Hello,I am a diehard Timberwolves fan who loves this team and this organization to death. This past season has been tough but we've battled through it and stayed positive. The important part, to me, was the fact that this team did not give up and always played hard. That was a direct reflection of Coach Casey and his coaching staff, along with the leadership of Kevin Garnett. So excuse me when I become frustrated to find out that this team is giving up for the rest of the season. I don't pay big bucks to see Kevin Garnett play 24 minutes. I don't pay big bucks to see this team want to lose ball games. I want to see this team go out there and hustle their butts off to become better basketball players and better teammates. I want to see Coach Casey become a better head coach. These guys need big game experience and that's what the end of the season is all about. You have teams that are battling for playoff spots and playoff lives. Every game at the end of the year has that playoff atmosphere so if you treat it like the playoffs it will go a long way in the success and growth of this franchise.I emailed this to you because I'm very disgusted with the way this team is operating at the end of the season. Even though we have lost a lot of games this year I could always hang my hat on one thing: they always tried hard. The effort made me think that tomorrow would be a better day. Then I show up Target Center on a Friday night vs. the Utah Jazz only to find out that this team suddenly doesn't care about finishing out the regular season. They don't care about winning games anymore. Suddenly, learning how to win games doesn't seem as important as ping-pong balls. As a Timberwolves fan, that is the biggest insult that there could be. This team NEVER quits. I don't have anything more to say. I'm disgusted.Signed,Timberwolves fan
I wrote it just now and e-mailed it to fansfirst@timberwolves.com.After tonight's game I just got so fed up. The team is playing to lose.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dsounG @ Apr 8 2006, 12:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>They lost to Utah .Was their defense horrible or what?</div>They TANKED! Garnett, Banks and Davis didn't play in the 4th quarter! Garnett and Davis didn't play in the 2nd quarter, either. Casey wasn't even trying to teach the young guys anything. He just let them play and screw up time after time. It was the most frustrating experience of my life!
The Timberwolves actually replied back with this letter of their own:<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Thank you for writing in to us and we take your comments very seriously. We understand you are paying a lot of money to watch Timberwolves games and you still deserve to see great NBA action on the court. The unfortunate reality right now is the Timberwolves cannot make the playoffs and KG needs rest to take care of his ailing knees. By giving our younger players more minutes and having them play during crunch time we are developing them for next season so we can improve. Rashad McCants had a terrific game last night and I?m excited our fans will get to see him more this season as he is turning into a very good player. TonyFan Relations</div>
Regardless of the letter, thats pretty cool that they actually write back to their fans; I didn't even know NBA teams have this email system - I gotta try that with my team some time.Also, he's right about the whole getting the younger guys some playing time. You want to look for the future - why risk an injury to your stars when you aren't playing for anything but for a record. The team is being smart in not playing the stars, by doing that you're getting your younger guys some experience, and that will be better for the team next year. Be Patient. All bad teams don't stay bad forever - and vice versa.
