Anyone can break down this roster with a simple glance and know that we’ve got a few chips but not nearly enough to make a run. We have a new regime, we have future cap space, we have draft picks coming our way and we have tons of holes on the roster. Where do we need to turn first?
The first thing the Wolves need to do is examine themselves. Rambis hasn’t done a bad job thus far. This team is going in so many new directions that its going to take time. Learning the triangle, bringing in the talent to run the triangle and filling out a contending roster doesn’t happen over night. Outside of the triangle Rambis is a defensive specialist and outside of Brewer who is showing us much of anything defensively? There is no need to sugar coat things for the Wolves and our defense sucks.
Big Al needs to be evaluated and reevaluated daily. Is Al the guy we build around? If not do we move him? Al is coming off an injury to his knee so it might take until the New Year to really see his game round back into form. I don’t see him adding a ton of defense to his game. I don’t see him adding a ton of off ball movement to his game. To me those are important aspects for the triangle. If we are a triangle based offensive team maybe Al isn’t the guy for us. Right now his game seems to be coming together and he is still averaging around thirty minutes a game. I think around the New Year Al will be back to better then twenty a night with roughly ten boards a night which is statistically solid for his game and our team. I like Al but I think he looks worse then he really is because we don’t have a slashing threat from the perimiter and that might be due to the offensive system. I think that Flynn can slash he’s not a McGrady type of slashing scorer but he’s got a little CD3 to him.
From Rambis’ quotes so far this season make me believe our triangle is supposed to be more of a motion based offense. Is that a Princeton triangle hybrid that we are developing here with the Wolves? Maybe but right now what it is currently is jumbled. The guys seem to know where they should be at the begining of their sets but once the motion starts it isn’t crisp and the passes are behind. In this offense passes need to be on their way to spots before players are at their spots. Having the confidence to make and read these types of passes takes time. By the middle of February the Wolves will more then likely have this offense figured out but by that point in time this season will be more about draft position then anything else, but was it really about anything more then draft position?
Sasha is averaging slightly more then 16 minutes a game with barely over six points a game. I think Wayne E needs to get some of those minutes to allow himself to find a rythme for the NBA game, the Wolves offense and the shooting guard position in general. I guarentee that Wayne will pick up those six points easily.
Loading ...
