<font size="4"><div align="center">Minnesota Timberwolves 04-05 Season Preview</div></font> <div align="center"></div> by J-Roc <u>Season In Review: 2003-2004</u> The 03-04 season was a great one for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The pressure was on for the T-Wolves to actually get past the first round of the playoffs, after seven previous 1st round exits. When the T-Wolves added Sprewell and Cassell, the chances of them making it past the 1st round increased very much. Playoff time came, the T-Wolves finished the season as the #1 team in the Western Conference. They faced Denver in a grueling series and ended up beating Denver to make it past the 1st round. After that, they went on and won a seven game series with the Kings, but in the process, lost Sam Cassell to a hip injury. The Los Angeles Lakers, unfortunately, put their season, to a halt. It was very depressing to see the magical run come to an end, but it was a very accomplishing season. In addition, Kevin Garnett was named the leagues Most Valuable Player. <u>Off-Season Accomplishments</u> <font color="Teal">First, a new General Manager is hired </font> by the T-Wolves. The man they hired is <font color="Teal">Jim Stack</font>. Stack was an advance scout for the New York Knicks before being hired as the General Manager of Minnesota. Before he was with New York, he spent three years as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers. He replaced Rob Babcock, who had left to become a general manager for the Raptors, a month before Stack was hired. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a few tasks to accomplish this off-season, and did a good job at accomplishing those tasks. Those tasks were to resign Troy Hudson, resign Trenton Hassell, and to resign Fred Hoiberg. To do this, a lot of negotiating and hard work had to have been used to get the job done In the end, it all worked out for the better. Although Troy Hudson missed a majority of the 03-04 season, signing Hudson would be a very good goal for the Timberwolves. It would relieve the amount of playing time Sam Cassell would have to be playing and it would improve the depth, not only at the PG position, but on the Timberwolves roster. Getting him back would be very significant to the Timberwolves. Signing Troy Hudson would not be an easy task. Weeks passed and the Wolves and Hudson had still not worked out a deal. Hudson had made a statement saying that if he and the Wolves had not worked out a deal in one more week, that he would be looking at other options on other NBA teams. Minnesota and Hudson had finally reached an agreement and on August 9, Hudson had been signed by the Timberwolves. Trenton Hassell was very significant to the Minnesota Timberwolves success in the 03-04 season, and signing him was a must. Hassell was a very hardworking players, working hard on both the offensive end and the defensive end. He did a very nice job guarding some of the top wingmen in the league, and getting him back was something that this team needed to do. The option of Trenton Hassell leaving and entering the 04-05 season with another NBA team was there. Many teams were looking to sign him because after this past season, he showed how significant he can be out on the court. On July 27th, Trenton Hassell had signed an offer sheet with the Portland Trailblazers and it seemed as though Hassell would not be playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves for another season. However, the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement says that the Timberwolves had 15 days in which to either match the offer or lose Hassell's services. In those 15 days, the Timberwolves had matched the offer, and Hassell would be playing with the Timberwolves for another season. Resigning Fred Hoiberg was a fairly easy task. He had already mentioned that he wants to finish his career in a Timberwolves jersey, so resigning him would not be difficult. An important part to our success last season, Hoiberg put up very nice stats and played very valuable minutes. He was among the leaders in the league from behind the three point line. He shot 44% which was ranked 4th best in the NBA. He also provided depth at the SG and SF positions. He was resigned on the 23rd of July. With the resigning of these three players, the Minnesota Timberwolves keep their entire 03-04 team roster intact. The only addition was Blake Stepp, who was this years draft choice by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was selected very late in the 2nd round with the Timberwolves only draft pick. They had to forfeit their first round pick. Blake was added to help with the depth at the PG position, which was a need. At the time, Sam Cassell was in need of a backup, and the possibility of signing Hudson wasn't 100%. Stepp has yet to have been signed by the Timberwolves. <u>Minnesota Timberwolves' Depth Chart</u> PG: Sam Cassell/Troy Hudson SG: Latrell Sprewell/Fred Hoiberg SF: Trenton Hassell/Wally Szczerbiak/Ndudi Ebi PF: Kevin Garnett/Mark Madsen C: Michael Olowakandi/Ervin Johnson <u>Minnesota Timberwolves' Starting 5</u> Point Guard <font color="Teal">Sam Cassell</font> Stats: PPG-17.0 APG-8.0 RPG-3.5 Can he recover?-Sam Cassell's season was ended with a hip injury that he suffered in a seven game series with the Sacramento Kings. This offseason, Cassell underwent hip surgery and it was successful. So the question is, can he recover? My thoughts are yes. He will be backed up by Hudson which will help Cassell out significantly. To prevent the risk of injury again, he can cut down his amount of minutes and share time with Hudson. Shooting Guard <font color="Teal">Latrell Sprewell</font> Stats: PPG-15.0 RPG-4.0 APG-4.0 What can we expect from him?- Latrell was a member of "The Big Three" for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, along with Cassell and Garnett. At times, it seemed as though Spree could be inconsistent. But when Spree showed up to play, he went off and put up very good stats, mainly in the points department. Spree is getting up there in age, but you can expect another big year this season for Latrell Sprewell. Small Forward <font color="Teal">Trenton Hassell</font> Stats: PPG-6.0 RPG-3.5 APG-2.0 Another breakout year?- Hassell was very key to this teams success last season. Without Hassell, the Timberwolves would have had no perimeter defense whatsoever. Hassell did a terrific job by guarding and stopping a lot of the top wingmen in this league. He was a tremendous worker and made baskets when needed. When the Wolves needed a quick basket after the opponent had gone on a scoring run, Hassell was the one to answer by making the basket to provide a boost of confidence. His defense and overall play last year was very underrated by many. Expect big things from Hassell this season, mainly on the defensive end. Power Forward <font color="Teal">Kevin Garnett</font> Stats: PPG-25.0 RPG-14.0 APG-6.0 Another MVP award?- Chances are still there. Garnett is still the most versatile and the best player hands down in the NBA. The only player that can give him competition is Tim Duncan, but Kevin Garnett is more of a complete player than Duncan is. Night in and night out, Garnett works his hardest. His win attitude and his amazing style of play seperates him from the rest. Watch out for Garnett this season. He has a well rounded team surrounding him and it can only make him better. Center <font color="Teal">Michael Olowakandi</font> Stats: PPG-10.0 RPG-9.0 APG-1.5 Can he FINALLY have a breakout season?- Ever since Michael Olowakandi has stepped foot in this league, he has been a bust. I can't stand to see him have yet another disappointing season and I'm sure many others can back me up on that note. This year, he has a good chance of having a good season. Flip has given him the starting position over Johnson, feeling that Kandi needs to make a name for himself and prove he is not a bust. The T-Wolves starting five is the same as it was last season, with the exception of Olowakandi. They will show once again that they are the real deal. They are a well-rounded starting crew and put up the stats on a nightly basis. They do what they need to do and they do it all consistently for this team. We can only expect more from this group this up and coming season. <u>Bench Players</u> The T-Wolves' bench is very deep and very deadly. Each player has their own role on this team and they abide by their role accordingly. They get the job done. A question mark here will be health, mainly with Hudson and Wally, but you can expect good things from this bench. <font color="Teal">Wally Sczcerbiak</font> Stats: PPG-13.0 RPG-4.0 APG-2.5 How can Wally recover?- I think he will be alright and will do very good off of the bench. Wally suffered a rough neck injury in the opening series of the 03-04 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. He will be very key to the T-Wolves success adding more scoring to an already high scoring team with the Big Three of Spree, Cassell, and Garnett. <font color="Teal">Troy Hudson</font> Stats: PPG-11.0 RPG-2.0 APG-4.0 A good season for Hudson?- My prediction, yes. Last season, it was a very disappointing one for Hudson, mainly because injuries plagued him. With him returning this season as backup to Cassell, it works out perfect. It gives Cassell time to rest in games and gives Hudson a very good amount of minutes to put up quality stats. <font color="Teal">Fred Hoiberg</font> Stats: PPG-5.0 RPG-3.0 APG-2.0 How will "The Mayor" perform?- "The Mayor" will not see as many minutes as he did last season. Wally missed a majority of the season with injuries, which gave Hoiberg his chance to shine. He gave the T-Wolves a very nice outside game, shooting 44% from the arc which ranked him 4th overall in the NBA. An underrated defender, Hoiberg will see minutes but not as much as we saw him get previously. <font color="Teal">Ervin Johnson</font> Stats: PPG-1.5 RPG-3.0 APG-0.2 How efficient will EJ be?- Not as efficient as he was in the past. Previously, as the starter at center, Johnson has played a very good role on this T-Wolves team. He was one of the key role players on this roster and gave very efficient minutes last season. Look for him to still give efficient minutes, but not as many because of his age factor which is declining his activity in NBA games. <font color="Teal">Mark Madsen</font> Stats: PPG-2.0 RPG-3.0 APG-0.5 What about Madsen?- Madsen will continue to play the role of being a spark off of the bench. Although Mark Madsen may not be the most skilled player on this roster, he does what he needs to do. Every play that takes place on the court, he hustles and tries to do his best. Not a huge scorer or rebounder, he gets the job done and gives his 100% every minutes that he is out there. <font color="Teal">Ndudi Ebi</font> Stats: PPG-0.7 RPG-0.2 APG-0.1 Will things change for Ebi?- No, things will not change. You didn't see a whole lot from Ebi last year, and won't see anymore from him this year. He didn't get many minutes at all because of him being a rookie, injury problems, and the depth of this T-Wolves roster. This season, it won't be getting any better with Wally returning and with Hassell returning as well. <u>04-05 Keys to a Successful Season</u> <ul>Health is a big issue with this team coming into the 04-05 season. Wally, Hudson, and Sam Cassell all suffered from injuries last season, and it really hurt the outcome of our team. In the WCF, we lost Cassell to a hip injury, much many will say, cost us a shot at the NBA Championship. Wally and Hudson were much needed scorers and backups for this team and they missed a vast majority of the season due to injuries. If the T-Wolves hope to have as much success as they did last season, then they better stay healthy.[/list] <ul>Success at the Center spot. Olowakandi is now replacing Ervin Johnson as the starter at the center spot. Could this finally be the breakout year for Olowakandi? So far in the NBA this man has been nothing but a bust. It really annoys me to see that the T-Wolves were very hyped on getting him, and he turned out to be nothing for them. Johnson played very efficient minutes for the T-Wolves last season. Now that he is getting older in age, it is hard for him to play as many minutes which makes it even more of a need for Kandi to play good for this team.[/list] <u>Can they handle the heat?</u> Last season, the T-Wolves really made a new for themselves. They showed that they are legit contenders for the NBA championship and that they are the real deal. Teams will be gunning for them because of the fact that they are legit contenders. With all of the media surrounding them and the pressure from all of their fans, can they handle it all? It will be very interesting to see. They now have a target on their back because of their success and the media and other concerns can dismantle this team. In order for this team to have success, they need to stay confident and keep their jets running. <u>04-05 Season Predictions</u> Western Conference: Well, with our entire team intact, I see us having a very good season. The only main concern is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs kept their same lineup, with the exception of adding Brent Barry. This team looks very strong, and to be honest, I'd rate them better than the T-Wolves. I'd probably put the Spurs at #1 overall in the Western Conference with the T-Wolves at #2. We can expect very good matchups between the two teams when they face each other, but I think when it comes to playoff time, we will end up as a #2 seed behind the Spurs. Besides the Spurs, they seem to be the only threat in the Western Conference. In Our Division: In our division, things seem to have gotten a little more competitive. In the playoffs, we had trouble getting by the Denver Nuggets. Now, the Nuggets have added Kenyon Martin to their front line making this team very dominant and will give us trouble. The Utah Jazz made two very great acquisitions by adding Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. I see no troubles from Portland or Seattle, only from Utah and Denver. I do see us winning the Northwest Division, though. Denver and Utah will give us troubles at time, but we will come out on top in our division.
Nice preview J-Roc, just a few comments I think Troy Hudson's assist # are a bit high. He was never a great playmaker as a starter. And in the situation he is in....I think he will try to jack up shots as a scorer in his minutes off the bench like he did last season. But I wish that he would take the role of another playmaker because the Wolves dont really have anyone outside of the big three, who can create opportunities for others. But Hudson will be looking to score, I would cut his projectedf assist # in half. The player to watch clearly this season is Kandiman. If shows up this year the Wolves are going to be hard to beat. But its alot about passion for the game with him, sometimes it just looks like he doesnt care out there...so projecting his output for the year is rather diffcult because every game is the unknown with Micheal> See everyone in their wolves previews are basically using the pray method with projecting Kandi's output. As far as the division goes I think the Wolves expereince gives them an edge over Denver even after the addition of K-Mart. With the loss of Jon Barry they lost the guy that knew how to bring the team together & step up as the vocal leader. And say all the things needed to be said when things werent going right. I think that loss is going to play some type role this season. But they are still going to be a very competive team. And will give Minny a little run for the divisional title. Utah imo, did not add the go to player they needed to win the close type games in the 4th quarter they lost last year. I dont think they are at the Wolves level but they problem entire the playoffs somewhere around the last 3 seeds, which means the Wolves could see them in the 1st round around playoff time. But its to early to start talking playoffs. Portland is just missing something, they have a strange mix of players. And Iam not forsure if they know what direction they want to go in 1st it seemed like they were going with the youth aproach after the year Zach had & then drafting Telfair. But then traded for Van Exel & trying to get Kidd, so they may be looking for an identity this year. But they still have a decent amount of talent on that team. So they will be competive in serch of a playoff spot if they can improve their play on the road. And the Sonics, well they dont seem to be making any moves to get back into the playoff picture. So the Wolves clearly have the divisional edge.
If the Lakers somehow can pull off a miracle and win it all then gyeah boy. But realistically I think the Wolves may be champs this year and will beat the Spurs in the western conference finals. I feel KG will be MVP again 25 14 and 5 season. Like Henacy said if Olowakandi shows up and contribute some solid numbers the Wolves will be a very hard team to beat.
Well, Henacy, looking back on this since the season is over, I was VERY close on the assist number for Hudson. He averaged 3.6, I put him at 4, so I was almost correct. Obviously, you will see a lot of false predictions here, with this season being such of a disapointment. Sam's numbers were nothing close, along with some of the other players. One thing I was obviously wrong on, was the prediction of the Sonics not giving us any trouble at all, turns out, they won this division. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who didn't predict them making any run at the divisional title. This would have been a lot closer if the season did not turn out the way it did. I can assure you that nobody could have seen a season like this coming.
