Monday October 27, 2003
 

WORLD SERIES

TWINS THOUGHTS

VIKINGS THOUGHTS

NFL “EXPERT” PICKS

FANTASY BASKETBALL

Be sure also, to check back to Friday’s post on Bang for the Buck. I’m happy to say that it has, by far, created more response than any other posting I have ever done. I appreciate all of the responses, positive and negative. I will consider everything that has been presented to me, and in time, I would like to improve upon Friday’s posting. So, be sure to check back for an update. Thanks!
 

TIMBERWOLVES PREVIEW (and more)

The NBA season is upon us. Wednesday night the Target Center will play host to the Timberwolves first game of the season, a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

As you’ve noticed, this site has primarily been a baseball related site, and baseball is definitely my favorite sport. But, with the World Series now complete, the NBA season begins at the perfect time! Basketball is a very close 2^nd in the favorite sports rankings.

So, of course, I am very excited about the upcoming Wolves season. Kevin McHale was quite busy this offseason in an attempt to better the team. Will it work? Will the team be better? Will the Wolves have their best season yet? Read on.

(I need to again thank Kirk Beller, who wrote this site’s Minnesota Wild Preview a few weeks ago. I will be using the same format as he did for the preview.)

2002-03 Season Recap

 In order to look forward, it is probably a good idea to look back. The 2002-03 Timberwolves season, in my mind, was the team’s best. And, no doubt in my mind, Kevin Garnett was the sole reason for that. If he didn’t win the MVP award last season (which he didn’t, finishing second to Tim Duncan), he may never win one. He did win the All-Star game MVP award.

Even with several key injuries, the Wolves managed to finish 51-31 which was good for 4^th place in the Western Conference, the 4^th best record in the entire NBA. Wally Szczerbiak missed over 20 games. Joe Smith was never 100%. Obviously the Terrell Brandon injury-saga was an issue the whole season. In early January, the team was just 19-17. They went 32-14 the rest of the way.

And what did the 4^th seed in the West give them. Home-Court Advantage in the first round of the playoffs… against the 3-time defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers. The Wolves did show just how good they were, beating the Lakers in 2 of the first 3 games. But the Lakers proceeded to win the next three games, and the series, 4-2.

Player Movement

As I mentioned above, Kevin McHale was a busy man, and owner Glen Taylor allowed the team to be overhauled. From last season’s team, there are just four players remaining (Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak, Troy Hudson and Gary Trent).

Who’s Gone?

·         Radoslav “Rasho” Nesterovic (Spurs)

·         Kendall Gill (Bulls)

·         Anthony Peeler (Kings)

·         Joe Smith (Bucks)

·         Terrell Brandon (Hawks/Retirement)

·         Rod Strickland (currently unemployed)

·         Marc Jackson (76ers)

·         Loren Woods (Heat)

·         Mike Wilks (Rockets)

·         Igor Rakocevic (Spurs)

Who’s New?

·         Latrell Sprewell was brought in from the Knicks in the trade that involved Terrell Brandon (to the Hawks) and Marc Jackson (to the 76ers). (Check my thoughts on the trade when it happened)

·         Sam Cassell

·         Ervin Johnson

Both came to the Timberwolves from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Anthony Peeler and Joe Smith. Obviously Cassell was the key to that deal. Johnson provides some experience at the center position. He won’t score much, but will block some shots and just play good defense. (Here are my thoughts on that trade

·         Michael Olowokandi was signed by the Wolves the day after they lost Rasho Nesterovic to the Spurs. I think it’s a very good signing for the Wolves. He has the ability to be as good as, if not better than, Rasho. He hasn’t played yet for the Wolves because of knee surgery, but they plan on him starting Opening Night.

·         Fred Hoiberg has been in the NBA for eight seasons. I know, it surprised me too. The last four seasons have been in Chicago, so maybe that’s why he’s not well known. NBA people know he is a shooter though and should provide the Wolves with some 3-pointers.

·         Mark Madsen comes to the Wolves from the LA Lakers. He’s got 2 World Championship rings to his name. Like with Devean George the year before, the Lakers didn’t pick up his 4^th year option, making him a free agent. The Wolves are lucky to have him. Despite being under-sized, he can play both center and power forward positions. His hustle and enthusiasm have made him a very good NBA player, and Wolves fans will definitely appreciate him. (check out my thoughts on the signings of Madsen and Hoiberg here)

·         Quincy Lewis is back playing ball in Minneapolis. After an incredible college career for the University of Minnesota, he was a first-round pick of the Utah Jazz. He did play three years there, but he did not get a chance to play a lot, or with any consistency, so they did not pick up his option. He didn’t play in the League last year, but despite the Wolves not really wanting him on the roster, he earned his way onto the roster.

·         Keith McLoud is a backup point guard who will probably only be with the team until Troy Hudson comes back from an ankle injury. He is a rookie out of Bowling Green.

·         Ndudi Ebi was the Wolves first-round draft pick this June out of Westbury Christian HS in Texas. Even if McLoud is only with the team for the first month of the season, he will probably play more minutes this season than Ebi will. Ebi is young and will be brought along slowly. McHale and Saunders even admit he won’t contribute for at least another year. (Check here for my thoughts on the Wolves draft picks, Ebi and former Gopher Rick Rickert, who is playing in a European League for this year… at least)

Team Strengths

Well, obviously the biggest strength of the Timberwolves team is Kevin Garnett. Garnett is arguably the most complete player in the NBA today. Last season, Garnett averaged 23.5 points, 13 rebounds, 6 steals, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals a game, while playing 40.5 minutes. He was the only player to lead his team in all six categories.

Surrounding Garnett is the most complete roster the team has ever had, both starters and the bench.

Latrell Sprewell provides and explosiveness that the Wolves have probably never really had. His ability to play the shooting guard position means the Wally Szczerbiak can move back to the small forward position, his more natural spot. Garnett will play the power forward. Michael Olowokandi, in my mind, can be as good as Rasho.

Last year, especially in the playoffs, Troy Hudson showed just how good he can be, and he will now be coming off the bench. They now seem to have role players who truly serve a particular purpose. Madsen provides defense and intensity. Hoiberg provides a consistent outside shooter. Johnson plays some defense in his few minutes. Gary Trent provides muscle, but if the preseason means anything (and it really doesn’t), he could become more of an offensive threat.

Flip Saunders is a great X’s and O’s coach. He always seems to use the talents of his roster to get the most out of the team. The team is always near the league lead in assists, and always is near the bottom in turnovers. To me, that’s why I love watching the Wolves play, they move the ball so well.

Team Weaknesses

 In my mind, the Wolves have two major concerns this season.

Team Chemistry - With so many new players coming in, the Wolves could easily struggle with learning not only the plays, but how to work with their new teammates. A lot of that should have been worked out in training camp, but they really didn’t get a chance to do that, because of Reason #2.

Injuries - They have been such a huge problem for the Wolves this training camp. In previous years, they knew Terrell Brandon wouldn’t play, so they could plan accordingly. This year, the injuries have piled up. Wally Szczerbiak’s foot injury from last year seems to be just as bad this year. He played just 9 minutes in the preseason. He isn’t even able to make a cut without pain. This injury could linger the whole season. Latrell Sprewell was injured early in camp, but did come back to play significant minutes in the last 3 preseason games. Michael Olowokandi had knee surgery in September (which, why he waited until then to have the surgery is beyond me) and hasn’t played in the preseason. However, he is expected to start on Wednesday night. In the final preseason game, Troy Hudson sprained his ankle and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. That injury could be as important as any.

 

 2003-04 Season Preview
 

Where can the Wolves and their fans expect the team to finish this season? Well, how about I answer the questions I asked at the end of the first section.

Will the team be better? Will the Wolves have their best season yet? I think I have to answer this question two different ways. First, YES, I do believe that the Timberwolves will be better. Will they have their best season? That, I can’t answer as easily. Although I do think that they will be better, so is every team at the top of the Western Conference, so the Wolves could have the same record as last year, be a better team, and not rank as high in the conference. The Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks all made moves to better themselves. The Kings, Suns and Rockets will all be great, despite not making big moves.

Also, I think Minnesota fans need to get over this first-round playoff losses obsession they have. It’s like they don’t realize just how good the Western Conference is. They’ve never had the team that they do this year. In past years, it was Kevin Garnett and some other guys, without home-court advantage. Last year, they finally got the home-court advantage and had to play the Lakers. This year, the West will be so tough. Appreciate just how good the basketball is that we get to see this year. Appreciate seeing the best team player in the NBA. Just enjoy it. Once the playoffs start, cheer even harder. But, as with baseball, the playoffs are still a small sample size.

So, what are my predictions:

·         Kevin Garnett and Latrell Sprewell will be All-Stars.

·         Kevin Garnett will have 70 double-doubles and 10 triple-doubles.

·         Sam Cassell will average over 10 assists a game.

·         Wally Szczerbiak will be hurt all year again and will never get to 100%. He will have some great games to give us all hope, but the effects of the plantar fasciatis will continue to linger the whole season.

·         Fred Hoiberg will be an unsung hero, averaging over 10 points a game.

·         Mark Madsen will be the crowd favorite, but will also play a very important role.

·         Timberwolves Record - 52-30. (5^th place in the Western Conference, behind)

So there you have it. My 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves Preview. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you’ll be watching the Wolves on TV (or in person if that is an option for you). The Wolves will be on ESPN ten times. They will be on TNT five times. And they will be on ABC at least once. So, there will be opportunity for basketball fans around the country to watch the Wolves. Those in the Minnesota market will be able to catch games on Fox Sports North. Those in the Minnesota Metro area (not me) will be able to see games on UPN29. In case you’re wondering, Mychal Thompson finally got his dream job, the color analyst for the LA Lakers. He spent most of the past couple of years campaigning for the job during Wolves broadcasts. So, Jim Peterson will move from radio to television and be the new analyst alongside Tom Hanneman. Taking Peterson’s spot next to Chad Hartman for the radio broadcasts will be former Gopher J.B. Bickerstaff, so that should be great to listen to.

Here are a few Timberwolves sites for you to check out:

Timberwolves Central

Wolves Geek - where he will be previewing the Wolves over the next few days.

Official Timberwolves website

The Upper Deck Kevin Garnett Page

Sprewell Racing

Wally Szczerbiak Website

I realize he’s not with the Wolves this season, but the Felipe Lopez site is worth checking out, in English or Spanish.

So, now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the upcoming Timberwolves/NBA season. Are you as excited as I am? Let me know what you think. Send me an e-mail.

One more quick basketball note - The new Nike Lebron James commercial is one of the best I’ve seen. It’s him, in his debut against the Kings in Sacramento. He touches the ball for the first time and absolutely freezes. The crowd goes from noisy to completely quiet, wondering if he will ever move. Mike Bibby, guarding him, is in shock. Finally, after surveying everything, James laughs, and drives to the bucket.  I think that’s a great commercial!

 

WORLD SERIES (MARLINS WIN SERIES 4-2)
 

Well, as per normal for me in the playoffs, I was completely wrong again in my World Series Prediction. I said the Yankees would win in five, and behind a remarkable performance Saturday night by Josh Beckett, the Marlins captures the championship in 6 games with a 2-0 win.  (and yes, I, like so many baseball writers and bloggers need to eat some crow and admit that I thought pitching Josh Beckett on short rest would hurt the Marlins. I was more than wrong!)

Beckett was most definitely the story of the series, earning MVP honors. His complete game shutout of the Yankees in Game 6 was absolutely amazing; as incredible as Jack Morris’s Game 7 performance in the 1991 World Series. I know, being from Minnesota, it’s sacrilegious to even ponder the idea, but in my mind, it’s true. To shut down the Yankees lineup is pretty impressive. I’m not saying that the Yankees were hitting on all cylinders, but maybe some of that is based on the pitching of Josh Beckett. I think that the Yankees and their fans and the media of New York are looking for excuses. Let me say this: The way Josh Beckett threw on Saturday night, I really don’t think the ’27 Yankees could have beat him.

I wrote about Beckett on this site last week, saying that he and the Cubs’ Mark Prior will contend for the NL Cy Young for years to come.

Rich Lederer wrote a great posting today comparing Josh Beckett to his idol, Roger Clemens through age 23. It’s well written and the statistics were really totally surprising to me, so be sure to check it out today!

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times wrote a great article on Beckett’s “maturity”. It’s worth taking the time to read.

So anyway, congratulations to the Florida Marlins organization. I wasn’t cheering against the Yankees. I’m not one of those bitter fans who really despises the Yankees for the sole reason of their payroll. And, I don’t think that the Marlins championship is at all “luck”, as some people may want us to think. I don’t even think it’s that big of an upset. I’m just glad that Series was so competitive. I’m really glad that the entire post-season was so competitive! It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch, even if my Twins weren’t in it for very long.

Now, there is no major league baseball until Spring Training starts in April. That doesn’t mean there’s no baseball. There is the Arizona Fall League. The Twins have a lot of players playing Winter ball. There will be an All-Star team going to Japan again. There will be awards announced. In other words, there will be a lot of baseball to write about, so be sure to keep checking back. If there is anything you would like to read about, please e-mail me and let me know so I can focus on that.

 

TWINS THOUGHTS

Three Twins players played for Team USA and the team played games down in the Arizona Fall League in preparation for next week’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Panama. They completed their schedule of games in Arizona, and will be playing two exhibition games against Justin Morneau and the Canadian team. In the first exhibition, Team USA and Team Canada played to a 6-6 tie (10 innings). Joe Mauer hit a bases loaded, bases-clearing triple to give the USA squad a 6-2 lead. In the 8^th inning, JD Durbin gave up 2 unearned runs, the second on an RBI single by Justin Morneau. The second exhibition will be today, and the final 24-man Team USA roster will be announced on Tuesday.  Joe Mauer has been putting on a hitting display, especially in the past week to 10 days. Jesse Crain was perfect. JD Durbin continued to show how good he is, but I would think that he’s probably on the bubble as far as making the team. Here are the final Arizona stats for the players from the Twins organization.

Then, of course, there are six other Twins prospects playing for the Grand Canyon Rafters. They have all had more playing time this week. Henry Bonilla did throw 5 shutout innings in a start last week.

Brian Wolfe also wrote another journal entry where he discusses the goings on in Arizona as well as a switch from being a starter to becoming a reliever.

Here again is the most recent JD Durbin entry as well.

VIKINGS THOUGHTS

The Vikings finally fell from the ranks of the unbeaten yesterday with a 29-17 loss to the NY Giants. It was very much frustrating to watch because it was so reminiscent of their play last year. Kerry Collins and the Giants offense just carved through the Vikings defense the entire game. I mean, the 12 point deficit doesn’t even explain how much the Vikings were outplayed for most of the game.

Randy Moss was great as usual, but they didn’t get him the ball in the 2^nd half. When the Vikings needed a big, extended drive in the second half, they had some great runs by Moe Williams. The running game was dominating, and then, they quit running. How does that make sense? The Vikings, other than that drive, were not able to control the line of scrimmage as well as they had in previous weeks.

The defense, well, were do we start? The line didn’t put much of a rush on Collins. The defensive backs played too far off the receivers, and the linebackers allowed so many short receptions to become longer receptions. Too many times there were 3 and X yards, and the Giants were easily able to get 3 + X + 2.

But, Vikings fans, remember this… The Vikings are still 6-1. They still have a 3 game lead in the NFC North. We knew they wouldn’t go 16-0, so we knew they would eventually lose to a lesser team. Yesterday was that day (and no, I don’t think the Giants are as bad as their record would indicate) .So, don’t make too much of it.

Corey Chavous picked off his sixth pass of the year, tying him with teammate Brian Russell for the league lead. Keenan Howry is a player. Why is Doug Chapman returning kicks? I seriously wonder if I might be quicker than him! (and that’s not good, in case you were wondering)

What are your thoughts on the Vikings game or season? Was this a bad loss, a hiccup, or was it something more, maybe a sign of the true Vikings team? E-mail me.
 

NFL “EXPERT” PICKS

Well, as a group, our experts did much better in Week 8 than we did last week. For me, not as good. Our winner this week is, again, Ben Jacobs with a 10-3 record. Since we all picked the Dolphins to win tonight, Ben will win the week. Here are this week’s records, followed by the overall record. Be sure also to check our FB Picks page and see the specifics, as well as our predictions for this week’s stars. Was anyone right?

FANTASY BASKETBALL

As referenced last week, I participated in a live ESPN.com fantasy basketball draft. It was fun being able to talk/trash talk with the others who are in the league. Included in the league are, Ben Jacobs and the league’s creator, Aaron Gleeman. So how did I do?  Here are my choices by round. I had the #2 overall pick (which made my pick pretty obvious), but then I didn’t pick again until the 23^rd pick, then the 26^th pick, and so on.

1.)     Kevin Garnett - SF - Minnesota Timberwolves

2.)     Jason Terry - SG - Atlanta Hawks

3.)     Vince Carter - SF - Toronto Raptors

4.)     Jerry Stackhouse - SG - Washington Wizards

5.)     Karl Malone - PF - Los Angeles Lakers

6.)     Latrell Sprewell - SG - Minnesota Timberwolves

7.)     Jamaal Magloire - C - New Orleans Hornets

8.)     Alvin Williams - PG - Toronto Raptors

9.)     Rasho Nesterovic - C - San Antonio Spurs

10.)  Kerry Kittles - SG - New Jersey Nets

11.)  Devean George - SF - Los Angeles Lakers

12.)  Scottie Pippen - SF - Chicago Bulls

So there you have it, my team, as it stands right now. I have decided to put Jerry Stackhouse on the IR, because he will be out for some time. Hopefully I will get the player that I put a waiver bid on shortly! With the NBA season starting tomorrow night, I am getting excited. This is going to be a lot of fun! So, what do you think? Can I compete with that team? Send me an e-mail and let me know what you think.

OK, that’s going to be it for today. There is a lot of information on here. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of it. The Timberwolves upcoming season. The Twins. The Vikings. Fantasy baseball, basketball or football. Anyway. E-mail me.

Have a great Monday and a wonderful week!

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