Image via WikipediaThe Minnesota Timberwolves are no longer the biggest joke in the NBA. Not even a giggle.At the All Star break in this lockout-delayed and truncated season, the Wolves are 17-17 and a couple of games from a playoff spot. Yes, we said a playoff spot. Nobody would have believed this a year ago, when they won 17 games all last season.
The Wolves' improved play has so far made general manager David Kahn look like a genius, and Target Center in Minneapolis is seeing sellouts once again. Rick Adelman was brought in as coach. Kevin Love is turning in another All Star season, with a new contract extension to go along with it. Michael Beasley is playing so well that the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in him. Nikola Pekovic has come off the bench to deliver clutch baskets. And Ricky Rubio has shown he's ready for prime time.
Notice we didn't say the Wolves were perfect. They turn the ball over too much, and get way behind the other team early, necessitating historic come-from-behind victories. Love stomped on Luis Scala of the Houston Rockets during a game, and was rewarded with a two-game suspension. And Martell Webster made a spectacular dunk in the waning moments of overtime against the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, they only award two points for dunks, and the Wolves needed three to tie the game.
It's been so long since anyone took the Wolves seriously that people now complain when a game of theirs isn't televised. Their contract with Fox Sports North calls for 50 regular season games, and this is the first year the team decided not to go with a broadcast TV partner, citing high production costs and low ratings. Thanks to their shortsightedness, negotiations are under way to get at least a couple of games on a broadcast station this season.
So how long will this last? Whether they make the playoffs or not, the Minnesota Timberwolves have made pro basketball relevant in the Twin Cites again. Now all they have to do is measure up to the NBA's better teams.
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Now a few words about the NBA's biggest story since the lockout ended: the rise of Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks. He has almost single-handedly put his team in contention with his last-second heroics. Lin's been the subject of tons of media hype, including racist headlines since he happens to be Asian-American. TV ratings for Knicks games locally and nationally have gone through the roof. Lin has become a pop culture icon in New York.
Because Lin plays for the Knicks, the flagship franchise of the NBA, he gets to play in Madison Square Garden, which is one of the meccas of American sports. And the New York-based media chronicle his every move. We hate to throw cold water on all this "Linsanity" (a term he's trying to trademark), but . . .If Lin had been playing this well for, shall we say, the Memphis Grizzlies, would anyone care?
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