Let's get this mother started.

 

 

I gotta say, I was underwhelmed at first, but those new uniforms are looking sharp. The whites, anyway. 

WOO!!! Basketball. 

 

That wasn't even a shot. It was an outlet pass. He thought he saw his shooting guard seated in the eighth row for an uncontested midrange jumper.

I could back Zach Lowe's crazy prediction of Jerad Dudley for Aldrich and a 2nd rd pick. This is the type of player the Wolves need instead of Shabazz (still a great bargain that you sign regardless). He just shoots 3's.

Not T Wolves related, but **** me, that Hayward injury was gruesome. That footage is, like, x rated. So tragic for celts fans.

Watching the game, that injury is a moment will not be easily forgotten. So sad, especially for Celtics fans basically having their hopes crushed on opening night.

The real stinging salt in the wound has to be how utterly inferior the Celtics look against the Cavs right now. Thomas is not even on the damn active roster yet. Yeesh.

Anyone know what the extent of an injury like that is? Is that a career ender, season, or could he get back in 3-4 months? I have no gauge for that kind of thing. Heartbreaking for him and that team though

Anyone know what the extent of an injury like that is? Is that a career ender, season, or could he get back in 3-4 months? I have no gauge for that kind of thing. Heartbreaking for him and that team though

Well, they're calling it a 'fracture' of the ankle until they know more, but his foot practically fell off, so...Idk. Anyone's guess?

Boston radio this morning calls it a broken tibia. Ankle, leg bone. Potato, potahto. (Harvard, Hahvahd.) Either way the ankle hurts like hell and probably will be surgically repaired ASAP.

 

Anyone know what the extent of an injury like that is? Is that a career ender, season, or could he get back in 3-4 months? I have no gauge for that kind of thing. Heartbreaking for him and that team though

 

This is very likely an ankle fracture/dislocation. It has been reported as a tibia fracture, which is probably a little misleading. The tibia is (of course) the larger of the two bones in the lower leg. The fibula (smaller bone) is almost always fractured in cases like this. The tibia sometimes has a fracture at the bump on the inside of the ankle (called the medial malleolus) and sometimes the injury occurs through the ligaments at the inside of the ankle (called the deltoid ligament). This is different from Paul George's injury, which was a fracture of the tibial shaft.

 He may also have some injury to the ligaments between the tibia and fibula (called the syndesmosis) which may require fixing as well. 

 I'm sure he will undergo surgery in the next day or two to place a plate and screws on the fibula, some screws on the medial malleolus (if broken) or a ligament repair (if a ligament injury) and then have the syndesmosis evaluated and a fixation device placed there if it is injured. He will probably be non-weight bearing for around 6-8 weeks followed by a gradual return to walking without crutches. I would estimate 4-6 months before he is ready to return to significant athletic activity. I will be very surprised if he is able to play this season, but maybe around playoff time. 

 I think it's unlikely that this is a career-ender, but of course everyone heals these things differently. I'm sure the mental side of his recovery will be just as difficult and arduous as the physical side. 

 Really stinks to see anyone have an injury like this. I'm sure he had such high hopes for the season.

Losing is disappointing but the bright side is that it looks like the Wolves are now 10 deep and won't get killed when they bring in the bench. Unfortunately, the starters got really outplayed today and Dieng got used mostly as a backup C instead of being paired with Towns part of the time. Or at least the boxscore indicates that.

Here is what I was hoping for this season. 
- Dieng starts at PF while Taj subs in for either big with roles being swapped based on current lineup

- Wiggins and Butler both start but their minutes are staggered such that one of them is always in the game.

- Crawford gets most of the backup wing minutes

- Bjelica and Shabazz fill in where matchups dictate

Never would I have imagined that offense would be a problem for this team. But, good god, somebody do something off ball. Geez Louise.

Edited October 21, 20179 yr by Pardon My Dinger

Also, Teague...doesnt suck, but he's no Ricky Rubio. I want so badly to change this face, but so far, these guys have been brutal.

Wo-ow.

That was awesome. A little frustrating since they controlled the whole game (or at least the 2nd half) and still needed a buzzer beater but still awesome.

Dieng and only 12 backup C minutes continues to frustrate me. I didn't like the pairing of Dieng and Towns last year but he was still the best 4 that they had and he still is the best 4 that the Wolves have.

Well, I've been impressed with Taj so far. It would be good to get Dieng some more minutes, and as the season progresses, it's sure to happen. But, Gibson's bringing some physicality and defensive intensity that other bigs on this team (*coughKATcough*) sorely lack. 

 

Well, I've been impressed with Taj so far. It would be good to get Dieng some more minutes, and as the season progresses, it's sure to happen. But, Gibson's bringing some physicality and defensive intensity that other bigs on this team (*coughKATcough*) sorely lack. 

I would have envisioned a 36/30/30 playing time split before the season. I think Taj is a great get and should play but Bjelica/Shabazz? Gorgui should be getting every minute that KAT or Taj doesn't play.

Just an awful defensive effort tonight against Indiana. Jimmy needs to get healthy quick.

Man, that was brutal. Towns is really pissing me off with on D. No way should a man his size be that much of a sieve one on one. Also, I heard Wiggins was dressed tonight...

I'm sure I'll get ripped, but it's still the same old Timberwolves.

This team needed a half court prayer do drop AND 2 blown calls to not be 1-3, despite a pretty soft schedule so far.

This team has no business losing to Indiana with where they want us to believe they are in the process.

And I'm still not a believer in Wiggins. Maybe he's still got a lot of room for growth, I hope so, he needs to get a lot better.

I'm sure I'll get ripped, but it's still the same old Timberwolves.

This team needed a half court prayer do drop AND 2 blown calls to not be 1-3, despite a pretty soft schedule so far.

This team has no business losing to Indiana with where they want us to believe they are in the process.

And I'm still not a believer in Wiggins. Maybe he's still got a lot of room for growth, I hope so, he needs to get a lot better.

I sure won't rip you for any of that. Wiggins, great as he was in the first three games, has a lot of maturing to do. Teague is not a very good basketball player, as far as I can tell. Soooooo many open shots for the opposing offense while the Wolves don't even move their feet on the other end. Gotta be better than that.

Really...

 

At least pretend to play some defense someone.

We are seeing that this may actually take some time since the pieces don't fit very well together. I just hope they can figure this out with the talent that they have.

They cannot be this bad without Butler. I mean, how?

 

They cannot be this bad without Butler. I mean, how?

Ricky Rubio.

Ricky Rubio.

Word. I was thinking about it last nigh, man. How does this team GIVE AWAY one of the best defensive PGs in the league like that? What would you give up to bring him back?

Ricky was perfect for this team. I could cry.

Ricky was perfect for this team. I could cry.

He was not perfect for this team, come on. Rubio had plenty of flaws too. And, these are the same issues we had last year, with Rubio, same issues.

 

That said, when they moved Rubio, I assumed it would be for an actual improvement. They must have thought they could get better and panicked when they couldn't, because this Teague dude doesn't look like a good player to me.