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Game Previews:
McHale also said today that Sebastian Telfair’s return to the lineup is coming. Telfair has not played a second in the Wolves past two games. Sounds like Kevin Ollie’s presence at point guard has been because of a mix of veteran leadership and hard work paying off. And with Miller out, you can expect more doses of Ollie.
McHale had a long talk after practice with Miller and rookie Kevin Love, who played a season-low seven minutes against the Rockets.
Asked if that was a one-game thing, McHale indicated it wouldn’t be long term, at least. “I think Kevin will get back in there and play his normal minutes,” he said.
But hard fought or not, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost their 12th consecutive game Saturday night. With road games scheduled in San Antonio, New York and Dallas, along with their home matchups against Orlando and Memphis, it is entirely possible that this team will end the month of December without a win and break the franchise record of 16 straight defeats. Any reasonable person would ask—and I actually do know a few—what kind of masochist would continue to subject himself to chronicling such a hopeless situation…
The Wolves have dropped to #30 in Marc Stein’s weekly power rankings.
As if his 0-7 record and the prospect of a winless December weren’t weighing on Kevin McHale, here’s more what-if torture: Roy’s look-at-me eruption in Portland started as soon as McHale returned to coaching.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to their best start (23-4), the Los Angeles Lakers are 22-5 after winning Monday and the Orlando Magic (22-6) equaled the best 28-game start in franchise history with a win Monday against the Golden State Warriors (8-21).
Conversely, the Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder are a combined 11-68 (.139).
“When this season first started, I was really excited. But I’ve been very disappointed in the level of basketball by some of these teams,” TNT analyst Charles Barkley says.