The return of Wittman, Ramon and Martell- Wizards/Wolves GDT
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:36 am
I wasn't expecting the return of three legendary Timberwolves figures to generate so much of a buzz, but I was wrong. My sources tell me that tickets are even hotter than they were for the return of Mike Miller, and a full house is expected.
Apparently the Wolves will have some new guy starting at PF, so that may have something to do with the excitement out there too. It's time to see what kind of an impact KG is going to have on this team. The bookies clearly think a lot, because they have installed the Wolves as a 2-point favorite over the 5th place team in the East. Obviously the recent poor play of the Wizards has something to do with the line too, as they have lost 9 of 11, including three in a row since the ASG...2 of them blowouts. They haven't played well since Beal went down and are playing the back end of a BTB where their starters played big minutes last night. Paul Pierce is expected to play, but could be slowed by a knee injury sustained late in last night's game...playing 28 minutes last night might have an impact also.
I need to see the Wolves make a statement tonight...hopefully a double digit win. Here's what I want to see:
1) Real evidence of the Garnett effect: Martin playing hard all game, Pek getting back on defense rather than whining about calls, KG barking at guys on the court when they are out of position, etc
2) A more controlled game from Adreain Payne, who should see 22-25 minutes tonight.
3) A better game from Rubio. He needs to play Wall tough, and take better care of the basketball.
4) A better plus/minus from Zach, if Flip continues to play him rather than Brown at PG. We simply can't afford to cough up leads when he comes into the game. He's athletic enough to be a better defender than he is, but our defense just seems to collapse when he comes in the game. Even better would be Flip giving 12 minutes to Brown and SG minutes to Zach.
Tonight is a nice reward for the season ticket holders who have been so patient the past 10 year...it's gonna be fun!
Apparently the Wolves will have some new guy starting at PF, so that may have something to do with the excitement out there too. It's time to see what kind of an impact KG is going to have on this team. The bookies clearly think a lot, because they have installed the Wolves as a 2-point favorite over the 5th place team in the East. Obviously the recent poor play of the Wizards has something to do with the line too, as they have lost 9 of 11, including three in a row since the ASG...2 of them blowouts. They haven't played well since Beal went down and are playing the back end of a BTB where their starters played big minutes last night. Paul Pierce is expected to play, but could be slowed by a knee injury sustained late in last night's game...playing 28 minutes last night might have an impact also.
I need to see the Wolves make a statement tonight...hopefully a double digit win. Here's what I want to see:
1) Real evidence of the Garnett effect: Martin playing hard all game, Pek getting back on defense rather than whining about calls, KG barking at guys on the court when they are out of position, etc
2) A more controlled game from Adreain Payne, who should see 22-25 minutes tonight.
3) A better game from Rubio. He needs to play Wall tough, and take better care of the basketball.
4) A better plus/minus from Zach, if Flip continues to play him rather than Brown at PG. We simply can't afford to cough up leads when he comes into the game. He's athletic enough to be a better defender than he is, but our defense just seems to collapse when he comes in the game. Even better would be Flip giving 12 minutes to Brown and SG minutes to Zach.
Tonight is a nice reward for the season ticket holders who have been so patient the past 10 year...it's gonna be fun!