Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

[TheDominator273]

On July 31, 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves reached a deal to trade All-Star Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, two first-round draft picks, and cash considerations. This is the largest combination of players and picks ever traded for a single player in NBA history. Garnett and the Celtics went on to win the 2008 NBA Finals in six games over the Los Angeles Lakers, while the Timberwolves fell into the NBA abyss. Already 2 seasons into a playoff drought, they would go another 11 seasons before finally making the playoffs in the 2017-18 season.

I aim to change history and keep the Wolves from becoming the Cleveland Browns of the NBA in the Post KG era.

System/Game: XB1 2K19
Mode: 30 Team Control MyLeague
Rosters: Plumdog Millionaire's 2006-07 Roster with tweaks to update to 2007-08 season
Settings: Schnaidt1's MyLeague and Gameplay Sliders
Others: 10 min qtrs/12 min sim qtrs/82 games/
Posting Format: I will play one game per in game week and post a game recap for that game. In addition I will do short articles 1-2 times per game month.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

The 2007 Timberwolves have an interesting group of talented young players who haven't made the next step and aging vets. The team is very athletic and will look to utilize their athleticism to get out on the fast break. In the half court offense, Al Jefferson's low post skill will be utilized, and the team will work hard to develop some shooting range for Jefferson, at least to midrange, making him a threat to pop in pick and roll situations.

Rookie wing Corey Brewer is a very good defender with a limited offensive game. Expect the Wolves to bring him along slowly on the offensive side, giving him more offensive responsibility as he develops a larger offensive repertoire.

The Wolves will tip off their season at home on October 17th at home vs the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



The season is underway, and for 2.5 quarters it looked like the Wolves transition into the post Kevin Garnett era would be a smooth one. However in the middle of the 3rd quarter the Spurs woke up from their slumber and showed why they are the defending champions, closing the quarter strong with 8 unanswered points, extending their lead to 9 points. Once they had the lead, they never looked back as the onslaught continued in the 4th quarter. The Spurs defense was stifling as they held the Wolves to just 14 points in the final frame.

For the Spurs, Tim Duncan showed that he's still in his prime as he dominated any defender thrown his way offensively, and he dominated the glass notching a game leading 25 rebounds. Defensively he stifled Al Jefferson on the low block all game as the majority of Jefferson's 12 points came when he was guarded by Fabricio Oberto.

The bright spots for the Wolves was the microwave scoring potential shown by Rashad McCants and Gerald Green in addition to Antoine Walker. The downside was guardplay overall was rough to put it nicely. Young point guards Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye were inefficient at best at running the offense, leading to many possessions where a poor shot had to be thrown up to avoid a shot clock violation. In addition, the late shot clock panic lead to turnovers galore as the Wolves turned the ball over 14 times to the Spurs 3.

For our Rookie Watch, Corey Brewer was nearly invisible in all phases of the game. He got one shot attempt in the game, an open corner 3 attempt that was a little strong.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



The Minnesota Timberwolves came into Friday night's matchup vs the Milwaukee Bucks riding the high of their first win of the season coming just 3 days before when they knocked off the Indiana Pacers to after starting the season with 4 straight losses.

The high didn't last long as they came out listless to start the game, managing a measly 12 points in the opening frame, half of which came from Al Jefferson post ups. Fortunately the Bucks didn't look much better as they clanked their way to 14 first quarter points of their own.

For the fans who didn't change the channel after a brutal first quarter, they were rewarded with a more entertaining 2nd quarter. The Wolves were lead by Sebastian Telfair in the frame who would score 7 of his 13 points in the 2nd. Unfortunately he gave it all back on the other end as Mo Williams and Michael Redd repeatedly torched him. Heading into halftime the Bucks held a 39-29 lead.

At halftime the Wolves made an obvious adjustment as they started to go heavy into low post opportunities for Al Jefferson and it paid off big time as the Wolves offense came to life with Jefferson playing the role of bully. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Wolves had cut the lead to 64-61 but the run of good play continued into the 4th quarter as Gerald Green and Rashad McCants each hit a pair of big 3 pointers that propelled the Wolves to a lead that was as large as 13 points. Ultimately the Wolves would walk away with a 7 point victory.

Al Jefferson getting consistent touches in the post is the best form of offense for the Wolves currently, and we saw that again tonight as Big Al wore out Andrew Bogut, kicked the ball out when needed, and when the Bucks threw Charlie Villanueva or Yi Jianlian it was a nearly automatic bucket. Jefferson will need to work on his conditioning as he gasses out easily, but he is an extremely talented low post scorer with plenty of room still to grow.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

Two weeks into the season its time to look at the league landscape for the first time.

[TazGlenn23]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

This is awesome


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



Following the lead of what drove their victory vs the Milwaukee Bucks 3 days prior, the Minnesota Timberwolves fed Al Jefferson early and often, and were rewarded for it with a game high 36 points, including 12 in the first quarter. Jefferson made light work of whoever the Lakers threw at him as he finished the day 17-29 from the field, to top it off he killed the Lakers when they sent a double team, tallying 4 assists to shooters out on the perimeter when the double team came his way.

The key to the Wolves victory over the struggling Lakers was their ability to first neutralize superstar guard Kobe Bryant in the first half, and then to lock down his supporting cast in the 2nd half. The most important factor in this was rookie swingman Corey Brewer who had the best game of his young career. Brewer hounded Bryant in the first half, and in the 2nd half when the strategy switched focus on the rest of the Lakers, Brewer gave them all hell. He finished the game with 3 steals, but countless other passes tipped and shots heavily contested. We even saw some life from him offensively as he finished 6-11 from the field, including a couple fast break dunks.

Brewer remains extremely raw on the offensive side of the floor, but he has solid mechanics on his jumpshot and its a matter of putting in the work in the gym. Defensively he is showcasing future All Defense type talent, which has to make Wolves fans smile on a team that has historically struggled on that side of the floor.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



We are now a month into the season and its time to look at the statistical league leaders for the first time.

[RolePlayer]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

This, this is lovely

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



Ladies and Gentleman, we are watching the young Corey Brewer grow up before our eyes. Every game out the young rookie out of the University of Florida shows us something new. Tonight, it was the evolution of his offensive game as he was a perfect 8 for 8 from the floor including a beautiful eurostep that left Ron Artest swiping at air, as well as a strong And-1 finish on a fast break dunk. But the cherry on top, was a HUGE reverse slam of an alley oop pass from Randy Foye following a 1-3 pick and roll.

Speaking of Foye, his 15 point 2nd quarter sparked a huge Timberwolves run that the Kings couldn't recover from. Foye looked like the player the Wolves thought they were getting when he was drafted him out of Villanova just a year ago. However after a disappointing rookie season in which he didn't stand out, he was passed over for the starting spot to Sebastian Telfair who came over in the Kevin Garnett to the Celtics trade. After some strong play recently by Foye and some poor performances, a switch might be in short order.

There really isn't much else to say about this game, it was never close after Foye has his scoring burst in the 2nd quarter. Per usual Al Jefferson was his efficient self, putting up a quiet 31 points on 13-18 shooting. The Wolves as a whole were extremely efficient throughout and the win was essential to stop the bleeding of 4 straight losses.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



Friday nights game against the division rival Portland Trail Blazers was an extremely entertaining game to watch. What looked like an early blowout as the Timberwolves jumped out to an early lead, finishing the first quarter up 13 points, quickly turned into a competitive game as the Blazers came roaring back in the 2nd quarter, briefly tying the game up before the Wolves would close on a 6-0 run to finish the half up 6 points.

In the 2nd half the game remained competitive as the two teams each went on runs and lead changes were plenty. The Wolves defense ultimately prevailed and they again closed the quarter on a big run that would continue on into the 4th quarter as the Blazers let the game slip away from them.

For the Timberwolves ,they were lead in scoring again by Al Jefferson, albeit in a rather inefficient manner as he scored 21 points on 20 field goal attempts, however he had 5 assists and 8 rebounds to go along with playing great defense against Zach Randolph.

The catalyst for the Timberwolves victory was none other than Corey Brewer, who has been on a tear lately. Brewer continued to show a facet of his game we had yet to see as he created both for himself and others. Brewer finished with an efficient 15 points on 7-11 shooting, also notching a double double with 10 assists. And it wouldn't be a Corey Brewer performance if he didn't impress defensively and tonight was no different as Brewer had 3 steals while forcing Blazers star 2nd year guard Brandon Roy into an inefficient 11-22 shooting performance.

Noticeably missing from the game for the Trail Blazers was the #1 overall pick from this past draft, Greg Oden. Oden is out for another 4-6 weeks after he tore his left patellar tendon back on the 22nd of October. Oden, who has only played 3 games this season prior to his injury, is averaging 6.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists on the season.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG






The Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats have reached an agreement that will send the 2006 #3 overall pick Adam Morrison to Minnesota in exchange for Michael Doleac and Miami's lottery protected 1st round pick.

Morrison, who has struggled to adjust to the NBA game, was a national sensation as he starred for Gonzaga. He captured the hearts of the country behind his long floppy hair and the ever famous mustache. In their official press release, the Timberwolves announced that Morrison's debut game on Sunday, November 18th will also include a free stick on mustache for the first 10,000 fans.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



It took two quarters for him to get going, but the newest Timberwolf Adam Morrison was able to show why he was a high draft pick just a year ago as his versatile scoring gave the Wolves a dimension they haven't had all season. Morrison quietly had 10 points in the first half, but in the 3rd quarter he made his presence known by dropping 12 points in the 3rd quarter. His scoring punch was key to the Wolves pulling away in the 3rd quarter as they jumped out to a large lead and were able to hold off anything the Grizzlies threw at them.

For the first time since he moved into the starting lineup we saw Corey Brewer struggle with a defensive matchup as Grizzlies swingman Rudy Gay toyed with the rookie all game en route to a 29 point 11 rebound performance. Despite being beat off the dribble by Gay throughout the night, Brewer still managed to make some big defensive plays, notching 2 steals and a block. He topped that off with an efficient 11 points on 5-7 shooting while also grabbing 7 boards and dishing out 6 assists. Seeing Brewer stay focused on his ever growing well rounded game despite struggling with a 1 on 1 matchup is a very encouraging sign.

[TheDominator273]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG



We have reached the 20 game mark of the season and the Minnesota Timberwolves sit at 7-13 which is good for 12th place in the Western Conference, 3 games behind the 8th seeded Los Angeles Lakers. The 2k Wolves have more than twice as many wins at the same point in the season that the actual 2007-08 team who was 3-17 at the 20 game mark. Let's take a closer look at how the individual players are playing compared to their real life counterpart at the same point.





The two obvious standouts are the games played in the 2k universe by Randy Foye and Adam Morrison, both of who had injuries that kept them out for large parts of the 2007-08 season. So lets ignore those two and look at the rest of the roster.

As you know if you've read any of the above articles, Al Jefferson has been the teams best and most consistent player, and interesting enough his 2k stats nearly mirror his real life stats at the same point in the season. The biggest difference between the two is real life Big Al played around 4 more minutes per game to put up the same stats.

The other player that has an intriguing comparison is Corey Brewer. In the 2k universe Brewer has moved into the starting lineup, which explains the minutes bump we see. However he has also been a much moore reliable offensive player in 2k than he was early in his Wolves career as he scores nearly 2x what he did in real life as well as dishing out nearly double the assists. It is interesting to note that the real life Corey Brewer was a much better rebounder, averaging 50% more than his 2k counterpart.

What player comparisons stand out to you? Are there any players who's performance is surprising thus far?

[saintrules]

Re: Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

This is sick man, sweet idea. I'm not too familiar with this roster but I remember hearing this trade and just being blown away by all the dudes on the move for KG, but then again, it was freaking KG!

The only thing's I have noticed so far are the amazing names among the PPG Leaders, my gosh 07-08 was a time to be alive, the Lakers are getting roasted even though they're entering their championship years, and the Grizzlies should be in panic mode.

I'll definitely try and follow.