Tonight the Wolves finally return home to take on a surging Jazz team, lead by dynamic point guard Deron Williams. On the Jazz roster is former Wolves big man Al Jefferson, traded away this offseason for salary cap space, two first round picks, and Kosta Koufos.
The Jazz are a very nice team and the Wolves will have their hands full tonight. With Darko's injury status uncertain, and Pek likely unavailable to add a few defensive 3 second violations, we will have our hands full with the Jazz frontline. Luckily though, this is a front line that does not possess great length, unlike Wolves matchup nightmare LaMarcus Aldrige, and even DeAndre Jordan the other night in LA.
It will be nice to see Al again. Hopefully he receives a nice ovation from the crowd and I wish i could make it to TC tonight to see him. We often lauded against him for his lack of defensive prowess, but I can't help but imagine the roster as it stands today, with Big Al in the mix and Darko still in the big rotation. It is unlikely we are world beaters, but I have a tough time believing any player acquirable in trade with our cap space will give us more production than Al would have, assuming he moved the ball more effectively this year with more options (fat chance, I guess). But I will wait until the trade deadline, the unofficial expiration of our cap space, to be the judge on that. If Kahn comes up empty, which I have a bad feeling he will, then that trade is a total flop. Patience, I guess.
I hope Darko plays, and I even hope he shuts Big Al down. I am very much in the camp that once a player is traded there is no need to root for him any more when he comes into town. A small ovation is more than enough. Garnett comes to mind here. Sure, I have a soft spot for the guy, but nothing would reenergize the fan base like an upset against the Jazz tonight, or the Celtics when they come to town next year.
As I wrote the other day, Rambis has hit rock bottom. After a loss to the Clippers, he is currently tied with Jimmy Rodgers as the worst coach in Wolves history. Rodgers did not last to the next game. I'll also remind everyone that it also took a 20 point loss to the Clippers for the Wolves brass to let Wittman go. If Rambis loses tonight, he will have the worst coach distinction. Again, this is not a good thing and cannot simply be due to injuries. He needs to make adjustments to his schemes or we are in for another 15-win year.
Tonight's TWolves Blog Forums Game Thread vs. the Utah Jazz can be found HERE.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
