Canis Hoopus: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Around SBN: Has Kentucky Improved Since the Non-Conference Season?

Down to 1 1/2

D392ab72deeb23880bd308e4d7ae3501-getty-83008022cg025_minnesota_tim_medium

Let's forget about the internals of the past two games for a moment.  The Wolves lost 2 in a row way down south to two teams that were either athletically inferior (Houston--their announcers were flabbergasted that the Rockets looked so slow next to the Wolves) or decimated (NOLA).  How they did so was less important in terms of x's and o's as it is with personnel decisions and talent.  

Over their last 10 games, Randy Foye is averaging 40.3 mpg on .344/.317 shooting, Ryan Gomes is going for 34.2 mpg with .400/.318 from the floor, Sebastian Telfair is chalking up 32.9 mpg on .356/.308 shooting, and Mike Miller racked up 30.8 mpg and .612/.429 shooting percentages. 

Because he's in his 3rd year of play, it's sometimes hard to remember just how little Randy has actually played in this league:

Totals

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Click column headers to sort
Season Age Tm Lg G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2006-07 23 MIN NBA 82 12 1879 300 691 .434 68 185 .368 164 192 .854 49 169 218 232 53 21 152 184 832
2007-08 24 MIN NBA 39 31 1259 198 462 .429 61 148 .412 53 65 .815 13 115 128 164 36 3 79 102 510
2008-09 25 MIN NBA 50 45 1803 282 694 .406 70 208 .337 159 186 .855 23 137 160 237 55 20 114 147 793
Career NBA 171 88 4941 780 1847 .422 199 541 .368 376 443 .849 85 421 506 633 144 44 345 433 2135

In 2-3 games he should have career highs in minutes played, FGA, FG, and just about every net metric you can get your hands on.  With Corey Brewer and Kevin Ollie down and out, and with Rashad McCants in the doghouse and Rodney Carney strangely down the bench, the Wolves' back court rotation--who are, with the exception of Foye, bench players--is being run into the ground.  And, as hinted at above, the minutes Foye is putting up are especially troubling.  Britt puts it nicely here:

People talk about the rookie wall, but Foye is entering unprecedented territory in terms of his own workload. He's already started more games than in the previous two years of his pro career combined, and, if his current minutes-per-game pace holds, will set a career high for court time in Minnesota's second game back from the all star break. As it is, he's already logged 1803 minutes this year, versus 1879 his rookie season and 1259 in his injury-truncated sophomore campaign. That time has taken its toll. Foye sank at least half his shot attempts in 11 of the 15 games from December 20 to January 13--and not once in the ten games since then. In those 15 games when he was burning up the twine, Foye eclipsed the 40-minute mark just 4 times and logged less than 34 minutes 6 times. In the ten games that he's been too pooped to pop since then, he's logged at least 40 minutes in seven of them, and never less than Sunday's 34:45.

The guy is gassed.  I know the All Star break is 1 game away, but what happens down the stretch if the status quo remains?  More importantly, what impact does the lack of personnel in the back court have on the possibility of moving Mike Miller and Rashad McCants before the trade deadline?  Some of these questions may be a bit easier to answer after the team receives the results of Al Jefferson's MRI test later on today or tomorrow. 

As if the back court minutes issues couldn't get any worse, they have reared their head in the front court as well.  With Craig Smith out for the foreseeable future, and with Jason Collins/Calvin Booth/Mark Madsen planted firmly at the end of the bench, Kevin Love is shaping up to be the team's only legit front court player when the squad takes the floor against Toronto tomorrow night. Think about that for a moment.  When the Wolves suit up against the Raptors, they may have one and a half starters: Love and a worn-down Foye.  The game against the Raps should be exhibit 1A in any argument that this team suffers from an overall talent gap, not one of height, size, or other assorted small ball excuses.  This team struggles because Gomes, Bassy, and Miller are not starters.  This team struggles because even if he were healthy, Craig Smith is not a suitable backup to Jefferson and Love.  This team struggles because it does not have depth at the point.  This team struggles because it does not have depth in the front court.  This team struggles because it does not have depth on the wing. 

This is shaping up to be one of the most disappointing aspects of the remainder of the season.  How do you gauge team play in such a setting?  How can you get a sense of the direction in which this team is headed if Jefferson joins Brewer on the bench and Foye is pushed back on the ball for significant portions of each game?  Perhaps this is a silly question.  After all, how much more do we need to see to know that this team needs an upgrade at the 1, 3, and backup 4/5?  Draft a point and a 3rd big and move what you can/sign a real 3. 

Let's go back to the Miller thing for a second.  Miller is playing his best ball of the season.  Together with Shaddy's contract, the Wolves can package $11.6 million of decent perimeter player contracts.  They can actually go up to 125% + 100k to this number.  How about a sign and trade with Atlanta for Marvin Williams (Miller, Shaddy, + Utah pick for Williams at $10 mil/year)? Let's get creative. It is rumored that NOLA is about broke.  How about offering them Nikola Pekovic, Rashad McCants, Jason Collins, Calvin Booth, and the Utah pick for Tyson Chandler? That's 3 expiring deals, 1 young Euro big and a draft pick for a player they may not be able to afford.  You get the picture.  (UPDATE: McCleak beat me to the punch in the FanPosts.) The big question here is whether or not their sudden depth problems will deter them from making solid long term decisions.  If Al Jefferson is going to miss an extended amount of time, will the Wolves close ranks and roll with what they have or will they be prodded to move what they can in what will likely end up being, in terms of wins, a lost 30 games to close out the season? 

Whatever it is, here's hoping that Al's injury is just a scratch and that he'll be out there as soon as possible. 

Until later.

0 recs  |  Comment 12 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

More from Canis Hoopus

Enjoy the season

Feb 2010 by Stop-n-Pop - 171 comments

Revenge on Casey's Revenge

Feb 2010 by Stop-n-Pop - 121 comments

Were you not entertained!?

Jan 2010 by Stop-n-Pop - 32 comments

A real game wrap

Jan 2010 by Stop-n-Pop - 17 comments

Comments

Display:

Chandler coming here

would also allow him plenty of time to heal up for next season, as the lack of a playoff push means he could recuperate at a slower, career-saving pace.

by PoorDick on Feb 9, 2009 10:17 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

and only 25-30 mpg..

…from here on out. It’s a lot of money for that position though….especially when you consider that they’ll have to pay Love down the line and with no decent 3 on the roster. I still much prefer throwing what they can at Marvin Williams and then throwing the rest at a their top ranked point in this draft + Cole Aldrich.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Feb 9, 2009 10:21 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Marvin Williams + Jrue Holiday + Cole Aldrich. This fan base has sure paid it’s dues on having that kind of off-season.

by Pants_ on Feb 9, 2009 12:59 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

At this point..

…I think would be the best possible outcome.

1- Bassy/Holiday
2- Foye/Brewer/Holiday
3- Williams/Gomes/Brewer
4- Love/Aldrich/Jefferson
5- Jefferson/Aldrich/Love

I think they have the assets to get it done and I don’t think it takes away from the talents of the players they already have on the roster that are worth keeping around. If they can find a way to keep Miller around while getting to that point, it’s a bonus.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Feb 9, 2009 2:29 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I like the Chandler idea

but I’m not sure Williams is worthy all of that. Yes his play is trending up lately, but it is just a trend. Is he worth a 1st rounder and expiring contracts? Seems like that kind of package should net you a little bit better player, a more known commodity. Maybe I’m wrong on that though. But back to Chandler, it would be a coup to get him. Exactly what we need. A legit C with length and athleticism. And still relatively young. Then we draft BPA with an emphasis on the 1, 2, and 3 positions. If BPA at one of our picks is a 2 guard, then I don’t think we should pass on it just because we have Foye. I wish Foye would make me shut my pie hole and just become a consitent player so we could take 2 guard off of the “upgradeable” list….

by wolfen on Feb 9, 2009 11:26 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Fantastic Post

I’d rate this as one of your best posts of the season.

by Pants_ on Feb 9, 2009 12:51 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I have to agree.

I think you say some really interesting things about Foye here. To be honest I was just going to come on and eat some crow…or at least talk about how I may have been wrong about him to some degree, overrated his ability somewhat, etc. Well…I don’t mean to be disingenuous here (by saying I take something back and then not taking it back), to be honest I can never really figure out what I think about him, I find him very enigmatic. That said, I hate to sound off on the guy who basically was the best or 2nd-best player on the team every night for a month, so I’m a tad conflicted…

Anyways I just wanted to say that I hadn’t considered the minutes issue before. You make a very compelling case, that’s why I agree with Pants, this is an extremely well thought out and well written post. Tons of food for thought here, not just about Foye but about the frontcourt, Miller, etc. A real pleasure to read, nice work.

by plinytheelder on Feb 9, 2009 1:35 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

danke and danke

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Feb 9, 2009 2:30 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

The Hawks can't make...

that deal. Unless they get lucky on the pick they are basically getting nothing for Marvin. While it is true that if they don’t think they can sign him they’d might be better off, but I think it would be dropping a depth charge on the rest of that team if they don’t TRY to resign him. If someone overpays and you are Joe Johnson you can accept that. If the team just gives away a young key cog you really wonder why you should consider playing for the Hawks.

by Pants_ on Feb 9, 2009 12:59 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I'm hoping..

….that the Wolves show them that they are serious about giving him a big offer and that both sides come to a mutual agreement that won’t result in any $10-12 mil/year offer sheets. I think the Wolves can make it worth their while and both sides can walk away with a good deal.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Feb 9, 2009 2:31 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I really think

that after the All Star break you will see Foye’s minutes go back to 35 and mainly as a 2. Telfair looked pretty good in both games and, with only 1 game in the next 7 days, I expect he will be fully healed and ready to resume full time PG duty. That will be a HUGE plus for Foye.

by Just A Fan on Feb 9, 2009 1:26 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Canis Hoopus is straight T-Wolves straight from Minnesota.
Start posting about the Timberwolves »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Small
Wolves Draft History: Stats people please help?
Small
An Attempt to Clarify the Argument
Small
Are argument to get Rubio here next season! the new CBA could reduce salaries and guaranteed money for rookies.
3358_small
Vote Corey over MJ NOW!!!!
Wolfen_small
The Point Guard Conundrum
Dsc00186_small
Kahn: Kevin Martin NOT coming to Wolves, in so many words!
Wolveslogo_small
Prowling the NBA: Feb 7 - BOOM SHAKALAKA
Small
Rookie Comparison
Small
I've got to know
Small
A Confession...

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Canis Hoopus Twitter

    follow me on Twitter

    Hoopus Features

    Salary Cap Info

    Draft Info

    EuroWatch

    Stats

    Draft Boards

    Former Tag Lines:

    • In desperate need of an epic dose of basketball Viagra
    • Your source of radical left wing politics cleverly disguised as basketball fandom
    • Palin-Free since before statehood
    • The world's leading exporter of small area quickness
    • Sorry…I have no idea who is Joe Mauer
    • Home of the Peja deep douche
    • Vote McGrady!

    Misc:

     

    Self-Promotion

    BallHype Sports Blog Rankings

    SPONSORS


    Managers

    Dr wyn

    Img_2487_small Stop-n-Pop