The balmy weather and the impending denoument of my favorite season sent me up to Ely and then on to the Superior Hiking Trail for a little fresh air the past two days and I thus wasn’t able to make it back for the Wolves-Bucks tilt. Here are my questions and observations simply from gleaning the recap and box score from nba.com. Anyone who can respond–or if you want to chime in with second-hand observations and questions of your own–are welcome to do so. After all, we now have less than a week of wankery before everything counts and we take hoops (but hopefully not ourselves) seriously.
* The four starters aside from Randy Foye shot 80 percent from the field (28-35)?! McCants was perfect in 8 attempts, Jefferson 9-12, Gomes 5-7 with 2-3 from trey, and Ratliff 6-8…is Milwaukee’s D really that horrible? And does this look like the sensible starting lineup on opening day even before that little shooting explosion?
* Did anyone else read Sports Illustrated’s NBA season preview issue, especially the Timberwolves page, especially the anonymous scout’s take? Especially the part where the scout ripped Al Jefferson and gave huge ups to Gerald Green? What is a customarily fine mag like SI doing quoting obvious idiots as experts, and where was at least one editor with a smidgen of hoops knowledge to spot this bullshit and demand either a new scout, another interview, or one of those laughing heads to clue people in that the whole thing was a weird joke? Witt should throw the thing up on the bulletin board, as the mag also picked Minnesota to finish 15 out of 15 Western Conference teams. I’ll bet you Mike Bibby’s torn thumb ligament they finish ahead of Sacramento, and probably the Clips. BTW, Gerald Green had 5 turnovers in 8:53 tonight, which is probably why he was able to squeeze off only two missed shots.
* Green was only the most egregious turnover-er. For those who saw the game, how many of Craig Smith’s seven miscues were charges or travels? And how many of those were questionable calls? And what is the world coming to when Theo Ratliff not only has as many assists as his rebounds and blocks combined, but only commits one turnovers versus his four dimes and chips in a couple of steals?
* Is Sebastian Telfair just healthier than Randy Foye right now or more adept as spreading the ball around? Six assists, two turnovers and only six shots (three of them makes, including his only trey) in 26:54 are blessed numbers for Telfair. Foye played ten fewer minutes, had as many missed FGA and personal fouls, doled out one assist and looks inert, box score-wise? True?
* I know he was a DNP, but is Antoine Walker out of shape? In street clothes or his uni? Smiling or sourpuss?
* Was the Wolves winning by 21 enough to overcome a preseason basketball game featuring 57 turnovers between the two teams? And was it a coincidence that every one of the four Wolves DNPs were at least 30 years old, or are we saying goodbye to a couple of them soon?
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