Timberwolves are all bark, little bite.
Don’t get me wrong, after four futile post-Garnett seasons at the Target Center, this season is actually proving to be pretty fun.
You’ve got the silky skills of the Spanish rookie Ricky Rubio along with the flat out game of Kevin Love, who would surely be considered a top five player if he were in the more media friendly markets of Los Angeles or New York. Yet, following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Timberwolves find themselves with a 4-8 record despite the numerous plaudits for their exciting brand of basketball and a rejuvenated following.
They have been christened by many as the team to watch, but that doesn’t mean they are actually a good team.
Darko Milicic, anyone? Wes Johnson? Anthony Tolliver? No, thanks. These players simply aren’t good enough to play significant minutes on a play-off calibre side. Which is precisely why Minnesota isn’t a play-off calibre side. Not yet. Heck, at the Knicks, Milicic admitted eating hamburgers in the locker room before games because he knew he’d never see a minute on the court. Logically, Dave Kahn offered him $20 million to play in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for four seasons. The Serb is averaging slightly over 8 points per game since joining the Timberwolves, and that simply isn’t a high enough production from the centre position.
In fact, thus far into the lockout shortened 2011/2012 NBA season, Milicic and former first round draft pick, Wesley Johnson are averaging 10.3 points combined. Oh, and that’s 40% of your starting line-up. Think how good the Wolves would be if that 40% was scoring 30 points or more?
I’m a Timberwolves fan, but even for me, it’s difficult to see how much further this team can go unless they can add another genuine scoring threat. Rubio scored a career high 18 points in his second career start against the Hawks, but he’s a passing specialist and not, unlike big number 42, a realistic scoring threat on a night by night basis. They are also in an ultra-competitive division with the likes of the Westbrook and Durant led Oklahoma City Thunder and the tricky Denver Nuggets and Portland TrailBlazers. It’s going to be real tough for Rick Adelman’s boys to make significant waves in the win column.
The best hope Minnesota have, in many ways, is that they can attract big name players over the next couple of seasons by locking down Kevin Love to a long-term max figure contract and showing the rest of the league that they are committed to winning. He’s going to need more around him than Ricky Rubio, but you better believe that free agents will want part of that set-up if Adelman can ensure the duo continue to perform the way they have been.
Give them time, and they could prove to be on par with the Garnett era Timberwolves, but, right now, they’re just an exciting, fun team. That’s losing a lot of games. Isn’t that meant to be an oxymoron?
