Game 5- Minnesota Timberwolves 109 vs. Sacramento Kings 121 (1-4) 2:30 am 11/8/08 The Bad Team Defense We will start this recap with the bad-side of things because there were far more negatives than positives tonight. It's one thing to give up 129 points to the San Antonio Spurs in two overtimes, but to give up 121 points to the lowly Sacramento Kings in four quarters, now that is another story. If there is one thing that I have been too soft on this team this season, it has been this team's defense. The Timberwolves literally could not stop anyone tonight. All we have talked about this season is how much Mike Miller and Kevin Love will help Al Jefferson on offense, but if this team can't stop anyone, it won't matter how good these two play. Tonight was a perfect example. Kevin Love had a fantastic game putting up 20 points and Mike Miller had a good shooting game putting up 16 points on 7-13 shooting, but none of that mattered as there was no defense present. I mean we are talking about the Kings here, not the Suns, Mavs or Hornets but the Kings. Other than Kevin Martin, it's hard to think of anyone else that is even an offensive threat when I think of the Kings. They have some nice young players like the T'Wolves do but there should be no reason why this team scores 121 points. Part of the problem which I get talk about below is simply that we do not have enough height down low. We have made Spencer Hawes look like an all-star this season. The other big problem, other than Corey Brewer, no one can guard anyone off the dribble on the wing. Randy Foye is constantly getting beat off the dribble and Telfair lacks the size and strenth to be any sort of a force on the defensive end. Another interesting stat tonight, the Timberwolves never led in this game. The Timberwolves made some nice runs to get the game to get within a few points, but could not muster enough effort on the defensive end to stop the Kings from responding. In the end, the Timberwolves now sit a very similar position as last season's team at 1-4 and things get no easier tomorrow night in Portland. Are we really as bad as we were last year? I sure hope not. Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith on Defense aka "Small Ball" This combo is killing us off the bench on defense. These two are great energy guys and I don't blame them completely tonight for their poor defense, as Randy Wittman should not be relying on these two guys to guard Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes and co. without a center. We desperately need a center right now as we cannot continue to play Gomes and Smith together who are both only 6'8. Is Wittman forgetting about the defensive side of the ball? Sure these guys can put up some points, but they are average players at best on defense. Especially Smith who lacks the length and athleticism to guard anyone over his height. We just cannot continue to play these guys at the same time or we will continue to get torched like we did tonight. Just look at the stats, Smith had a -16 rating and Gomes wasn't much better at -13. The Kings did a great job exposing the Timberwolves lack of size tonight and look for Portland to do the samething tomorrow night with Aldridge and Przybilla. The Good Sebastian Telfair Telfair was inserted into the starting line-up Friday night replacing the slumping Randy Foye. After a very impressive first game against the Spurs, Telfair was even more impressive tonight scoring 15 points and dishing out 7 assists. Telfair is the giving the Timberwolves exactly what Foye was not giving them in the starting lineup, a point guard who can penetrate and create. Telfair is giving the starting lineup an identity when he is on the court as he is doing a wonderful job pushing the ball up the court and feeding Big Al and Mike Miller and co. on the wing. Telfair really put in some hard work this offseason and people still forget that this kid is in his early 20's and there is reason why he should be labeled as a career back up point guard. Sebastian still has plenty of potential left in his tank and if he keeps this play up, the Timberwolves got a steal with the 2+ million they are paying him. Kevin Love Kevin Love just keeps getting better and better each game. Love finished tonight's game with a career high 20 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds. What was even more impressive was how efficient he was scoring those 20 points. Love was 6-7 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line. Can you score 20 points any better than that as a rookie? Maybe Kevin's uncle, Mike Love needs to come to more Timberwolves games because he sure brings the best out of his nephew when he is in attendance. I was also very impressed also with Love's aggressiveness with the other Kings big men, he showed no signs of backing down when things got physical. Randy Foye Randy Foye maybe had his best game as a T'Wolf this season and it was obvious why, he was relaxed out on the court. Maybe starting isn't the best option for Randy, but maybe he is best suited for a 6th man role like Ben Gordon. If Sebastian Telfair keeps up this kind of play, Foye really has no choice but to come off the bench or hope that he can squeeze into the starting lineup as a shooting guard. While Randy still wasn't as aggressive as I'd like to see, he looked a lot more comfortable on the court tonight than in previous games. Foye finished the game with a respectable 11 points in 25 minutes. Hey it's nothing special but it's a step in the right direction. Funny Moment I laughed out loud for about good minute after Mikki Moore celebrated excessively by shooting guns with his hands after hitting a shot in the 3rd quarter. The Timberwolves immediately toke advantage of his showboating and raced up the court and hit Rodney Carney for a layup. Mikki, come on man is it really necessary to act like a cowboy on the court? Turn your head around after you make a basket and play some defense. MVP- Kevin Love 20 points 8 rebounds Stat of the Game- Kings shoot 54% from the field and make 22-23 free throws
