Click here for the forum’s thread for tonight’s game at Portland
Game previews:
Maybe the Wolves shouldn’t let Love practice again this season.
Foye was injured when he fell on top of Love Wednesday. Mark Madsen on Friday still sported a fading shiner over his right eye received in practice early this week.
“Kevin Love,” Madsen said when asked what happened to his eye. “Same guy who always gets me.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t a particularly good team when everyone’s available. Without Al Jefferson and Randy Foye, as they were Friday night at Staples Center, arguably the only thing that separates Kevin McHale’s bunch from the NBA and an the rec are some really ugly NBA licensed road uniforms.
As counterintuitive as it might seem, Wolves coach Kevin McHale says his players need to learn to play at this faster pace he seeks to prepare themselves for their star low-post player’s return next season.
How’s that?
“Ideally, if you have a post player, the best way to play the game is to play fast before he get there,” McHale said, referring to a big man’s ramble down the floor. “Then you play with him and off of him once he gets there. I think the Lakers mastered that.”
One-and-done sensation Kevin Love returned to UCLA on Thursday night to watch his Bruins take down the Oregon State Beavers, 79-54. Love’s been averaging 9.9 points and 8.8 rebounds a game in his rookie campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Austin Burton/Dime Magazine on Sebastian Telfair:
On one side was me, saying Bassy is only a considered a “bust” because of the (too lofty) expectations put on him by the media and, as a result, the public. His jumper is still broke (35% FG, 32% 3PA this year), and he’s far from a lock-down defender, but overall, he’s really not that bad, and along the way has turned in some good games against top competition: Telfair dropped 30 points (six threes) and eight assists on Miami a couple weeks ago in a Wolves win, then a couple games later gave the Lakers 20 and five assists in a loss; he went for 20 points and eight dimes in a win over the Knicks; had 15 and six against Derrick Rose in a win; and in January put together back-to-back games against Deron Williams and Chris Paul where he averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 assists as Minnesota split a pair.
On the other side of the Bassy argument was basically everybody else in the office, who modified that “bust” status to “Horrific Bust,” pointing out that Telfair is already on his third team in five years, and collectively questioned whether he’d even make the roster on most NBA teams.