Call this one the Boston Celtic consolation bowl. Fans of the Wolves and Sonics can turn their lonely eyes toward Beantown as their erstwhile stars ply their trade for the hated Celtics. Of course, the story lines aren’t that close… Seattle wasn’t Ray Allen’s only team and wasn’t hands down the best player in franchise history. That would be Gary Payton, for whom Mr. Allen was traded. So, I suppose there’s that link – and didn’t Gary play for the C’s? And didn’t the T-Wolves trade Allen to the Bucks? Ah yes.
Anyway, this is a game that T-Wolves fans should think is winnable. In addition to the loss of Allen, Rashard Lewis moved to Orlando for a hernia-inducing pile of money. Meanwhile, the Sonics picked up Kevin Durant, drafting the 6’10 swingman out of Texas. So far, he’s been learning on the job and the Sonics stink. Not as bad as the Wolves do, but one of those Christmas tree Air Fresheners isn’t going to solve the problem. Plus, there’s the added stench of the stadium situation in Seattle, with ownership resolving to move to OK City (seriously, you’d have to be from OK City – and the owner is – to want to move from Seattle to that dust bowl town).
Okay, back to basketball. The Sonics are playing their fourth road game of the week (out of five – Saturday, they’ll be in Utah). They were pounded by Chicago 123-96 on Tuesday night, but bounced back to defeat the Knicks in New York 117-110 the next night. (Good grief, how bad are the Knicks right now? Lock them in a room with the Heat in a loser-takes-all death match.) They had a close loss in New Orleans on Sunday and overall have won three of their last five. In other words, they are playing better. The same can be said for Durant, who’s shooting a respectable 43% over those five games, including 7-19 from three.
The Wolves, of course, followed up that jaw dropper against Phoenix with a pair of road losses to Washington and Philly. I watched the Wizards drill the Heat in Miami last night and I think that, even without Mr. Zed, Washington is a pretty good team. So, not too bad to lose those two games, I guess, although that Philly game was one of the two wins I had slated for December. This game is the other. Minnesota is a two point favorite and the O/U is 201. I think the Wolves will win and cover.
One thing that I should mention is that ESPN’s rookie rankings has Corey Brewer rated third behind Durant and Al Horford. That’s probably a little high (and in no way backed by his PER), but I must say that he’s shown glimpses of being a good player. He has a lot (and I mean A LOT) of energy and he’s a very good rebounder. So, I’m liking him a lot more than I did a while back.
<GreekHouse>For the first few weeks of the season, the Wolves seemed to start strong and play 3 good quarters before stumbling in the 4th. Now they seem to struggle in the 1st quarter before coming back and playing the remaining 3 quarters well. The story is still basically the same, just in reverse order. I don't really think this means anything, it's just sort of a coincidence. What this team really needs to do is start putting 4 full quarters together before they can start winning regularly.
Over the past few games, the Wolves have shown some encouraging signs. Jefferson continues to play well despite an "off" night at Washington. As SBG noted, Brewer is starting to demonstrate some of the characteristics that made him the #7 pick in the draft and Telfair is playing like he wants to stay in the league for a while. Gomes doesn't look like anything special, but I could see him staying on the team for a while.
The only person (other than Ratliff) the Wolves got in the draft that doesn't look like he'll be with the team for long is Gerald Green. To put it bluntly, the guy just seems like he doesn't have any interest in playing in the NBA. When he's on the sidelines, he seems disinterested and when he's on the court, he doesn't seem to have any idea what he's doing.
I sort of like the Wolves on this one, but I think I'll go with the over instead.
Any of course, I can't conclude without talking about the real story of this game. That story is Robert Swift. When he first came into the league, he looked like the least likely NBA player ever (except for being extremely tall). Now, he totally fits in.
His hair is even longer now and he has a full beard, but this is the best picture I could find. If we're lucky, we'll even see him play!</GreekHouse>
Good start for the Wolves!
Other than the 3rd quarter in the second Atlanta game, I think that quarter was the most lopsided (in the Wolves favor) quarter that they've had this season.
So, tonight it's looking like it will be the second quarter where the Wolves don't play.
3rd quarter isn't looking so strong either.
The Wolves rally to regain the lead at the half. We'll see if they've weathered the storm.
Ouch. I looked away for a couple of minutes and the Sonics go crazy.
Wolves are having some major problems with turnovers right now.
With 4:41 left, this is a bad game.
Looks like tonight we'll have 1 good quarter and 3 bad quarters.
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Not exactly ferocious tonight.
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The "sad" at the end of that keyboard mashing was not done on purpose. Heh. Seems appropriate though.
While Payton probably is the greatest Sonic of all-time, that franchise has had a lot of nice players through the years. My fave? The Wizard. The One-Man Fast Break.
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Gus Williams. And unlike The Glove, Williams has a ring. (Dennis Johnson was the Finals MVP in '79, but Gus led all scorers in the championship series.)
I remember Shawn Kemp and GP in the Finals against the Bulls. Kemp could throw down monsterous dunks.
where's the love for Downtown Freddie Brown??
that '79 team was excellent. Sikma, Shelton, Gus, DJ and Johnnie Johnson, with a deep bench (Brown, Silas, LaGarde -- although he got hurt -- and Wally Walker, with some key minutes from Dennis Awtrey).
I always liked the long, lean swing-position guys, like Johnnie Johnson, Portland's Bob Gross, and the greatest of them all, Philly (and ABA Denver's) Bobby Jones.
I totally dug that '79 Sonics team. DT Freddy Brown was another reason why.
The '79 Sonics made me fall in love with basketball. I spent a lot of hours in the driveway trying to imitate Sikma's shot from behind the head, The Wizard's finger-roll, and the way DJ dribbled, and practicing my shots from "downtown."
That was a deep, balanced team could do everything well. When I see that '78-80 era team on NBA TV now, I'm amazed at the pace of the game and the crispness of their passing. It's a shame they couldn't stay together much longer. Dennis Johnson ended up a Celtics legend, via a detour through Phoenix, first because he had a falling out with Sonics coach Lenny Wilkens. Meanwhile, Gus Williams sat out a season over a contract dispute. The team finished 6th in the division without the two of them in '80-81, and it never was quite the same again.
That three-guard rotation of DJ, Wiz, and Brown was as good as any to ever lace up sneakers in the league. At least the equal of the Bad Boys' Dumars, Isaiah, and Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson. It really is a shame they couldn't keep it together.
I used to imitate NBA players shots in the drive-way, too, 'wig. Sikma was a fave, perhaps because it was nothing like my regular jumper. The "Jamaal Wilkes" was the "Sikma" with your elbow way out to the side. (Horrible form that drove my older brothers crazy.)
Oh, and dude (Swift) totally has the Seattle look down pat. About a decade or so late...
Twolves announcers have been doing the all time top Wolves teams of all times this week, here's my shot at the top50 Wolves of all time. Its an ugly list. Stats from current Wolves are about a week old
Rank Player Seasons Points/G Reb/G Ass/G
1 Kevin Garnett 12 20.5 11.4 4.5
2 Wally Szczerbiak 7 15.5 4.5 2.6
3 Tom Gugliotta 4 18.2 8.5 3.8
4 Sam Cassell 2 17.2 3.1 6.4
5 Stephon Marbury 3 16.9 2.9 8.3
6 Tony Cambell 3 20.6 4.6 2.8
7 Sam Mitchell 10 9.5 4.0 1.2
8 Latrell Spreewell 2 14.8 3.5 2.9
9 Terrell Brandon 4 15.6 3.5 8.3
10 Doug West 9 10.2 2.6 2.0
11 JR Rider 3 18.8 3.8 2.9
12 Christian Laettner 4 17.2 8.1 3.2
13 Al Jefferson 1 20.1 11.3 1.4
14 Pooh Richardson 3 15.0 3.3 8.0
15 Tyrone Corbin 3 16.2 7.2 3.4
16 Joe Smith 4 10.3 6.3 1.1
17 Ricky Davis 2 17.6 4.1 4.8
18 Troy Hudson 5 10.0 1.6 3.8
19 Chauncey Billups 2 10.9 2.4 4.5
20 Michael Williams 5 12.3 2.9 6.8
21 Chuck Person 2 14.2 4.4 3.4
22 Trenton Hassell 4 6.9 3.0 2.1
23 Anthony Peeler 6 9.6 2.8 2.6
24 Malik Sealy 2 10.4 3.9 2.1
25 Mark Blount 2 11.6 5.7 0.8
26 Rashad Mccants 3 7.9 1.8 0.9
27 Randy Foye 1 10.1 2.7 2.8
28 Terry Porter 3 8.6 2.3 4.1
29 Rasho Nesterovich 5 7.5 5.4 1.0
30 Thurl Bailey 3 8.8 3.8 0.8
31 Randy Breuer 3 6.9 4.8 1.3
32 Felton Spencer 3 6.0 6.6 0.4
33 Mike James 1 10.1 2.0 3.6
34 Fred Hoiberg 2 6.2 2.9 1.3
35 Sean Rooks 2 9.3 5.3 1.0
36 Dean Garrett 5 4.2 4.1 0.4
37 Marko Jaric 3 7.0 2.9 3.2
38 Michael Kandi 3 6.1 5.5 0.5
39 Gary Trent 3 6.3 3.7 0.9
40 Laphonso Ellis 1 9.4 6.0 1.1
41 Kendall Gill 1 8.7 3.0 1.9
43 Craig Smith 2 7.8 5.0 0.5
44 Gerald Glass 3 9.5 2.8 1.7
44 Donyell Marshall 1 10.8 4.9 1.4
45 Bobby Jackson 2 5.9 2.3 2.8
46 James Robinson 2 7.5 1.7 1.9
47 Chris Carr 3 7.4 2.4 1.2
48 Eddie Griffin 3 5.7 5.7 0.6
49 Tod Murphy 3 5.7 5.1 1.0
50 Marc Jackson 2 5.3 3.1 0.4
Man! That is ugly. Like Sandra Bernhard in The King of Comedy ugly.
Fred Hoiberg is number 2 on my list.
Donyell Marshall makes the list. It's a sad thing, indeed.
I think Peeler was a little better than that. 10th leading scorer in club history and #1 in 3PA and 3PM. After Szczerbiak, probably best 3P shooter. And after Freddy.
Yes, Tod Murphy!! He would at least always throw it down when he was near the hoop, instead of trying to finesse it in.