Unsung hero: Brian Cardinal scored eight points for the Wolves, including a couple of three-pointers, but that doesn’t begin to describe his contributions.
“He’s so heady,” McHale said. “He has three steals tonight and takes probably two or three charges. That’s six defensive possessions that he takes from the other team. That’s huge. He just is really, really a smart, smart, smart player.”
From the Star Tribune:
Timberwolves star Al Jefferson limped into a room underneath Target Center last week, his big body and surgically repaired right knee supported by clanking metal crutches. He set them against a table and talked about his long road back from a surgically repaired torn anterior cruciate knee ligament that will require six to eight months to heal…
“I’m learning a lot just watching the game. Not being able to play, I see the game a lot better. Kevin McHale used to get on me in the film room sometimes. Now I’m seeing what he’s talking about. I’m learning the game just watching it every night.
All season, Miller has opted to pass and rebound. He’d basically do anything but shoot. But coach Kevin McHale has urged him to be more aggressive on offense and exploit his size advantage on some nights.
“One thing I’ve always believed in is everyone likes to shoot, but somebody has to make plays for someone else,” Miller said. “This year, I’ve been trying to make plays. But, if I’m open, I’m going to shoot it.”
Miller has been so stubborn that McHale yelled “good shot, good shot” when the veteran missed a 3-pointer against the Griz.
“I appreciate that,” Miller said, “but it’s only good when it goes in.”
That process will have to start next fall, quite possibly with McHale still roaming the bench. The fans turned on McHale long ago, for failing to win with Garnett and for failing to keep him. But the mood is different in the locker room.
“Guys want him back, especially me,” Telfair said. “I feel when he came in, we started playing basketball the right way.”
Coaching the Timberwolves back to respectability could provide a measure of redemption, even if it is not the career path McHale chose.
The Timberwolves always have had to work hard to sell tickets. Their staff has been challenged by several tumultuous, unsuccessful seasons, and team President Chris Wright said the poor economy is simply the latest obstacle.
New promotions, particularly ticket discounts and deals that include food, have been popular. An offer that cut ticket prices in half for anyone wearing blue enticed more than 800 people to buy tickets with face values of $10 to $200.
“You’ve got to be nimble, try to understand what’s going on in the economy and the community, and figure out how to adjust to it,” Wright said.
As some corporate sponsors scale back, Wright’s staff is seeking new clients in healthy businesses. To hang on to season-ticket holders, the team maintains a database of those looking for partners to share ticket packages and will help match them up.
The Wolves have instituted a “soft” hiring freeze, filling only vacant positions considered critical. Like the other local teams, they have trimmed non-essential expenses such as travel costs. Wright said the team is likely to fall “slightly short” of revenue projections this season, but the expense adjustments will keep the team stable.
From Marc Stein/ESPN:
Minnesota coach Kevin McHale acknowledged recently that he and Wolves owner Glen Taylor were quickly rebuked by NBA commissioner David Stern for their willingness to publicly address the growing pessimism about league business stemming from the worldwide economic downturn and possible changes that might be coming to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement when it expires after the 2010-11 season.
McHale presumably absorbed the harshest scolding after saying that “a correction is needed to be made” and cautioning that the NBA Players Association should brace for “a lot of changes coming down the road.”
From the Star Tribune:
Tuesday: at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday: at New Orleans, 7 p.m. Friday: at Houston, 7:30 p.m.
They now hit the road for six of the next seven, including these three playoff-bound teams with a combined .651 winning percentage.
From Sid Hartman:
According to nbadraft.net, Kansas center Cole Aldrich of Bloomington is projected as the Timberwolves’ top selection with the No. 6 pick in the 2010 draft. The 6-11, 245-pound sophomore is averaging 14.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game for the Jayhawks (25-7). Bob Knight believes Aldrich will be a good pro and is a big player with unlimited potential. … The website has the Timberwolves taking two Wake Forest players — sophomore guard Jeff Teague (No. 6) and sophomore forward James Johnson (No. 18) — with their top two selections this year.
From the Star Tribune:
Does Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor’s commercial pitching his team’s new season-ticket plan remind anyone else of Howard Humphrey, president of Schooner Tuna in the recessionist 1983 motion picture “Mr. Mom” starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr?
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