Timberwolves Preview: Game 1
The Timberwolves open there season tonight against the New York Knicks in the Target Center. While the Knicks believe they have improved significantly since last season, the fact remains that they are still an average team in a weak conference. While it's true that the East now has one powerhouse in Detroit, the fact still remains that the majority of teams in that conference are just not very good.
New York is a perfect example. Last year, they took the 7 seed in the East with an unimpressive 39-43 record. This year, they claim to have improved, but still have a rather paltry looking lineup. They will be led by their star player and former Timberwolf Stephon Marbury. Stephon is good, but he's not in the same class with the truly elite players in the league. Beyond him, the Knicks have Alan Houston (who won't play the first few games due to injury) and Jamal Crawford. After that, there's really not much depth at all. Yet despite this lack of depth, the Knicks will still likely make the playoffs and have an outside shot of home court advantage in the first round.
To be honest, I would not expect tonight's game to be all that interesting. The Wolves are 10½ point favorites going in, and I'd definitely pick them to beat that spread.
On the minus side for the Wolves, they're having more trouble with Spree. In addition to his ridiculous comments on his contract extension, he's now been cited for arguing with a police officer. With all that's been going on with him, I'd expect him not to have a huge impact this season, and would not be surprised at all if we tried to deal him. Hopefully we can get things worked out before too much of the season passes. In the meantime, if you need something to make you laugh, read this article by Jim Souhan.
New York is a perfect example. Last year, they took the 7 seed in the East with an unimpressive 39-43 record. This year, they claim to have improved, but still have a rather paltry looking lineup. They will be led by their star player and former Timberwolf Stephon Marbury. Stephon is good, but he's not in the same class with the truly elite players in the league. Beyond him, the Knicks have Alan Houston (who won't play the first few games due to injury) and Jamal Crawford. After that, there's really not much depth at all. Yet despite this lack of depth, the Knicks will still likely make the playoffs and have an outside shot of home court advantage in the first round.
To be honest, I would not expect tonight's game to be all that interesting. The Wolves are 10½ point favorites going in, and I'd definitely pick them to beat that spread.
On the minus side for the Wolves, they're having more trouble with Spree. In addition to his ridiculous comments on his contract extension, he's now been cited for arguing with a police officer. With all that's been going on with him, I'd expect him not to have a huge impact this season, and would not be surprised at all if we tried to deal him. Hopefully we can get things worked out before too much of the season passes. In the meantime, if you need something to make you laugh, read this article by Jim Souhan.
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