This game was much closer than the final score, despite being the Wolves first double-digit loss of the season. (The Wolves also dropped to 0-4 by the way.) Here's what I see so far, with almost 5% of the season gone (it's ridiculous to analyze 4 games in, but I don't care):
1. We need more centers
I thought the weaknesses of the roster would be depth at center and point guard, and seeing Dwight Howard, Chris Mihm, and Andrew Bynum tear through the Wolves like tissue paper when Ratliff wasn't on the court, they really need some help there. This situation only gets worse since down the line, Ratliff is going to slip down the depth chart as he ages, and what's the deal with Michael Doleac? Maybe the eventual return of Mark Madsen can help slow these guys down.
2. The second unit needs work
This may be impossible to tell since Foye and McCants are out prompting a reshuffle of the starting line-up, and the Wolves still seem to be sorting out how to sort out Telfair, Jaric, Gomes, and Buckner in light of that. I also think it's funny that the only Wolf with a positive +/- last night was Antoine Walker.
3. The coaches have their work cut out for them
The Wolves start strong (so they have talent), but then the other team starts to exploit their weaknesses and the disorganized bench comes in, and their early lead slips away. At the end of every game they make a late surge (so they have heart), but have fallen short every time so far. Hopefully Wittman can organize his second unit a bit and get these guys to learn how to shore up some of their weaknesses.
4. Defense of point guards
32 for Iverson/Wilks against Denver, 27 for Marbury/Robinson, 18 for Arroyo, and 10 for Derek Fisher... that really just means the Wolves have played teams with decent point guards and it's a reach to make anything out of it. But nevertheless, Jaric's big failing as a point guard was he couldn't handle small, quick guards (and his periodic bouts of confusion where he throws passes to nobody and wears his clothes the wrong way) and I'm not wild about Telfair's defense. So I'd say depth at point guard is a concern.
Eventually they have to play somebody less crafty than Phil Jackson, without a good center, who won't be able to build up enough of a lead in the middle of the game and they'll win a couple. Also it would help not to give the other team 27 more free throws... it's kind of surprising that Jefferson didn't take any, but big men who can't get to the line are a familiar story in Minnesota.
Still this is fun though, having a watchable team that has the potential to improve, so it's actually worth analyzing their losses beyond the usual "They stink, the end."
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