Bye Bye Big Ticket

I have always tried to separate basketball from the professional drivel that the NBA sells like it was Panda Express--repackaged so many times that it hardly resembles what it was meant to be, so that it can be sold to people who don't really know what it was in the first place. A couple of weeks ago I got the justification I needed to expose this rift when a corrupt referee was accused of fixing games to cover spreads and affect outcomes, possibly even helping the Spurs beat the Suns in Game 3 just this spring.

On what should have been the worst day of my professional sports life, I feel... satisfied. I established in a post a few months ago that my loyalty lies with Ticket first, and my Timberwolves second. KG should have been traded last year, it was naively optimistic of him and of me to think that we could win, and to think that Kevin McHale could build a playoff team around one of the best 25 players of all time. The article reporting the trade read like an obituary. Someone who played with more passion than entire Eastern Conference teams was reduced to a paragraph of stats and awards.

Garnett didn't want to leave. As Marc Stein continues to report, KG still wants to retire a Timberwolf . At the press conference, the honestly transparent 2004 MVP explained that it was only after owner Glen Taylor refused to sign him to an extension, and made clear his intention to rebuild (let me introduce everyone to the poor man's Mitch Kupchak), not to build around the only superstar to ever love my bitterly cold Twin Cities, that he knew his loyalty had been betrayed. The guy we should think of as perhaps the most loyal player in professional sports history finally had confirmation that the writing on the wall was all very real; Glen Taylor was an apathetic owner that didn't have any interest in winning basketball games or selling seats at soon-to-be deserted Target Center.

It should have been clear when Taylor never seemed to doubt his flailing GM who only feels comfortable dealing with former teammate Danny Ainge. Now that Taylor has successfully traded his superstar for exactly the team that Boston could have had if it kept its first-round picks the last two years, will people care? It was my fault for thinking McHale could get fired for trading for Marko Jaric and signing Troy Hudson to an unmovable contract. It was my fault for buying tickets, for watching games, and for investing enough of myself that my interest could be bought and sold and finally traded.

Kevin Garnett, we're sorry that we wanted to believe like you, that we had a GM that knew anything other than low-post scoring, and an owner who knew when to stop keeping people around just because you "go way back." There it goes, my only remaining passion in professional sports has left my home town for my birth town. I'll follow it like a candle in a pitch black room though, because I'm on your side Ticket.

This is my competitive spirit taking it in the ass...

Surprised? no. Disappointed? of course. Since the Pacers-Pistons brawl at the Palace, the NBA and David Stern have diligently worked on nothing but making their product more appealing to families at the expense of passion. They created a dress code, so that we wouldn't know how these players really dress off the court, and how good velour jumpsuits looked on 6'6" black men; they made it illegal to complain about a foul, spike the ball, defend your teammates, and altogether give a shit. Thank you NBA for dirtying sports, and for trying to make generally tact-less gangsters into politicians--all in the name of appealing to middle-class families.

Please continue to give the players that often cannot be paid enough to care, more reasons to act like they don't. At least you don't monopolize the talent anymore; now you make them go to college for a year.

By the way, fuck the NBA for not hosting fan forums and raping competitive spirits around the world.

Dynasty Fans: Take a Bow

I have fallen out of love with professional sports. Yesterday I sat 5th row center court for the Wolves-Lakers game at Staples. Movie stars, rap stars and models abound. How silly I was to be excited about the game, to be excited about a ball game. The row behind us, and in front of us talked exclusively about celebrities that they would spot in the crowd. When I yelled to Phil Jackson that I didn't know where his witch hunt against Kobe was, after a Wolves foul was called in the 4th quarter, people rows away literally said, "What?!"
"The NBA's Vendetta."

It's with this in mind that today I pay homage to the passing of professional sports, and the rise of the ever-present Dynasty Teams. The list goes as follows, in descending order of "greatness":

1. New York Yankees
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. New York Knicks
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Dallas Cowboys
6. USC Trojans (football only)
7. Miami Heat
8. New York Giants

These are the teams whose fans go to the game to show off their jeans. They have fans that don't know their own team's record, or who John Stockton is. They don't live and never lived in or near the city that the team's stadium is in. They go to games because it's a sign of power to sit close to the court, near Spike Lee and Jack Nicholson. They all love Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant because they're good looking. They never lose arguments about their team's inferiority because they don't know what the assist/turnover ratio is. They all think that the 2004 Pistons cheated and that the referees are on a vendetta against the game's best offensive player; both because the NBA wants to stop a rapist from being the best player. They don't know why their best player didn't get fouled just now.

Wolves Beat KCAL9 (LA) Commentators in 2-OT Bore

Last night was like a bag of day-old bagels (which I'm eating as I write this); one minute you're eating rock bread coated in coagulated sugar, and the next you're chewing the soft deliciousness of a plain or sesame seed. At some point I stoped caring as much, since I know I would have gone into cardiac arrest many times this season if I always cared as much as KG does. How to describe last night's game? I just don't know anymore. At the end of regulation I was angry and fed up enough with the Wolves, the NBA and the Refs that out of spite, I decided I wouldn't feel happy if we won. That obviously changed, but last night, just like Sunday (in 2OT with Boston), must have aged my heart by about 10 months. By my calculation that makes me about 26 (instead of 22) because of all the 2OT's we've played this season, and that's not even counting last season's torment.

We really played shit basketball for the first 3 1/2 quarters--relying exclusively on jumpshots and breaking down defensively like it was our gameplan. All I could do is writhe in pain in the fetal position on my couch. I had thought about going to a bar here in LA to make fun of Lakers fans, but I was far too emotional to be in public last night.

Sidebar: Lakers KCAL9 TV commentators are the most biased in sports. Quit the antagonizing comments and the referee bitching, save that for your players. Oh, and quit living fucking VICARIOUSLY through Kobe.

Sidebar #2: Kobe, I've tried to like you, but it's hard for me when you bitch to the refs non-stop. Just because you fell down DOESN'T MEAN YOU WERE FOULED.

Daily moment of Jaric:
With less than 8 seconds left in regulation Jaric blocks a granny shot from Kwame Brown right into a teammate's hands. On the ensuing in-bounds, he passes the ball directly to Smush Parker, who is immediately fouled to the free-throw line.

I guess what I feel is the most important thing to come away with from last night's game is how bad the Lakers are. They are a poor reconception of early Phil Jackson-Bulls teams, but younger, and obviously crappier. Odom being out with injury shortens the Lakers Players-Good-Enough-to-Play-in-OT rotation from 2, to 1. At some point the game's best offensive player just can't do all your scoring, and that point seems to come at about the 49 minute mark.

Kevin McHale is Sports' top GM according to Forbes:
Click here

Are you a KG fan or a T'Wolves fan?

For some reason it wasn't until yesterday that I thought of those two things as separate parts. Probably because of Garnett's undying loyalty, and his repeated demand for moves to be made around him, not for him to be the piece moved (an article on CBS Sportsline captures this well: http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/10028471). Maybe it took a backhanded slap from the Mavericks at home to bring me to this boiling point, or maybe it was 29.6% shooting from the field. Then again it was probably the play of Yugoslavian-all-star Marko (heretofore: YASM). Who knows? at this point there is so much poison in the water that we'll never know who really pissed in it first. McFail probably forgot to wash his hands though.

I think this question is similar to the kinds you should have been hearing in Philadelphia this year, or in New Jersey just before the trade dealine came. Are you a 76'ers fan or an Allen Iverson one? A Nets fan, or a Carter-Kidd one? In Philadelphia it's easy for me to say; I loved the 2001 Sixers, but not as much as vintage A.I. Who's a fan in Philly anymore? Newer and younger A.I. (Andre Iguodala) is athletic and fun to watch, but come on, that team is crap. The thought of post-KG Minnesota is painfully disparaging, and unfortunately similar to post-AI Philadelphia, similar to post-Saddam Iraq. Minny and Philly ironically could have helped eachother out this year if only McHale hadn't already given away our draft picks and Cassell for the YASM. There is no doubt now as to which direction we're heading, and which team we're seeking to emulate, and it's this that has pushed me into this radical and introspective territory.

With post-season hopes dwindling, and no clear end in sight to Miss Minny Misery (heretofore: 3M), I guess I'm a KG fan; because for the first time in my sports-mature life, I want what I believe is best for KG, not what is best for my team. What's best for Ticket is obviously to get out of Minnesota, to play for a team like the Heat (who seem to attract all the old senile has-beens--not that KG is one of those though), or the Bulls, or even the despised Lakers. I really see those three situations as the only financially reasonable ones likely to yield Finals hopes. Would I become a Lakers fan or a Heat fan then? Maybe, but only because I want to see my boy succeed, not because I want Phil Jackson to further inflate his successes, and not because I want Jason Williams and Antoine Walker to get their second championship rings.

Minnesota, we've reached the end of the line. There's one stop left, 2008, and only because the opt-out can't happen until then. Trust me, there's no reason to be encouraged by 2008, and not really any reason to hope that 2009, '10, or '11 will be any good. I mean how good will a team of overpaid second-rate guards (save Foye and Hassell) and Mark Madsen be down the line? Will Lamar Odom or Antonie Walker really make us a playoff team in the West? Will Jordana Brewster marry me?

Forecast of rain and prolonged darkness, apocalpytic style darkness.

Daily Moment of Jaric

Charlotte at MN

Adam Morrison goes the first half scoreless. With less than 4 minutes left in the third quarter, Jaric comes into the game to gaurd Morrison; who promptly goes off for 8 straight, and 11 in the quarter. My favorite move of the quarter was when Morrison took a single dribble to the basket, Jaric fell backwards on his heels and conceded a open jumpshot to the rookie from Gonzaga. Ironically, as Wittman started to put better defenders on Morrison, Morrison started making harder and harder shots. I'm not even sure if it's in our best interest to make the playoffs. It's embarassing to see us get outrebounded so badly on the offensive glass. There really can't be any question any more, this is a bad team.

And it doesn't get better, next four games: Phoenix, Washington, Dallas, Utah.

Wolves-Grizzlies Recap

Daily Moment of Jaric:
The fastbreaking-Yugoslavian dribbles down the floor; Gasol is the only Grizzly back on defense and KG is the only other T'Wolf in the frontcourt. Instead of spacing the floor or forcing Gasol to commit, Jaric waits until the last minute and passes to Garnett who has absolutely no where to go but directly into Gasol. Garnett can hardly handle the pass in time and essentially loses the ball into the hands of Pau, who is promptly credited with "the biggest block of his career" according to Grizzlies TV commentators.
Jaric: plus one assist to the opposing team.

The Warriors are T'Wolves- but much worse

After watching wednesday's game agains Golden State, I realized that the Warriors are essentially the same team as the Timberwolves, but worse in all aspects but 3-point shooting. Both teams rely far too much on the jumpshot, they both play poor interior defense and are bottom-rate offensive rebounding clubs. The fact that the Wolves scored 63 in the first half alone, had more to do with poor defense, and less to do with good shooting or good offensive sets. KG had 8 assists in the first half because he was able to pass out of double teams, straight into a wide open teammate standing under the basket. Glad to have the blowout win, but too bad it looked like we were just beating ourselves out there.

Daily Moment of Jaric:
Fastbreaking Jaric dribbled down the floor behind Ricky Davis and Mike James, with a single Golden State defender in front, and Garnett trailing a few steps behind Jaric. Instead of passing to one of the two open guards, or splitting the one-man defense, Jaric dropped the ball off behind him for Garnett, who has to take a dribble and jump sideways to avoid committing the charge on the lone defender. Ticket goes to the free throw line for the blocking foul.

Hudson+Jaric=Lovers

Before I continue I'd like to apologize if my posts are starting to seem redundant. That said, after watching the Wolves get spanked by the Yao-less Rockets, I must once again comment on the horrendus play of Marko Jaric, and the weak offensive gameplan designed by the coaching staff. I have given Randy Wittman enough time to settle into a rotation and offensive sets, but our offense in Houston was, well... offensive. Here's the key stats for Monday's game:

Rebounds/Offensive Rebounds:
MIN: 36/6
HOU: 45/14

Free Throws Made/Attempted:
MIN: 10/11
HOU: 16/26

FG%:
MIN: 41.1%
HOU: 47.1%

Well I can't find the Points in the Paint stats anywhere online, but it should be fairly obvious that the Rockets had a huge advantage in this category. I think at halftime it was 8 points to 32, advantage Rockets. That would make sense being that their FG% is 6 points higher, they had 8 more offensive rebounds, and they were at the foul line 15 times more than we were. The Wolves shot jump shots, almost exclusively all night and no one crashed the boards.

There are two plays I'd like to point out, as they were my favorites of the night:

1. Jaric nearly falling to the floor as Bonzi Wells crossed him over and hit the step-back J.

2. In the third quarter, Wittman started with Hudson and Jaric in the back court. Hudson brings the ball up, passes to Jaric, Jaric passes back. With 5 seconds on the shot clock, Hudson dribbles to the 3-point arch and passes to KG. Ticket hits the jump shot with both feet on the arch.

This was probably my favorite play because even the Houston commentators (on NBALP) pointed out that it wasn't until only 5 seconds were left on the shot clock that the Timberwolves moved the ball past the 3-point arch. It took nearly 20 SECONDS to get the ball to the 3-point line! This play by itself, should explain to you how poor the play of the Minnesota Point Guards has been. God bless Ticket for bailing out his impotent guards once again.

-GL

Kevin McHale, You Should be Ashamed

Briefly: The Wolves lost last night. Of course, Chris Paul had his way with Mike "I can't play D" James - but the more important story was Tyson Chandler. Chandler put up 16 points and 18 rebounds. 18 rebounds is not a huge deal - however, he got his points on 8 of 9 shooting. Watching the game made it clear that the Wolves did not hustle. Chandler had 5 offensive boards, all of which turned into put-back points. The big men for the Wolves did nothing to stop him; they gave him 10 free points.
Also, the Wolves proved again that they cannot get to the line. I love KG, but c'mon, when you are as good as he is, you should be able to get to the line. KG: ZERO free throws. We need KG to bang inside. I understand that he's beat up, and he's not built for a tough inside game - but it was freaking Tyson Chandler and David West KG was going against.
Ricky Davis is probably one of the few players on the team that is not overpaid (more on this in an upcoming post). But he still takes too many quick shots and way too many dumb shots. Someone needs to tell him that he is not Ray Allen, and thus does not have the green light to shoot whenever he feels like it.



OK. Here is an interview with KG. I know I rag on him a lot, probably too much - but I do know that he's a competitor and hates losing. This interview made me rethink my criticism of KG. At about 6:30 in the clip, he breaks down. Watch the whole thing...Kevin McHale you are a bastard for making the best player in Minnesota sports history go through all this.

-AF

Not Just a Basketball Post

The Wolves play the Hornets tonight (in either New Orleans or Oklahoma City, but does anyone really care) and they need to win - if only to prove they can consitently beat bad teams. With Peja out for the Hornets, the Wolves have significantly more firepower than the Hornets.
Unfortunately, the Hornets have Chris Paul - and one of the Wolves biggest weaknesses is containing a good point guard. Good point guards usually do what they want against the Wolves, and Chris Paul is one of the best. Last time they played, the Wolves managed to hold Paul to 18 points, however, in the other meeting this season, Paul torched the wolves for 35 point on 12 for 18 shooting. There's no Stojakovic this time, so the Wolves have to take advantage of their offensive advantage.
David West is a solid post scorer, but Tyson Chandler is not going to be any threat offensively. I give our big men a huge advantage in this on - Mark Madsen should have a career day. Our backcourt is going to struggle: Mike James has been playing with an injured toe, and Randy Foye is not at the same level as Paul. Ricky Davis is our equivalent of Desmond Mason - call that matchup a draw.
The Wolves will win this one, but it will be closer than it should be, and Chris Paul will once again expose our backcourt deficiency. Rashad McCants made his return, and he'll be better in a few weeks, but he won't be ov much help tonight.


SIDE NOTE:
The new Yahoo! Sports page layout is horrible. It is extremely counterintuitive, and way too heavy on graphics and images. There was a reason it was the best sports page to find stats and scores - it was fast loading, simple, and had a clear and concise layout. Now it looks like a wannabe ESPN.com. Remember Friendster? Me neither, that site failed because they made the layout overly flashy, when users just wanted a simply way to connect. Look at Facebook: clear layout, simple, not graphics heavy, and users love it.
Yahoo has seriously fucked this one up. They fucked up Flickr with the new upload limits and registration requirements, and users are leaving as soon as their contract runs out. Yahoo used to be the best sports site, now because of a shitty design overhaul they are going to lose much of their userbase.



POST SIDE NOTE:
Props to the Twins for signing Morneau and Rincon to one-year deal, and Punto to a two year deal. If we can keep our team together until the new stadium is built, we will be the best team in the AL Central for many years (think '90s Braves, but with more World Series Championships).
The new stadium will be open in 2010. Once it opens the Twins will have enough revenue to keep their young players through 2010. Ages in 2010: Joe Mauer - 27 (entering prime years), Boof Bonser - 29 (prime), Jesse Crain - 29 (prime, possible our closer), Matt Garza - 27 (entering prime), Francisco Liriano 27 (entering prime), Johan Santan - 31 (prime, and he'll still have at least 5 great years in him), and of course Justin Morneau (prime).
If we can somehow sign these guys to contracts that will pay them mor e once we get our new stadium we will be fine.

-AF

#23

first of all, how do you lose a game on a wide-open 15-footer from Kevin Martin; how is there no one within 7 feet of him? ... more later

a new coach!? i think this is good....?

There's a lot on my mind today, as I reflect on the blazers game last night and Randy Wittman's first game as head coach. I'm having trouble getting over Jaric's never-ending blunders, but I feel as if I've spoken on him enough. I would like to reference his pass into the arms of the Blazer front court and his shimmy-ing defense on the fast break on Jarret Jack though.

One of my major points of contention with the team and management has always been its poor handling of the Flip Saunders situation, and its poor replacements (McHale and Casey). After a year and a half Casey had yet to teach his team to defend the pick-and-roll, or how to space the floor on a fast-break. I'm glad to see this change, but it really doesn't make much sense. Rick Bucher and practically all other NBA analysts continue to remind me that the Wolves were supposed to be a sub-.500 club, so the fact that they're the 8th seed in the playoffs right now is quite an achievement by the coaching staff. However, in the McHale press conference, he accurately pointed out that the club lacked any kind of consistency. Going 7-1 to start January, including victories over Detroit, San Antonio and Houston was great, but following it up with a loss to a decrepit Atlanta team days later are proof enough.

McHale is finally right to realize that they're something bigger going wrong in the organization, something above the players. Coaching has been a major deficiency since Flip left, and since he's left he's exposed some serious problems above the coaching stratosphere. Maybe next time it'll be owner Glen Taylor who's at the podium saying his GM is a great teacher, but a terrible GM.

A coaching move motivated by inconsistency seems overdue. In the post-Flip Saunders era the team has never really played at a consistent level, or with a singular identity. The Wolves are no longer an offensive club, but aren't really the slow tempo defensive team that I think Casey has tried to make them (I would say this didn't happen because the Wolves have no halfcourt sets). Casey's offense was usually a high screen set by KG and nothing more. The fact that they never established an identity makes them the NBA's first chameleon--the team that plays to the level of their opponent, or usually one step lower. We could run with the Suns (as we did Monday) for about three quarters, we could bang with the Pistons into OT (twice in January), and we could still get blown out by the Hawks. The Hawks?

I hope that Wittman can create halfcourt sets that allow KG to get the ball in the post (instead of the 3-point line), sets that utilize spacing and screens to let our guards get to the paint and find wide-open shooters for 3, and sets that don't just burn shot clock time. We'll see soon enough.

Marko Jaric: assist/turnover of 1.3

At the last Wolves game my friend tried to convince me that Jaric was no longer the piece of shit no-guard player that he was last year. At times I've seen spots of basketball intelligence from him, those times usually come just after he jumps into a passing lane to steal the ball in the open court. Jaric runs into the open floor at least two full strides ahead of the next guy on the other team, but by the time his over-sized, slow-ass gets into the paint he no longer has an open layup because the defender has caught up. At this point a wise veteran would pull the ball back and watch for the next teammate to make a cut to the rim--not Jaric, he jumps in the air on the baseline, turns his head around and throws the ball into the chest of the defender. He clearly has basketball awareness equivalent to the kind of trout that swim upstream by jumping out of the water and shaking. His offensive awareness is atrocious, he has no idea of where his teammates are on the floor and last season when he'd play the point, he always needed help in the backcourt just to dribble up the floor since the smaller guards would try to steal the ball. When he got in the frontcourt he'd stand around with his back to the 3-point line and waste shot clock time. He'd usually take a few dribbles forward and, because he thought that the defense was collapsing on him, he'd throw the ball like a hook shot over his head to a defended and mediocre 3-point shooter.


sometimes he even wears his jersey backwards youtube

Jaric's defense is comparably disgusting. Even though his height should make it easier to defend other guards, his complete lack of agility and quickness allow typical one and two-guards to always put him on his heels. At the same time he's not built well enough to defend the small-forwards with any semblance of a post-up game. He's kind of like Wally Sczerbiak in this respect, embarassingly white.

Jaric is dwarfed by the decisive powers of high school players, and he continues to show that for every good play he makes, he must commit one turnover, at least. He leaves his feet with the ball, attempts impossible passes, wastes shot clock time and is a huge defensive liability. On top of all those glaring character flaws, he's never afraid to showcase his cocky tough-guy personality. Thank God he doesn't start anymore, but I won't be satisfied until he's gone. Cut him, waive him, trade him for a sandwich or draft rights to me, I don't care, but please please just get rid of him.

inauguration

There are so many places that I could start. I'd like to start by outlining a list of issues that need to be dealt with, and with time, I hope to retain the diligence to address them all.

1. General Management
2. Coaching
   
3. Overpaying crap players
4. Trading away all assets of any trade value
5. Coaching the fast break
6. Defending the pick-and-roll
7. Boxing out on the glass
8. Hiring an overachiever assistant coach from Seattle to run KG's final years
9. Marko Jaric (need I say more?)
10. The Joe Smith blunder

I'll think of more later, but let's just start with these 10.