The frustration of a Timberwolves' ticket buyer

A basketball fan named Bruce Hoberman e-mailed this to me following Wednesday night's abomination at Target Center – an 85-77 victory for the previously winless Philadelphia 76ers over the Timberwolves.

It was a copy of an electronic letter that he sent along to his ticket representative. I thought it was worth passing along the view of a Timberwolves' customer.

By BRUCE HOBERMAN

As an announcer of high school sporting events the past 35 years for St. Louis Park Cable Television, I have announced close to 500 amateur basketball games over the years and attended many more.

I attend Timberwolves games with my son, who is 14 and such an avid NBA fan that he even watches D league games and can tell you every player on any NBA team.

Last night's game goes down as the worst basketball I have seen at any level, amateur, college or professional. I haven't seen as many air balls in a game since watching my son's first grade team play.

We have partial season tickets and my son who normally can't wait for the next game to attend asked me if we can return our tickets. He was so disappointed and appalled by the performance of this team and coaching staff.

There is no flow to the offense that Flip is running and I don't feel that Flip has the ability to find a system around the players he has. I am also confused as to why he continues to have confidence in his starting 5 and doesn't try different combinations. It's obvious to me when a player like Thad Young is in a slump and is not having a good shooting day, he shouldn't continue to be in the lineup to miss his next 6 shots.

Last night Corey Brewer had a 3-on-1 with Shabazz Muhammad on the wing for an easy dunk but instead Corey went in contested and lost the ball. This is basic basketball and a dunk may have given the crowd something to cheer about.

While this team may not have as much talent, they do have athletes and yet we see at most one dunk a game. Why Shabazz has to always come off the bench when to me he energizes the team makes very little sense to me.

I can honestly say that I am not an expert in coaching but I have had a discussion with my analysts that work the games with me, people who have coached for 30 years. They have said they are absolutely confused at the lack of rotation in the offense and can't believe how few passes the Wolves complete in an offensive set.

It's easy for a coach to win with talent, but I am convinced that Flip is in over his head and the Wolves organization has a dilemma because they have a coach who is also in charge of the basketball operation.

There is no rhyme or reason to when there is going to be a good halftime performance. A number of guys in the office were giving me a hard time for sitting through that game and about why I invest in Wolves tickets. These are guys that love basketball but can't watch the Wolves anymore.

I am paying twice as much for a ticket as I have paid in years past but right now would prefer to enjoy a high school sporting event than deal with the frustration of the Wolves organization.