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What's with all the winning?

By Scott Henneboehle | January 5, 2009 | Wolves Watch

In case you haven't noticed, which the majority of sports fans in Minnesota that have given up on the Wolves haven't, the club has won three of four and won back to back games for the first time all season. You know you're not going to be a title contender when back to back wins don't come until after the new year, but in this case it's better late than never.After seeing the team drop 13 straight games and get blown out by Orlando the day after breaking the streak, there wasn't much good to point to as a reason for enthusiasm. Kevin Love was getting thrown around by defenders he should beat, Mike Miller was on the bench with the ankle injury, and it became painfully obvious that the team has nobody to take control of the team when momentum starts to go against them. With all of the...

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Five Questions: Talking McHale, Wittman, and Love with T'Wolves Blog

By Anthony Hall | January 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

It's not easy being a Minnesota Timberwolves fan. Early-season ineptitude caused team owner Glen Taylor to finally put his foot down, make a coaching change...and replace Randy Wittman with one of the most hated men in Minnesota sports, Kevin McHale. If that wasn't bad enough for T'Wolves fans, the team has proceeded to go 2-10 after the switch to McHale.College Wolf of T'Wolves Blog was kind enough to sit down with MVN for an interview and tell us just how bad things have gotten in Minnesota:1. The Randy Wittman and Kevin McHale eras have both been miserable failures in Minny -- which coach on the market WOULD be a good fit for this team? You're correct that the DimWittman (and McFale) eras have been abject failures. It will be a joyous day if/when/please god the McHale coaching era is over and Taylor FINALLY (hopefully) brings in a real coach from outside...

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NBA Studs and Duds: 12/29/08

By Stu Holdren | December 29, 2008 | NBA Noise

Studs:Al Jefferson, Minnesota TimberwolvesTimberwolves fans can rejoice with their second win in three games, and Al Jefferson was a major part of tonight's. The Grizzlies had no answer for Jefferson, who scored a season-high 38 points and snagged 16 rebounds in a 108-98 overtime victory. [boxscore]Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix SunsAfter Steve Nash went out of the game in the first quarter with back spasms, the Diesel took the game into his own hands and helped the Suns get a 110-102 win against the Thunder. O'Neal put together a complete game with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and made a very un-Shaq-like 8 of 12 free throws. [boxscore]Stephen Jackson, Golden State WarriorsIn true, frantic Warriors fashion, Stephen Jackson produced his fourth 30-point game as the Warriors beat the Raptors 117 to 111. Jackson also got himself involved in all other aspects of the game as he had 7 rebounds,...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Al Jefferson, Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Yao Ming

NBA Blogger Spotlight: Zach Harper, Talk Hoops

By Stu Holdren | December 29, 2008 | NBA Noise

There is a lot of great writing and analysis being created by talented NBA bloggers around the globe. Sometimes the hardest part is just finding them. NBA Noise will be sharing some of their favorite NBA blogs by having interviews with the bloggers themselves in what we call the "NBA Blogger Spotlight." Our kickoff NBA Blogger Spotlight is with Zach Harper of Talk Hoops. Support the habit.

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Wolves fall to streaking Magic

By Scott Henneboehle | December 28, 2008 | Wolves Watch

With all of the talk in the East surrounding the amazing starts that the Celtics and Cavs have had, the Orlando Magic have been flying somewhat under the radar, but if they keep playing like they are, you have to include them in the list of championship contenders. They just finished a stretch of 12 straight games against Western Conference opponents in which they went 11-1 and have the NBA's best road record at 11-3. Earlier this season, Orlando beat the Wolves by 11 without Jameer Nelson, Mickael Pietrus, and Keith Bogans; with those three in the lineup, the margin of victory was 24.The Wolves got burned by Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, a tandem that is averaging 36 points a game and went for 50 last night in Target Center. The home team had no answer for the dynamic scorers who helped the Magic establish a 17-2 lead to...

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Losing streak ends at a baker's dozen

By Scott Henneboehle | December 27, 2008 | Wolves Watch

A day after the mighty Boston Celtics' winning streak ended at 19 games, another streak came to a close (and it's about time) as the hapless Wolves defeated the Knicks in the Garden by a score of 120-107. The thirteen game losing skid had fans questioning whether this year's team is worse than last year's, which at one point managed to win just 2 contests in a 21 game span that lasted slightly longer than a month. Only time will, but so far you can't really say one way or the other if the team is improved. Their record on this date last year was 4-23; they stand at 5-23 in 2008. Still revolving around Al Jefferson, the offense's scoring average is almost identical to last year's, as is their average number of points surrendered. Like this season's club, last year's squad was playing some of their worst basketball around...

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Ranking the top ten players 6'0" tall and under

By Stu Holdren | December 27, 2008 | NBA Noise

The NBA is a league of giant men, but it is the little guys who we often find the most endearing. Maybe is that us "average Joes" can relate to being the little guy, or even live vicariously through the short players in the league. Some of everyone's favorite absurdly small, but productive Lilliputians included the 5'3" Mugsy Bogues and the 5'7" Spud Webb - a former Slam Dunk Contest winner. Currently, there are 17 players on active NBA rosters who are 6'0" or less. While I don't even believe that many of these guys are as tall as they say they are, let's take a look at the top 10.1. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets, 6'0" CP3 is undeniably one of the best players in the whole league. Even at only 6'0", people generally don't associate him with his diminutive stature. Maybe that is because of the diverse skill...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Aaron Brooks, Allen Iverson, Charlotte Bobcats, Chris Paul, D.J. Augustin, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Jameer Nelson, Jose Barea, Kyle Lowry, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Sebastian Telfair, T.J. Ford

Knicks Lose To Generals, no, er, Timberwolves At Home

By Eric Weinstock | December 26, 2008 | Father Knickerbocker

One of the ways that you know this is not a very good Knicks team is its inability to protect its home turf at MSG. Instead of, "we must protect this house" the Knicks obviously sing Disney songs in the locker room "be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test." The Timberwolves who were 0 for December before showing up at the Garden, won this game easily.How bad are the Timberwolves? I don't know how to describe the hideousness of their season - 4 wins, losers of 13 straight. A team that averages 94.4 points a night, manages to score 120 against the Knicks. A team with only 3 players averaging in double digits, has 7 score 10 or above against the pitiful Knick defense. The T-Wolves managed a .514 shooting percentage from the field, and an amazing .542 percentage from three point range. The Knicks...

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Knicks, MSG, Timberwolves

Five Questions: Talking McHale, Wittman, and Love with T'Wolves Blog

By Anthony Hall | January 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

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NBA Stock Market: Rondo Keeping Celtics on Record Pace

By Joe Boikess | December 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Rajon Rondo surveying the floor (Photo via culhanen/flickr.com)

Note: We at MVN Outsider have re-organized our posting schedule in an effort to make our sports coverage more well rounded and timely. For those of you expecting to see the NBA Power Rankings today, that post has been moved to Tuesdays. With these changes, get ready to see more fresh content every day on every major sport. Thanks, and enjoy!Rising:Boston Celtics - Honestly, this team has been on the rise this entire season, piling up wins at a rate that we haven't seen since the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. They now have won 18 in a row and have tied the league mark for the best start (26-2) for a team with two losses. Their recent success has been due in large part to the play of point guard Rajon Rondo. When the team needs him to score, he does it (as we saw on Sunday in the C's win...Read more

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NBA Stock Market: CP3 steals way into record books

By Joe Boikess | December 18, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Chris Paul shoots over Leon Powe of the Celtics (Photo via flickr.com/Eric Kilby)

With everything that happened during yesterday's busy night in the NBA, there's a lot to get to, so I'll just get right to it: here's the league's big movers and shakers.Rising:New Orleans Hornets - Not only did the Hornets mount an impressive comeback win over the Spurs last night (their tenth win in the last 12 games, putting them in first place in their division), but they also got to see some history. During the second quarter, Chris Paul stole an intended pass from Tony Parker, establishing CP3 as the NBA record-holder for most consecutive games with a steal (106).Paul broke a record that stood since 1986, and by the time the streak ends it's likely that it won't be broken for many more decades. The next longest streak by an active player is 22, by Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. With apologies to Parker, Nash and D-Will, all excellent...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Chris Paul, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Outsider, New Orleans Hornets, Rasheed Wallace, San Antonio Spurs

What Does The Future Hold For The Minnesota Timberwolves?

By Brad Berreman | December 9, 2008 | MVN Outsider

With the firing this week of head coach Randy Wittman after a 4-15 start to the season, it seems the Timberwolves may be back at square one in some ways. Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale has resigned that post to coach the team, presumably for the rest of the 2008-09 season. Team owner Glen Taylor apparently asked McHale to resign his role in the front office to focus 100% on coaching the team. McHale previously had some success as Timberwolves' head coach, with a 19-12 record at the end of the 2004-2005 season after the firing of Flip Saunders. He has put together this group of players and he now gets to coach them, for better or worse. McHale says he wants the responsibility of helping these players turn things around. But this maybe the first step toward McHale eventually leaving the Timberwolves franchise all together after this season....Read more

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Kevin McHale, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Outsider

How the West will be won

By Joe Boikess | October 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

With the NBA regular season set to tip off in less than a week, it's time to reveal my predictions for how the Western Conference will shape up. Last year the requirement was at least 50 wins for a team to make the playoffs in the ultra competitive West, and I believe this year will be no different. That's not to say that all the same teams will be there in the end, however...In addition to ranking the teams in the order that I believe they'll finish, I decided to also separate the teams into tiers based on their potential to win the West. Here goes...Tier 1: The Clear Favorites1. New Orleans Hornets (1st in Southwest) - I realize that preseason performances should only be taken with a grain of salt, but the Hornets are 6-0 so far, and they have allowed the third-fewest points of any team during the...Read more

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Outsider, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Western Conference

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