Click here for the forum’s thread for tonight’s game against Dallas.
Game previews:
A common theme for the Wolves (1-8) in each loss has been the players’ inability to battle through tough times. Rambis has commented in several postgame chats that he saw his players “get down on themselves” and not recover. He hopes that trend ends tonight against Dallas at Target Center.
“We don’t seem to have the confidence and maturity to put our foot down and say ‘we’re not going to let this happen anymore,’ ” Rambis said.
“He’s trying to run the offense, he’s trying to figure out his teammates, he’s dealing with guys pressuring him that he’s never seen before — and those aspects that I mentioned right there, that’s a lot,” Rambis said. “It’s a ton. And it’s just way, way, way too early for that to be absorbed.”
Which is why Flynn, whose ability to drive to the basket has made him the Wolves’ second-leading scorer behind Al Jefferson, hasn’t yet become the distributor the team expects he will be. The rookie averaged 6.7 assists last season at Syracuse (and 8.9 in his final 10 games), but has yet to reach that level even once in the NBA.
Al Jefferson flew to Florida on Thursday morning, his mind on matters more important than an eight-game losing streak. The Wolves forward has been excused from the team’s home game tonight against Dallas and Saturday’s trip to Memphis to deal with a family member’s illness.
Jefferson will return to the 1-8 Wolves next week, the team announced.
“He’s got to take care of things, [and] we all just have to step up” in his absence, guard Jonny Flynn said.
From Sid Hartman:
Ricky Rubio, the Timberwolves’ first-round draft pick, is playing for Regal F.C. Barcelona in Spain this season, competing in both the Euroleague and the Spanish basketball league. Through six games in the Spanish League, Rubio is averaging five points, 5.2 assists, and 2.2 steals in 19.2 minutes per game, and through three games in the Euroleague, Rubio is averaging 6.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in 22.7 minutes per game.
Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves’ second-round draft pick (31st overall) in 2008, is playing for Panathinaikos Athens in Greece. Through three games in the Euroleague, the 6-10 center is averaging 19.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and through three games in the Greek League, Pekovic is averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The Timberwolves probably should have traded Kevin Garnett even earlier than they did (in 2007 to Boston) because the $20 million per season he was being paid prohibited them from building a championship-caliber team around him, first-year Wolves President David Kahn says.
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