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Hello Canis.
I've commented here infrequently under the tag "Lucid23" but now I will be contributing weekly, primarily on Mondays. I'm excited to spend more time writing about the Timberwolves and look forward to sharing my thoughts on the team and getting involved in intelligent and active discussions.
Just a little bit about me, I'm Minnesotan born and bred but moved to Pennsylvania for college. I spent the last year in Cape Town, South Africa, and this site helped keep me sane and let me pretend I was home as I followed the Timberwolves from abroad. I've recently moved back to the US and am now living in Baltimore and reaping the benefits of a real Internet connection by watching the games as they are actually on TV. I'm excited to get to know everybody here and hopefully I shall be able to contribute to this wonderful site and community.
There isn't much to comment on the game from last night. Karl-Anthony Towns (25 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks) played great and Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins got to fill up the scoreboard late in the game when it had already been decided. LaVine noticeably had a few nice drives to the basket, although the Celtics aren't know as a rim-protecting team.
The team defense was all-around bad, leaving the Celtics with wide open threes and lay-ups off of simple pick and rolls. The worst part, however, was the obvious three-point discrepancy (12-2). The Celtics were simply a team comfortable with taking and making a significant amount of three-point shots and it never felt as if the Wolves would be within striking distance due to their deficiency in shot selection.
Notes From Around the League
Adam Silver was surprisingly candid about tanking and the 76ers when being interviewed by Nate Silver from 538 on his podcast, Hot Takedown. While the commissioner was measured in his responses, he has now somewhat publicly decried the tanking method of Philly, which further signals the power shift against Sixer's GM Sam Hinkie.
Full Podcast and Interview Snippets
The Spurs did Spurs things once again, with Kawhi Leonard shutting down MVP Candidate Paul George thoroughly. While the Warriors are, quite deservedly, being lavished with praise and heralded as the natural evolution of the NBA, the Spurs continue to dominate.
Brooklyn managed to beat the Bulls after a weekend of Jimmy Butler making less than ideal statements about his new coach Fred Hoiberg. While it's hard to imagine what drastic changes could take place due to investment the Bulls have placed in both Hoiberg and Butler, some shakeups may be afoot.
This Week in... Things That are Great!
I wanted to continue on Lindsey's weekly movie recommendations, but also wanted to open up the space to a wider pop-culture sphere. So this week the recommendation is the second season of Serial, which is a podcast by Sarah Koenig from This American Life that follows a single criminal case on a week-by-week basis. The first season investigated the murder of Hae Min Lee, a teenager in Baltimore, to try to figure out if the convicted perpetrator of the murder, Adnan Syed, was actually guilty amidst a web of conflicting evidence.
The second season has surprisingly flown under the radar, considering the amount of press the first season received, and covers the case of Bowe Bergdahl. Bowe was a US Army soldier who deserted his position in Afghanistan, became captured by the Taliban and held prisoner for five years, and was eventually returned back to the US in exchange for several Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Bowe is now potentially facing a court-martial for desertion and the season will cover his story.
While the first season was a more intimate story detailing the lives of several teenagers in Baltimore, the second season has had a much broader scope and is telling a significantly different type of story. The podcast is two episodes in, with new episodes being released every Thursday.
(Eds Note: Please give a warm welcome to our newest contributor, Josh Clement. We're excited to add him to the team here at Canis Hoopus! Try not to scare him away!)