We asked our favorite Wolves bloggers for their thoughts on the most talked about game of the team’s season. Read on to see what they had to say.
From Peter at Hoop Springs Eternal:
If the Wolves organization had a sense of humor, Friday night also should be Reunion Night. They could invite a sampling of all the awful draft choices and spent veterans they tried to surround KG with, and make Ticket low-five and bump those folks during introductions. Think of it–Paul Grant, William Avery, Ebi, Marcus Taylor, Rick Rickert, Loren Woods, Stanley Roberts, Stoyko, Rasho, Gary Trent, Bill Curley–the blacklist goes on and on. Even Sprewell with his well-fed family and blank life-size cardboard cut-outs of the draft choices lost in the Joe Smith debacle could be included. That would be good for a hearty cathartic laugh, and some perspective. KG actually carried some of that bunch to eight playoff appearances?!? Amazing. Instead, Friday will be simply bittersweet; happy to see him back in a hunt for championship gold, sad to see him hunt in Celtic green. Hopefully, the fans will cheer for his years of spectacular service here, and honor the relevancy he brought to the franchise.
Unfortunately for ESPN, who will be televising the Wolves-Celtics game during prime time on Friday night, KG will likely not be in uniform after suffering what is being called an abdominal strain in the first meeting of the two teams on January 25th. The Wolves caught a break in the aforementioned game as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were cold from the floor, but it’s not likely to happen again. The T’Wolves proved to themselves and everyone watching that they are capable of playing with Boston, and one mental lapse by Corey Brewer and the coaches for not calling timeout on an inbounds play was all that stood between the Wolves and a victory. Still, the Celtics won’t underestimate the Wolves (if they even did in the first game) and in most cases, the team with superior talent prevails. Having KG out of the lineup certainly helps Minnesota’s cause, but in the end I think the Celtics are too good to lose to a team like the Wolves.
From Stop-n-Pop at Canis Hoopus:
It is only fitting that KG likely won’t be on the court when his Celtics return to the Target Center this Friday. While I’ll always be thankful for the wonderful time he put in here for the Wolves, there was always something missing from the most complete frontcourt player in the league. It wouldn’t be the first time the big guy went missing during the team’s biggest moment of the year. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a fantastic player. His 2003/04 campaign is one of the top-20 individual seasons of all time. However, for whatever reason, the team just couldn’t put it together while he was here. Some of the blame lies with the front office, some with KG. You can decide for yourself who gets the majority share. What I do know going forward is that the best player we ever had on the squad was moved for a rebuilding effort that, like KG, just seems to be missing something. If there is one think KG can continue to give the team and its fans, it is that the team should learn from the past and not transfer the Big Ticket era mistakes into the age of Big Al.
From Mnsportsfans:
Target Center was once jokingly referred to as the “Garnett Center.” The question is on Friday how will the fans recognize both the past and the present? Al Jefferson and the young Wolves are winning of late and the building is beginning to look like “Jefferson Place.” How will the crowd greet KG, will it be a warm standing ovation of will there be boos? Will fans cheer more for the young Wolves or will they cheer for KG and the Celtics? Many fans still seem to be caught in the between, and this may be the first time in person they are forced to make a choice. The conundrum of the fans is likely only a teaser to what we might expect in the game itself. We were treated to a nice preview of this game only two weeks ago when the teams met in Boston. The first game turned into more of a “war” than a basketball game, and the young Wolves might very well have won if it were not for a rookie’s mistake. If the game is as competitive as the first one, then the fans should walk away satisfied no matter which team they supported on this one particular night.
From College Wolf at Twolves Blog:
The big tilt this Friday at Target Center vs the Boston Celtics may not be exactly the “Big Showdown” that thousands of fans were anticipating. It appears that KG most likely will not be playing in the game; and there is a good chance that he doesn’t even make the trip to Minnesota. While it is understandable that Garnett is injured and probably should not be playing, by not even coming to Minneapolis he is taking away the chance for thousands of loyal fans to give him thanks for his twelve years of service to the Timberwolves; and for the fans to gain some closure. KG or no KG, it looks to be an exciting game with the suddenly resurgent young “TimberCeltics” facing off against the team with the current best record in the NBA. Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, and the rest of the crew will get another chance to display their skills for Danny Ainge and Company in what looks to be an emotionally charged and tightly contested game.
From Neil at Timberwolves Today:
As soon as I received word that Kevin Garnett had been traded to the Boston Celtics I promised myself that I would be as close to the court as possible for his return to Target Center. While I couldn’t be happier for KG and his team’s success this season, it will be bittersweet to see him on the opposition’s bench this Friday. He will go down in history as one of the best NBA players of all time and on Friday night, we will congregate at 600 1st Avenue North to pay tribute to the best basketball player this state has ever seen and a man who gave everything he had to this franchise for 12 amazing seasons.
From Get Your Howl On!:
As it looks right now (Tuesday morning), KG won’t even be playing in the game. While we have 3 guys from the off-season swap who are playing pretty darn well in Gomes, Telfair, and Big Al Jefferson. Although, I know that if given the chance to do it all over again, Ainge would make the trade 10 times out of 10, you know that he has to be looking at how these young guys are playing and wondering to himself what it would’ve been like had they not made the KG trade, especially if these kids continue to improve and Boston doesn’t obtain that championship. How much worse would they be if they had Big Al instead of KG? How much deeper would they be if they had all of them rather than just KG?
As for the game itself, the Wolves are off till Friday and can focus solely on preparing for the Celtics. The Celts have games both Tuesday and Wednesday and won’t be afforded the same luxury. I’m looking for Jefferson, Telfair, and Gomes to be looking to exact some revenge on the game that they feel they should have won in Boston. Along with Foye and McCants looking to show their old teammate that they are no longer the doormat of the league, I’m looking for the young Timberwolves to come out on fire and get off to a fast start. They’ll have to play with defensive tenacity from the opening tip to the last buzzer, but this could very well be the first night that the Target Center is truly rockin’ this season. With that being said, I think with help from the home crowd, the Wolves will hold on to a tightly contested game and pull out a close win against “Papa” Pierce,” “Aging” Allen, “Grandpa” Garnett, and the rest of the Boston Celtics.
From The DFC Bite:
It had to be scheduled on a Friday night, didn’t it. Here we have the biggest game of the year-the glorious return of our once “Big Ticket” that everyone gets tickets aaaaaaaaand Mr. Durable gets injured. Where does this leave me? Well, I will be starting to drink downtowat 5:30 or so on a Friday night and then attending a game that really won’t be that exciting. I’m sorry folks—I’m a huge Wolves fan and have probably watched 80% of the games this year. But, unfortunately, mid-way through the year and minus KG makes this game about at 1.8% of the magnitude that it was billed to be. So, like a lot of you, I will be unleashed into the arena as a drunken mess. Good luck Wolves fans. I just hope between counting McHale’s bathroom (lotion) breaks watching the Celtics score (hint: if you only count 37, you’ve drank too much) and freaking out about why that cheesy game guy tries to look and act exactly like Wally Z that Big Al drops 50 in the Celtics face, looks into the crowd and yells, “We’re Comin’.”
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