Following only the second off day since the start of Training Camp, the Timberwolves are back at it Thursday, practicing in preparation for the Miami Heat Friday night. It’s the only time the Wolves will take on LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and company this season. Which may be a good thing. The Heat are a quick 3-0, beating the defending champs in Dallas Christmas Day, the Boston Celtics and then Wednesday night knocking off the Charlotte Bobcats on a last second shot by Wade.
Miami's Dwayne Wade hits the game-winner vs. Charlotte Wednesday night (credit: Kent Smith//NBAE via Getty Images)
The Wolves, while playing better than they did most of last season, are still unable to get into the win column. A tough, last minute loss to Oklahoma City was followed by a less than stellar effort in Milwaukee on Tuesday. The Wolves fell behind early and trailed by double digits almost all game. While they stormed back to give themselves a chance to tie with a three in the last seconds, it was a disappointing effort by a team hoping to take a giant leap forward this year. There will be a learning curve as all of these young players need to learn to play together.
Kevin Love Talks About the Team Growing Together
A lot of the optimism that surrounds this team is due to the play of rookie point guard Ricky Rubio. He’s shown he’s been worth the wait but there will still be growing pains. Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings took it to Rubio several times late in the game Tuesday and there will be many challenges along the way for the rookie. But the fact that he’s playing most of the 4th quarter already speaks to how much the coaches think of his skill level. There have been comparisons to Hall of Fame players like Pete Maravich. Probably a little early for that.
Milwaukee Coach Scott Skiles Talks About Ricky Rubio Comparisons to Pete Maravich
Kevin Love Talks About Ricky Rubio
One thing this team learned Tuesday in Milwaukee is that they are still capable of making mistakes. The Wolves committed a massive amount of turnovers (25), a problem Coach Rick Adelman said in Training Camp has to get fixed.
Coach Rick Adelman Talks About the Wolves Struggle with Turnovers
On the positive end of things, the Timberwolves have done a fabulous job of getting easy points at the free-throw line, something that good NBA teams do on a regular basis. Led by Kevin Love (franchise records for makes and attempts on Tuesday), the Wolves shot 45 free-throws in Milwaukee. Monday, they shot 26 against Oklahoma City. Playing aggressive on the offensive end and getting to the line will definitely help this team in the long run.
The early season schedule is not going to make things easy on the young Wolves though. After Miami and their “Big Three” on Friday, the Wolves host the defending champs from Dallas Sunday, San Antonio Monday and Memphis Wednesday. All playoff teams, all with high expectations of deep playoff runs and all will be a massive challenge for the Timberwolves.
But the confidence at Target Center is still high. There will be growing pains but the Wolves are definitely proving they are a team to watch out for and no longer the easy “W” they’ve been the last few years.
Wolves Radio Producer John Focke With the Wolves Minute
Program Note: Tune in for Wolves Basketball all season on 830 WCCO Radio. Friday night, it’s the Wolves and the Heat. Pregame will start at 5:00 PM live at Target Center with Steve Thomson and Eric Nelson followed by tip-off at 7:00. Then Sunday, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks come to Target Center. Pregame at 4:00 PM with Steve and Eric, tip-off at 6:00. All on the Home for Timberwolves Basketball, News Radio 830 WCCO!
