While I'm clearly not part of the "tank it" crowd, and I love to see the team do well and win, if anything is to be taken from last night's victory in Orlando, it is that we may have to change the name of the team to the Blind Minnesota Timberquirrels.
Last night, the team with the worst free throw shooting discrepancy, fewest FTMs, 2nd worst FTAs, 8th worst 3pFG%, 6th worst 3pFGM, and 6th worst 3pFGA went 17-20 (85%) from the line and 9-16 (56.3%) from beyond the arc.
Actually, I shouldn't get too caught up on the attempt side of things. The Wolves pretty much hit their attempt averages for both FTs and 3pFGs. What they did do was increase their makes by nearly 4 beyond the arc and by nearly 2 at the line. All in all, good shooting brought about 14 additional points with essentially the same number of total shots.
Taking into account the fact that the Wolves played against one of the league's best young centers and that they won (albeit against a team lacking complete motivation to win the game), the Orlando game provides decent insight into the should-they-draft-a-big-or-a-shooting-forward argument. By simply shooting an eFG of 50% (brought about by an increased proficiency from beyond the arc) and by making 2 more free throws per an equal amount of attempts, the Wolves won the game while exhibiting a fairly efficient offense (they also didn't make a ton of stupid fouls which would have put the Magic on the line a ton; it also didn't hurt that the Magic have the league's 4th worst FT%). Unfortunately, taking a broad look at the season, last night's proficiency was more the result of a team being hot for 48 minutes than actual improvement, solid coaching schemes, and consistency. Looking towards the positives, while this year's squad may have simply had a good night, the way in which they did so highlights the importance of the front office getting a few players who can both increase the squad's eFG (especially from the perimeter) and decrease the free throw disparity...which, along with the team's putrid defense, are the main reasons why they only have 20 wins.
That's about it. Until later.
