The Three Pointer: A Big Bad Muddle

Game #21, Home Game #11: Seattle 99, Minnesota 88 Game #22, Road Game #11: Minnesota 92, Milwaukee 95 Season record: 3-19 1. Draw Straws, Flip A Coin, Plug a Leak. Or Not. After the Timberwolves fell to the equally young Seattle Supersonics at Target Center Friday night, I asked coach Randy Wittman if he had … Read more

Abbreviated Three-Pointer: Same Lesson, Another Loss

Game #20, Road Game #10: Minnesota 94, Philadelphia 98 Season record: 3-17  1. This Just In: Al Jefferson Has Problems With Big Centers The most valuable player in last night Wolves loss to Washington was opposing center Brendan Haywood, who was too much to handle for the tandem power forwards, Craig Smith and Al Jefferson, … Read more

The Three Pointer: Heartbreak

Game #17, Road Game #8: Minnesota 89, Atlanta 90 Season record: 2-15 1. Brewer and Smith Lead the Paint Mob After 10 pathetic quarters of play–from 1:25 to go in the 3rd against San Antonio until 1:34 to go in the 1st tonight–the Timberwolves found a pulse and fought to retain their diminishing fan base, … Read more

The Three Pointer: Awfully Casual

Home Game #9: Los Angeles Lakers 116, Minnesota 951. Losing Reason To CareGames like tonight’s undressing by the Lakers and last Saturday’s (blissfully blacked-out from television) pratfall on the road in Memphis are the sort of energy-suckers Wolves’ fans and the team’s PR department feared in the wake of the Garnett trade: That the ballclub … Read more

The Three Pointer: An Honorable Defeat

Road Game #6: Minnesota 103, Dallas 109 Season record: 2-11 1. The McCants/Jefferson Axis The extent to which Rashad McCants and Al Jefferson create synergy on offense is perhaps the dominant storyline for the Wolves in this young season to date, and figures to remain that way at least until Randy Foye returns from his … Read more

The Three Pointer: A Big Easy

Road Game #5: Minnesota 103, New Orleans 94 Season record: 2-10 1. Revolt of the Back-Up Point Guards While would-be Wolves cornerstones Al Jefferson, Rashad McCants and Ryan Gomes had performances ranging from disappointing to dreadful, the squad bagged its first road win primarily on the strength of the inexplicably calm, capable, and confident duo … Read more

Bouncing Around: The Atlanta Choke, the KG Smear, and 4th Q Stats

There won’t be a three pointer on the Wolves’ dreadful collapse against the Hawks Saturday night. Frankly, it didn’t bother me as much as the pig-headed play and lack of effort that fostered Minnesota’s loss to a thoroughly disinterested Denver Nuggets squad the night before. At least the Atlanta game found the Wolves playing inspired … Read more

The Three Pointer: Blown Opportunity

Road Game #4: Minnesota 93, Denver 99 Season Record 1-9 1. Time To Get Angry Okay, that’s about enough patience, enough leeway for a basketball team that is playing with stupidity as well as incompetence, and showing very little character in the process. During the off-season, Kevin McHale remarked that any team that really plays … Read more