Hello everyone! Glad you could be here. We've got another hotly anticipated preseason game to cover(just a hint of sarcasm) so let's get to it. A quick reminder for anyone looking for some sort of broadcast whether radio or TV! There is none. The only way to stay in touch is to either have a ticket for the game, check the NBA.com box scores or check out Doug Smith's live blog. He will have something up later this evening. The line up for tonight will most likely be Calderon, Belinelli, DeRozan, Bosh & Bargnani. How about some keys to the game:
-Bosh will be suited up and playing some minutes tonight. Get him going early and get him out early. I expect his minutes to be limited and short.
-Calderon will be facing off against Johnny Flynn who even though is a rookie will be a handful.
He should set the precedent early and show the rookie what the NBA is all about
-Let's hope Bargnani gobbles up more than 3rebounds tonight. It will be a true test because both Kevin Love and Al Jefferson are rebounding machines. He will have his work cut out.
Will Reggie Evans come off the bench with the same intensity and rigor? I definitely would not bet against it. Look for him to come in early and bring that Evans energy.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been in the news this summer mainly due to the Ricky Rubio fiasco. They picked up Rubio in the draft so they could get their attendance up. This hasn't quite panned out for David Kahn and he may use Rubio's rights as trade bait in the future.
They picked up Ramon Sessions from the Bucks as insurance and have a young team with lots of talent. They have a new coach in Kurt Rambis and are moving in a new direction.
The big question will be Al Jefferson's knee. Will it hold up after surgery? He was producing all-star calibre numbers before he went down and needs to get back to that level if this team is to have any chance of being competitive. Kevin Love has been a great draft pick up for this franchise and can consistently get double doubles each and every night. Look for him to make some serious noise in the league this season. He has a bright future ahead.
The Raptors should be able to keep up with this team quite easily. Both teams have a few new players and will be adjusting offensive sets. This will be a great opportunity to get the likes of Belinelli and DeRozan involved even more into the offense.
Jay Triano wants to keep the opponents defense on their heels. Look for him to be pushing the guys up the court in transitional play. This game will be another sloppy affair but they should look more and more comfortable with each other as time goes on. As I have noted before, these games count as much as summer league, d-league and grandma's league put together so don't fret if things are looking bad e.g. Calderon's defense.
It will be very interesting to see the full starting line up of Bargnani, Bosh, Turkogly, DeRozan and Calderon at some point this off season. Turkoglu is still resting and participated in some speedy drills during practice. He may suit up at the end of next week. Wright will stay behind this trip and continue to nurse his sore knees.
Enjoy watching the box score tonight if you have that kind of patience. I will be at the live blog and I will try to put some sort of idea about what happened together for after the game.
At least you have baseball playoffs. Am I right?
Cool Hand Luke
Friday, October 9, 2009
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