Minnesota Sports Forum

--This team is fun to watch. As good as K-Love is I do not miss him. He will be great for the Cavs but I'd rather have the young guys that we got for him.

--The young guys:

Wiggins: played one of the worst halves of basketball I've seen by any player in a while vs the Bulls. He was owned on both ends of the court. Came out in the 2nd half and looked like a stud. Screwed up in the end but...he's 19. It won't be the last bonehead play he makes this year. Overall I like him a lot, but this season is going to be a roller coaster for him.

Bennett: absolutely loved tonight when he canned that jumper late, got fouled, and then raised his hands in the air like he expected it. He's growing on me every game. Like Wiggins tho, he committed some bonehead fouls tonight. And will continue to screw up all year. But this guy looks for real. His jumper is nice.

Gorgui: He's the future starter at center. Maybe not this year, but soon enough. He looks so odd out there (the way he runs, etc.), yet his feel for the game is really good. He produces, last year was not a fluke. Combine that with elite defensive ability/potential and the future is bright.

Bazz: One great game, two not so good ones. This may be what we get from him this year. Luckily unlike Adelman, already Flip seems to understand how to use him: ride him when he's producing, bench him otherwise.

Lavine: Nothing to say here. He'll get his chance at some point, but I'm not expecting much. Who knows though, he lives in the gym--could improve quickly.

Refs: haven't helped us in a game yet. Like Flip said in his press conference, you have to earn respect (although I think this was also a veiled shot at the refs screwing us over). Pek gets no calls, Ricky doesn't get many. Wiggins so far has gotten none.

Ricky: looks stronger, better form on his jumper, still having trouble finishing, still learning how to play at the end of games (thanks adelman). Glad we signed him.

Pek/Thad: These guys can both play and carry us any given night. The problem is this tandem is even worse defensively and far worse on the boards than Pek/Love. I think you go with it for now, but this is not a long term pairing.

Mo: a better version of Barea, that can still play like Barea. But he's much better.

Brewer/Bud/Hummel: not sure we need all 3 of these guys on the roster.

Martin: He was feast tonight, but look for famine soon. He can do well on this team as long as he doesn't start thinking he's the man. Nobody is "the man" on this squad. Ride him when he's hot. And to his credit, he looks more invested defensively this year.

Flip: good job so far.

Outlook: Lots of growing pains, more (sigh) close losses, and we will win about 30 games. I'd love to be proven wrong but experience is crucial in the NBA and we simply don't have it. Still, I am more excited to watch this team than last year's.

And one final note: my pre-season bet this year was $50 on the Bulls +1250 to win the title. After seeing Butler back in action tonight, and assuming Rose will not get injured, again, I think they are clearly better than the Heat. Top to bottom they have super strong roster. Plus I needed another reason to root against the Cavs, ha ha.

Mstermisty wrote:Brewer/Bud/Hummel: not sure we need all 3 of these guys on the roster.

Hummel caught a lot of flack in preseason. I'm not saying he's Kevin Love. But tonight he showed again that he can contribute when need to fill short periods at PF. He's a tough rebounder and made some other smart plays i.e. that assist to Dieng.

Bud....he sure looked good in the preseason. But man, he's started out terrible so far. I know he's not this bad and I'm confident he'll turn it around. I just think that (like Hummel), he should probably be at the end of the bench and only used when injury requires.

Brewer....this is going to make Brewer fans mad, but I would like to see less of Brewer. He's long been billed as a great defender/energy guy. But as many others have pointed out, the bad parts of his game (taking chances, poor finishing) often cancel out any good he does. Brewer is 28 now. He is what he is. I think that should be a 10 minutes a night guy not a 25 minutes a night guy. Wiggins/LaVine/Bazz all need minutes and Brewer would be the logical guy to get them from IMO.

I largely agree with you observations, misty, but your Martin comments made me think for awhile. I agree with you that his MO has always been feast followed by famine, but he also seems like a different guy this year. He has always frustrated me with his just-happy-to-be-here, aloof style. He has perhaps been the most lights-out shooter on every team he has been on, but he has always shied away from even trying to be the man. Instead he has been deferential to the star of the team (Love, Durant, etc.) and essentially disappeared at the end of games. For all of his career, the same guy who worked so hard to get open off screens in the first quarter was content to just hide in the corner when the game was on the line.

So, what's different this year? Several things. First, he bizarrely told the media that he has "gotten away with things" in the past, and that Flip was not going to allow that. Secondly, he is clearly trying to take a leadership role. He has taken the rookies under his wing, and went out of his way to tell Wiggins that his foul wasn't the reason we lost last night. Thirdly, he is almost unrecognizable on defense. He is putting the effort in on defense, and Flip even publicly recognized his defense this week. Finally, he wanted the ball in the final minutes last night, and actually worked his ass off to get open a couple times in the fourth quarter.

In previous years, Kevin Love was "the man", but we learned that he was not the kind of player that could reliably close out games. And we lost more than our share of close games. Kevin Martin is a unique shooting talent, but has always seemed to lack something on the inside that would allow him to take charge at crunch time. What if last night was an indication that he has changed, and that he recognizes that nobody else on this team deserves the ball more than he when we need a big shot, and he wants to be "the man" at the buzzer? Who knows, maybe Flip, not seeing a superstar on the roster, has asked Kevin to assume the role. It sure looked like it last night.

Probably a pipe dream, but I would love it if Martin decided to assume this role. Pek, Rubio and the youngsters (yet) won't fill this role. Mo has the potential, but he has never been the consistent shooter Martin is. Same with Thad. Martin made a huge shot last night that should have won a big game for us, and I'm hoping Flip encourages him to continue to be that guy. He's potentially our best option.