Wolves practice for Portland, Al away on family matter
Posted on November 13th, 2008 – 3:57 PMBy Jerry Zgoda
According to Wolves coach Randy Wittman and VP basketball operations Kevin McHale, Al Jefferson flew from the Bay Area back home to Mississippi on Wednesday to attend to a family matter, missed Thursday’s practice and is expected to rejoin the team before Saturday’s game against Portland
Wittman and a team spokesman said his absence is coincidental and not related to the end of Tuesday’s game at Golden State, when he didn’t score a point and barely touched the ball in the game’s final13 minutes (when the Wolves were outscored 20-7 and lost in overtime) and left the locker room without speaking to reporters, looking quite unhappy.
47 Responses to "Wolves practice for Portland, Al away on family matter"
Hope everything is ok for Al.
As for Witt, I hope he spent a few days here hammering on how to break a zone defense. Just like teams watched Parker’s performance to learn how to get past our defense, they’ll be watching what the Warriors did to jam up our offense.
We’re in a bad spot right now, with no easy way to fix things. I still believe that the change that needs to be made is firing McHale and getting a new set of ideas on how to build this team into the front office, but even if we do that, were talking a year or two of sorting this mess out.
Jerry,
Thank you for the new topic. Did you enjoy what happened with the last topic? Thanks for keeping up with this blog for the Wolves fans.
Yes, it’s always good to have a lively discussion. I had a hunch people might have a few things to say about the situation.
Jerry, as much talk as there is among us fans, is there any indication that McHale or Taylor really are going to make big changes?
I’m also curious whether they’re going to make any changes. It just *feels* like something is going to happen soon, but I don’t know what it will be.
Wittman was on KFAN with Hartman this afternoon and said a couple of things I couldn’t believe he was saying. Paraphrasing with my thoughts in ():
1. That this team is so close. With a bounce or two they could be 6-1 (I guess he doesn’t realize that the schedule only gets harder. And with another bounce or two they could be 0-7)
2. The reason for not playing Love in the 4th or OT against the Warriors? Craig Smith is a better penetrator. He can get to the hoop off one dribble for the top of the key. (This absolutely blew me away. How exactly does he get to the hoop through the 3 guys playing zone in front of him?)
3. Why so many players in the rotation? Foul trouble and saving some guys legs have caused many players to get on the floor. (He sounded shocked that anyone would ask him this question. A rotation? He has no clue)
4. There are more good things happening than bad. Scoring is over 100 ppg. (He completely forgot to mention that the defense is giving up 105.5 ppg.)
We need Someone from Portland’s front office or San Antonio or Lakers front office people, and then bring Flip back and we will be on our way. If Detroit made a move to shake a team up that had been to 6 or 7 straight EC Finals then I think we could use a shake up too.
WE NEED A POINT GUARD!!!! RICKY RUBIO?????
I watched the GS game and I saw Foye getting yelled at by Al, Wittman and others. Close ups of him showed he has the weight of world on his shoulders with a deer in the head light eyes. He’s a grown man but I really feel bad for him and think he’s getting set up for failure. The constant Roy comparisons can’t help and it’s not his fault where he was drafted/who he was traded for. The kid is trying he just isn’t a playmaking point guard. He’s a combo guard that can play point in a pinch. GS started throwing different defenses out there and he didn’t know how to react. He looked so much better with Bassy on the court the last couple games….
McHale is the guy who’s set up Foye…he was the one who made the decision Foye would be a point guard when he never played the position before and it was pretty clear he didn’t have the right skills or mentality. If anything, Witt is saving him some bite by bringing him off the bench as a two guard.
If anyone wants to see how you’re SUPPOSED to break a zone defense, watch the Detroit/Golden State game on right now. Iverson is attacking the rim and either kicking to open shooters or drawing fouls. Which is exactly what Wittman was telling Shad and Foye to do.
Brandon Jennings will be a pg available too with Rubio and I am sure others will make there way up the charts.
The point guards to keep an eye on right now are:
Ricky Rubio - DKV Jevontut Spain
Branden Jennings - Lottomatica Roma Italy(although I don’t see much more PG in him than Foye at this point)
Jrue Holiday - UCLA
Ty Lawson - UNC
Darren Collison - UCLA
AJ Price - UConn (hope he comes back from that ACL injury)
And although his numbers have gone down, I’m going to throw Dominic James (Marquette) out there too. If he can learn to pace himself and not burn out by halftime, he’ll be a sensation this year.
So those are the point guards that I’m going to be watching this year. Although right now, Rubio is head and shoulders above the rest. Jrue Holiday is probably the only one with a good shot of catching him in draft stock…Jennings I think won’t show enough floor leadership and scouts will be wary of him being ineligible for college. The rest just don’t have the sheer potential.
Also, for those of you who haven’t seen Rubio in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12FOZsjWxwk&fmt=18
The kid is a straight magician with the basketball. I watched all of Team Spain’s games during FIBA Qualifiers and the Olympics, and I was stunned at how mature his game is. He’s like LeBron James in that regard…he steps onto the court with guys 9-10 years older than him and just shows them up.
You guys really think a PG is the first thing the Wolves should look at in the next draft ? Our offense is running fine…currently 15th in team efficiency. Better than teams like Boston and Houston. Shouldn’t the main goal of our next draft to be find some good defensive players ? Yes, no ?
We need a great guard. Doesn’t matter if it’s a point or a two. Look at all of the 50+ win teams from last year. Only two of them lack a guard who has been an All-Star. Orlando, who has an All-Star forward and center. And Utah, who has Deron Williams, who will make 5-10 All-Star games.
We need to play the guys in the positions and the minutes that the head coach and gm envision for the future of this club. If the players aren’t up for it then they should be dealt. If that doesn’t work then a gm that knows what he wants and a coach that can get that out of them should be brought in.
Andy G - I’ll go ahead and disagree with you on that. I think the recipe for success is defense and a great front court.
I think we need a great point guard too. Rubio is my favorite candidate if we get lucky in the lotto. We already have a pretty good front court, but our offense looks horrible with Foye running it, and Bassy doesn’t look like he’s going to develop into a star. If we had a great point guard, Jefferson and Love’s lives would be made a lot easier (and more productive) down low. Of course, I don’t know whether Rubio can play a lick of defense, but if not he’d fit right in with our current cast of characters.
Patrick - You don’t need star PGs to win. Solid PG is all you need. Bassy will be that. And whomever else we get next draft better fit that mold. How many of these “star” point guards have won rings ? Parker and Billups. Thats it.
And before them the last team with a star PG to win it was the 1990 Pistons.
How abut Magic Johnson? He won some titles. Teams that win titles without star point guards tend to have a star like Jordan or Kobe to carry the team. We lack such a star. Therefore, we need a star point guard to win a title. How do you like that logic? 
You’ve gotta have a playmaking guard. It can come from the point or the two, but someone on the perimeter needs to make plays and draw defensive attention. I’ve lost hope for Foye as that player, though he could be a good complement to a slasher-type like Dwayne Wade. Telfair has point guard instincts and quickness, but a terrible jumpshot that cripples his ability to threaten opposing defenses.
And even if you think a front line & defense are all it takes, we don’t have those things covered, either. We’ve got a small front line that can’t defend or rebound defensively in the 4th Quarter. Watch tomorrow night and see how many boards LaMarcus and Greg pull down, simply by being tall.
This team is not good enough to draft on need. I think you draft the best player. It would be great if it was a Defensive Center or a True Point Guard but if it’s a Swing you take him if it’s a Power Forward you take him. This is all based on getting one of the first picks. If you have two guys rated very closely then you look at need.
Swan
I agree that defense is a need but when you draft based on defense you get a guy like Brewer who in my opinion should be playing about 20 minutes a game. You need complete players that can play both ends of the floor. All offense or all defense generally doesn’t work well when drafting.
Jama hit it on the head. This team is still in talent accumulating mode — especially if Randy Foye is not going to be capable of being this team’s point guard.
Patrick - Kobe never carried a championship team. That was Mr. Finals MVP Shaq. Magic won his last title before the 1990 Pistons that I mentioned. The teams that were non-Jordan champions had great front courts…Wallace Twins, Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, Laimbeer/Rodman, Kareem, Parish/McHale, Moses. Thats the consistent factor in all the champions going back to 83. Jordan was the rare case where the dominant guard carried the squad without a great front court…GMs have fallen into a trap as a result. Championships are won and lost by strong / great front courts.
Andy G - I’ll watch for that, you watch how many boards Love and Big Al get as a result of having superior rebounding skills. And I’m not worried, as I’ve previosly stated our bigs will get their bigs in foul trouble. Oden still hasn’t had to guard a crafty post player like Big Al.
Jama - We have a ton of picks, the first one should be the best player available, the next we should be looking to trade for need or just draft it.
Not only will I watch for that, Swan, but I’ll hope for it. But after Aldridge’s 7 offensive rebounds in the last contest, I’m not getting my hopes up.
I like Love and I like Jefferson. I also like Chris Paul and Tony Parker. In both cases, though, I would only want one of them in my starting five, since they play the same position. Wolves need size up front to go with that new point guard.
Randy Wittman’s winning percentage as an NBA coach has progressively, and aggressively gotten worse every year he’s coached.
It starts with Kevin McHale’s ineptitude over the last decade, and Glen Taylor’s stubborn unwillingness to take the horse out back and put him out of his misery (and ours for that matter).
A team can only go as far as they are lead, and it looks like the Wolves be playing for the TOILET BOWL this season.
It’ll happen ! I didn’t get to watch the second half of that portland game because I switched bars and all 30 TVs were on the stupid Wild.
Andy G.
Love and Jefferson can work together as Love is more of an outside player, and the wolves don’t have a 5, and there wasn’t a decent 5 to be had in the draft at that point in time.
This team is scoring 100pts per game true enough, but they should be aiming for 120pts per game because the players haven’t shown the ability to run sets, screens, plays, or play defense. You have 10 individuals Kevin Love and Telfair on this team (and I’m not a Telfair fan, but at least he is a real PG!)
Swan.
I gave it more time than he deserved Wittless has to be terminated. McHale is a disease, and Taylor a freaking moron in the basketball world.
I want them added to the 19,000 jobless people in Minnesota right now. But only for a few hours until the STATE POLICE escort them out of the state forever! All 3 of them!
Swan,
I don’t care if we get all 60 picks in the draft… McHale will screw it up.
He would draft all the right people, and then cut them, trade them, or put them in situations that they couldn’t succeed at… at McHale’s very best he is a failure. At worst he’s an abomination against the GODS of basketball, and should be stripped of his HOF status for what he’s done to this Team.
In 1989-1994 they were loveable losers, for 10 years they were the team that almost could, but at year 5 of that he should have been replaced for someone to upgrade the program… the last 5 years he has been almost as disgusting as George Bush Jr in Washington…
He needs to be voted off the Island… ok Continent of North America…
Big Al & Love…think Vlade/Miller & C Webb…neither could play D ! It can work !
I guarantee McHale will be drafting Tyler Hansborough from Carolina.
Swan
I think your comparison isn’t even close.
First those Kings teams were a run and gun team so defense wasn’t quite as important.
Second, the Kings never even made it to the NBA Finals.
Third the Kings had a defensive stopper in Doug Christie that the Wolves don’t have.
Fourth Vlade and Miller at least attempted to play defense, Al hasn’t really shown that yet.
Fifth they had a coach in Rick Adelman that had a clue.
Sixth McHale wasn’t their GM.
Seventh the West wasn’t as strong then.
Eigth all three of the guys you mentioned for the Kings were excellent passers, Al can’t even pass out of the post.
Why should we use the Sacramento Kings as our model? They didn’t even make the NBA Finals.
And there’s a very real difference between Divac/Miller-Webber and Jefferson-Love — an inch or two per person.
This game is still about passing the ball, shooting the ball and keeping the other team from scoring.
This team is improved on it’s passing part of it…
These players are not buying into Wittman’s system END GAME!
The coach has to be fired.
Now the important question is who is out there that could help this team get better coaching wise?
I know that they will have anywhere between 2 and 5 first round picks by the end of the year and that will help some (depending on who is drafting)
Jama -
1) Jefferson is already a better defender than either Vlade or C-Webb.
2) Brewer can play D plenty good and can eventually become Christie good.
3) We have the players to try and be run and gun
4) Adlemen stinks
5) The west was stronger then Shaq/Kobe, Portland, Dallas, a good San Antonio. Those were the years the East was the most “lEASTern conference” it ever was.
6) I like the Al / Love dynamic better than Webb & Vlade/Miller
Sean - No, not the Kings model, but it looks like that squad. You know McHale is trying to re-create his Celtics squad.
I will take Webber over any player the Wolves have EVER HAD not named Garnet.
If I had the chance at Webber in his prime… I would trade Jefferson and Love for him without thinking twice, and I don’t hate Jefferson or Love.
Not like I freaking hate Wittless, Foye, and McFailedabortion
Webber sucked. Most overrated stat getter and unclutch player of all time not named Starbury
That is Idiotbury here in Minnesota!
Stat getter? the worst ever was Ricky Cancer Davis.
Webber had some pretty stupid moments in his career, but he was a really great guy and a solid teammate…
Ricky Cancer once shot at his own basket to get an extra rebound for a triple double and he blew it! How many players could average 15 7 and 5 and be as worthless as Ricky Cancer?
BC - Not that way…Webber is the guy with the best stats without the impact / clutchness.
Great guy and solid teammate doesn’t mean squat !
Oh, and I like calling him Starbury now…remember the classic Simpsons episode with the softball team…the sarcastic “Daaaaaaar-rrryllll” for Strawberry ?
Swan
I really think you are just arguing to argue. You can’t possibly think all those things you wrote.
1. Jefferson is one of the 10 worst defenders in the league right now.
2. Brewer might turn into Chritie but right now he isn’t there.
3. The Wolves could run but they don’t, that’s a big difference. Plus Jefferson does not fit in that type of offense either.
4. Even if you don’t like Adelman you have to admit he is a much better coach than Wittman.
5. I agree the West was stronger at the top then but overall the West has much more depth now. If you give that year the edge, fine.
6. In the end I think Love/Jefferson could be better than Vlade/Miller/Webber but right now that isn’t the case.
We don’t have the players to be run and gun. Our best player is built for the half-court game. Why would you play a style of ball that is the exact opposite of what works best for your best player?
I don’t honestly understand how anyone at this point can think Jefferson/Love is better than what the Kings had nor why that model is one we should follow nor why one can think we are anywhere close to replicating it much less bettering it.
Jama - I believe 1, 5 & 6 of my points firmly.
I disagree with one assessment…Jefferson is a decent one on one defender. But is lousy with team defense.
Run and Gun ? Gimme Love, Al, Bassy, McCants and Brewer…I think that would be good.
Duh Adelmen is better than Witt..but I am not a fan regardless…plus Adelman never really had a crap squad who were years from their primes.
Your point #6…agreed. I wasn’t stating currently…Love is only 20.
