I dont think they are ever going to win a playoff series. And will someone please shave Wally Szerbiak's eyebrows??...... the dude annoys me. Here is some press from the twin cities:http://www.startribune.com/stories/511/2264228.html Dan Barreiro: Wolves stagnant and self-satisfied Dan Barreiro Star Tribune "I thought we played hard," coach Flip Saunders, a k a Dr. Zarkov, said Sunday. There it is, Timberwolves fans. Hang your hat on it. Get a lump in your throat because of it. Dedicate the down payment on the 2002-03 season tickets to it. The Wolves played hard, at home, in an elimination playoff game. Dare we mention that the Wolves also lost? Three in a row? To the team that the Wolves said they wanted to play? Dare we also mention that this puts the Wolves' playoff record at 0-6 in series and 5-18 in games? Dare we mention that, although you might be able to explain or alibi away one or more of those series losses individually, there is no excusing or dismissing the sheer weight of them collectively. There was the hope that, out of sheer boredom, somebody from this organization -- coach, assistant coach, player, trainer -- would display his disgust with the status quo. Go on a rant. Throw a chair. Maul a locker. Retire. Resign. Demand a trade. Something. Instead, after the usual patronizing pat on the head by the opposing coach, now a Minnesota rite of April, there was the obligatory "we're-not-going-to-make-changes-for-change's-sake" speech from Saunders. In the locker room, Kevin Garnett spoke in the usual hushed tones about being disappointed. Same old garbage. And why not? When you are part of a country club in which there is no real accountability, why rock the boat? When Dr. Zarkov gets a five-year, $25 million deal, fresh off playoff series loss No. 5, why worry about playoff series loss No. 6? When Kevin McHale, a k a the Ostrich, is just as untouchable -- Glen Taylor already has said his job is once again perfectly safe -- why worry about working overtime to improve the team? I remember a member of the Wolves' traveling party cackling over the cover story in the Star Tribune's NBA special section. The premise was that the Wolves brain wizards were facing serious pressure to get out of round one. "Who are you kidding?" he said. "How are they under any pressure when they're getting contract extensions before we're out of the first round?" When the founding rule in the organization is that Garnett is above criticism, and that even to lightly challenge the franchise player is tantamount to heresy, then why should Garnett worry about spending the entire summer developing a reliable post-up game? The reason these fellows stay so calm, and never even think of ripping one another, or the franchise's inexcusable stagnation, is that they have it too good here. If the country club members quietly stick together in their insulated little world, hypnotizing themselves and their fans with the same old rhetoric, then none of them has to take any responsibility separately After all, the less attention the country club members call to themselves, the less likely anybody will be to blow the whistle on the whole tired operation. So, instead of calling anybody out, or suggesting that somebody new is going to have to take a fresh look at everything the Wolves do, they all go with "Let's not overreact." Except, of course, to any criticism from outside the locker room. McHale took 20 minutes after Saturday's practice to lecture a reporter that the criticism of Garnett is unwarranted. Saunders says any single player can be shut down and that Garnett needs help. Fresh from 115-102 victory in Game 3 by the deeper, more talented and more versatile Mavericks, dare we mention the fine job the odd couple of Zarkov and the Ostrich has done getting that help for KG? They let Tom Gugliotta and Terry Porter walk. They kept Dean Garrett longer than they did Bobby Jackson. They locked in a long-term deal on Terrell Brandon, then were shocked when 1) they were unable to trade him and 2) he could not stay healthy. They became obsessed with Joe Smith, an ordinary player. Over the years, they haughtily dismissed the significance of mid-to-late first-round draft choices, even though the Kings managed to add Peja Stojakovic and Hidayet Turkoglu, the Jazz got Andrei Kirilenko and the Spurs drafted Tony Parker with picks ranging from No. 14 to No. 28. Zarkov and the Ostrich have put together a roster that has no real identity. The Wolves are neither powerful nor particularly athletic. The team's basketball IQ? Well, after 85 games, some players still don't know the plays. They continue to play a heavily structured system, yet they wonder why their players are not able to effectively free-lance when things break down late in games. But by golly, Zarkov and the Ostrich sure have the guys playing hard. That has to be worth at least a standing ovation, and maybe even another contract extension. -- Dan Barreiro is at dbarreiro@startribune.com . The guy is right (even if he does rip the hell out of them). It seems that the Wolves are always settling for just getting there.... Maybe he and Fran were buddies in college.
