If there is one team in the NBA that is absolutely, 100%, totally geared to beat our Beloved Puppies, it is the Toronto Raptors. We’ve all heard the sound bite about how no Wolves team has ever beat a Sam Mitchell-led squad and there are many reasons for this fact: what they lack for in rebounding, the Raptors make it up in FG% (46.5), 3FG% (42.2), and a defense that is capable of holding opponents below 80 points. They are long, athletic, pass well, and they can make the outside shot.

Not only were the Wolves going up against their NBA anti-matter, but also they were on the road in the Eastern Conference, where they have gone 1-9 over the first 50+ games of the season.

Despite all of these things working against them, the Wolves opened the game on a tear, shooting over 60% from the field in the 1st quarter while moving the ball with efficiency and crispness. They played about as well as they could in the 1st and they went to the 1st break leading by only 2 points. The Wolves held out a bit more in the 2nd, entering the 1/2 shooting 59% from the floor but trailing by an even larger margin. Things continued to spiral in the 3rd, with the Wolves finding themselves down 82-64 with a minute to go in the quarter. Granted, they didn’t move the ball well after the half and their shots stopped finding the bottom of the net, but the Wolves gave it their best shot in the 1st, a decent shot in the 2nd, but they still found themselves getting run out of the gym in the 3rd by a team that may as well been hand-crafted with beating the Wovles in mind.

Without getting too hung up on the Wolves, let me take a moment to sing the praises of the Toronto Raptors. With TJ Ford back in action, the Raptors have 2 legit top-10 points; both of whom shoot well, are able to penetrate, and don’t turn the ball over. Despite getting wrongly dissed by Gilbert Arenas, Jose Calderon is averaging 16 pts/40 minutes with a 22.63 PER while posting a league leading 13.0 PPR. His point-buddy Ford is 4th in the league in PPR (9.8) while averaging 20.5 pts/40 minutes with a 21.40 PER. As if two All Star caliber guards wasn’t enough, the Raptors also have a legit top-10 player in Chris Bosh, a sweet-shooting big man who can work inside-out while shooting an eFG% of 50%, scoring 25.1 pts/40 minutes with a whopping 25.30 PER. They round out their main rotation with struggling but talented sophomore Andrea Bargnani, sharp shooting Jason Kapono, former Wolves big Rasho Nesterovic and…well, let’s just say they have a few guys who know their role and can play well around the big stars on the squad. Former Gopher Kris Humphries is noticeably absent from the action. In fact, the original Gopher (black) Hole is averaging about 10 minutes/game over his last 10. Just for curiosity’s sake, I’d like to see the passing skills of a Big Al, Rhino, Humphries front line in action.

As for the home team, the Wolves started the game on a shooting tear. They had good ball movement from the get go, starting the game on a nice rotation with Corey Brewer dishing to Ryan Gomes for the bucket. Even poor-shooting Randy Foye got in on the action; putting up a perfect shooting line in the 1st 1/2 of the game.

Speaking of Foye, the form on his catch-and-shoot is superior to the number his low shooting percentage indicates. He is jumping straight up and down with a high release point and a perfect grip on the ball. He’s also beginning to pick up some speed as well as showing some ability to operate above and beyond a simple “drive right, drive right, drive right” mentality. He’s still showing some awkwardness on the pick and roll and it’s quite clear that he’s never going to be the lead guard in an NBA offense, but he’s showing improvement over the past 2 games and that is a good thing. As much as I dislike his selection in the 2006 draft, this has nothing to do with him personally and I hope he succeeds in a Wolves uniform, as we obviously can’t go back in time anymore than will the front office deal the guy who was selected in place of Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay. I think he can be a solid player in the NBA and my distaste for what he brings to the table has more to do with my distaste for the front office picking him instead of a big 2 or a legit 3.

As for the rest of the game, Tom Hanneman and Jim Peterson have been damn-near unlistenable in the past 2-3 games. From the Big Al-is-on-his-way-to-the-Hall-of-Fame inferences to the developing Randy-Foye-equals-Chauncey-Billups meme, J-Pete and Hanny have been especially homerish of late. Perhaps it has to do with the commercial free 1/2 time, post game shows and a lack of good material, but it is becoming more and more annoying and noticeable. At various points of tonight’s game, I turned on the radio to hear Billy McKinney and Alan Horton…both of whom are proving to be vastly superior to the TV crew…and this is coming from a guy who used to really like the TV guys.

Since when did Craig Smith start thinking he could dribble like the Professor? Someone needs to tell him to take a few moments to calm down and leave the handles for the guards.

Finally, getting down to brass tacks, the Wolves lost tonight because they played a team that is 100% built to beat them. While they had a higher FG% than the Raptors, they were outdone at the line (24-29) to (13-16), they were outrebounded, and they were massively out-turnovered (7-20). While it is encouraging that the team had another 50% game at the line, they continue to get absolutely annihilated at the charity stripe. The Wolves continue to be the worst free-throw shooting team in the league, losing 6.5 points/game without putting up a fight.

Well folks, that’s about it. The Wolves are just about done with a tough February before entering an even tougher March. Until later.

First of all, Jim Peterson is one of the best color guys in the NBA. His explanation of Mark Madsen’s flop, Greg Popovich’s reaction, ref camp, and a make up foul during the 1st quarter was some of the best commentary work I have heard in a long time. From Marko Jaric's reluctance to jack up a lot of 3s to Corey Brewer getting passed up on an open shot by a double covered Al Jefferson, Peterson doesn’t let much get by him, or the viewer. The Wolves have a surprisingly solid broadcast team on both radio and TV. The TV squad is 1st rate due to a restrained Tom Hannaman and an excellent Peterson. The radio crew has room for improvement, but Billy McKinney is funnier, more relevant, and less homerish than, say, a Dan Gladden (sorry, I'm a Twins fan). His partner, Al Horton is a significant upgrade from the Son of Sid, who was one of the most annoying, condescending, and disinterested voices on the radio (and still is). If you ever wanted to know how big of a prick Sid must have been at the age of 40, take a look at his kid. Anywho, on to the game…

Ryan Gomes cannot get his own shot and his stock is sinking faster than any other player in the KG trade. Nearly 80% of Gomes’ shots are mid and outside jumpers. He converts 46% of these shots but nearly 70% come off of assists. Only 20% of his shots come inside and he converts a horrible 35% of these close ones (40% get blocked). He only gets to the line on 10.9% of his shots and he is tied for 73rd in the league for offensive rebounds. He doesn’t shoot the three well and his passing is decidedly below par. In other words, he’s not very good at the four factors. Plus, his proficiency rating is below…well, it’s better than Rashad’s. And therein lies a large chunk of the T-Wolves' dilemma.

The Sebastian Telfair, Corey Brewer, Gerald Green, Craig Smith, Jefferson lineup that saw the court in the 2nd quarter was the youngest, most athletic, most exciting, and defensively dangerous club the Wolves can possibly trot out on the hardwood. In case you are wondering, this is the very first time this combination has been put together by Randy Wittman. It also marks the 1st time that Brewer has seen action at the 2. As I have said before: the Spurs are the model and Brewer is more Manu Ginobili than Bruce Bowen. Slash, rebound, defend the perimeter, and play above the rim. Of course, as I’m writing this, Bowen and Tony Parker have drained consecutive 3’s. Anyway, this is the most exciting line the Wolves can put together and the crowd is appreciative and interested….which, is an accomplishment by itself. (PS: Brewer is running around like a chicken with his head cut off on the defensive end…and it’s costing them. The Spurs are running Parker down the lane waiting for Brewer to collapse. They then rotate the ball around the perimeter to either Bowen or Manu for the open 3 while Brewer is running in circles trying to figure out where to go. It’s quite beautiful. PPS: It’s really killing us at the beginning of the 4th. The Spurs are also absolutely ignoring Brewer at the 3 point line on the offensive end…where, I will say, he is back playing the 3 instead of the 2 [Green is off the court and Buckner is just as unable as Brewer to rotate/make the open 3.])

Speaking of Manu, is it possible for a 6th man to be league MVP? The man is insane. His effective FG% is 55.8%, he shoots 83.3% from the line (TS% of 62.9) and he gets to the line a ton (43 FT/100FGA). He rebounds, doesn’t turn it over whole lot, and he can play multiple positions.

OK, I admit it: Bassy is impressing the hell out of me this year. From hitting the open jumper to refusing to stop getting Big Al the ball during an 0-6 stretch in the 3rd, Telfair showed poise, speed, grit, and professionalism against the Spurs. His D on parker was outstanding and he refused to be pushed around by the notoriously pushy Spurs.

I have been working on a Bassy post for a while and my perception of the young man is quickly changing. In his last year in Portland, Telfair, a 2nd year 20 year old, had the following 40 minute stats: 4.3 FTA, 6.0 AST, 1.6 STL, 2.8 TO, and 15.7 PTS. His similarity stats have gone from Dajuan Wagner as a rookie, to Mike Bibby and Terrell Brandon. He’s still only 22 years old. I’ll never jump to one game conclusions, so I don’t want to make this sound like a ringing endorsement, but of all the non-Jefferson players the Wolves received in the KG deal, Bassy has been the pick of the litter so far and he is showing significant improvement. Is his $3 million qualifying offer worth it? More so than Gomes, Green, or Smith at this point. However, as I will write in a future post, the Wolves may have no choice but to resign a frontcourt player rather than Bassy.

Misc:

The refs obviously didn’t blow a game where the Wolves gave up a 40-11 2nd half run, but something changed with the refs near the end of the 3rd and the Wolves were unable to respond. This isn’t blaming the refs, but the Spurs had some help when the tempo clearly changed.

For once, the Wolves played an opponent even at the line. They gave up 106 points to the World Champions but they also stuck it to them for nearly 3 quarters with less than 1/2 the talent. Moral victory? Perhaps.

Finally, near the end of the game, Jim Peterson asked how on earth are the Spurs so good on defense when the numbers don't “match up” with their performance. It is true that the Spurs rank 26th in traditional per-game team defensive statistic categories. However, if ever there were a case for the importance of pace, per 100 possession numbers, and 40 minute stats, the San Antonio Spurs are it. The Spus play good basketball because they limit and maximize possessions, slow the pace, and play with great efficiency. Yes, Manu only averages 19.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 4.5 apg, but he does so in 28.8 minutes. Overall, the Spurs’ 40 minute numbers are off the charts and it is reflected in their ability to perform over 100 possession periods, not just 48 minute games. This is exactly why they are the league’s number 1 team in the four factor ranking system. For all his attributes as a color commentator, Mr. Peterson would be well served to make the transition from per game averages to per minute record keeping. This is where the Spurs truly shine.

UPDATE: Brewer's inability to play the 3 was really exposed by the Spurs. He had an incredible -21 during the game. The game flow isn't available yet, but I suspect a large chunk of this was when he was lined up with either Buckner (-11) and/or Walker (-31). I'll repeat it once again: Corey Brewer cannot play the 3.

UPDATE ii: Game flow available here. Brewer's 1st stint (at the 2) was pretty decent: 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, and 2 steals in 11 minutes. Add that to his 4 points and he's doing one positive thing for the team each and every minute on the court. His 2nd stint in the 3rd was serviceable and his 3rd in the 4th...well, it was like the rest of the team's. Please, please, please give this guy some time at the 2.