Hungry Like the Wolf

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Portland Vs. Minnesota Matchups

While Minnesota had a knock down drag out battle with Sacramento resulting in a major injury to their starting center and a minor injury to a key bench player Portland eased through the Nugget sweeping them. How much longer can the Wolves stay in the hunt?

PG

Jose Calderon Vs. Travis Tennell: Calderon is a spot up shooter, who actually plays a limited role in the offense despite being the starting PG for Portland, this is one match up that Tennell wins.

Winner: Minnesota

McDermott Vs. Roy: Roy is an elite SG who does most of the ball handling as well, he will hurt the Timberwolves by forcing fouls on whomever is guarding him. McDermott might be a good shooter and distributor for his position but he is out matched here at this point in his career.

Winner: Portland

Marcus Thorton Vs. Shang-de Teoh: Thorton is a shooter Teoh is a slasher, Thorton is all about finesse Teoh is a physical defender, Teoh wins this matchup. Teoh might even be assigned to guard Roy and McDermott may guard Thorton.

Winner: Minnesota

Ron Sanders Vs. David West: Both are extremely similar players with Sanders being younger and slightly better at defense.

Winner: Portland

Joe Przybilla Vs. Greg Oden: Przybilla was a fantastic backup all year having his best season as a pro, he is a fan favorite and local to Minnesota. Greg Oden has become one of the best Centers in the league. Oden is physical and nearly impossible to defend.

Winner: Portland

Bench: The Timberwolves have a weakened bench because Przybilla is being forced to start and Garnett and Amundson are now the back ups at Center. Sandler is also injured and might miss a few games. While Portland has two stellar players LaMarcus Aldridge and Tayshun Prince coming off the bench.

Winner: Portland

This will be a hard series to win.

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Game 1:(L)
Minnesota nearly came back to steal this game but ultimately they fell short 111-106 one thing is for certain this Minnesota team has heart. Roy snagged the MVP with 24 points and 8 assists.

Game 2: (W)
Minnesota delivered an upset yet again winning game 2, Tennell exploited the miss match with Calderon scoring 29 with 7 assists. Teoh flirted with a tripple double and McDermott nearly out played Roy. The end result was a 121 to 107 victory. Kevin Garnett played his best game of the playoffs with 15 points and devastating defense.

Game 3: (L)
Portland came to Minnesota to play, they defeated the home team with a score of 114-104, Ron Sanders exploded for 26 points and 16 rebounds. Game 4 will be a must win for the Timberwolves.

Game 4: (W)
The final score was 115-102. This game was highlighted by Shang-de Teoh's 18 rebound 20 point game. Teoh continues to play with a ferocity unpresidented. Roy's 37 point explosion was wasted in this Timberwolf victory.

Game 5: (L)
Portland put the Timberwolves one game away from elimination winning 105-96. Greg Oden established his dominance against Pryzbilla(who has been almost entirely neutralized this series) Oden scored 28 and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Game 6: (L)

The Timberwolves were eliminated in one of the games of the year. Portland came back to win a game that at one point Minnesota led by 18. You could see the fatigue in some of the players as the game wrapped up. McDermott and Teoh both played with the heart of champions scoring 27 points each, they didn't get enough help however and the game was ultimately lost. The center miss match continued to haunt Minnesota with Greg Oden winning the game MVP again scoring 28 and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Series MVP: Greg Oden

What a fantastic series Timberwolves fans have to be happy with this surprising season!

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The most depressing thing about the loss to Portland in game 6 was the fact that Miami had already been eliminated in a shocking defeat from New York, who was in turn defeated by New Jersey in the Semi-Finals.

Now Portland is the heavy favorite against the 6th seeded Nets.

In the end after a miraculous series Portland was victorious in 7 games, Brandon Roy winning the Finals MVP.

I cannot wait until next year!

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14. Lakers
13. Oakland
12. Washington
11. Milwaukee
10. Spurs
9. Clippers
8. Dallas
7. Atlanta
6. Houston
5. Phoenix
4. Detroit
3. Detroit
2. Toronto
1. Cleveland

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MVP: Dwight Howard(20.4 PPG, 13.5 RPG)
Defensive POTY: Dwight Howard
Sixth Man of the Year: Wesley Johnson
Rookie of the Year: Mark Johnson
Coach of the Year: Jim O'Brien(Van Gundy snub?)
Sandler made the rookie 1st team
Teoh in my opinion should have made the 1st or second defensive team.
David West should have made the all-nba 3rd team but alas there was no love for the Timberwolves.

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I am re-signed the coaching staff to 3 more years, I would like the players to have consistence and I want the coaches to see the fruits of their player development labors.

[Zorro]

I am re-signed the coaching staff to 3 more years, I would like the players to have consistence and I want the coaches to see the fruits of their player development labors.

Great year............................................................Z

[PointGuard]

Good job getting as far as you did in the playoffs...go get 'em next year!

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As I have said before I am not a fan of Rubio, before he ever plays a game for Minnesota I think he will be traded. Rubio is not an efficient scorer, but he is a great distributor. Teams like Portland may hold him in high value.

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Good job getting as far as you did in the playoffs...go get 'em next year!

Interestingly enough I will need a new center Pekovic will be out for the year. it will be hard to repeat my success without him.