First quarter:
*Can the dynamic Jerry Schiesting-led Wolves grab their third win? We’re about to find out.
*Love the Van Halen.
*Atlanta announced crowd = 500. Whenever you can clearly hear the players shouting to each other, it’s never a good sign.
*What a pass by Bassy…unfortunately, we didn’t get back on defense. Bassy, on the ensuing possession, puts up what very well might be the ugliest shot of the night.
*Love to see Brew starting.
*Is there a worse sports town than Atlanta? And as I type that, Gomes knocks down a sweet looking three…I always enjoy seeing Gomsey step beyond the arc.
*That drive by Brewer was really ugly…he was well-guarded and out of control.
*Already, we’re seeing problems in the Wolves transition defense…that’s been a continuing problem, throughout the season. Our guards have been slow getting back on D, at times.
(Click "Read More" to continue)
*Five minutes into the game, the Wolves have already coughed up the ball twice. The Wolves are 2-6 from the field, while the Hawks are 5-9.
*Wow…they’re showing more of the crowd, and this could be the smallest crowd I’ve ever seen at an NBA game.
*Pete: Add Minnesota to the list of teams that don’t have a homecourt advantage.
*Boy, this one’s starting to get very ugly, very fast.
*Brewer’s jumper needs major work…I haven’t been impressed with the jumper. As a whole, I’m not terribly pleased with what I’ve seen from Brew on the offensive end…when he’s driving, he’s having problems maintaining body control.
*Doleac looks like Fred Hoiberg in a bizarre, twisted way.
*I hope to see Childress reach the free throw line…his strange release is always intertesting to watch. And what else is new? The Wolves aren’t taking care of the basketball.
*I have no idea why Childress shoots like that, but it seems to be working well for him. He’s gets power behind his shots with his arms rather than legs, so I’m extremely surprised that he’s shooting the ball so well from the line.
*The Wolves have five turnovers, and the Hawks have scored seven points off those giveaways. The Wolves are shooting 25% from the field, while the Hawks are shooting 60.
*As usual, Gerald Green’s looking like someone who doesn’t belong anywhere near an NBA court.
*That’s pretty much the story of this game…the Wolves have a three-on-two, and can’t convert.
*Hey, look at Doleac bringing a little fire to the court…otherwise, though, this team has been absolutely lifeless tonight.
*I’m an ass…I thougt Zeirden was coaching this team…it’s actually Schiesting (and yes, I know I botched the spelling of that name).
*As foley pointed out in the comments section, Jaric accomplished the impressive feat of pushing this team over the 10-point mark in the first quarter.
*Joe Johnson leads all scorers with seven points…so, the score currently stands at Wolves 13, Johnson 7.
*Uh…I guess the fact that we’re only down by 14 might be something to be happy about. The defecit could have easily been 20.
Second Quarter:
*BIg Al cuts the defecit to 10…the Hawks are definitely cooling down, so it’s not out of the question that we could fight back into this one.
*Well, things are starting to look up…it’s good to see this team FINALLY pushing the tempo, and we’re finally seeing some life from the Pups.
*I was just getting ready to rip McCants for taking that shot…but I can’t complain after seeing it fall.
*Wow, Rashad’s getting into a zone…he has his on-nights and off-nights as far as his jumper goes, and this looks like an on-night.
*The field goal percentages are rising and falling for the Wolves and Hawks…the Wolves are now shooting 37%, while the Hawks percentage has dropped to 51%.
*Josh Smith leads the Wolves with eight–Smith, meanwhile, leads the Hawks with 11.
*Pete could be right about confidence issues for Brewer…he’s missing a lot of shots he probably shouldn’t be missing, such as that finger-roll.
*We’re up to eight turnovers…and the Hawks have shot 10 free throws, to the Wolves’ four attempts.
*Foye as a commentator seems like a DVR-worthy broadcast to me.
*Once again, our guards are sluggish in getting back on defense.
*Ugh…another turnover. I don’t know what’s going on with this team…they’re just not taking care of the ball. And to make matters worse, Atlanta is doing a great job of converting points off our turnovers.
*An uncharacteristically stupid foul by Al. By the way, if you can think of a better nickname for Jefferson than "Big Al," check out the "Nickname Al" contest in the forums.
*Craiggers has eight, while Josh Smith and Marvin Williams both have 13. And the Wolves have 10 turnovers.
*I’d like to see more of those jumpers from Al…that’s an area of his game that needs improvement and fine-tuning.
*Brewer’s clearly having problems finishing his drives…that’s the second layup he’s missed.
*Well, there you have it. The Hawks cooled down in the second quarter, so the first half wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been…but this game could still get away from us at any time. We’ve been way too flat today…we saw some life in this team in the second quarter, but a lack of energy has otherwise plagued the Wolves.
Halftime: Hawks 53, Wolves 40
*Brewer’s had an interesting game, to say the least…he’s 1-9 from the field, and has nine rebounds. I’m loving to see him push the ball up the court…he’s getting plenty of good looks when leading the fast break. Now, it’s just a matter of converting those looks.
*That "Home Again Store" did look a little suspiscous.
*Anyone else think that "Where Amazing Happens" is a lame slogan for the NBA?
Third Quarter:
*It is getting a little ridiculous…Brewer’s has had several opportunities on the fast break, but hasn’t scored on one yet. I definitely hope he keeps running the floor, though.
*Back in the first quarter, if you’d have told me that the Wolves would be down by four in the third quarter, I’d have called you crazy.
*Is there a lame sitcom that Channel 45 doesn’t broadcast?
*Well, nice job with some energy in the third…the tables have turned. Now, it’s the Hawks that are looking flat.
*Love the penetration from Big Al (okay, I’m officially in agreement with the guys in the forums who think he needs a new nickname). Quiet day for Jefferson…the Wolves will need him to be more involved in the offense if they’re going to pull this one out.
*I hope Wittman takes a good look at the tape of this game…THIS is why Craiggers deserves more minutes than he’s currently getting.
*Key stat: Four turnovers for the Hawks in this quarter, only one for the Wolves.
*And just like that, the lead is down to two.
*Haha…I literally just shuddered when Hanny said, "Get Funky!"
*Great block by Josh Smith…the Hawks may be bending in this third quarter, but they’re not quite breaking. We’ve still got a long road ahead of us, in trying to grab this win.
*YEEEESSSS! Brew finally finishes a drive.
*What a move by Jefferson…the Atlanta defenders didn’t have a prayer of stopping that up and under. He may not be flashy, but there’s nothing quite like watching Al go to work in the paint.
*Finally, some competent lineup management from the Wolves…great move by Jerry to sit Jefferson down. I’m so tired of seeing Al re-enter game’s with 7-8 minutes remaining…this way, we’ll see Al back for the entire fourth.
*Great ending to the quarter…I absolutely love what I’m seeing from Corey Brewer (despite the low shooting percentage), and Jefferson is now getting a nice amount of touches. Should be a good finish…and please, DON’T COLLAPSE IN THE FOUTH QUARTER.
Fourth Quarter:
*Corey freaking Brewer with another nice board. And sweet Jesus, that was a great put-back.
*Brewer continues to play great…Brewer did a great job of contesting that Johnson shot without fouling.
*Another thing to note about Brew…13 of his 14 rebounds are from the defensive end, which is a huge positive, in my book. The offensive rebounding has generally been sound for the Wolves, but they’ve struggled in cleaning up the defensive boards.
*Take the stairs instead of the escalator at Target Center. Ha!
*WOW…Atlanta’s shooting percentage is down to 39%.
*Good to see Craiggers back in…Brewer will certainly end up overshadowing Craig tonight, but the Cookie Monster (yes, I refuse to call him the Rhino) is having one of his best games of the season.
*Brewer’s continuing to do a great job of pushing the tempo…but we’re starting to play stupid basketball. Horrible pass by Jaric.
*WHAT A REBOUND BY BREWER!
*This is the time when the Wolves absolutely must take care of the basketball, as the four-five minute mark in the final period is typically when things start to fall apart for us.
*Brew has a ridiculous 17 boards, but let’s not forget about Craig Smith’s seven offensive rebounds.
*That was a horrible call…Brewer had position. Should have been an offensive foul.
*This thing is starting to fall apart…two bad possessions in a row, resulting in desperation shots with the shot clock winding down.
*Huge basket by Al…things were definitely starting to slip away.
*Williams, Smith, and Johnson have combined for 61 of Atlanta’s 82 points.
*Another clutch rebound from Brewer, continuing what is easily the best game of his NBA career…and Big Al earns a trip to the free throw line. Wolves tie it up.
*HUGE jumper from Al…the longest and biggest jumper I’ve seen him take.
*Here we go…a big finish sure to come. Who’s going to take the shots down the stretch for this team? Well, if Jefferson doesn’t get the ball in the post on this possession, I’m going to freak out.
*Why did Telfair shoot that ball? Al was calling for it during that whole possession…Telfair’s not the guy I want taking the big shots for this team.
*What a play. Jerry Schiesting rules.
*Nooooooo…Corey Brewer did a great job of denying the initial shot, but I want to know how Telfair ended up on Josh Smith.
*JARIC!!!!
*Please, please, please get the stop here.
*!@#$%^&*&^%$##@%^&^%^&^%$#@@$%^%
Well, I’m not really sure what to say. That shot was impossible to guard…it was just a great shot. Nothing we could do about it. This was a heartbreaker, to say the least.
There are definitely positives to take away from this game–most notably, Corey Brewer. Best game as a pro, without question. With 18 rebounds, he came up absolutely huge for this team.
Also loved the energy he brought to the table…Brewer was constantly pushing the tempo, and even though he didn’t finish too many of those drives, he’ll eventually start converting those breaks. He has a tremendous talent for leading the transition offense, for sure.
But it’s hard to feel good about a game like this…the Wolves did fight very well, but they lost. In the end, that’s what matters most. And it was the toughest loss of the season.
The Wolves weren’t perfect down the stretch, but they played better than usual. I guess that’s another thing for them to hang their hats on. This was just a tough, tough loss…one that will surely be discouraging for this team. After all of their fight in the fourth, they lost it on an amazing shot by Joe Johnson.
That’s all I’ve got…thanks for hanging tonight.