FanHouse AlJefferson

The NBA isn't just made at Staples on Sunday afternoons under the lights, or in a Friday night showdown at the Garden. It's every night, players stepping up and making plays.

It's guys that will eventually be answers to trivia questions making huge shots that endear them and their teams to the hearts of young fans who first make a connection with this crazy, random, beautiful game.

The heroes aren't just the guys on posters and All-Star ballots, sometimes they are journeymen who show up every day, don't shoot a great percentage and get the job done.

Wednesday was Damien Wilkins' day.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Al Jefferson wasn't even born when the incident happened in 1984. But he's seen the old footage.

"The only thing I knew about Kurt (Rambis) from him playing is the highlight of Kevin McHale knocking him out,'' said the Minnesota forward.

Jonny Flynn wasn't born when Rambis won the last his four titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988. But Flynn has seen the highlights as well.

"I remember he had the high socks, the thick glasses and the short shorts,'' said the Timberwolves point guard. "That was my first impressions about him. I said that when we first talked on the phone, and we got a good laugh about it.''

A to Z.

It sounds like the 1952 NBA All-Star Game, which featured Paul Arizin and Max Zaslofsky.

It sounds like the 1971 champion Milwaukee Bucks, who had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Zopf.

It sounds like the history of Lithuanian centers, from Arvydas Sabonis to Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

It also sounds like a good way to take a look at the 2009-10 NBA season:

Minnesota figured to struggle this season. The roster is young, the coach (Kurt Rambis) is new, and there are plenty of holes through the roster. But there's always an extra challenge in 'Sota, and this year that extra challenge comes in the form of a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in the left hand of Kevin Love that will reportedly sideline the power forward for 6-8 weeks.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Love's hand smacked against the elbow of teammate Stewie Griffin Oleksiy Pecherov as Love collected a rebound. Fitting, that the injury would happen on a rebound, considering Love is one of the league's brightest young board hoarders. His absence will force cohort Al Jefferson to be even more of a vacuum on the glass.

The Timberwolves rolled in their first game under Kurt Rambis, beating the Bucks in what was the preseason opener for both teams. Minnesota is likely to care a lot more about these exhibition contests than most, considering they have a new head coach, their best player returning from a knee injury, and a rookie point guard running the team offensively.

That's a lot of things to mesh together before the season starts, but Minnesota looked further along than one might have expected, at least in this initial outing.

One especially interesting item from the box score was the line belonging to Jonny Flynn. Because while the rookie was solid in his debut, and finished with 14 points and seven assists, he did so without making a single shot from the field.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

For the Timberwolves, this year is likely going to go down as the year Ricky Rubio didn't come to Minnesota. The only way that's not going to be the case is if first-year coach Kurt Rambis can get his young and unproven team to overachieve and contend for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Like we said, this will end up being remembered as the year Rubio didn't come to Minnesota.

Bylaws have been checked. Rules have been scrutinized.

And, yes, it has been determined the West must start a center in February's All-Star Game in Dallas.

So, gentlemen, lace up your high tops. The race to be the starting center for the West is as wide open as the Yukon Territory.

Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle until your third cup of coffee?

As the opening of NBA training camps approach, we'll start breaking down the league by position, presenting our biased opinions with an eye on personal prejudices and the upcoming season. Remember, it's not who the best was last season -- that's history -- but who will be the best over the next 82 games and into the playoffs.

Since we're starting with centers, we'll have to begin by discussing those we don't like this season.

Marc J. Spears of the Boston Globe -- who reported Wednesday that the Suns and Wolves had discussed a deal involving Amar'e Stoudemire, Al Jefferson and Minnesota's No. 6 pick -- writes today that the trade won't move forward.

Spears reports that Minnesota turned down Phoenix's offer quickly. It won't be the last time we hear either the Wolves (whose new GM David Kahn is said to be hell-bent on making a major splash next week) or Amar'e in trade rumors by the end of the NBA Draft. At least we know one pricing parameter.

Al Jefferson admitted to reporters on Sunday that he feared the worst after feeling his right knee pop following an awkward landing. On Monday, an MRI exam confirmed those fears: he will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

It's unfortunate when any player goes down, but it's especially heartbreaking to see this happen to a guy who's playing the best ball of his career -- he's one of three players in the league averaging at least 20 point and 10 boards a game this year, and he's put up an incredible 26.9 and 11.8 boards in his last 10 games.