Mark it down on your calendars Wolves fans – March 25th, 2007. That’s the day the Timberwolves lost Greg Oden.
[ad2] In a meaningless late-season division game where the only thing on the line was the number of ping-pong balls to be awarded in May, the Timberwolves managed to defeat the Portland Trailblazers 94-93. Little did everyone know that this outcome would shape the face of the NBA landscape for years to come…
Portland led 87-82 with 3:17 to play before Randy Foye entered the game and scored 8 of Minnesota’s next 10 points. His heroics gave Minnesota a 92-89 lead with 51 seconds to go. Roy came right back, hitting a left-handed layup, and Garnett was called for traveling to set up Aldridge’s tip-in that gave the Blazers the lead with 8.4 seconds to play. Then, in an ultimate defining moment for both franchises, Kevin Garnett took a hurried inbounds pass with 2.2 seconds to go, dribbled once, wheeled and dropped a jumper over four outstretched Portland hands at the other end to give the Wolves the win.
You want irony? For years Wolves fans have clamored for Garnett to be “more clutch”, to hit those game winning shots he seems to miss so often. This time, against Portland, The Ticket finally came up big…
…And it cost him his only shot at fixing the horrible mess the Minnesota Timberwolves have become. If Garnett misses that shot, the Timberwolves finish the season 31-51, and the Blazers end up 33-49. Minnesota gets the 6th position in the draft and Portland gets the 7th. Instead, thanks to Garnett’s make, Minnesota and Portland ended up tied at 32-50. This lead to the coin toss which Portland won, giving them the 6th position in the draft. And just in case you haven’t drawn the conclusion already, it was the 6th position that ultimately wound up winning the draft lottery and the rights to draft Greg Oden.
Wait for it…
Yes folks, that sound you hear coming from the North is Timberwolves fans collectively throwing up in their mouths.
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