Nuggets blog Pickaxe and Roll gathered some Northwest Division bloggers to get their predictions on the team and the players in the division.
RandBall predicts the team will win a minimum of 38 games this season.
*Another year of Al. Jefferson was terrific last year. There’s no reason to think he won’t be even better on an improving team, even if his numbers don’t move because there are more scorers.
*Love’s intangibles. There’s just something about the kid we like.
Winning 30 vs. 35 vs. 29 means next to nothing. For teams like the Wolves, what matters is the arrow — is it up, down or sideways? For now, it is up, as much because of the basement in which they dwelled a year ago as to any genius moves or breakthrough individual years.
Luckily, the Wolves also managed to land Mike Miller in the deal. Miller has hippie tattoos and wears one of those Europeanly masculine, shoelace-ish headbands, but he may also be the league’s best pure shooter; he is undoubtedly the T-Wolves’ best three-point shooter in years. The presence of Miller on the outside, stretching defenses and creating space, provides a perfect complement to Al Jefferson’s sublime low-post skills. The relationship between the two should create a flowing offense, the ball moving naturally from the inside out.
SLAM Online picks Kevin Love as the rookie most likely to average 10 rebounds.
“I could list his 23 double-doubles last season at UCLA (oops—looks like I just did), but I don’t need digits to justify this pick. Just know that few players understand how to rebound as well as Love does. Watch. You’ll see.”—Ryan Jones
Not only does Jefferson feel more comfortable and confident in the players around him this season, he also feels more comfortable in a Wolves uniform.
“(Last year) Was kinda like a dry zone because you don’t know what you’re gonna get from the teammates, the fans. Being traded for a guy like Kevin Garnett, I didn’t know how people were gonna treat me,” he said. “But here it is, walking into my second year and things are a lot better.”
From the Timberwolves site:
On Friday the Minnesota Timberwolves Fastbreak Foundation, players Corey Brewer and Craig Smith, along with Rebuilding Together dedicated and officially opened the newly renovated Reading and Learning Center at the City Inc. in Minneapolis.
From Kare 11:
Representatives from the team handed out free breakfast outside Target Center Wednesday morning. Donuts, danish and coffee were available during rush hour.
A ticket to the season opener is also good for a free ride on a Metro transit bus or Light Rail starting two hours before and lasting two hours after the Wednesday’s game.
Skyforce coach Nate Tibbetts on the relationship between the D-League team and the Wolves.
A. From a coaching standpoint and on the business side, they really opened up the doors for us. I don’t know how much it’s going to affect how many guys we get (assigned) this year due to the fact that the only two guys (eligible) are Kevin Love and Corey Brewer and they’re going to play a lot for (the Wolves). But it’s definitely going to help in the future, I know that. I think they have definitely gained trust in what we’re doing down here.
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