Wolves Updates 7/23

it’s an observation/hunch that I share with you that’s been floating around the periphery of my usual Wolves thought. I hadn’t considered that it might be pressure from Taylor, but I also get the sense sometimes that Rambis and Kahn are going to be disappointed with anything fewer than 30 wins next season.

There are two big ‘tells’ in my mind that will identify the team’s own expectations: rotations and defense. We all know that Rambis used some really wonky rotations last year, to the point where they had an almost uncanny ability to make us just bad enough to lose a game. I sometimes wonder how many games we might have won last year if Rambis just kept the hot guys in, or didn’t mysteriously substitute Hollins in for Love right as we were making a comeback in the final 8 minutes. We’ll never know, but I swear that last year’s team could’ve won 20+ with better rotations.

Defense will be the big calling card, I think. If Rambis really works at putting in his defensive schemes this year – especially early on – then that more than anything strongly suggests to me that he’s going for 30+ wins this season and that this team is 90% set personnel-wise (in other words, they’re only looking to add Rubio and perhaps one other player). What I find incredible is how disappointed I will be in Rambis as a coach if he doesn’t make this a significantly improved defensive squad. We may have questions about who our go-to scorer is, but outside of the PG position there should be a plus defender at every position (with maybe the exception of PF, which is no worse than average – equal parts smart, crafty, and athletic – as manned by Love and Beasley).

Between Webster, Brewer, and Wes we have no excuse for not locking down the perimeter each and every night. Darko is here and ostensibly starting precisely because he’s a good to great defensive presence and shot blocker in the middle. Love and Beasley should provide, at worst, competent defensive play that is only enhanced in its effectiveness by having a strong defensive presence behind them and a strong defensive presence on the wings (weak side shot blocking? yes please). The big question is going to be PG, and so I present Jonny Flynn as the canary for the season. How Rambis handles Flynn this year tells us everything we need to know about how many wins we’re going to get. Does he let Jonny play to his strengths? Does he bench him when he’s playing poorly and insert Ridnour or Sessions (again, smart rotations, not stubbornly keeping him in the game). And perhaps most of all, can Rambis coach up Flynn to not be a matador on defense? Will Rambis use PT as the trump card to get Jonny to play D? We will see.

…the pressure angle. It’s from Taylor and the business side of the isle more than anything else. They put all of their business eggs in the we-need-to-win-this-year approach and they are saying they want to compete for a playoff spot while filling the arena. I think that’s a pipe dream, but the pressure is real.

I only got chewed out once when I worked in politics, and that was for successfully fielding a WHO reporter’s questions over the phone. I was not authorized to speak to the press, and I was lucky I said the right things. Very few organizations authorize more than one person to speak for the team. Twittering is only OK when player tweets aren’t about team business.

To allow otherwise would create an enormous backlog of player chatter that would start intra-team feuds and wild rumors.

That’ll teach him. Shut. Up.

Is it possible that Kahn is doing this on purpose? By keeping all eyes on him, his coach and players can quietly go about their business.

With the media piling on him, every NBA fan is going to be paying attention to what this team does this year (though initially it will just be to pile on Kahn some more). If the boys surprise people and get a couple big wins, this could really help get some national publicity and recognition for the team.