NBA Update: Timberwolves come Alive
January 12, 2009 • written by John Miller
Am I in a dream? Or have the TimberWolves won five straight games? It’s not a dream, its reality. The Wolves have won five straight, and seven out of their last ten. This is after not having a two game win streak since 2007. So I have to ask: How exactly are the Wolves playing so well?
The Wolves are playing so well for a couple reasons; the first reason is that they have big Al Jefferson. Jefferson is dominant under the boards, averaging 22.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He is solidifying himself as a star in this league, and he just turned 24 years old, so he will be a big part of TimberWolves in the years to come. Reason number two: Randy Foye is starting to look like he is becoming the play maker he was drafted to be. After a solid rookie campaign, and a not so solid sophomore campaign because of injuries, he is starting to look like he has a bright future. After changing from being a point guard to a shooting guard, Foye is looking more comfortable shooting the ball, and running the offense when he has to. You can tell that because he has been averaging 20 points per game during this five game win streak.
The Kevin Love for O.J. Mayo trade isn’t looking so bad anymore either. Sure, O.J. Mayo is the front runner for the rookie of the year award, but Kevin Love is looking like he will be a dominant rebounder in NBA. All Love needs to do is get comfortable shooting the ball, and he will be a good player. Most fans forget, but Love was a fantastic shooter last year for UCLA, and right now is shooting 42 percent from the floor, which is pretty good for a 20 year old kid who is in his first year in the NBA. Once he gets comfortable, who knows how many points he will score? He is definitely capable of the big numbers.
After being released of his GM duties and sent to coach the team that he made, Kevin McHale is looking like a pretty good coach, but everything looks good when you win five straight games. He did the same thing when he fired Flip Saunders a couple years ago; he made the team look better and win more games, but this year… this year may be different. McHale is looking like he can get the most out of his players, and they seem to be playing with a lot more energy and finesse. The team has been playing fantastic defense as of late. Maybe, firing Randy Whitman was a good move after all.
The fact of the matter is that the TimberWolves are still 11-25, and have a long way until they are a good team. Even though they are playing well, their record makes them look like an awful team, and they still need to make a few moves to become a great team. They have four first round draft picks next year, and they should either trade them for a star player or trade up in the draft and draft one of the best players, because now that the TimberWolves are winning, their draft pick is getting higher, and we need one of the top draft picks. They also need to draft wisely, something they have done for their existence as an NBA franchise.
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Tagged: basketball, miller, NBA, Sports, timberwolves
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John,
i liked your story on the timberwolves. i don’t watch basketball at all but like to know how they are doing. love your stories and updates on sport topics! =)