Getting Their Gloat On

Photo by the Associated Press

The Wolves scored 27 points in both the second and third quarter to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-83 Monday night. A video recap of the game can be found here. Big Al led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds; Ryan Gomes played the able and clutch sidekick, scoring 22 points and delivering the knockout blow with a 27 foot, three point shot with 1:46 left to play. The game was primarily won on free throw disparity and the fact Milwaukee tried their best to channel their fallen star Michael Redd in jacking up the three-ball, but only went 1-14 from behind the arc, the Wolves finishing 8-27. Both teams shot poorly (.400) and were content to jump shoot their way to a potential victory, instead, it was the means by which the Bucks lost and Minnesota allowed Milwaukee to make a run in the fourth quarter, scoring only 16 points.

If you watched even a minute of the recent television broadcasts, you can't help but hear five primary themes the last few weeks, repeated ad nauseum:

1. The Wolves have the best record in the NBA since Christmas.
2. Al Jefferson should be an All-Star
3. Kevin Love was a great draft pick.
4. Jim Petersen is always right.
5. Other people don't understand.

Fair enough. Given this team has been bad for so long and have been criticized for so long, a little gloating is in order here...I guess. I mean, the team did have to trade it's Hall of Fame player last year, a potential Rookie of the Year candidate this year, fire a coach and release Randy Foye's latent basketball genes just to get to a point where they could have a dominant month. And, after well over a decade of second chances, Kevin McHale might have found his calling. Call me Pollyanna, but if I was a major player in a franchise with as poor of a track record as this one has had in recent memory, I'd be simply be happy and a bit relieved that the fans have a reason to watch us again. Instead, the team seems happy for only themselves, in a smug, self-serving sort of way, like if all the bad decisions George Bush had made as President had turned out to be good ones.

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that this cursed franchise might finally have found a little luck, because they have played many teams missing some very core players. However, if you think about it another way, this team is finally having some success, in the worst economy in recent history. Even if the fans wanted to come, they may not have the money to plunk down for a ticket. Talk about your luck!

It's just another reason why the club might want to tone it's smugness down a few degrees, and let success--and the product--speak for itself.