2008-09 Game 5: Wolves at Kings
November 7th, 2008 by GreekHouse
<GreekHouse>Tonight the Wolves go to Sacramento to take on the Kings for the second time this season. The Wolves picked up their lone victory of the season at home against Sacramento in the opener and hope to post a repeat performance tonight.
Despite the loss in their last game against the Spurs, I felt like they played really well. One of the big stories of the game was the increased assertiveness of Mike Miller. Miller had gone 1-8 from behind the arc combined in the first three games of the season, but went 5-7 against the Spurs and 10-19 from the field over all. Having a good outside scoring threat is pretty key for this Wolves team because it forces the defense to cover the outside shooters so that BAJ has more room to work in the low post.
Look for Miller to continue to be aggressive tonight. Despite being on the road, the Wolves are playing a team that is devoid of talent and should be able to come away with their second win of the season.</GreekHouse>
<SBG>What the hell??? You mean the season has started already? I missed the first four games, but I'm back and raring to go! Looking at the standings, though, it seems that the Wolves haven't exactly been raring to go. Off to a 1-3 start with their lone victory coming at home by two points against tonight's foe, the Kings. The Kings started the season with a four game road trip, losing their opener by two to the Wolves and then got pasted three times at Miami (lost by 26), Orlando (lost by 18), and Philadelphia (lost by 34). That kind of takes any luster off of that narrow win for the Wolves. Sacramento did win their home opener on Wednesday by five over Memphis. In other words, this is a crappy team.
The Wolves almost beat the Spurs the other night -- the Manu Ginobili-less Spurs, losing in double overtime. I would think without Ginobili the Wolves might concentrate on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Of course, I didn't see the game, but I've glanced at the box score and Duncan and Parker combined for 85 points, including 55 for Parker. Oy.
I am hoping to see some of this game and I think the Wolves are going to struggle to win this one. It is winnable, though. Bookmakers agree, making Sacramento a four point favorite. I think Sacramento will win and cover.</SBG>
This entry was posted by GreekHouse on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 8:00 pm and is filed under 2008-09 Wolves Game Logs. It is one of 44 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.
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GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:08:52 pm
I guess this is the first game for Brad Miller--coming off a suspension. According to the Kings pregame interview, he has no idea how many minutes he'll be able to play. I can only assume that means his conditioning is crap.
SBG replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:11:20 pm
John Hollinger has compared Kevin Love to Miller. He's extremely high on Love.
brianS replied on November 8, 2008 at 5:22:18 pm
Love is the drug that I'm thinking of.
SBG replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:13:21 pm
Wow, that suspension was his third violation of the drug policy.
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:10:58 pm
Also, Love and Telfair are being inserted into the starting lineup. Kevin Martin is playing, despite a bum ankle.
SBG replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:40:06 pm
After 1, 36-27 Kings.
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:40:27 pm
Kings hit absolutely everything that quarter. Geez.
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 9:44:58 pm
Tony Parker apparently hurt himself in the first quarter and left the game. Couldn't he have done that a game earlier?
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 10:00:14 pm
Hot Kings shooting + Wolves bad rebounding = Kings scoring on nearly every possession. Ugh.
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 10:18:11 pm
Wolves make a mini-run at the end of the half and are only down 7 despite tremendous Kings shooting. The Wolves have done a good job keeping themselves in the game by not turning the ball over and getting to the line a lot (Love with 8 FTA!). Hopefully the Wolves can keep doing what they've been doing on offense and the Kings shooting slows down. Lotta game left.
SBG replied on November 7, 2008 at 10:31:44 pm
Love looks pretty comfortable out there.
GreekHouse replied on November 7, 2008 at 11:01:33 pm
I guess when your opponent shoots 54% and you shoot 42%, you're pretty much destined to go down in flames. The Wolves seemed to be doing a good job hanging in there until near the end of that quarter. All of a sudden it seemed like they were getting terrible shots every time down the court. The Kings kept hitting, and it looks like it's all but over for the Wolves.