Remember the 9-73 Philadelphia 76ers? Fred Carter, the original "Mad Dog," led them in scoring, just under 22 points a game: Freddie Boyd, Manny Leaks, Leroy Ellis, and Kevin Loughery, who later became player-coach after Roy Rubin was canned at 4-47, were the other starters.
The 76ers reached such lows because star Billy Cunningham left for the ABA, along with bad trades and bad draft picks. This squad became the league's modern-day standard on how bad NBA clubs are judged.
However four years later, Philadelphia would reached the NBA Finals before losing to Portland in 1977. In 1983, with Cunningham as coach, the team would win it all.
Could this happen to this season's Minnesota Timberwolves? Their once superstar is no longer with them. Bad trades. Bad draft picks. The Wolves currently are 3-20, the worst start in franchise history.
Unless there is a Dr. J, Moses Malone, Anthony Toney, Maurice Cheeks out there, the chances of Minnesota picking itself up off the scrap heap and reaching the league's highest heights are slim and none, with slim on permanent hiatus.
Out there somewhere, Sixers fans are rooting for Minnesota, hoping that they will replace their club as the poster child for futurity.
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2 comments:
I do not see the Timberwolves improving much next season. I think it will draft Kevin Love of UCLA with the pick this year. He is 6'9". As a fan, I would like to see an ownership change. This would mean a cleaning of house. A change is certainly needed. However, if there is not an ownership change, and the Timberwolves go 0-82 in 08-09, maybe the NBA will just rip the franchise away from Taylor and run it themselves.
I think the Timberwolves will be OK. I think Al is a good player. They will start to win.
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