No Al AND No Defense

REUTERS/Eric Miller (UNITED STATES)

"When you say let's play faster, that seems to be code for "You don't have to play defense.' I'm going to have a find a different way to say it."- Kevin McHale

It was inevitable that the Wolves would mourn the loss of their stud, Jefferson. The reality is however, Al wouldn't helped beat the Raptors, because--just like the other 33 losses they've suffered this season--this team doesn't play defense. Even with the loss of their own legitimate All-Star, Chris Bosh, who's equal or better than Big Al, Toronto won the smallball contest 110-102. A video recap of the game can be found here.

There are times when being stubborn is a good thing; when it's wrapped up in an arrogant vision of how a team--first as a franchise executive, and second as a head coach--should be assembled and play, then it has to be evaluated on it's own merits. Here's the essential flaw in an organization where cronyism is valued over results: there's no one who can apparently step back far enough to parse the details correctly. This team has let one good month go to their heads, because the alternatives apparently are too overwhelming to consider. And now since Al is shelved, they have great cover to stick their heads in the sand, apply for an exemption to grab a couple of D-Leaguers, and play the majority of minutes with no one over 6'9 in their starting lineup. Why? I guess because the Iron Ranger says so, with little to no push back at all, apparently. Here's a guy who has done little right in the last five years, and where--even with Al in the lineup--they are undersized at every position. Even with Al in the lineup, their defense is awful. Now, with Al out of the lineup, what's the solution? Go smaller, play less defense, and try to outscore another admittedly bad team who still is built on an European model, a lot of outside shooters and a couple of post players, when healthly. The mind boggles.

I'm not a huge Kevin Love fan yet, I think it was another draft miscue by the franchise, but the kid knows a lot about team play. It's obvious to even bloggers who are always accused of knowing nothing that if you leave him out on an island with no help or no size, the combination of additional minutes and battling solo against bigger opponents will wear a body down. I thought we wanted to develop the rook! When a broken down Jermaine O'Neal starts toasting you at crunch time, what's to be learned from that? Only that for the rest of the season, if Love remains at the five instead of the four, every big man and their cousin are going to run at him, because he doesn't block shots. They're going to try and get him in foul trouble, or create a consistent help situation where the opposition will just sit on the double team, swing the ball to the open perimeter shot, and score with impunity.

Even Kevlar doesn't offer unlimited protection over a hail of bullets.

Here's hoping for the rest of the season, they can put a bigger body out there to save the lad and actually have him gain some confidence over the last half of the season, because--with no other moves made--it's one of the things this club can do to retain hope the rest of the year. People WANT this kid to succeed. Having Love become another casualty of a mediocre basketball vision doesn't do anyone any good.

The bottom line is, with enough assets assembled for the next couple of years, the Wolves don't have to blow the team up again. But someone, anyone other than Kevin McHale needs to assert themselves into the franchise mix, and add a serious defensive attitude and presence to this club, as well as a little size. That's how real progress is going to be made, and enthusiasm is built, even with your primary offensive stud on the shelf.