TWolves 98 – Pistons 103
Final Record: 15-67
I don’t even know what to say. We lost a game we were trying to win, to a team that was clearly tanking, and had incentive to lose… because a loss would have improved their draft choice (tie for 4/5/6 position, instead of the current 6/7 tie with the win vs Wolves); and clearly their odds to win a top 3 lottery choice. Wow. Our lottery picks and best players got ABUSED by Detroit’s scrubs down the stretch. Outscored 35-19 in the fourth quarter? Ummm… what the eff? No Stuckey. No Gordon. No Hamilton. No problem.
What a shame and an embarrassment. However, a fitting ending to this monster piece of shit season. I’m glad its finally over. We fans deserved much better.
The clock is ticking on Kahn, Rambis, and all our players. If improvement to this team doesn’t start happening NOW, then for all intents and purposes, this team is done.
The TWolves absolutely must nail the draft, free agency, and multiple off-season moves/trades. If not, there’s literally no hope for the future of this team. If we don’t land a top 2 draft pick on May 18th, holy crap, I can’t even ponder that scenario.
MVP:
Charlie Villanueva, Pistons
He scored 13 of his 16 points in a fourth quarter when the Pistons sat three starters and still outscored the Wolves 35-19.NUMBERS:
0 Kevin Love’s fourth-quarter minutes.
81 Games played this season by Jonny Flynn, who missed Wednesday’s finale because of a hip injury.
A group of former Timberwolves players have company to share their futility.
The Wolves’ 1991-92 team — a distinguished alliance that includes Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks, former NBA coach Sam Mitchell, Randy Breuer, Pooh Richardson, Felton Spencer and Doug West — no longer is alone in finishing a season with the worst record in team history.
The current edition of the Wolves — led by Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer and Darko Milicic — couldn’t keep their distance from the group after suffering a 103-98 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night in front of 15,790 at Target Center.
– Serves them right. This year sucked donkey dong.
More On Our Epic Season of Futility
The Timberwolves on Wednesday night fittingly said farewell to a season in which they equaled the franchise record for worst ever.
They blew a 16-point lead, allowed 35 points in the fourth quarter and lost 103-98 to Detroit at Target Center.
The Wolves finished with a 15-67 record that ties the 1991-92 team for futility.
– See my comment above.
Here’s an Image Gallary from the game, if anyone cares.
TWolves Have a Ton of Work Ahead of Them
From Tom Powers at the Pioneer Press:
According to David Kahn, president and general manager, “next season” begins at about 1 p.m. today. Frankly, I thought he should have kept that to himself and given the fans at least 24 hours to recover from “this season.” But the new reality here is that the offseason is by far the most interesting time of the year. It’s when the Wolves start playing that people lose interest.
Kahn has a pocketful of money and plenty of salary cap space. He’ll also have a high pick in the draft. And we already know he is willing to make moves. Speaking Wednesday morning, he and coach Kurt Rambis were remarkably upbeat considering the living hell that was their 2009-10 NBA basketball campaign.
– Well duh, anyone could have told us this. The TWolves are terrible in every facet, and a shitload of work needs to be done. PRONTO.
Blame Kahn and Rambis for the putrid 2009-10 Season?
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI AP Sports Writer:
“The blame falls right here with David and myself,” Rambis said after the team’s final shootaround. “It’s not the players’ fault. It’s our fault. But we are going to move forward. In my mind, this is our launching point.”
Kahn and Rambis took over the basketball operations last summer. The Wolves haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, and their win total has steadily decreased from 58 in 2003-04 to just 46 total in the two years before this one.
Kahn reshaped the roster, with many moves geared toward freeing up salary cap space for the team to make a run this summer at what is expected to be a bumper free agent crop.
– I dunno. Blame everyone.
Around the NBA Daily News:
The 2009-10 Playoff Match-ups are finally here!
– I’m personally stoked for Boston/Miami, Utah/Denver, and Orlando/Charlotte. P.S. Goooooo Thunder!!!
A Little Luck Helps in the NBA Draft Lottery
By Michael Rand from the Strib:
While most folks around these parts are well aware of the two decades or so of NBA draft lottery misery for the Timberwolves — and therefore there’s no need to rehash that — it’s important to remember that many franchises have been remade quickly with just one piece of lottery luck.
The Timberwolves are in a position where that one little piece of luck — finally — could be the transformational piece they need during this year’s lottery May 18 and the actual draft June 24.
If you are a Timberwolves fan who doesn’t believe good fortune exists in the lottery, take heart. While sometimes top picks are busts and other times improvement has been only gradual, occasionally franchises can be transformed immediately after nabbing the No. 1 overall pick…
– The Title pretty much says it all.
Durant = Youngest Scoring Champ Ever
OKLAHOMA CITY(AP) Kevin Durant earned himself a place in NBA history. Without a trip to the playoffs, too, it would be nearly as special.
Durant scored 31 points to finish the season as the youngest NBA scoring champion, and the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a sloppy second half to head into the postseason with a 114-105 win Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies .
”It’s something I really wasn’t coming into the year saying I wanted to get but it feels good to be a part of history and something I’m going to always remember,” Durant said. ”It feels even better to get 50 wins.”
The 21-year-old finished with an average of 30.1 points, 0.4 ahead of James, and supplanted 22-year-old Max Zaslofsky of the 1947-48 Chicago Stags as the youngest scoring champ in NBA history.
– What a complete STUD.
Sixers Will Fire Eddie Jordan
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan will be fired Thursday after one season on the job.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement has not been made. Jordan is finished after a woefully underachieving season that had the Sixers mired near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Jordan was hired last summer and sold his Princeton offense as the way to turn them into contenders.
Instead, players were unhappy with his system almost from the start and the Sixers struggled to put together any kind of winning streaks. The Sixers finished 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Sixers will look for their fourth coach in three seasons.
– Yet another NBA Organization in disarray.
In Case You Missed It:
– Bloguin NBA Roundtable: NCAA vs NBA Part 2:
A Bloguin NBA Blogs collaboration, via Hoops Manifesto.
– Official NBA “Unsung Player Day” via With Malice
Check out TWolves Blog’s submission of The Immortal Oleksiy Pecherov.
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