The View from Section 214 - My Big Fat Greek Edition

Before the season started, I bought a couple tickets from the famed section214 for the Minnesota Timberwolves game, hoping to see what I thought would be the RoY battle Evans v. Flynn. I left the game secure in the knowledge that Flynn is a nice player, but Reke is an amazing one.

Before I recap the game, some cursory thoughts:

• Section, you're seatmate at the end of the row is very knowledgeable and actually knew what he was talking about.  Didn't catch his name, but he was good people.
• As I sat down in my seat, I experienced a sudden moment where I had this intense hatred of everything Simpsons.  I realized then that I must have sat in Mrs. Section 214's seat.  This would later be confirmed when my little brother who I took to the game later quipped "Worst. Idea. Ever." after a turnover.
• The arena looked pretty empty to me, and the reported attendance was 11,333. If there were 11,000 people in there I'll eat my shoe.  The ones that were there seemed to be the most dedicated ones.
• Sometime during a 3rd quarter, a man sitting in Section 113 threw a beer on the person behind him and then a fistfight began between the two men, and presumably they're girlfriends for about a minute before security and Slamson (I kid you not) intervened.  I don't want to know whats going to happen Wednesday.
• Jonny Flynn is a tiny guy, especially when you put him next to Reke.
• Minnesota is probably the worst collection of shooters I have seen.  When the other team should be most afraid to leave Kevin Love open for a 3, you're team is not good at shooting.  Watching the Wolves reminded me of us last year. They've got a few good pieces, and a lot of garbage.  But you can see the potential.
  

Alright, now onto the game itself.

This game was a lot closer than it appeared at the half.  Neither team was playing really great, although the Kings had already been passing the ball really well.  Tyreke absolutely dominated Flynn in the first half.  The Kings went to a Tyreke post-up early and often, and it knocked Flynn out of the game quickly.  He just could not handle him.  But the same could have been said of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.  For the first quarter and a half at least, the Kings had no answer for either of those two guys. Fortunately for us, that was pretty much the only offense happening for Minny.  I also loved it when Westphal had JT bring the ball up the court several trips in a row.  He handled it pretty well, and the play that was run about each time he did it was "Give the ball to Tyreke in the post".  I loved seeing that. But it wasn't just Tyreke posting, Spencer and JT especially were given orders to simply attack the post.  And JT was showing off quite the repertoire tonight, including a few half hooks, with the left hand no less.

The second half was no contest.  The Wolves looked tired, and the Kings upped they're defense and stepped on the gas pedal.  It didn't start that way though, because the Wolves did come within 2 at one point.  It looked like Westphal was going to call a timeout, because he got up, the players were looking at him, but instead he called out a play and the Kings scored. Pretty soon they were up 12 again and Minnesota never got closer than that for the rest of the game.  Beno was huge off the bench, and so were Brockman and Sergio.  Omri was doing quite a few things well, and he missed some absolutely wide open threes that I'd want him to take again in a heartbeat, but he still makes a few rookie mistakes a game.  There was one sequence in the half where both teams turned the ball over back and forth until one of the Wolves went for a layup and JT absolutely destroyed the ball with a monstrous block.  That was definitely the loudest Arco was last night.  These Kings just don't give up, and if you're a crappy team like Minnesota, you're going to get blown out.  Now if only they would  HIT THEY'RE GODDAMN FREE THROWS!!!

Individual player thoughts:

• Evans - Superstar in the making.  Didn't really do much in the second half, but then again didn't really need to.  He's turning into a nice little ball hawk and had about 5 almost steals along with his 2 steals.  His defense on Flynn and Sessions was superb, and the Wolves didn't really have an answer for him on the other end.
• Donté - He was off from the field all night, but he was missing some wide open shots.  He played a little out of control at times, and he still hasn't gotten rid of the "extra" Westphal wants him to take out of the game, as evidenced by him trying to do a dunk he probably wouldn't have made had he been wide open, but the defensive effort was there, and so was the hustle and energy.
• Noc - Finally a good shooting game from Noc.  He had become sort of a black hole on offense as of late and it was nice to see him at least knocking his shots down tonight.
• JT - The player of the game without a doubt. Great on the glass, and he worked the inside like nobody's business. He had the highlight of the game with his monster stuff, and he got to show off his handling skills several times  Best of all, only 1 foul, and against quality big men too.
• Spence - Bad first half, where he was limited because of foul trouble, but he was pretty good in the second half, especially on defense.  He learned not to fall for Jefferson's pump fake, and stood his ground in the post for the most part.  On offense he was efficient, hitting  4-5.
• Beno - Mr. Automatic looked like he was going to hit every shot he took.  His little stop and pop elbow jumpers are soul destroyers.  Beno also moved the ball very well, ending with 7 assists. He probably could have had more.
• Sergio - El Mago passes so beautifully. He performs art on the court. Sometimes he thinks too fast for the other players though and they aren't in sync with them, and that can lead to some sloppy play.  He had an off-shooting night, but his form is nice and I expect him to end up as a pretty decent shooter.
• Casspi - Definitely looked like a rookie to me this game.  Some awesome plays, and some terrible plays, mostly involving decision making.  He did have this amazing layup where he spun through traffic and teardropped a layup in that was a thing of beauty.  But he definitely shoudn't be handed starter keys until he calms down a bit on the court.
• Brockman - Guys a workhorse and ended up getting some of the biggest cheers when he came on and off the court.  Really did a nice job on defense too.  This guy has a future as a rotation big in this league.  Interior scoring needs to improve, but the talent is there.
• K-9 - Good defense and passing, although he looked a bit lethargic in this game.  There was one rebound the Wolves grabbed that Kenny could have, had he bothered to jump, but he didn't even try to grab it. I was perplexed to say the least.
• Sean May - If you had any doubts the game was over, they should been quelled when Sean May came into the game.  And to tell you the truth, if Sean May doesn't play another minute of NBA basketball in a Kings jersey, I won't feel too bad.  I wonder what the guy would be if he was healthy, and I thought to myself "Antoine Walker".  He just does not see a shot he doesn't like.  And for the biggest (weight wise) guy on the team to settle for outside jumpers like he does, it just doesn't scream "Play me coach!".  He took it inside once and threw the ball off the backboard and he was lucky it went in.

Some T-wolves thought

• Al Jefferson is a monster.  There are a few players I'd consider trading Kevin Martin for, and Al Jeff is the caliber of player I'd want back.  He really needs to work on his defense though.
• Kevin Love is a very skilled player and I would not be surprised to see him lead the league in rebounds for years.  Perhaps even this year, if he doesn't miss another game.
• Jonny Flynn - looked like a rookie, could not handle Evans.  Really quick, would excel in a fast pace system.
  
• Ramon Sessions - Solid backup, can't hit free throws either. Can't shoot the ball at all really.  Only bench player on the Wolves worth mentioning.
  
• Brewer and Gomes - Meh.