Tag Archives: derrick williams

by | January 6, 2013 · 11:14 am

Blazers 102, Wolves 97: Five Things

1. Kevin Love broke his hand.  Again.

This was the big news to hit Twitter in the hours leading up to the game.  Kevin Love had an MRI exam done on his right hand and it showed that he re-fractured the same bone that he previously broke during the preseason.  Given that Love came back earlier than expected from the last fracture injury and never regained his shooting form (or anything remotely close to it) I think it’s fair to expect the team to take better caution this time around.  Love’s latest injury could likely be a fatal blow to the Wolves’ playoff chances.  Even if the team can hover around the .500 mark, they’ll do so while watching competitors like Houston (20-14), Denver (19-16), and yes, probably the Lakers (15-17) claim ownership of those final spots with records 5 to 10 games over .500.  Portland, currently 18-15, could continue to look like a playoff team, but I personally don’t think they’re that good.  One high ankle sprain to Nic Batum or LaMarcus Aldridge (or Wes Matthews or Dame Lillard) would probably mean a losing streak for the shallow Blazers roster.  In any case, the Western Conference is loaded and Kevin Love playing so few minutes of good basketball this year is going to keep the Wolves out of the playoffs, barring a major surprise.

2. Blazers Shooting

Last night Portland attempted 24 three-point shots and made 16 of them.  48 points from downtown on 66.67 percent shooting is going to mean a win for almost any team against any opponent.  Some of them were open, but that happens.  The three-point line is never covered perfectly, and certainly not against a team that also has a matchup problem in the post like LaMarcus Aldridge and a capable playmaker like Damian Lillard.  In his press conference, Adelman first pointed the finger at his own team’s lack of effort but then conceded that Portland made just about everything.  Damian Lillard’s threes (3-5) were tough to stop because they came off the dribble.  Wes Matthews’ threes (5-7) were tough to stop because some were ridiculous fade-aways.  Nic Batum’s threes (5-6) were tough to stop because he’s 6’8″ and releases the ball high without even a split second of hesitation.

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by | December 18, 2012 · 2:49 pm

INBOX: If the Wolves trade Williams, what will they get in return?

Patrick J: How hard do you think AdelKahn is shopping Derrick Williams and change right now for a shooting guard? And, would they do a Beal trade? Would the Wiz? This probably means nothing, but I saw that WaPo picked up a story from somewhere (maybe even the Strib) on D-Thrill, suggesting they think there’s some demand from their readers to know more about this guy whom they’re potentially interested in. He’d probably be a breath of fresh air out there, as they could move Jordan Crawford to starting SG (gag, I know, but he’s better than Beal right now), and start Williams next to Okafor instead of Chris Singleton (!) or Martell Webster (!!).

Who are the other targets?

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by | November 17, 2012 · 2:08 pm

A Better Effort (Warriors 106, WOLVES 98)

A few years back, Harrison Barnes was supposed to be The Next Kobe. Expectations have since dropped, but his NBA career is off to a solid start.

I knew I wasn’t [completely] overreacting to that bad loss on Wednesday night.  Despite the injuries that have overhauled the Wolves starting unit, the team still has enough talent and grit to play competitive basketball.  “Competitive basketball” would have prevailed against the Bobcats that night.  Last night’s game was fun to watch because expectations were low and the game remained in doubt into the closing possessions.  Unfortunately, the comeback was incomplete and the Warriors prevailed.  The “Good Job. Good Effort.” feel to this loss was on clearest display on the game’s pivotal possessions.  Dante Cunningham had just pulled down one of the most impressive offensive rebounds I have ever seen.  He FLEW through the air from the top of the key and collected Luke’s missed trey at a ridiculously high point.  Cunningham was then fouled and, after a Warriors timeout, hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 3 points with under 3 minutes to play.  Golden State ran a high ball screen for Jarrett Jack (Steph Curry had fouled out of the game) with David Lee being the screen and roller.  Cunningham defended the entire play perfectly, even anticipating Lee’s spin move to a lefty turnaround.  Lee somehow managed to make the shot. Tip the hat to Lee, because he played a great game against a slightly-overmatched team.

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by | November 10, 2012 · 11:16 pm

Bullish Defense (BULLS 87, Wolves 80)

Bo Ryan’s face while watching tonight’s beat-em-up halfcourt struggle in Chicago.

Without Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls are the NBA’s Wisconsin Badgers.  There are no elite athletes or SportsCenter top plays.  Just execution and defense.  They set big screens.  They use most of the shot clock.  They talk on defense.  They rotate on defense.  They push people around in the lane.  At United Center, they push people around without fear of hearing a whistle blown.  The pictures are not pretty, but the final score is in Chicago’s favor.

All of those qualities were on display in Chicago tonight as the Wolves fell to the Bulls 87-80 in a game that felt neck-and-neck until Marco Belinelli (of all people) caught fire in the early part of the 4th Quarter.  The Italian shooter made three treys in the first 2:05 of the fourth, extending a 4-point lead to 9.  A 9-point deficit to the Bulls in Chicago might as well be 30.  Everything felt like a struggle from that point forward–and that’s just me watching on the couch.  I can’t even imagine how Dante Cunningham and Derrick Williams felt when Taj Gibson was swatting their shots into the third row.  Gibson is truly an incredible defensive player.  So is Joakim Noah, who also passes at an elite level and even showed off some fancy footwork on the block.  The game-clinching play was when Noah did an Al Jefferson-like array of pivots that eventually left Nikola Pekovic in his dust as he laid in an easy two.

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by | · 12:32 pm

Heavyweight Slugfest (WOLVES 96, Pacers 94)

Nothing seems easy when David West comes to town.

The largest first-quarter differential was 4, when the Wolves led 17-13.  Early in the second, the Wolves built an 8-point advantage that quickly dwindled, eventually to a 1-point Pacers halftime lead.  The third was a back-and-forth that mostly kept the differential under 5, although that is exactly where the Wolves lead sat at the end of the quarter.  Building on that momentum, Minnesota extended the lead to 8, two times early in the fourth.  But once again, the Pacers answered, with George Hill scoring 7 points in slightly over 2 minutes to cut the Wolves lead to 2.  From there, it was a heavyweight fight, each team trading hard-fought two-point baskets.  A key play to extend the lead to a whopping 4 points was when Andrei Kirilenko cleverly stole the inbounds pass following a Shved layup, and quickly found Alexey under the hoop for an easy two.  When Dante Cunningham’s 20-foot swish extended the lead to 6 with only 0:39 remaining, the game was over.

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by | November 7, 2012 · 11:37 pm

Dwightless Fun (WOLVES 90, Magic 75)

If Magic fans want to enjoy this season, they should learn to appreciate J.J. Redick.

Let’s start with the simple: The Magic are bad.  I don’t care if they arrived at MSP International with a 2-1 record and a Big Baby Davis MVP Campaign in full swing.  By trading away Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson and getting nothing but Arron Afflalo of value in return, the Magic are a gutted roster headed straight to the lottery.  Even with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love missing, the Wolves needed to win this game.  Oh, and I didn’t even mention that Jameer Nelson, the Magic’s veteran point guard, was out with an injury.  Nelson was replaced by former Purdue star and not good NBA player, E’Twan Moore.  So yeah, this was a game the Wolves should win.

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by | October 23, 2012 · 11:50 pm

Wolves Season Preview, Part 2 of 2

Can Andrei Kirilenko really be the key to this year’s team? Who knows! The season hasn’t started yet!

In Part 1 of our Wolves preview, Andy G delved into several issues that will have key implications for the team’s success this season. I come back with my takes on these topics, as well as a few other things he didn’t look at closely.

Find out what below the fold.

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by | October 17, 2012 · 12:08 am

Maccabi Haifa! (WOLVES 114, Haifa, 81)

A mediocre photo of Brandon Roy, taken by me.

In what was either a coincidence or something related to the dismal crowd that showed up to face an Israeli opponent on a Tuesday Night when a 50/50 presidential election had a debate (okay, definitely the latter), I was able to sit close to the floor for the second straight [preseason] game.  This time, that meant seeing star defensive lineman, Kevin Williams, in the beer line.  It meant an up-close look at new Timberwolf Andrei Kirilenko (the guy never stops talking and moving–fun to see in person), and the unexpected meeting of Brandon Roy’s family.  His mom, wife and kids were all cheering for “Bran Bran” which tipped us off quickly who they were.  Super nice people who seem to like Minnesota.

A few things about the game:

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by | October 14, 2012 · 6:02 pm

Coming into Focus: 5 Things We (Think We) Know about the 2012-13 Timberwolves

What’s in store for the Wolves this season?

Sometimes you just want to know what the future holds. You look into your crystal ball, but all you see is fog, so you ransack your house looking for that Ouija board you got in college. You don’t find it, so you go on a peyote-fueled drive through the deserts of Mexico, looking for that shaman who your buddy says changed his life. You make it back into the States in one piece.

It’s three games into the Wolves preseason, and you’re now wondering if the Wolves are going to be any good this year. “Will they make the playoffs?” “What will Adelman’s rotations look like?” “Will Nikola Pekovic raze a village in frustration after a tough loss and get slapped with a season-long suspension?“

At Punch-Drunk Wolves, we have the answers. A few emerging impressions about this year’s team are below the fold.

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by | October 13, 2012 · 12:31 pm

Back to Target Center

Alexey Shved makes his Target Center debut tonight versus the Chicago Bulls.

Thank God that the short window of nice Minnesota weather is behind us and we can get back to our usual routine of spending 1 or 2 nights per week inside Target Center watching the Wolves, amiright?  The fun parts of preseason are seeing the new faces and looking for signs of change, good or bad, that could impact the team’s chances at regular (and post!) season success.  Two years ago at the home preseason debut, I was taken by how big and athletic Michael Beasley was, and the ease with which he could rise up for clear looks at the basket.  Though Beas has enough weaknesses to offset this strength, it has been one that serves him well in giving his team a scoring punch.  This was evident in a single viewing of a game that didn’t actually *matter*.  Last year was Ricky’s debut.  We did our best to temper enthusiasm, but the passes he was delivering were unlike anything we’d seen.  Ricky had eyes on all sides of his head, it seemed.  Like with Beasley’s dribble jumpers, Ricky’s passing wizardry carried over into the real games and he’s now one of the league’s most marketable young stars.

What should we keep an eye out for in tonight’s game against Chicago? Continue reading →

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