Playing Against Grown-Ups

Just a few years ago the Trail Blazers were in a similar situation. They only won 21 games, less than the 24 the Wolves won last year. So as the surprisingly pro-Portland announcers said, it gives you hope that our cubs can grow up to a real pack of wolves. What the Wolves need to do first though is make the kind of savvy trades that land you Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge for Randy Foye and some basketball players. Hopefully Kahn will play the Kevin Pritchard of Minnesota, instead of the Kevin McHale benefactor of another team's future.

Sometimes reading the box score is more fun, but at least Friday's game remained competitive until the third quarter. No doubt in tonight's match. The Blazers hit just about every shot they took... and we already know the Wolves couldn't hit Unicron with a basketball. Here's a stat for you: the Blazers racked up 35 assists on their way to 41 field goals. That's an assist on 85% of their makes. The official scorer judges the assist in varying ways, but a percentage that high is not a hometown gift. They looked good doing it, whether the passes were bullets inside or drive-and-dishes to the perimeter. It's the kind of teamwork the Wolves might show someday, will need to show someday in order to contend.

Our lil' cubs can't make up their mind. Some possessions they pass on open shots, while on others they don't make the extra pass that would guarantee the easy lay-ups they need. Jonny Flynn and Al Jefferson are the only fearless shooters on the roster. You could include Corey Brewer in that category, though his complete lack of balance on his jumper doesn't exactly spell "fearless." The bench is especially brutal, though Wayne Ellington and Sasha Pavlovic seemed to find their strokes during garbage time. Garbage time counts for fantasy, but sometimes a few meaningless shots can help a player make headway towards some meaning.