Saturday, February 12, 2005, 08:10pm ET ----- Thanks Flip

With our loss to the Jazz last night, something had to give. I understand why the decision was made: A quick-solution needed to be implement to stop the Timberwolves bleeding. With the trading deadline still a few weeks away, Kevin McHale wanted to see if a different coach could fire up this team before any trades are made. And so, McHale himself will put on the coaching hat for now -- and for this first time in his life. I don't think McHale really wanted to fire Flip -- they're good friends, plus he knows Flip is a good coach -- so it shows just how desperate this team is. Desperate to do something and shake things up. Something. Anything.

I'm a little stunned ... and very sad to see Flip go. When Flip began coaching the Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett was a 19-year-old, sitting on the bench. Even though Garnett surely would have become a superstar regardless, it was Flip who brought him along. I think most Timberwolves fans feel some sort of connection to Flip, the most successful coach of this franchise, and one of genuinely great coaches in this league. He's been through a lot with the Timberwolves franchise, and will be forever tied to it. His 428-356 (.546) coaching record -- 411-326 in the regular season, 17-30 in the Playoffs -- is stellar. He was very good with his X's and O's, stressed execution, demanded a lot out of his point guards, and was really great at bringing the best out of the players he had. Until last year, the Timberwolves had always overachieved in the regular season. Flip was a damn good coach. It's sad to see him let go.

This wasn't supposed to happen this season. This season was supposed to be great. It was supposed to be about winning the championship. It was supposed to be taking the Western Conference by storm. It was supposed to about players finally being healthy, and playing together toward a common goal.

We all screwed up.

And because we screwed up, Flip got booted out. Yes, Flip was a part of our screw up. But the real blame has to be placed on the likes of Sprewell, Cassell, whose egos are so inflated they can't see past themselves. And because of their antics off the court and deplorable play on the court, the chemistry and flow of the team is disrupted. When a player like Sprewell challenges a coach's decision, it's a bad sign. It didn't help that Troy Hudson likes to jack up shots without hesistating. Nor the fact that Kandi is a headache. Nor that Mark Madsen is injured. Nor that Kevin Garnett gets tripled-teamed every time he touches the ball, and nobody makes shots after he kicks it back out.

It's not Flip's fault. He couldn't fix it. But he tried.

The Kevin Garnett mythos cannot be told without Phil Saunders. I'll always remember him as KG's coach.

Thank you Flip. We'll miss you.

Thursday, February 10, 2005, 10:40pm ET ----- Griffin to the Rescue

We probably would've lost the game last night to the Nuggets if it weren't for Eddie Griffin. He came up huge for us in the fourth quarter. We blew an 18 point lead and trailed by six midway in the fourth quarter. Suffice to say, we can't do much right these days.

But I'll take a much needed win any day. Eddie scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting, grabbed 3 rebounds (2 offensive), and blocked 2 shots in 10 minutes (everything in the fourth quarter). Wally had 19 points. KG had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 block. He shot 8-12, boosting his season field goal percentage to 50.4%. He's shot really well as of late, shooting 54.5% in February.

It's still just one win, though. The media is having a great time criticizing us. Most of the criticisms are deserved. But I hate hearing about any suggestion that Flip's job is in jeopardy. Because it's not. Flip is a damn good coach, and Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale are fully aware of that. Hell, KG knows it: "Fire Flip Saunders? Phil Jackson is gone. Flip is the best coach in the league. You want to put blame on our not playing better, blame me first."

While it's hard for anyone to actually blame KG for the Timberwolves' recent woes, KG's right in suggesting that it's up to the players to turn this around. There's no point shifting blame and pointing fingers. KG understands that. He had nothing but nice things to say about the play of Eddie tonight: "Did it surprise me? No. Was I amazed? Hell, yeah."

So we're 25-25 at ninth place, half a game behind the eighth place Lakers who are 25-24 (after just flopping in Detriot moments ago). We're fighting for survival now. Not much room for error from now until the end of the season. We're in Utah tomorrow night.

Wednesday, February 9, 2005, 02:27pm ET ----- Pounded again

Six straight. Counting this isn't fun.

It was another lackluster game last night against the Grizzlies, a team ahead of us in the standings, a team we should've stepped up our game for. But we didn't. Instead, we got out to a terrible start, and trailed by as many as 28. We haven't been under .500 this late in the season since 1996-1997. This is not a good time for Timberwolves fans. What's wrong with the Timberwolves? Pretty much everything. Sam's hurt again. Spree has lost a step (or ten). There's no chemistry at all. Confidence level is low.

It's tough enough for fans to endure. You can only imaging what Kevin Garnett feels, as he said slowly last night in a low voice: "The pieces are there. I think this is just a prime example of nothing's easy. Creating chemistry, creating flow. It's one of those things, one minute you're flying high, the next minute, who knows? But that's life, man. In the hard times, you find out who's down to fight and who's down to win, because the only way for us to win is for everyone to sacrifice. It starts with individuals, and I'm first in line. ... Everything starts at an individual level, and I just need to make sure I check myself. Tonight I played (bad), but what am I going to do? I have to keep playing, look myself in the mirror and see what I can do to change it. ... It's grown men. We're a team, man, but what makes a team is individuals coming together. Right now, we're at the bottom of where we want to be at, and the only way to do this, is 'we' have to do it. You know, superman is not going to walk through the door. Coaches can't. It's up to us."

It IS up to us. Denver tonight. I really don't want to count to seven.

Sunday, February 6, 2005, 04:59pm ET ----- Now can we panic?

Five straight losses. It's piling up now. We can't stop the bleeding. And we're just going to bleed to death if we don't patch this up.

Timberwolves just lost to the Celtics this afternoon, 103-100. It was close game and we didn't play particuarly poorly -- but let's face, at this point, there are no moral victories. KG had 21 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. Losing takes its toll, but it's good to know that you can't break Garnett's resolve: "Y'all let me know if I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I told you it wasn't going to happen in a couple games. It's something we have to continue to work at, and hope for the best. We're working to get back to where we know we can be. ... You don't give up. It's easy to give up."

I think a lot of fans have jumped off the Timberwolves bandwagon. Well, I don't like bandwagon fans anyway. They love the T-Wolves when they win, but ditch them when they lose. I myself am a diehard Timberwolves fan, simply because I'm a diehard Garnett fan. I follow this team through everything, all the ups and downs, all the bumps and bruises, and all the trials and tribulations, all the mishaps and missteps. Of course, I may criticize the team, but that's only because I believe we're underachieving and that we're much better than this. I see what I see, and I tell it straight up.

With that said, God-daayam we suck.

Shifting topic ... Adidas is doing another cool campaign with its three basketball superstars (KG, Duncan, T-MAC). On February 11, Adidas will launch new shoes for KG -- the latest ones you see him wearing recently -- which are called a³ Garnett '05. The new spot is called "Made to Perfection," and debuts today during the pre-Super Bowl show on FOX. NBC, ESPN, MTV, TNT will also be carrying the ad -- we'll see a lot of during TNT's All-Star weekend coverage. The campaign will also be promoted in print; publications such SLAM, Inside Stuff, ESPN the Magazine, DIME, Source and XXL will have ads. Keep your eyes open. In the meantime, check out the tv spot at the official campgaign website at 21121.com. You can also grab wallpapers and check out KG's new shoes. Great stuff.

Thursday, February 3, 2005, 09:43pm ET ----- Where the Wolves At?

We've lost our way. Seriously. Right now, we are nothing more than a lottery team. Playoffs? We may not make that. Playoff teams don't lose to a Webber-less and Peja-less Kings squad. Playoff teams don't blow a lead on the road against the Desmond Mason-less Bucks. Playoff teams don't trail by 40 points at home against the Suns. Last night's loss to the Suns ... wow ... we've hit rock bottom. What the hell is wrong with us?

It must be pointed out that KG, too, has been struggling with his game. First of all, he's not taking a lot of shots due to the constant double-triple teams. And second, it's hard to get going when your teammates don't draw defenders away. I can only feel KG's frustration right now. He's gotta be seething. I don't know what the hell Spree and Sam are doing. We've lost our three-headed monster from a year ago. Kandi is a huge disappointment. We miss Mark Madsen's -- who has a thumb injury -- energy. Wally and T-Hud are healthy. And yet, they provide no answers to why we stink so much.

I still believe in this team though. And I can only hope that we find our way. It's not too late. We're 24-22, at ninth place. I know we won't come close to our 58-24 record last year (not unless we go 34-2, which isn't happening), but we can still make the playoffs and regain our confidence.

In other news, Kevin Garnett is officially named a starter to this year's All-Star Game. He received 2,087,200 number of votes, which is fifth highest total ever. Yao and Shaq received the most and second most totals ever, 2,558,278 and 2,488,089, respectively. But considering the fact that they didn't really have much competition, it's pretty meaningless. Considering the notion that Garnett had to fight for votes with Duncan, Amare, Dirk, Carmelo, the total of 2,087,200 is simply insane.

Player	Votes
Yao Ming	2,558,278
Shaquille O'Neal	2,488,089
Kevin Garnett	2,087,200
Tracy McGrady	1,993,687
Kobe Bryant	1,815,952
Tim Duncan	1,812,522
Vince Carter	1,803,529
Lebron James	1,661,204
Allen Iverson	1,590,400
Grant Hill	1,497,489

Thursday, January 27, 2005, 10:25pm ET ----- Four in a row

I don't know. On the one hand, I almost feel giddy that we've won four consecutive games, and I think to myself, "Maybe we're finally awake now." But on the other hand, it's probably foolish to think we playing championship basketball. Beating the Hawks by 17 points is great. But did you really think the Hawks would be much of a challenge? Beating the Pistons by three was probably a better indicator of how we're playing. I saw that game. We could've dropped that game. Eddie's block on Arroyo was very, very close to a goaltend. I'm a Timberwolves fan, so I'm biased in saying that, nah it was a good block. But Larry Brown had a serious case.

All that aside, I think we're definitely headed in the right direction. Spree had a terrific game against the Hawks, scoring a season-high 32 points. Good to see him do well because he's been completely non-existent in previous three games. Sammy's back and he's enthused. He's ready more minutes now. Wally's been terrific off the bench. His season field-goal percentage has soared to 51.4%.

Kevin Garnett had nine shots in the Atlanta game. Nine. He made eight of them. The last time KG had more than 20 shots in a game was January 4, and that was the 47 point kaboom. I don't really mind that he's taking so few shots -- as long as we win. And we HAVE been winning, so everyone's happy. Plus, it's not like KG doesn't get touches. He does. The offence runs through him. He just finds the open man and makes the double-team pay.

We need to build off of this momentum. Hopefully we'll be red-hot going into the All-Star break. As of today, we're eighth in the West. Just gotta keep climbin'.

And being an NBA fan, I must say something about Lebron James. That kid's a warrior, man. That kid is special. I mean, already playing with a fractured cheekbone, he rolled an ankle last night against the Grizzlies, went down to the floor, left the game and still came back to lead his team to a victory. Good stuff. KG calls him "The Gift," and that's a moniker deserved.

Saturday, January 22, 2005, 01:54pm ET ----- It's an uphill climb

Just when I thought we've found our groove, we went and lose the Raptors and (a Kobe-less) Lakers. Absolutely horrible. But last night's win against the division-leading Sonics was huge. Wally played really well, scoring 34 points coming off the bench. KG had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 block, shooting 10-15. Great win, but we're still far righting our ship. Our record, 20-19, is mediocre at best. If anything, we're the most disappointing team in the league this season so far. If the Playoffs started today, we'd be out of the damn thing. The climb back to the top is going to be tough.

But I think we will do it.

Look at the standings right now. I've taken a picture of it. As of Saturday, January 22, 2005. Timberwolves are struggling at 9th place in the West. Losing six of our last 10.

It will be quite a story if we climb out of this ditch, and climb all the way back to the top. It's a long climb. There will be very little room for error. If we can storm back, maybe we can get homecourt in the Playoffs. Maybe we won't cost KG his second MVP award. Maybe we'll finally regain our confidence. And maybe everything will turn out the way we envisioned it.

Sunday, January 16, 2005, 11:44am ET ----- Signs

With the win over the Blazers last night, we seem to shows signs of moving in the right direction. That's two straight wins, though we still look out of sync at times. I watched both games, and it feels good to see that we're executing and defending better. Our defence has gotten a lot better, holding both the Nuggets and the Blazers to under 85. Latrell Sprewell has been the key in both of our victories, where he played his best basketball so far this season. Sam Cassell is still out, but T-Hud and Anthony Carter have done a nice job of filling the void.

Garnett hasn't posted his usual numbers in our two victories, but he got everyone else involved. He only took 10 shots in the Denver game, and 15 shots in the Portland one. But he knows exactly what to do with double-teams: "Throw the ball in. If trapped, I get rid of the ball. If not, I go to work."

And so we're 19-17, sitting at 8th in the West. Yes, 8th in the West. Still, it could have been a lot worse. Hopefully, the worst is behind us. We've got Toronto on Monday at the Target Center. It's payback time.

Thursday, January 13, 2005, 01:00am ET ----- Slippin'

How does my favourite DMX song go. Slippin'

Ay yo I'm slippin' I'm fallin' I can't get up
Ay yo I'm slippin' I'm fallin' I can't get up
Ay yo I'm slippin' I'm fallin' I gots to get up
Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up

Well the Timberwolves have gotta get up. We've fallen. We're wounded. And if we don't do something, we're gonna slip into the NBA cellar. We're now 17-17, our worst record after 34 games since the 1996-1997 season (we were 15-19 then). Kevin Garnett had another tremendous game, with 19 points, 25 rebounds (ties a career high), 8 assists, and 1 block. He eclipsed the 8,000 rebounds mark for his career, becoming the 13th player in NBA history to have more than 13,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 3,000 assists. He's in some elite company. Wonderful personal milestone. But dammnit, the Timberwolves stink so bad right now.

What the hell is wrong with the Minnesota Timberwolves?? I'll write more on Friday. I'm going to sleep ... full slate of classes tomorrow. I'll have nightmares about my Timberwoofies.

I must note something else: Kevin Garnett has donated $100,000 to the relief efforts for the victims of the South Asia tsunami. Big ups to you, Kevin.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005, 02:44pm ET ----- Free-Falling

"We're a confident team. We're not feeling sorry for ourselves. But it was a tough loss. We're really hungry for a win right now."

Garnett said after the loss. It's good to know that the leader of this team never lacks confidence. When things are tough, it's easy to just fall apart and feel sorry for ourselves. I'm glad this team doesn't do that. No matter how poorly we're playing, I always feel like we can fix things.

Lately, we can't seem to put teams away. We led by, what, 16 points last night against the Lakers? And still lost by nine at the end. We got killed in the fourth quarter, being outscored 38-20. Obviously, without Sam, it's extra tough.

Kevin Garnett is doing everything he can. They're crowding him, doubling him, fouling him, and pressuring him. But he finds the open teammates. He had 7 assists. He scored 23 points on just 12 shot attempts. He went the line 16 times. And he pulled down 12 rebounds. You can't fault him for anything. As a team, we just played poorly in the fourth quarter. Garnett was on the bench the first few minutes of that quarter, and the Lakers just killed us. We rushed shots and looked out of synch. Not good basketball at all.

It's a tough time for Timberwolves fans everything. Our record is stands a stunningly mediocre 17-16. And it's almost shocking that we're 1-5 in January, which is always when we play our best ball in years past. But hang in there everyone. We'll come out of it. Better sooner rather than later, though.

Friday, January 7, 2005, 10:39pm ET ----- Slightly better

Still not our best basketball, but a win's a win. We'll take it. The Timberwolves won tonight at home against the Sixers, 89-84. That stops the freefall somewhat, but we still have ways to go before we right the ship, so to speak. I mean, the Sixers played without AI, and we still have trouble putting them away. The only things I would complain about are that 1) we shot a subpar 40.2% from the field, and 2) we got outscored in the pain 34-22, and 3) we didn't protect our 16-point third quarter lead very well. Other than that, we did pretty well. We held the Sixers to 34.6%, so it was a pretty solid defensive effort. I like the fact that we turned the ball over only 8 times, and that we outscored the Sixers 17-2 in fastbreak points.

Garnett had a decent 18 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. Sammy played real well, scoring 26 points on 12-22 shooting. Wally, too had a great night with 23 points on 9-18 shooting.

Hopefully we can build on this, and stop sucking. We have loads of talent on this team, and we cannot underachieve like this. Timberwolves fans deserve better. But then again, I'm always proud of this team. Even if we're sucking, I'm still pround with our effort. Garnett is the leader of this team, and we know he brings it night in and night out. Even when things are bad, fans can always count on Garnett giving 100% of his heart and soul into every rebound, every drive, every jumper.

(Unlike that Vince Carter. Damn Vince, it takes a lot of nerve to admit to John Thompson on TNT that you didn't give an all out effort when you played for the Raptors. How can anyone have respect for you. Raptor fans paid a lot of money for those tickets to watch you play -- and you screwed them. It's shocking to me that someone like you who gets paid millions of dollars, and yet refuses to give fans the effort they deserve to see. And not only that, you complain about the coaching changes, ask to be traded, and refuse to drive to the basket despite having all the athletic talent in the world. Good-bye Vince. You didn't deserve to play for Toronto.)

Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 09:25pm ET ----- We suck

"We play in Charlotte tonight. If we don't win tonight, then we officially suck."

I don't enjoy quoting myself, but it must be done. Oh my god, it's official.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 03:45pm ET ----- Garnett explodes for 47

Sadly, 47 is not enough.

On a night where Garnett broke the Timberwolves franchise record for most points in a game (previously 44 held by Wally Szczerbiak, who did it in 2003, and Tony Campbell, who did it in 1990), Timberwolves lost anyway. Kevin Garnett went off, hitting 19 of 28 shots and 9 of 11 freethrows. He also pulled down 17 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. But it wasn't enough.

Wally scored 20 points and had 6 assists. Sam scored 24 points and had 9 assists. As a team, we had 32 assists and shot 54.7% from the field. But it wasn't enough.

We still got beat by those Phoenix Suns, and hell, even trailed by 21 points (101-80) in the fourth quarter before staging a admirable comeback and cutting it down to five. If you just look at the boxscore, it's hard to figure out what went wrong. Points in the paint was 46-44 in our favour. Fastbreak points was 14-11 in the Suns favour, and the difference is neglible. But we let the Suns dictate the tempo of the game. We let Steve Nash do his penetrate-and-dish routine, and got killed as a result. We stunk defensively. This year, we've had 10 games where we let the opposing team score 100+ plus. And we've only played 29 games. Last season -- out of 82 games -- we had only 11 games where the opposing team scored 100+ on us. Where did our defence go?

I didn't know the game was on, so when I switched to the game, I saw we were down by 19 points in the fourth quarter. The play-by-play dude was talking about how Garnett's career high is 40. I wondered why he would be mentioning it if Garnett wasn't close to reaching it. That's when KG hit a 21-foot jumper for his 40th and 41st points, a new career high. He then went for a nice reverse layup for his 42nd and 43rd points. Next he scored on another layup for another two points. And with 44 seconds left in the game, he hit two freethrows for 47 points. A career high. He scored 12 in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 11 in the third and 14 in the fourth. Still incredibly consistent in his brilliance. That's Kevin Garnett for y'all.

Exactly a month ago, I wrote an entry wondering if Garnett would ever score 50 points in a game. Not once have I doubted that he has the ability to. It's just question of whether he wants to. 47 is close. He launched a three pointer in the final moments that could've given him 50 had it gone in. Maybe one of these days Garnett will explode again ... by choice. Believe me, if he could've gotten the win last night and scored only 10 points, he would've been all smiles. "I'm not a person that gets off on individual stats," he said. "It's good that it was what it was for the crowd. But we still lost."

But still, it's a nice personal achievement for Garnett. He now has three games in his career where he scored 40 or more. Before last night, he had more games in which he was ejected (3) than games he hit for 40 (2). Haha.

In any case, the Timberwolves are struggling like hell in the past few weeks. Our record stands a mediocre 16-13. We've lost 5 of our last 6, and 7 of our last ten. It's obscene. Freakin' disgusting. We play in Charlotte tonight. If we don't win tonight, then we officially suck.

Friday, December 31, 2004, 07:47pm ET ----- Bye-bye 2004

"We will continue to work. We'll get it right. We have no choice."

Said Kevin Garnett. Record-wise, our season so far has been a disappointment. No doubt, Timberwolves fans expect something a lot better than 16-11. We're supposed be an elite team this year, not sixth place in the West. And we're not supposed to lose to the likes of Chicago, Toronto, or a players-depleted Indiana. Are we better than our record indicates? Not really. But we should be. We're just not playing well. It's frustrating.

2004's just about over. It's kinda sad to see it go. It's been a superb year for me, and it's been a great year for Timberwolves fans everywhere. In April, we saw our team win our first ever Playoff series. In May, the team came up big in a grueling seven game series against the Kings. Now we're expected to be back. None of this 16-11 crap.

2005 is almost here. This has to be our year. Go Timberwolves. Happy new year, everybody.

Thursday, December 16, 2004, 10:13pm ET ----- Bitten by Raptors

I don't think Matt Bonner is a dirty player. He seems like a nice kid. I'm sure he didn't mean to throw Garnett to the floor. He went for the ball, but got Garnett's wrists instead; KG got knocked off balanced, and hit the floor hard.

Sprewell then pushed Bonner, and had to be held back. Everyone scrambled to calm thing down and sort things out. Garnett popped up seething, absolutely furious. He went after Bonner, but was restrained by referee Athony Jordan. Even Sam Mitchell quickly came over and held back Garnett. As things calmed down a little, Garnett glared at Bonner, who was ejected for the committing the (flagrant-2) foul.

The ACC crowd was sent into a hysterical frenzy by Bonner's foul. Apparently they miss their hockey and all the incessant infantile fighting and aggression that go with it. Sports fans in Toronto probably feel a little void without hockey. And the fact that the Raptors, now the only game in town, sucks so bad doesn't helpt either. So they're bored. They see their virtual no-name, wide-eyed, red-head bench player take down Kevin Garnett, and they're absolutely loving it. They cheered widly for Bonner, who pointed up back at them as he headed for the locker room after being ejected. They booed Garnett, who hit both freethrows, clearly still mad as hell. "It was a hard foul, but that didn't even spark me till HE pointed at the crowd like he's some kind of enforcer. It was a bullshit play."

I have no idea why we manage to beat the likes of Sacramento and Phoenix, and go on and lose to Chicago and Toronto. We're 5-3 against sub .500 teams. That is lousy. Cut it out.

In other news, the first returns for the All-Star balloting program show that KG is leading all Western Conference forwards with 751,586 votes. That's only second to Yao (881,223) in the West, and puts him third in the entire league behind Yao and Shaq (854,930). Duncan is relatively behind with 570,090. Good to see Lebron leading all guards in the East. He's gonna be an all-star in this league for years to come. Also, you gotta be happy for Grant Hill, whose comeback is just incredible. He's in second spot in the East forwards position, behind Vince.

And I gotta ask this: Why the hell is nobody voting for Sam Cassell? He's not even in the top 10 among Western Conference guards. That's wrong.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004, 01:25pm ET ----- T-Wolves in T-Dot

I wish I could go to tonight's game at the ACC. One of these days, I've gotta get my own credit card. Oh well, I'll just have to watch the game at home, then. Tonight's game has extra intrigue because Sam Mitchell will be coaching against the Timberwolves. Everybody knows that Mitchell is a good friend and mentor of Kevin Garnett. During KG's rookie season in 1995-1996, he backed-up Mitchell at the small-forward spot. That is, until Mitchell told Flip that it's time to let KG start and let his game blossom.

KG has said many times over how much he learned from Mitchell, and how much he respects him. Garnett's development as a player -- and even as a person -- was very much influenced by Mitchell's presence. And yet, Mitchell refuse to take credit for the player and person Garnett is today. Yesterday, he told the Raptors media: "Hey guys, that was a long time ago. The things that Kevin has done, he has done on his own. Kevin Garnett didn't need me to be Kevin Garnett. I was just lucky to be a teammate of his, and we had some good teams. It was a lot of fun, and Kevin and I are still close. But I don't take credit for what Kevin has done."

Mitchell now calls Garnett one of the "great ones," not simply because of the talent KG has, but how the work that he's put in: "You know, you can talk to people until you're blue in the face. But if they don't go into the gym and put the work in, it doesn't matter. You can talk to people, but if they're not willing to listen and take to heart what you have to say, then that's not going to do any good" -- (hmm, here Mitchell seems to be questioning the work ethic of some of the Raptors; damn, Raptors have played horribly in their current 7-game skid) -- "You have to give credit to Kevin for one, listening, and two, putting in the hard work."

The Timberwolves should win tonight, no problem. Just play Timberwolves basketball.

Saturday, December 11, 2004, 12:25pm ET ----- Dope-man

Garnett is sick, man. His game is above and beyond that of any other player in this league. Last night, KG led a Timberwolves comeback to beat the Kings. He put up a (season-high) 35 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, and 4 steals. I love the fact that he shot 13-13 from the line. He had been struggling a bit with his freethrows a few games back, it's good to see him get his rhythm back. KG always seems to play extra well against the Kings. This one play in the fourth quarter, he freakin' rifled a cross-court bullet pass to Fred Hoiberg with shocking percision, and Freddy caught it and hit a 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves up for good.

I think Eddie Griffin is gonna be huge in our run this year for the championship. He's a big man who with three-point range, effectively stretching the defence and forcing oppoenents to not double-team Garnett. When they do double, Garnett makes them pay by kicking it back out to Eddie (or Freddy, or Sammy, or Wally, or Spree -- we got a helluva lot of shooters).

Last year after 19 games, we were 11-8. This year, we're 13-6, which is pretty good. Good enough for fourth place in the West. I guess we've all realized by now that the league-leading Phoenix (17-3) and Seattle (17-3) are for real, and are opponents we'll have to deal with sometime down the road.

I've added some new KG photos to this season's gallery, as well as more to last season's gallery. I'm obviously far from finished. It takes a long time to get these photos up -- more time than you probably think. But I have fun doing it. Look to see more photos in the coming days.

(Oh yeah, and I gotta mention this. Y'all know who else is sick? Tracy McGrady in that final minute against the Spurs on Thursday. That was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. I literally fell off my couch. Daaayyam.)

Sunday, December 5, 2004, 01:46pm ET ----- Hitting our stride

We're playing well right now, winning five games in a row. We went a perfect 4-0 on the road trip -- which is our best mark ever for a road trip -- beating quality teams with win streaks like Sacto and Phoenix. I watched the game against the Clippers last night, and it was a great game to watch. Pretty exciting match, as KG tied the game at with 25.9 seconds to go to force overtime. And then Sammy took over in the end, hitting one big shot after another.

I know there's been a lack of updates on my site. School is crazy and is taking its toll. My winter break is coming soon, so there should be a massive update in the near future, especially in the photos department. When I get the chance to finall chill for a bit, I'm gonna watch hoops, DVDs, listen to music, go running outside in the brutal cold, play basketball, and play video games -- GTA San Andreas, MGS3 Snake Eater, Silent Hill 4 are all waiting for me. But of course, I'll update the site.

KG is having another MVP year, averaging 23.1 points, 15.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.00 blocks, and 1.75 steals per game. Garnett can easily lead the league in scoring if he wishes -- he can get his shot off anytime he wants -- but he doesn't force anything. He likes to get his teammates involved early. That explains the 6.3 assists, which is just amazing.

That's why we shouldn't be surprised that Kevin Garnett's career-high is "only" 40 points. He did that twice (once against Boston during the 1999-2000 season, and another time against Sacto during thhe 2000-2001 season). Dirk Nowitzki's career high 53 points the other night got me thinking about why KG doesn't have those big scoring nights. Tracy McGrady's career high is 62. Kobe's is 56. Allen Iverson's is 58. Duncan's is 53. Shaq's is 61. Chris Webber's is 51. Vince Carter has also scored 51. Rashad Lewis has scored 50. So has Stephon Marbury. Antawn Jamison has scored 51 twice. Hell, Lebron James has a career-high of 43 points -- three more than Garnett's -- and he's only in his second season. You would think that maybe Kevin Garnett would have a 50-point night by now, after nine years in the league. But he doesn't go for it. Surely he could if he wanted to. But he chooses not to. He scores consistently in the 23 to 27 point range. His season-high after 16 games is 29 points, and his season low is 16. I think that speaks volumes of KG's consistency, unselfishness, and his dedication to teamwork and teamplay.

Will Kevin Garnett ever score 50 points in a game? I don't know. And I don't care. Garnett is not a scorer. He's a basketball player.

Saturday, November 20, 2004, 11:24pm ET ----- Heroes are humans too

Oooh, that shoulder's gonna be sore tomorrow. I know this for a fact: Kevin Garnett is not an indestructable superhero. But he sure is a sports hero for the ages. In a sports world where professional athletes hunt down a beer-chucking fan and pummels him, you sometimes wonder if there's nothing left but ugliness. But then you watch Kevin Garnett, and you breathe a little easier.

For a Timberwolves fan, it's a scary -- shocking, in fact -- sight to see Kevin Garnett lying on the floor, writhing in pain, clutching his shoulder, screaming. Garnett at times seems almost superhuman, leaping to snare rebounds, rising for jumpers, ascending to swat shots, flying for tomahawk jams. You'd almost think he was invincible. But he's not. Kevin Garnett is human.

He hurts. He aches. He pains. Just like the rest of us.

Timberwolves fans who watched the Timberwolves-Hornets game tonight surely held their collective breaths as Garnett went hard to the floor after being fouled on a dunk attempt in the second quarter. KG, running the break, took off far and unleashed a what would usually be his signature slam. The foul came from behind, and KG fell hard, slamming into the backboard support on the way to the floor. He flipped over, wincing, clutching his right shoulder, and screaming. "Aaahhhh!" and "Shit!" came flying out of his mouth. Wasn't a pretty sight. In fact, it was stunningly horrifying.

He rose to his feet after a few minutes, and the [New Orleans] fans cheered. But you could tell he was in a lot of pain. He kept clutching his right shoulder. After shooting and hitting a jumper, he grimaced all the way down court. He went out of the game and into the lockerroom.

He hurts. He aches. He pains. Just like the rest of us.

Coming out of halftime, Garnett was no where to be seen. The Timberwolves played on, without their leader and their best player. When KG left the game in the second quarter, the Timberwolves were up 39-32. Now without KG, theHornets made a run, cutting the Timberwolves lead to just two points. Uh oh.

And there he was. Walking back to the sidelines, waiting to re-enter the game, Garnett was back. Twenty-three seconds later, he hit a jumpshot. For the rest of the game, he scored 13 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, blocked a shot, and stole a ball. His prints were all over the game. The Timberwolves seemed to be energized by Garentt's return, and won the contest 99-94. KG shot 8-12 for the game, and finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals. Even with an injured shoulder, Garnett shines. I will always remember this game. It's one that will go down as part of the Kevin Garnett folklore.

He hurts. He aches. He pains. Just like the rest of us.

He could've taken it easy. He could've given in to the pain. He could've stayed in the lockerroom. He could've disappointed the fan who bought a ticket to see him play. But he didn't. It's stunning to see Garnett sprawled out on the floor, screaming. It's scary. You almost don't want to look. You almost don't want to believe it. But you look anyway, to see the toughness in him. To appreciate the heart in him. And to understand the fight in him.

He hurts. He aches. He pains. Just like the rest of us. But he tries.

I guess the real question is, Are the rest of us like him?

Saturday, November 6, 2004, 01:35pm ET ----- Still beastin'

The season is two games old, and we stand 1-1. It's okay, because that loss to the Nuggets was not like we screwed up bad or anything. Neighborhood bully Kenyon Martin manages to get Sam Cassell tossed, while what's-his-name-Elson once again forgets who he's messing with. KG really could've boxed him upside in the skull, but I'm glad he kept his cool (though you could tell he was seething). In any case, Martin and Elson are annoying as hell.

In the season-opening win against the Knicks, KG was a beast with 28 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Just another night, eh? He put on another nice performance in the Nuggets game, including two sickening blocks. He also sent the game into overtime with a patented jump hook. We eventually lost the game on Boykin's game-winning jumper. Whatever. No point dwelling on it. Tonight we play the Hornets.

Wednesday, November 3, 2004, 03:41pm ET ----- Here we go

This is not about 20-10-5 X 6. That'd be nice, and would be a testament to just how consistently great a basketball player Garnett is. He's averaged 20-10-5 for five straight seasons now. He and Larry Bird are the only players to do so in the history of the league. Another one would put Garnett in a league of his own.

But this season is not about that.

This season is about that championship. That ring. That trophy. This is our best shot at it. And despite how much of a distraction Sprewell has been (it's really tough to feed your family with $14.6 million, ain't it?) -- not to mention the antics of Cassell and Wally -- once we tip off tonight, I expect nothing less an all-out effort this entire season. Everybody just shut up and play ball. We know Kevin Garnett is ready. The West is his. We hope T-Hud will stay healthy. We hope Kandi will be some sort of inside presence.

And so our 2004-2005 season begins tonight against the Knicks. November 3, 2004. Nine years ago this day, Kevin Garnett, a lanky long rookie, played his first ever NBA game against the Kings. It's been a long journey; he's come a long way. But there's still so much to do.

Here we go.

P.S. 20-10-5 X 6, baby :P

Friday, October 22, 2004, 04:37pm ET ----- Vote for KG

Kevin Garnett is among a group of athletes being considered for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year Award. It's a fan poll, so go vote for KG at www.si.com/fanpoll. Looks like Michael Phelps is leading right now.

In other Timberwolves news, according to a report, Latrell Sprewell wants a contract extension before the Timberwolves opener on November 3. Otherwise, he would want a sign-and-trade deal, or would become a free agent at the season's end -- and by then he won't sign with Minnesota. Hopefully we can get this sorted out by our season opener. Spree is a huge part of what we need to do to win a championship(s), so I don't think it's too much to ask... But then we gotta do something about Cassell too, don't we?

Saturday, October 9, 2004, 12:02pm ET ----- Still 83 Inches

Interesting. Looks like Tim Duncan will be officially listed at 6'11" this year, shrinking an inch after being listed as a 7-footer all these years. KG, despite at times looking taller than some of his 7' teammates (Kandi, Rasho), is still listed at 6'11", and insists that this is his height. "I've always been 6-11. You guys have begged to differ," Garnett said yesterday. "It's just the long arms, the long legs. Without shoes, I'm probably like 6-10. I'm just telling you. The problem is all these 6-10 guys who have tried to say they're 7 feet."

I want the season to start already, dammit. Four months without Timberwolves basketball is way too long. At least I have NBA Live 2005 to keep my thirst for NBA action in check. The graphics are supposedly nowhere near as good as ESPN 2K5's, but I have nothing to complain about. The gameplay is where it's at. I'm still playing with the default sliders, but I'm gonna tweak it for a more realistic NBA experience. As of right now, there are too many blocked shots. This year's alley-oop animation is a lot better and more varied than last year's. Cheap steals off double teams are far fewer now. The pro-hop is toned down significantly, and you can't simply just pro-hop your way into a dunk, like I did with KG all the time last year. My only real gripe with the gameplay is that just like last year, the players will often stop in mid-run to catch a pass, effectively destroying the fastbreak. Eh, no big deal.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004, 4:12pm ET ----- We Wolves

Media Day was yesterday. Training camp officially begins today. Oh man, I'm excited about the season. A couple of issues concerning Sam Cassell, who didn't show up for Media Day, and who is reportedly upset that he hasn't gotten a contract extension yet. I hope things get sorted out. We can't have an unhappy Sammy.

KG was grilled on Media Day about the Rickert incident. "In the gym," Garnett said to reporters. "No different from any other gym. You get in a squabble with somebody. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less than that." Then he snapped at the reporter who asked him the question: "I know you guys have now been off three, five, eight months. You come back with this? I'm surprised."

Can't we talk about somethin' else? Let's talk about somethin' else.

Last Thursday after coming home late from class -- suffering from a cold -- I picked up NBA Live 2005 for the PS2. And I've been playing it whenever I have the spare time. It's a lot of fun (and just in case you're curious, Kevin Garnett is the highest rated player, with an overall of 97). The slam dunk contest is nicely implemented. It's dope, I could play that for hours. I've also started the Dynasty Mode, playing as the Timberwolves, of course. I'm not one to sim games, so I'm playing every single game personally. I've also set each game at around 9 minutes. In other words, this game is gonna last me a long time :)

Wednesday, September 8, 2004, 2:05pm ET ----- Hey y'all

What up what up. I've had a busy summer. There's been a lot of major trades and signings in the offseason, but the Timberwolves have stood pat. We've done what we were supposed to do, and that was re-signing all of our players. I'm relieved that T-Hud is staying.

Some of you may have heard about the incident involving Kevin Garnett and rookie Rick Rickert during an informal pickup game. According to a report in St. Paul Pioneer Press, after Rickert scored on Garnett repeatedly, Garnett punched Rickert so hard that the rookie suffered a chipped tooth and needed seven stitches to close the wound. This may not have been be the whole story, obviously. Pickup games are often littered with trash talking, and you know how intense and fiery Garnett is. He's not gonna let some rookie punk him. Again, I don't know what happened, and I won't speculate. I'm not saying KG was right to deck the rookie like that, but I think KG wouldn't punch someone simply because he was scored on. I'll leave it at that.

In other news, back in July, KG was featured in a new Adidas ad. The commercial is called "Carry" and has KG carrying a bunch of people on his shoulders. The ad is part of Adidas' Impossible Is Nothing campaign. Really good stuff.

Also, the men's USA Basketball stunk it up and wound up with the bronze medal in the Olympics. Wow. Their only low post presence was Duncan, and let's face it, you can't help the team if you're always in foul trouble. Had Garnett been on the team, it might've been a different story. Cough*Gold*Cough.

Training camp is just a month away, and I can't wait for the season to start. The Lakers dominant days are over, even though Kobe's not going to prison. Gotta watch out for Houston. Gotta watch out for Denver. The West is a very different landscape, even more so now with the new league alignment. But the Timberwolves should remain the favourite to come out of the West.

See y'all later.