When Minnesota Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman drew up a last-minute shot for Blake Ahearn in Sunday’s NBA preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at the Bismarck Civic Center, teammate Rashad McCants upped the ante.
“He said if I make it, he’d give me $100,”Ahearn said.
McCants obviously doesn’t know Ahearn well yet, or he’d know not to bet against him
Ahearn got the ball and calmly drained a 3-pointer from the left corner..
“When we get on the plane, Ibetter have a $100 bill on my seat,”Ahearn said with a grin.
John Hollinger/ESPN includes Al Jefferson on his “All-Breakout squad”:
Yes, he’s pretty much been an annual fixture on this list, but whaddaya want me to say? He keeps improving and, like Williams, has a good chance of making his first All-Star team this season. Jefferson should again be a force on the block, and this time he’ll have a lot more help around him. Because Minnesota has potentially four 40 percent 3-point shooters to play on the perimeter (Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Rashad McCants and Kevin Love), teams won’t be very willing to double him down low. The more interesting story will be how much he can improve on D — if the Wolves get some stops, they can surprise a lot of people this season.
David Aldridge/NBA.com ranks the Wolves at #5 in the league the for their offseason moves.
Minnesota was a franchise going nowhere, with no hope of getting better in a brutal west. But Kevin McHale finally got one right, sending a bunch of dead weight (and the rights to the buoyant Mayo) to Memphis on draft night for the rights to Love and the sharpshooting Miller. Rarely does a team get potential, proven veteran talent and offload onerous contracts in one deal, but that’s exactly what Minnesota did. A Love-Al Jefferson-Miller frontcourt is going to be a load for opponents to handle, with Love’s rebounding and passing ability the perfect complement to Jefferson’s post skills and Miller’s stroke.
Now, none of this will mean much if guard Randy Foye can’t stay healthy. And Mayo may well become a superstar. And dealing Chalmers may hurt. And a halfcourt-based team doesn’t bode well for the future of 2007 first-rounder Corey Brewer. But even if the Wolves move Brewer, they should get decent talent in return, adding to the core group that the team hopes will be helped by a big-name free agent in 2010.
Oly Sandor/HoopsVibe lists the Wolves among the Western Conference teams who will “fall short of their training camp goal”:
Minnesota will take a step forward. Al Jefferson has a year under his belt as The Guy, newly acquired Mike Miller spreads the floor with his range, and rookie Kevin Love has potential. Of course, the man behind the promise, Randy Foye, is poised for a big season. 40 wins are optimistic; the Wolves must walk before running.
Love said he is hoping to be an immediate contributor.
“If I get minutes, hopefully I’ll work my way in and be a double-double guy as much as possible,” he said. “… Shooting the ball at a high field-goal percentage and getting as many rebounds as I can, because there’s no such thing as a selfish rebound.”
…Sunday’s crowd of 6,081 was the smallest ever for an NBA preseason game at the Bismarck Civic Center.
Maybe the first – and last – time Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Madsen were mentioned in the same sentence (or even the same library) came today when Ryan Anderson was asked about players to emulate.
“I always loved Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk can do everything,” Anderson said. “So probably Dirk and a little bit of Mark Madsen too. Scrappy guy.”