Weaknesses so far

Here's what I see so far, with almost 5% of the season gone:

1. We need more centers

I thought the weaknesses of the roster would be depth at center and
point guard, and seeing Dwight Howard, Chris Mihm, and Andrew Bynum
tear through the Wolves like tissue paper when Ratliff wasn't on the
court, they really need some help there. This situation only gets
worse since down the line, Ratliff is going to slip down the depth
chart as he ages, and what's the deal with Michael Doleac? Maybe the
eventual return of Mark Madsen can help slow these guys down.

2. The second unit needs work

This may be impossible to tell since Foye and McCants are out
prompting a reshuffle of the starting line-up, and the Wolves still
seem to be sorting out how to sort out Telfair, Jaric, Gomes, and
Buckner in light of that. I also think it's funny that the only Wolf
with a positive +/- last night was Antoine Walker.

3. The coaches have their work cut out for them

The Wolves start strong (so they have talent), but then the other team
starts to exploit their weaknesses and the disorganized bench comes
in, and their early lead slips away. At the end of every game they
make a late surge (so they have heart), but have fallen short every
time so far. Hopefully Wittman can organize his second unit a bit and
get these guys to learn how to shore up some of their weaknesses.

4. Defense of point guards

32 for Iverson/Wilks against Denver, 27 for Marbury/Robinson, 18 for
Arroyo, and 10 for Derek Fisher... that really just means the Wolves
have played teams with decent point guards and it's a reach to make
anything out of it. But nevertheless, Jaric's big failing as a point
guard was he couldn't handle small, quick guards (and his periodic
bouts of confusion where he throws passes to nobody and wears his
clothes the wrong way) and I'm not wild about Telfair's defense. So
I'd say depth at point guard is a concern.

Eventually they have to play somebody less crafty than Phil Jackson,
without a good center, who won't be able to build up enough of a lead
in the middle of the game and they'll win a couple. Also it would
help not to give the other team 27 more free throws... it's kind of
surprising that Jefferson didn't take any, but big men who can't get
to the line are a familiar story in Minnesota.

Still this is fun though, having a watchable team that has the
potential to improve, so it's actually worth analyzing their losses
beyond "They stink, the end."

Let's just face it. McHale has destroyed this team. Garnett is proving he
can win when you have a talented cast around him. That WAS McHale's
job.....and he failed miserably. Trading Garnett and what we got in return
was a mistake. The 1st round draft pick from Boston will be a non-impact
player. This team while young, has limited potential. Some will disagree,
but those players couldn't win in Boston so what makes you think they will
win here?
"Rufus" <absolut.rufus.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ib3cj39rbfhvfog1ngaf691r192c6g86qh@4ax.com...
> Here's what I see so far, with almost 5% of the season gone:
>
> 1. We need more centers
>
> I thought the weaknesses of the roster would be depth at center and
> point guard, and seeing Dwight Howard, Chris Mihm, and Andrew Bynum
> tear through the Wolves like tissue paper when Ratliff wasn't on the
> court, they really need some help there. This situation only gets
> worse since down the line, Ratliff is going to slip down the depth
> chart as he ages, and what's the deal with Michael Doleac? Maybe the
> eventual return of Mark Madsen can help slow these guys down.
>
> 2. The second unit needs work
>
> This may be impossible to tell since Foye and McCants are out
> prompting a reshuffle of the starting line-up, and the Wolves still
> seem to be sorting out how to sort out Telfair, Jaric, Gomes, and
> Buckner in light of that. I also think it's funny that the only Wolf
> with a positive +/- last night was Antoine Walker.
>
> 3. The coaches have their work cut out for them
>
> The Wolves start strong (so they have talent), but then the other team
> starts to exploit their weaknesses and the disorganized bench comes
> in, and their early lead slips away. At the end of every game they
> make a late surge (so they have heart), but have fallen short every
> time so far. Hopefully Wittman can organize his second unit a bit and
> get these guys to learn how to shore up some of their weaknesses.
>
> 4. Defense of point guards
>
> 32 for Iverson/Wilks against Denver, 27 for Marbury/Robinson, 18 for
> Arroyo, and 10 for Derek Fisher... that really just means the Wolves
> have played teams with decent point guards and it's a reach to make
> anything out of it. But nevertheless, Jaric's big failing as a point
> guard was he couldn't handle small, quick guards (and his periodic
> bouts of confusion where he throws passes to nobody and wears his
> clothes the wrong way) and I'm not wild about Telfair's defense. So
> I'd say depth at point guard is a concern.
>
> Eventually they have to play somebody less crafty than Phil Jackson,
> without a good center, who won't be able to build up enough of a lead
> in the middle of the game and they'll win a couple. Also it would
> help not to give the other team 27 more free throws... it's kind of
> surprising that Jefferson didn't take any, but big men who can't get
> to the line are a familiar story in Minnesota.
>
> Still this is fun though, having a watchable team that has the
> potential to improve, so it's actually worth analyzing their losses
> beyond "They stink, the end."