All Aboard the Minnesota Hype Train

Minnesota. The land of 10,000 lakes hasn’t really created much of any relevance other than perhaps Prince, Bob Dylan, and the Timberwolves. This Timberwolves team is a bit of an enigma however – are they actually relevant in today’s NBA, or are they overhyped due to the presence of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, two of the leagues most exciting and likeable players? When I’m not crying over the state of the Lakers I moonlight as a Wolves fan, so let’s take a look at their trinity of the father (old man Adelman), son (“Pretty Ricky” Rubio) and the holy ghost (Kevin Love’s championship aspirations) to see why Minnesotans may not be as enamoured with their team as many casual fans seem to be.

#1 – Kevin Love can’t lead a team!

As Kevin Love is the superstar of the team, it is perhaps natural that as soon as things start falling apart he’s the first one in the firing line. Their lacklustre play for large stretches of the season paired with a complete inability to win close games has critics claiming that K-Love lacks the inherent leadership abilities needed to be the big banana on a playoff team, and that unless he wants to forever be stuck on a middling team he needs to accept a role as second fiddle elsewhere. However, I don’t think this is the case at all. Watch any Wolves game and you’re guaranteed to see Love leading by example, including heroic performances like his 51 point outburst against the Thunder in 2012, and recently he’s been rightly calling out his teammates (especially the bench) for their terrible play. He may be a great player, but he’s not a magician – just as the other prime Kevin in Minnesota (Garnett) couldn’t polish the turd that was their roster of the late 90s and early 2000s, he can’t turn this current team into a contender by himself. Either way, most fans seem resigned to the fact that in 2015 he’ll jump ship to a team that isn’t so frequently mediocre, so we may have to wait a couple of seasons to really see if his game is championship winning material.

#2 – Rubio is the latest in a long line of busts! Trade him!

Whether it’s drafting Wesley Johnson over Paul George, or picking Jonny Flynn over Steph Curry, the recent draft history of the Timberwolves makes for some pretty tragic reading. This frequent wasting of great opportunities has given fans a bit of PTSD and now if a draftee shows even the slightest hint of not being a superstar (e.g. Shabazz Muhammad), the fans quickly descend with a chorus of “BUST!” “WASTE OF A PICK” or “WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?!”. Ricky Rubio has unfortunately become the latest victim of this, going from being the golden boy to scapegoat in the space of only a couple of months. Is this justified? Well, no. Okay, his shooting percentage is so woeful you’d think he was partially blind and he has a tendency to overpass, but his skill set is still extremely valuable. Possibly the most gifted passer of a generation and with extremely quick hands on defence (hence why he’s leading the league in steals), if he was surrounded by players who possessed a shred of talent (i.e. not people like Corey Brewer) then I think he’d be a nightly feature on top 10s for his flashy dimes. Plus, he offers unparalleled appeal for the women and children. So come on Minnesotans, change your faces, be happy and enjoy the wizardry of Ricky while you can.

Definitely has no trouble attracting talent!

#3 – Adelman sucks! Worst coach in the league!

If the players aren’t to blame, then the hate trains next stop is usually the coaching office. The pitchforks are definitely out for Rick Adelman due to his questionable lineups and general cranky old man vibe, with one commenter in a forum I frequent so kindly calling him a “senile, stubborn bastard”. At least once a game you’re guaranteed to be left scratching your head with regards to his substitution patterns, usually revolving around his unexplainable love for JJ Barea. Barea is possibly the player I hate the most in the league due to his constant attempts at hero ball without possessing the skill required to actually pull it off, yet Adelman will often run him the entire 4th quarter results in the double whammy of poor ball movement and a negative impact upon Rubio’s confidence. He’ll also stubbornly stick to his rotation, leaving shooters out of the game when a 3 is needed or keeping the bench on even if they’re getting killed, and its reasons like these that have made large sections of the fan-base so hostile towards him.

As you can probably guess, I don’t think the blame lies with Love or Rubio. Love is an absolute superstar, and I do think that Ricky can be the starting PG for a team that could make some serious noise in the playoffs. To be honest I don’t even think it’s Adelmans fault, as although he is perhaps exacerbating the divide in talent between the starters and the bench through his substitution patterns, the fact remains that this team simply doesn’t possess the number of talented players required to crack the playoffs in such a stacked Western Conference. When guys like Barea, Dante Cunningham and an aging Ronny Turiaf are being asked to play significant minutes, you know the team is in pretty poor shape. Full-time Timberwolves fans may disagree with me, but unless the front office shakes things up it’s inevitable that K-Love follows KGs lead and makes the dash to a more successful franchise, and the Wolves face a return to the NBA doldrums.