Wolves go down scrappy in opener!
There were no expectations, really.
If Al Jefferson had wheeled out a utility cart full of basketballs without tripping, he might have drawn a round of applause from an arena full of Timberwolves fans who, more than anything, want to see 48 minutes of good, solid effort each night.
The new, Kevin Garnett-less Wolves didn’t disappoint on that front. In fact, if anything, the kids played as solid a game of team basketball as has been seen out of these blue-green-and-black-suited warriors since the early days of Garnett, Gugliotta and Marbury.
Rashad McCants, the forgotten first-rounder from the 2005 draft, came up big, especially in the first quarter, scoring a good portion of his team-leading 23 points to open the home debut of the new Wolves with some excitement.
Together with PG Sebastian Telfair, filling in for Randy Foye who will miss three weeks on injury, McCants led the Wolves to a 19-6 jump start that led to a Denver timeout and a standing ovation for the home-court Wolves.
As the game progresses, the lead narrowed but the Wolves managed to finish ahead of the Nuggets at the end of all of the first three quarters of play.
New “franchise” player, Al Jefferson, even put up a double-double consisting of 16 points and 13 rebounds, an impressive debut for the player who will – like it or not – be charged with making fans forget the intials “KG.” So far, it looks like he can handle the assignment.
Of course, this young Wolves team isn’t quite up to speed just yet as the dust from their Miami trade hasn’t even settled yet, a deal which booted Ricky ‘Avis (because there’s no “D” in Davis) and Mark Blount from the team in exchange for a draft pick, another former Celtic and some “change” in terms of extra players who may or may not fit in here.
But the important aspect is that the Wolves played like a team, not like a group that included big names who were playing for their names. Some superstars will be bound to emerge from this group of Wolves. Jefferson seems like the real deal. Foye should be decent when healthy. McCants has a chance. And you have to appreciate the potential of kids like Brewer, Gomes, Smith and perhaps even Telfair.
The team still lacks a huge, dominant center… but when have they ever had one of those? Sure, the game was a 99-91 loss. But it was a scrappy one, especially when you consider how good the Nuggets are supposed to be this year.
For now, that’s enough.
