games. Hopefully that man will be Foye.

New Look Wolves Learning Lessons

The post-KG era has begun in the land of 10,000 lakes, and its outlook is not as gloomy as many have perceived. After only two games this season many people have taken notice of this club, as what was supposed to be an easy win for our first two opponents ended up being a dogfight to the end.
In the Wolves home-opener, which I attended we showed much promise out of the gates. McCants lead the team to big first quarter leads, and made the sellout crowd roar when the lead grew to 14. The starting lineup, which had been in limbo all preseason seems set (until Foye returns) as all starters played very well. Our final starting five was:
PG: Telfair
SG: McCants
SF: Gomes
PF: Jefferson
C: Ratliff
As I said before, McCants seemed to be the emotional leader on the floor, while other players (Gomes and Telfair) took lesser roles. Jeffersons shot seemed off all game, but he still ended up with a double double to show why we just payed him the money! Ratliff (a pleasant surprise) Showd an array of post moves that were unexpected from a player acquired just to make salaries work in the KG trade. The team played well together, but couldn't consistantly get to the line, the biggest difference in the game, as Denver got to the free throw line twice as often and made twice as many. Denver hit some key shots, and our youngsters missed a few. It was a great learning experience.

Lesson 1: How not to close out a game.

Game two was almost the same story. Vs. the Knicks you expect to be able to drive the ball well and get to the free throw line, as their bigs are horrible defenders (Curry and Randolph). However, we only ended up with 10 free throws to their 39! That is something this team needs to work on to win games. Otherwise, we got off to another great start, and played well. McCants fouled out on a questionable call, but the Wolves still rallied back to be down 3 with 11 seconds left. Our tying attempt went to Antoine Walker (WHY!?!?) and he bricked the three. Overall a very well played game once again.

Lesson 2: Get to the free throw line!

Overall after two games people have found that this team will not be an easy 20 point win night in and night out as many suspected, but with Foye back in the lineup, could maybe contend for an 8th seed (that may be pushing it). However, for now, we will take it one game, and one lesson, at a time.

Writer

To Bleed Timberwolves Author: Matt

Matt has been following the Timberwolves since the year they were inaugurated, and has attended hundreds of Timberwolves games in person not only in Minneapolis, but Boston, Chicago and Phoenix as well. Matt has had an opinion on every move made by the franchise, and until now, posted his thoughts on message boards, the most recent being EBSports.net where he is a moderator in the Wolves' forum. On most message board sites his name is either KG4MVP2004, KG4MVP, or more recently Matt43.

Born in a twin cities suburb, Matt played basketball and football through high school, and dreamed as a child of becoming an NBA star. As the dream faded, he simply became a fanatic in all forms of the word. Living and Dieing by the hand of the Wolves, Matt has seen the ups and downs of the franchise. Following all sports teams in the Twin Cities, but focusing on the Timberwolves, he has grown into one of the franchise's biggest fans.