Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on Mike Miller:
He will have an MRI done Thursday morning in Orlando. He said after the game that he won’t know just how bad the sprained ankle is or isn’t until that is done, or until he wakes up in the morning and see how swollen or stiff it might be.
They also might have allowed Kevin McHale, along on this three-game Eastern trip that concludes Friday in New Jersey, a chance to see Foye at shooting guard most of the game in case he is trying to trade shooting guard Rashad McCants or looking for a point guard such as Charlotte’s Raymond Felton…
Sam Mitchell, a former Wolves player and the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2006, became the league’s third head coach fired this season when Toronto dumped him Wednesday after an 8-9 start. “I heard that on the way over here,” said Wittman, who was an assistant coach when Mitchell played for the Wolves. “Sam’s a good man. I thought he did a good job there. Obviously, there was a difference of opinion there.”
Ollie didn’t have a turnover in more than 22 minutes, and the Wolves finished with 15 on the night after committing 14 in the first half of Monday’s 100-90 loss at Charlotte.
Ollie finished with four points and two assists.
“Unfortunately, we got a loss,” he said. “I just have to play my role and do what I’ve been doing coming off the bench. Just trying to bring some energy, get Randy off the ball a little bit so he can take a few more shots. We started off well, but we just couldn’t sustain it.”
Foye, who had 13 points and a team-high five assists, said he had no problem with Wittman’s lineup shuffle.
Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love, who is a big gadget guy and loves Best Buy, would love an endorsement with the locally based electronics firm.
“I’m just adjusting as much as I can,” Love said Wednesday night before the Timberwolves’ matchup with Orlando. “I’ve never lived off the west coast before. Being a rookie it’s another adjustment I have to make.”
Love came into Wednesday’s matchup with Orlando averaging 8.7 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. He was also coming off his first double-double, which he posted Saturday against Denver with 18 points and a season-high 12 boards.
Forbes lists the Wolves at #23 on the list of the most valuable teams in the league. It lists the team’s value at $301 million.
In celebration of the team’s twentieth anniversary, the Timberwolves are sporting new uniforms and a new logo this year. Marketing is nice, but with no Kevin Garnett and the same lousy players and coach (Randy Wittman) that won only 22 games last year, fans are tuning the Timberwolves out. Attendance fell 10% and ranked 25th out of 30 NBA teams last season. The Target Center, built in 1990, is starting to look very old (only six NBA arenas are older). The building features only 120 pricey club seats that teams in modern arenas count on to goose revenues. The city is asking the state for help for the arena’s debt payments. Yet that is unlikely considering the state of the economy and that taxpayers are already subsidizing buildings for baseball’s Twins and hockey’s Wild.