No Heroics

The Wolves still have a better record than the Cavaliers, but not for long.

I won't say that it was a lack of effort. The Wolves didn't give up until perhaps the waning, losing moments of the fourth quarter, but that's to be expected when the Cavs have had their way for most of the night. I'm not sure where their "1 vs 5" offense went, because it would have been nice to have doubled and tripled LeBron James for most of the night. The Wolves seemed to have that sort of strategy, but it did not work well. Cleveland had some beautiful ball movement, with and without James. It nearly seemed like a bit of toying, as the Wolves could not keep up with the Cavs' shooting past the second quarter.

Shooting remains the primary issue with the Wolves, though there were a few bright spots in the forms of Jonny Flynn and Corey Brewer. Until they start making more shots, the little pups won't compete. The Cavaliers collapsed into the paint, daring the Wolves to shoot beyond the arc. They did not make Cleveland pay. The Cavs are a great defensive team, and if I haven't said it before, I'll be saying it a lot more: The Wolves don't have a lot of talent.

Flynn, Jefferson, Brewer, and Wayne Ellington are the only players on the roster that figure into future plans. Kevin Love does too, but he's injured, and him coming back might create more issues than it solves. Flynn's showing some great scoring acumen, but the assists aren't there (poor shooting can be blamed) and he committing some bad turnovers. Al Jefferson is working his way back from injury, but also has showed some of his low-post scoring prowess. Brewer is also returning from injury, but has shown that he remains the Wolves' best defensive player. He leads the Wolves in blocks and steals, and has remained in decent control of his ridiculous athleticism.

After the other night's comeback, this game remained captivating... until all those dagger three-point-shots started falling. The Wolves couldn't answer with any of their own, and they would never threaten the Cavs commanding lead. Sometimes teams are just plain better than you. Kurt Rambis said before the game that this would be a good test. Well, we now know what we knew before: The Wolves aren't contending this year. They will get better though, and are already more compelling than last year's squad. Keep watching.