Observations from Saturday’s Minnesota Timberwolves-Washington Wizards game:

Note: all images obtained from a Google image search at google.com

Yeah, yeah, I know, you could care less about this game.  I get it.  Besides, Duke-North Carolina was going on at the same time.  But still, the T-Wolves are my team, always have been, always will be, and they only come to D.C. once per year, so I had to go.  Oh, and this is my blog.  Sue me.  So here is my firsthand account of Saturday’s game:

Sigh. Oh, what could have been.

• I wanted to start this blog last year, and one of my first posts was going to be titled: “John Wall: Savior of Basketball in Minnesota?”  Wall was a super-stud freshman at Kentucky, and I would plan my winter evenings around watching his star-studded team at UK.  I dreamed of my T-Wolves getting the #1 pick and adding him to our otherwise pathetic roster, finally creating some basketball buzz in a metro area that has lacked it since the 2007 KG trade.  Alas, it was not to be; last night the Wolves were starkly reminded of what could have been, and watching Wall terrorize them was both sad and breath-taking at the same time.  One example of this:

• Wolves starting PG Luke Ridnour drove from the left of the key on a fast break, and then seemed to go right past the basket despite being wide open.  He must have heard footsteps, because he then stopped on a dime to shoot a 5-footer, instead of a layup, and missed off the glass, and of course this led to…

• A driving (re: flying) coast-to-coast drive and dunk by Wall.  Wall has to be the fastest player with the basketball on the planet (well, along with LeBron).  Faster than Derrick Rose, faster than Russell Westbrook, faster than anyone else on the planet except for maybe James.  The Wizards better get some players around him, quick, because you can’t let this once-in-a-generation talent get away.

I like this kid. Let him run, Flip!

• You know who might turn out to be a solid player who was thought of merely as a throw-in at the time of the trade?  Jordan Crawford, who came to the Wiz as part of the Kirk Hinrich salary dump.  This kid was an elite scorer at Xavier (20.5 PPG in his only season there), and it’s nice to see him finally getting some run with Washington after being a bench-sitter in Atlanta.  If you have one elite skill in college, that often will translate to the pro game.  At worst, Crawford could be a nice energy guy off the bench, providing instant scoring capability.  He reminds me a lot of his former teammate in Atlanta of the same name, Jamal Crawford.

• Say what you will about Rashard Lewis (fallen off the map since he tested positive for steroids, signed with Orlando for an absolutely obscene amount of years and money and never lived up to it, etc.), but the man can still shoot when he’s out there.  For some inexplicable reason, Beasley played off Lewis at the top of the key by a good 5 feet, somehow forgetting that the vast majority of shots Lewis takes (and makes) are 3’s.  If there was ever an example of how the Wolves are now 15-50, that’s a pretty good one.

B-Easy's hair is Out. Of. Control.

• Speaking of Beasley, he’s the poster child of the “you know, if he ever figures it out one day…” belief.  Beasley is as good as it gets as a scorer in the entire NBA.  But he’ll never be part of a winning team, since no self-respecting coach will put up with his pathetic defensive lapses.  I asked my dad the other day: “Do you think Gregg Popovich would bring this guy on to his team?”  In a word, no.  That’s pretty much all you need to say.  Oh, and he’s also mentally insane (he talks to himself on the court, confusing other players who think he’s talking to them; it’s quite comical).  That doesn’t help either.

• Kevin Love’s now 51 consecutive double-doubles and counting (an NBA best since 1979) are getting the headlines, and deservedly so.  But it’s the other parts of his game that also are a true joy to watch.  The Wolves run a play where Ridnour will dribble to the left of the key, then race around a screen from Love to the corner near the baseline.  And he’s consistently open by 15 feet.  Why?  Because Love’s screens are like trying to break through a stone wall.  And secondly, Love’s outlet passes following a defensive rebound are so amazingly on-the-money to the transitioning guards that I’ve heard them compared to those of Wes Unseld.  That’s pretty good company.

Apt comparison? It's not crazy, I'll tell you that.

• I also told my Dad I’d do my own scouting report of the newest member of the Wolves, Anthony Randolph.  And I must say, I like him.  It was the 2^nd year in a row the Wolves took on a player from New York who wasn’t playing (last year: Darko), and while it’s a shame we had to give up Corey Brewer to get him, Brewer had worn out his welcome in Minnesota (and the presence of Wes Johnson made Brewer obsolete with the team).  Randolph brings a much-needed infusion of athleticism and length to the front-line, and he collected 3 blocks and changed a few others in the game Saturday night.  He also has nice range out to about 20 feet.  Why did New York give him away?  Because his effort has been questioned, and he’s been quite an enigma thus far in his career.  But if coach Rambis gives him some run, and if Randolph plays will with increased minutes, perhaps the Wolves might have something.

• Predictably, the Wolves fell apart at the end, despite playing the Wiz evenly all game.  What was the difference?  That’s easy: John Wall.  Wall unfailingly got to the rim with ease, blowing past the flat-footed Ridnour for layups.  The Wolves played their summer defense (some are here, some are there), as their bigs failed to rotate over and help on Wall’s drives.  That, and they failed to block out Lorenzo Booker, who sent the women and children into hiding on pair of tip slams following Wiz misses.  The crowd was energized, and the Wolves crumbled.