Tonight, Indiana takes on the young Minnesota Timberwolves in a game that could help Indiana climb the ladder of the Eastern Conference ranks. This Minnesota team is not so much a team that is in transition, as they are a team in dismay. At 3-21, Minnesota owns the worst record in the NBA. The Kevin Garnett trade and the Ricky Davis trade left this team's cupboard bare, to say the least.
The five-for-one trade that sent Kevin Garnett to Boston and brought in Theo Ratliff, Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and Sebastian Telfair has proved fruitless, except for Jefferson. Ratliff is out for at least 6 more weeks recovering from knee surgery. Green barely plays. Gomes is a decent contributor off the bench, but nothing spectacular. Telfair is...a bust. Jefferson, however, has been the man. He averages 20 points and 12 boards a game. His shooting needs to come up a bit (49%), but his defense is strong (1 block, 1 steal per game).
This team has too many players that are either 1) Not movable, 2) Injury-prone, or 3) Just plain shouldn't be in the NBA..I'm talking to you Mark Madsen. Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker have horrible contracts that this team is going to be stuck with for the next few years. Greg Buckner is a decent player, but he can't help carry this team. Theo Ratliff has value with his expiring contract, but he won't be back until right around the trade deadline, so that hurts Minnesota a bit as well.
Offensively, this team is horrible. They only average 92 points per game, while giving up 101. Besides Jefferson, Rashad McCants is pretty much the only other scoring option on the team. He is averaging 14.5 points per game, but his health has to be a concern. He missed most of last season with knee surgery. Everything looks good for him as of now though. Corey Brewer isn't a viable scoring threat either, although he has been solid on the boards as of late. He also has displayed some tough defensive skills as well.
The Pacers are still a roller-coaster team at this point in the season. Some nights they can hold onto a lead, some nights they fold at the end. The key to winning this game is to stay on top of this young, inexperienced team and don't let up on them.
I think that Jermaine O'Neal sums up the team's style as of late:
“The team is beginning to learn our new style and play hard for Coach O’Brien. We’re beginning to understand both ends of the court, offense and defense. He has done a great job of instilling confidence in us as a team and individuals. We don’t care who leads this team in scoring just as long as we win."
It seems like the team has gotten over the hump of learning who is going to take control and they have accepted that this IS a team game. I have to give that credit to Jim O'Brien. He said that he was going to change this team's mentality and he has. Jermaine O'Neal is back to having fun when he plays, which is going to go a long way to his success and the team's success.
The game won't be on TV in my area, so I won't be able to watch it, but I will recap the action as soon as I get a chance.
|
