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Game Previews:
Monday’s major moves were intended to provide energy and spark to a lifeless bunch. But Wolves guard Sebastian Telfair still looked pretty glum Tuesday.
“It’s the day after,” Telfair said when asked to assess his team’s mood. “It’s not a good mood on this team right now for a lot of guys. For a lot of guys, Wittman helped them so much that it’s hard for us to get over it so fast. We’re definitely going to miss him as Coach. We loved him as Coach. It just didn’t work out with this team. It’s time for us to move on.”
When asked about the decision to fire Wittman and replace him with McHale, forward Al Jefferson said: “You know, it’s OK, I guess. We still just have to go do our job, regardless of the change or not. Something just wasn’t in us anymore.
Supersize it: Rookie forward Kevin Love is heading up a winter coat drive for the needy, but he has yet to find one for himself.
Love said he’s having a couple sent from Los Angeles but that no one has donated one in his size yet.
“Not the big Whammies,” he said. “Not the ones I’m going to need.”
And then everything once again went black when they blew a 94-87 lead with less than three mintues left, when the Jazz finishd with a 14-2 run that included Mehmet Okur’s winner with 1.7 seconds left. The Here-We-Go-Again-Syndrome can be attributed in good part to Love’s four consecutive missed free throws, probably a bad shot he took and a turnover in that stretch.
At least you know the guy cares. He basically was sniffling back tears in the locker room and said he needed someone to talk him down off the bridge.
While I don’t think he would sabotage this team, I do wonder how badly he wants to coach it. This wasn’t the look and sound of a captain determined to right a ships course, but a conductor committed to completing his playlist as the ship sinks. He’s resigned to his fate. Shortly after speaking of how it is unacceptable for millionaire players to lethargically report to work, he reiterated how little he wanted to do with the jobs travel. He continues to believe that “anything can happen”, but it’s unclear whether he wants to be the one to do it. He’s merely accepting responsibility.
From Liam McGarry/Basketball 24/7:
It would appear that if anyone can save Minnesota, McHale can. The Hall of Famer knows the Timberwolves inside out and may be just what their battered confidence needs. If he can get the best out of players like Mike Miller (pictured) and Ryan Gomes then who’s to say that this team can’t achieve something. If he can’t, then lack lustre growls may be all the Wolves have to offer for the remainder of this season.
From Art Garcia/NBA.com:
Wittman now joins the millionaire unemployment line with P.J. Carlesimo, Eddie Jordan and Sam Mitchell. Of the four coaches canned this season, Wittman and Carlesimo didn’t have realistic playoff expectations.
Other than Saunders, no coach has given more to the Wolves than Wittman. He spent 10-plus seasons, in three different stints, as a Minnesota assistant before following Casey. That’s quite a run for a franchise celebrating its 20th season.
So on one bench last night there was Sloan, a good NBA player born to be a coach who has never wavered in his commitment to his vocation, and on the other bench there was McHale, a great NBA player who considers coaching a hobby that impinges on his lifestyle.
The shame of this is that McHale, given the right attitude, would make a wonderful coach. As many shots as he deserves for his construction of the Wolves, McHale did good work the last time he paced the sideline, when he took a team rife with resentments and contract disputes that had tuned out Flip Saunders and went 19-12.
Jerry Sloan has an admirer in Kevin McHale, who worked the first game in his second stint as coach of Minnesota when Utah beat the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
“I’m a big fan of his,” the ex-Boston Celtics great said of Sloan. “I think he and (San Antonio’s Gregg) Popovich and Phil Jackson (of the Los Angeles Lakers) are the best coaches in the league. I mean, I think those guys set themselves apart. And he’s a great guy too.”
On Tuesday, Sloan was celebrating his 20th season as head coach of the Jazz — a milestone observed quietly Monday night with a dinner with staff members at pricey Minneapolis steakhouse.
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