Tuesday night, Cheryl Reeve startled at least one family member with her shouts from upstairs at the Reeve family home. She was watching the Timberwolves win at Oklahoma City in Ryan Saunders’ debut as an NBA head coach, and cheering like the fan she is.
Saunders won his debut, earning high-fives and a celebratory locker room dousing from players who often avoided eye contact with predecessor Tom Thibodeau. Liked and respected throughout the organization, Saunders will be given every opportunity to prove he can handle the job. For an organization that has been able to celebrate few sweet stories over the years, Saunders winning with a roster that his late father helped build would provide perhaps the foremost highlight of the team’s past 15 years.