Last season's Timberwolves continue to struggle in the quagmire of the "post-KG era."

Their 24-58 record is only slightly better than the younger Thunder in the Northwest and an "improvement" from the previous year, which was only two wins.

In short, the Timberwolves have never turned over in the throes of "rebuilding".

However, the actual situation of the Timberwolves should be slightly better than the data suggests.

Especially after McHale took over the managerial position midway through, they started their 2009 campaign with five straight wins.

From January 2009 until Al Jefferson was out of season with an unexpected injury in February, they had 11 wins in 18 games, a win rate of over 60 percent.

Of course, there are reasons for the weakness of the opponents, but for a team with an average record of less than 30% for the whole year, this period of time is surprising for them, and one can't help but think about it.

This season's Timberwolves fans are imagining that if Jefferson hadn't been injured last season, they would have gone far beyond 24 wins.

However, the reality does not believe in the "if", and McHale, who had brought great changes to the Timberwolves, also left Minnesota after the season, so that this "if" cannot be established next season, and he was replaced by Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis, who is said to be a rookie coach who is good at playing triangle offense.

The Timberwolves were actually very dismal last season, and it really needed to be difficult to get worse than that, but in fact, their current lineup still really made the Wolves panic.

First of all, Kahn, the new general manager of the Timberwolves, first made the first move after taking office was to trade Mike Miller and Foye for the No. 5 pick + Songella + Thomas + Pecherov, which was Kahn's biggest move, and then he used the No. 5 pick to select Rubio.

But with Rubio staying in Spain and Songgella and Thomas being sent away as add-ons to the deal, the deal effectively became an exchange for Mike Millergafye in exchange for Rubio's signing rights and Pecherov two years later, and more about saving money than a patient future.

Randy Foyer has proven unable to give the Timberwolves the help fans have come to expect, but the departure of Mike Miller is a real blow, and the departure of these two main players is the biggest change to the Timberwolves' roster, and it is likely that the replacement will be the Sessions + Flynn dual point guard combination.

Sessions had an impressive season with the Bucks, especially after Ridnow's injury, and his starting record was 15.1 points plus 7.6 assists per game, which is fair for a four-year, $16 million contract.

Flynn, another rookie drafted this summer, is a recognized leader and playmaker among rookies, and his breakthrough passing and charisma can appeal to many, but he's only a rookie and just under 6 feet tall, and considering Sessions is only 6-foot-3, their backcourt duo will have a lot of trouble on the defensive end of the game.

On the inside, the combination of Jefferson and Loew has grown from last year, but Jefferson's recovery from injury is a key point.

If he can't stay fit or get back to his pre-injury form last season, then it's all talk.

Luckily, they played in the full squad for this game.

...............

After the appearance ceremony, Xue Ding really felt the pressure!

Compared to the beginning of the season, there are three fewer starters on the field.

Because of the injury problem, even Cunningham and Mills, who have been neglected, were told by McMillan that they would play tonight!

These two rookies are not as good as Xue Ding, but they are not useless.

..............

The game was not broadcast live in the United States, not even on CCTV.

It's not that the Trail Blazers aren't strong enough, but that the pre-game public opinion thinks that this game should be won easily by the Trail Blazers.

Of course, it's not too difficult for the media and authorities to make this kind of prediction with the full lineup of the Trail Blazers.

Batum's temporary truce with Oden was just an accident!

When Timberwolves head coach Rambis saw the Trail Blazers' starting five, his eyes lit up.

Because the Timberwolves are now experiencing a five-game losing streak, they urgently need a win to salvage the decline.

Before the game, Rambis didn't have much hope for this game, he knew that it would be difficult for the current Timberwolves to beat the momentum of the Trail Blazers, but the absence of the two Trail Blazers players made Rambis see an opportunity!

The Timberwolves' advantage is in Jefferson and Love on the inside, and the absence of Trail Blazer Oden is bound to give the Timberwolves more opportunities inside.

The game is about to begin, and the Rose Garden Arena has reached nearly 90% attendance.

That's a lot better than last season, according to the Trail Blazers' market research department.

The main reason for this phenomenon is because of Xue Ding.

The arrival of Xue Ding has increased the desire of Chinese people to enter the stadium to watch the game, and then his energetic style of play is also the reason why fans are willing to come to the scene to watch the game.

Xue Ding's jersey sales have surpassed Roy's in Portland.

This is not to say that Xue Ding has surpassed Roy to become the core of the Trailblazers.

Roy's low-key and Xue Ding's flamboyance complement each other.

Add to that the objective number of Chinese, and such a comparison is itself unfair.

Xue Ding's fans are not all fans of the pioneers.

Then, according to an authoritative investigation, Xue Ding's good looks made him the preference of white and Asian women, and in terms of the female market, his market appeal has even surpassed that of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

After all, this is still a society that looks at faces.

The number of female fans wearing Xue Ding's jersey in the Rose Garden Stadium also accounts for more than 70% of the total number of female fans in the stadium.

In short, seeing the situation of the Rose Garden Arena, Larry Miller, the president of the Trailblazers, and Pritchard, the general manager, were smiling in the VIP box.

Larry Miller said: "I have to say, our choice this summer was perfect. ”

Pritchard pushed his small glasses and said with a smile: "That's natural, Xue is better than the Thunder's Westbrook, and we can enjoy the Chinese market like Houston, thanks to Morey, he spent 7 years figuring out how we should develop the Chinese market." ”

Larry Miller said: "Haha, Yao's injury, Morey must be in a hurry to find a new solution now, after all, the developed market has cheapened me for nothing." ”

Pritchard said: "Yes, he still wants to exchange Xue with me, but how is this possible. ”

Larry Miller stood up and walked to the window, the court was ready to start jumping, watching the fans hold up posters of Xue Ding's head.

Miller continued: "It's impossible to change, Xue is second only to Roy in importance, this year we are going to increase ticket sales by 20% compared to last year, there are all kinds of Chinese sponsors, and more and more Chinese tourists, the city of Portland is making Xue a business card for Rose Garden.... And so on, these all show the value of Xue!! We have a great opportunity. ”

Pritchard nodded approvingly and continued, "But business may only be his embellishment, and everything on the basketball court is what makes us feel profitable. ”

"In his rookie season, he averaged a quasi-triple-double per game, and that's no more than that, and that's not the case with LeBron James!"

"Yes, with him as an assistant to Roy, we have a better chance of winning the championship."

"But we seem to be one thing away from the championship!" Miller knocked on the window and said seriously.

"Well, a new trading plan is being made, and I'll show you when the time comes." Pritchard knows what leadership means!

“OK！ And the team doctor, Fack, we have 3 more starters! Miller frowned as well.

"It's hard to find a new medical team, so you have to work with them first." Pritchard was embarrassed.

"As soon as possible, we can't afford to wait." Miller sighed.

………… The Portland veterinarians have become the laughing stock of the league, and they don't want to change that.