“We have to keep working. We know that we believe in us, and we have to keep believing.”
–Ricky Rubio
5 quick takeaways from tonight’s win:
1 – Hot Hand Luke
Luke Ridnour continued his hot shooting of late. He hit his patented runners, and his patented dribble baseline 15-footers. In all, he had 21 points on 9-14 shooting. Luke is shooting 59% over his last five games. He was big when it mattered most tonight, scoring 13 in the 4th Quarter including a dagger trey with 1:43 to play.
Filed under Timberwolves
It wasn’t easy. Despite building a 13-point lead late in the 3rd Quarter of Tuesday night’s game at Sacramento the Wolves found themselves in a dogfight in the closing minutes. With a minute to go, and holding just a 2-point lead, Andrei Kirilenko cracked the code of the annoying Kings zone defense, filling a seam, catching a pass and quickly flipping it over to Nikola Pekovic for an open layup. On the other end of the floor, AK47 swatted a crucial shot of DeMarcus Cousins. When he secured the loose-ball rebound himself, the game was in hand, with the five-game losing streak snapped. The Wolves controlled most of this game, and deserved the win. Since we’ve got another one tomorrow night (@ LA Clippers, 9:30 CST) I’m keeping it short, so we’re heading into the bullet format:
Filed under Timberwolves, Timberwolves Art
‘Reke rocks the party
A struggling Wolves squad limps into Sacramento tonight trying to break their five-game losing streak against the Kings. Can they do it?
A few weeks ago, this would’ve looked like a gimme. But not anymore.
The Wolves are in disarray. At 5-7, they’re already in the cellar of a solid Northwest Division, just behind the 6-8 Portland Trailblazers. But if the Wolves lose tonight and fall to 5-8, that gap is likely to wide further tomorrow, with Portland scheduled to take on the Winless Washington Wi’zards.They badly need a win.
Comments Off on Wolves vs. Kings: What to Watch For
Filed under Timberwolves
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.
Filed under Timberwolves
As of this moment there are five Western Conference teams within 1.5 games of each other, ranked 4 through 9. Having lost to the struggling Wolves today, Denver has slid to the bottom of that list, after tie-breakers are considered. In other words, today’s loss has temporarily removed them from the playoff picture. Which in Springtime NBA Land means that Denver really wanted this one, but couldn’t get it. The win, for the Wolves, means a bit more than the recent struggle over Golden State. Continue reading
Comments Off on The Love & Luke Show (WOLVES 117, Nuggets 100)
Filed under Uncategorized
When Paul Millsap missed a wide-open layup as the regulation buzzer sounded, it looked like the Wolves might actually steal this one from the Jazz. They had trailed Utah 92-80 with only 4 minutes to go before pulling off a miraculous comeback to force overtime. After a Pekovic basket tied the game with 0.7 seconds left, the Jazz ran a brilliant out of bounds play that nearly ended the Wolves hopes with a heroic shot. Instead, Paul’s heroics would come from steals in overtime (8 total for the game!) that sealed a win that Utah probably deserved all along.
Things were actually looking good for the first part of overtime. Wes Johnson (after a HORRENDOUS first four quarters of action) hit a pair of jumpers and pulled down a tough rebound, and had the Wolves leading 105-103 with 1:31 to go. But, the next Wolves possessions were as follows:
* With game tied, Luke Ridnour pass stolen by Paul Millsap.
* With Wolves down by 2, Martell Webster misses wide-f***ing-open corner trey.
* With Wolves down by 4, Paul Millsap steals ball from Kevin Love.
Each blunder was followed by Jazz points. Each blunder was inexcusable. So it goes.
A whole bunch of bullets:
* Ridnour, that last turnover notwithstanding, made A LOT of nifty assists in this game. He seemed to look for Pekovic frequently and found him rolling or sealing at the right times. Luke finished the game with 13 assists.
* Anthony Randolph Sighting! AR15 had 5 points and 3 steals in 12 minutes off the bench. He took the ball hard to the basket twice in the second half, each time not getting a call that could have been made. His biggest weakness right now is the rotation of big men that lie in front of him on the depth chart. All things considered, his play isn’t that bad. Those that incessantly rip on this guy are off base to some extent. Sure, his decision making will leave you shaking your head at times. But that happens with every player. Every other player doesn’t get you 17 & 8 per 36 on 50 percent shooting and hyperactive defense.
* Speaking of AR15 getting minutes, Coach went 10 deep tonight despite Mike Beasley being out with a sore toe. This cut deep into D-Thrill’s minutes. The rook played 16 total, while Randolph and Tolliver each played 12.
* This was Kevin Love’s best game of the year against Paul Millsap and the Jazz. But that isn’t necessary saying much. He took 23 shots to get his 25 points, numbers not befitting of his renowned efficiency. In three games versus Utah, he’s shooting just 29 percent from the field. Still, he did plenty of good things in this game (like pull down 16 rebounds) and can hardly be blamed for the result.
I’ll wrap this up with a brief take on the trade deadline (in)activity. The rumor mill had me and everyone else convinced that Mike Beasley was headed to Tinseltown in a three-teamer that would bring back two-guard chucker, Jamal Crawford. Jamal has plenty in common with Beasley as a jumpshooting player. One notable difference is that while Beasley at times seems conflicted about gunning, Jamal is unapologetic and perhaps unaware. He just chucks. And chucks. Would he have helped this team? Maybe. Maybe not. I have no idea.
But the reason that the deal did not happen is that one version had Portland requiring Luke Ridnour to come their way. If you have watched Luke play this year, you realize that this would not be a good thing. The other version had us taking on Derek Fisher’s contract, adding over $3 million to next year’s payroll. No thanks. There are legitimately-good wing players available in this coming free agency. Ray Allen, Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo, Nic Batum. I don’t know which the Wolves prefer most, but I have to believe they’ve got eyes on those guys and want as much dough as possible to toss their way. With Ricky out for this season, a rash decision to run at the 8-seed–particularly one that might not even be an upgrade over what Beasley provides–would have been a mistake. No trade was fine with me.
Season Record: 22-22
Comments Off on Millsap’d Again (JAZZ 111, Wolves 105)
Filed under Uncategorized
Was it a coincidence that the first seven quarters of Wolves ball that I missed in weeks were the first seven quarters of Ricky-less ball? Yes, actually. Saturday’s TV coverage was FUBAR’d by the NBA, with reciprocal blackouts for paying customers of NBA TV and paying customers of NBA League Pass. I actually thanked the NBA (to myself, at least) for this blunder. It sounds like I missed a wretched display by the home team. Tonight’s contest mostly conflicted with my men’s league game (we won, thanks for caring) so I was only able to listen to the 3rd Quarter on the drive home and watch the 4th on FSN.
Based on the box score, radio commentary, and my text inbox, it sounds like Mike Beasley, Derrick Williams and Nikola Pekovic collectively carried the Wolves through the first half as K-Love struggled with his shot. Beasley in particular (15 points on 6-7 shooting in 16 minutes, (tied for) team-high +8) must have been crucial to the 7-point halftime lead.
The radio broadcast of the third quarter sounded like Suns matchups of recent past. Al Horton repeatedly described Suns action begun by Steve Nash and finished by an open jump shooter. The Wolves 7-point lead quickly became a deficit. But then, as is happening more and more often, K-Love came to the rescue by bombing from outside. Love hit 5 threes in the second half (5-9 total for the game) en route to another 30-point game for the superstar.
Now, the part I was actually able to watch: the fourth quarter. Or as Magic Johnson and Roger Dodger call it, Winning Time.
The Key Players of #winningtime, in reverse order:
5. Derrick Williams – The rookie was on the court for the first 7:42 of the fourth and seemed to be involved in every play. He aggressively and stupidly goaltended a floating shot that had no chance of going in (sound familiar?) BUT–he got away with it, somehow. On offense, he hit a pair of square-up J’s, one from downtown, and converted his own backcourt steal into a dunk. Defense was another story. His “defense” on Channing Frye reminded of recent Kevin Love efforts against Magic stretch four, Ryan Anderson. Put simply, Williams does not want to guard out to 24 feet. You know why? He’s a power forward. (This dilemma of the stretch four is exactly why I want K-Love to embrace his own shooting talent, as he is doing of late.)
4. Channing Frye – As I just mentioned, Frye’s shooting was a problem. He entered the game with 8:26 to go with his team down by 2. He quickly hit a pair of 3’s, each giving his team the lead. While the Wolves were ultimately able to hold off the Suns, Frye’s sniping was nearly a deciding factor in the other direction.
3. Sebastian Telfair – Bassy played well in the last Wolves-Suns tilt, too. He must have it out for his old team or something. In the early part of this 4th Quarter he was pretty dominant, even if in ways that are UNSUSTAINABLE. When JJ went under a ball screen, Bassy buried the jumper. A moment later on another ball-screen sequence, he hit a three and D-Thrill fouled him for good measure and a fourth point. RIGHT AFTER THAT, he ripped Luke on a careless dribble and converted a layup. 8 quick points in the 4th Quarter.
2. Kevin Love – The MVP candidate had 13 points in the 4th Quarter, despite resting from 8:26 to 4:18. Not much else to say.
1. Luke Ridnour – Notwithstanding the turnover to Bassy, Luke was huge down the stretch. He made a layup with 4:35 to go, and a long 2 with 3:55 to go. With 1:50 to go he made a sick little hesitation move on Frye (I think) and an even-crazier layup in traffic with the shot clock winding down. He collected an offensive board with 1:15 to go and a key defensive board with 0:54 to go. With 17 seconds left and a 1-point lead, he calmly went to the line to extend it to 3 and help seal the win. Great Winning Time performance for Luke.
Nice to get a win. It’ll be interesting to see if any moves are made before the trade deadline on Thursday. Also on that day is the next game, a nationally televised (EXCEPT MAYBE IN MINNEAPOLIS!) contest against the Utah Jazz, a key rival for the 8-seed. Big Al scored 33 tonight on 14-18 shooting in an easy Jazz win, so we’ll have to have our interior defense ready to roll. Until then.
Season Record: 22-21
Filed under Uncategorized
THE PAU GASOL IDEA
RUMINT has it that the Lakers would throw in Pau's Ed Hardy shirt for a conditional second-rounder, which Kahn demanded as a part of any trade
Patrick J: With all rumors swirling around Pau Gasol, the only thing for a hard-up blogger to do is fire up the good ol’ trade machine.
Wolves get:
Pau Gasol
Darius Morris
Lakers get:
Michael Beasley
Derrick Williams
Wes Johnson
Luke Ridnour
PG – Rubio
SG – Barea
SF – Webster
PF – Love/Randolph/Tolliver
C – Gasol/Pekovic
6th man: Pekovic
The Wolves end up with a Pau, Ricky, K-Love core. Barea and Webster are arguably upgrades over Johnson and Ridnour as starters at the 2 & 3. Pek is a matchup nightmare against opposing teams’ second units. We still have one high-upside enigma with Anthony Randolph. (One’s enough, right?)
An elephant in the room common sense question is whether the Wolves would be competitive in a Pau Sweepstakes.
John Hollinger’s (Insider) column suggests the answer may be no:
“It’s not hard coming up with dance partners, that’s for sure. Send him to Houston for Luis Scola,Goran Dragic, Marcus Morris and Chase Budinger, and the Lakers suddenly fill four rotation spots with one deal while saving several million on luxury tax; deal him to Indiana for David West,George Hill and Dahntay Jones and you accomplish a similar feat. These aren’t the only possibilities; one can build similar trades with several other teams, ones that don’t bring back a talent on Gasol’s level but plug so many gaps that it may be worth it anyway.”
Can a Williams/Beasley/Ridnour/Johnson package compete with Scola/Dragic/Morris/Budinger or West/Hill/Jones? We know the Rockets really want Gasol, and that’d be a pretty strong offer. What do you think?
Filed under Timberwolves
As you probably know, the Wolves have twice defeated the defending-champion Mavericks in this short season, each game by a decided margin of victory. Although I joined the excitement of other Wolves fans about last year’s worst dominating last year’s best, it was impossible not to notice two things about those games:
1) In the first game, Dirk wasn’t Dirk (as Bill Simmons explained yesterday, Dirk showed up for training camp way out of shape, not yet recovering from the championship hangover).
2) In the second game, Dirk wasn’t playing. (His legs were broken down from playing his way into shape, for the above reason.)
Last night’s game would include neither of those beneficial factors. After beginning the season 3-5, Dallas had won 12 of its last 18 games, returning to contender form. After his worst start to a season in over a decade, Dirk had finally caught fire. In the three games leading up to last night’s, Dirk was averaging over 26 points per game on 61.5 percent shooting. It appeared as though he’d be the matchup nightmare that fans have grown accustomed to watching.
Comments Off on The Return of Dirk (Mavericks 104, WOLVES 97)
Filed under Timberwolves
Nobody quite knew what to predict for Minny’s first game of the season without its best player. In fact, PJ published two separate posts in anticipation and speculation on exactly how this should shake out. While the Kings are pretty lousy, they were coming off three consecutive wins and had big man DeMarcus Cousins playing the best basketball of his short career. To eek out a win, even if ugly and way-too-close for comfort, is impressive in Love’s absence.
No Love
First things first: How did they do at replacing Kevin Love?
Filed under Timberwolves
Luke Ridnour had 25 pts and 9 asts in Monday's victory over Sacramento
Wesley Johnson, the player selected fourth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft in large part due to shooting prowess, is now hitting 31.7 percent of all shots from the floor and 12.5 percent of three-point attempts. So, why did Johnson log 34 minutes on a night when his shooting woes (3-11 total; 0-4 3PT) continued? My only guess is that the coaches felt that the matchups dictated Wes being out there. JOHN SALMONS! is actually a pretty good isolation scorer. He’s played this role on decent teams (Chicago, Milwaukee) unlike many nondescript ballers of his ilk. Wes, shooting struggles aside, stayed right with Salmons all night, leaving the scoring specialist with a 4-11 shooting line, with 11 points and 2 turnovers. In this respect, Wes did his job. But man–he’s missing WIDE OPEN SHOTS. Wayne Ellington is not missing these shots and is a noticeably-better offensive player than the second-year wing from The ‘Cuse.
The Wolves hit a rough patch in the 2nd Quarter. After a pair of Derrick Williams free throws (his only points of the evening–more on this below) the Wolves led 30-22. Over the next 11:21 to end the half, the Kings ripped off a 24-12 stretch that had Wolves fans a little-bit restless at the break. Much of these struggles was directly attributable to missing jumpshots. On some of these–particularly with Derrick Williams and Kevin Love–there was hesitation to shoot after a solid pass, usually from Rubio. I thought we were done with this. The Rule of Rubio is that he passes, you shoot. How many of the great Wolves moments from this early season HAVEN’T been tied to catch-and-shoot basketball? In any case, the Wolves went to halftime with a 4-point deficit and some talking points ready made for the coaching staff.
In the third, the shooting wasn’t hot, but the Wolves (specifically, Kevin Love) grinded it out with a combination of free throws and better defense. Love had 11 points total in the quarter, en route to a 33-point, 11-rebound, 3-assist, 2-steal gem of a performance. This was classic Love, baiting officials into questionable foul calls, and hitting opportune jumpers to break the opponent’s back. His interaction with the refs reached a tipping point tonight, earning him a technical foul and later flirting with an ejection. He is quickly approaching the Kobe and LeBron level of getting utmost respect from the refs, and giving thanks by way of whiny gestures. Oh well — it’s a lot-less annoying when it’s your team getting the calls. On this night Love was a team-best (+22).
The lid came all the way off the basket in the fourth, with Ellington, Ridnour and Love taking turns making it rain at Target Center. After a Jason Thompson dunk cut the lead to 1 (72-71) Adelman called timeout. The Wolves then proceeded to a 27-15 closing stretch over 8:51. Rubio hit a trey to extend the lead to 9 at the 5:11 mark and swung a fist of celebration to the crowd. This was a frustrating game for him, in part due to his own misfiring on jumpers (3-10 total) but also because teammates (Darko, Wes, Pekovic) blew easy scoring opportunities that only Ricky can provide. Pekovic and Milicic, as was pointed out by David Thorpe who attended this game, are not at all Rubio’s kinda guys on the court. His (-3) was a rare negative +/- for the young phenom.
All in all, it was a hard-fought win against a bad team. In years past, a win was a win was a win. Since this year is DIFFERENT (the Wolves currently own a 0.5 game edge over the BOSTON CELTICS!) a struggle-fest against the Kings that requires a Wellington Bailout feels less satisfying. I hope they dispose of the shitty Pistons on Wednesday with relative ease.
A few bullets:
* DeMarcus Cousins can’t get no respect. I don’t even mean this as a joke–sure, he invites criticism by his constant whining, but so does Kendrick Perkins and it doesn’t seem to prevent Perk from getting a call or two. Cousins must have been hacked or pushed a half dozen times in this game by the Serbian-Montenagran combo of Darko and Pek. He shot 0 free throws for his efforts and was called for 4 fouls of his own in 25 minutes of action. From my view it looked like the refs had it out for the enigmatic big man. For what it was worth, he hit some nice jumpers and really does show off excellent footwork. For his sake, I hope he finds some sort of comfort level in the NBA so we can all watch his talent on a consistent basis. The league needs more talented bigs to balance out this wave of awesome lead guards.
* Since Rubio looks like the business as a true point guard, I’ll make what some might consider to be a BOLD STATEMENT: Steph Curry wouldn’t be any better for this team than Luke Ridnour is. Luke is playing off the ball now, and is shooting as well as any Timberwolf I can ever remember. He had 25 points and 9 assists tonight on 10-14 shooting (4-4 from 3.) Curry is an awesome point guard, but if you’re sticking each slightly-built point guard off the ball, I don’t see a big difference between he and Luke Ridnour. Not only did Luke shoot well tonight, but he also defended Marcus Thornton just fine. I doubt very much that Curry would have been able to handle that matchup the way Ridnour did. (OBVIOUS REBUTTAL: Curry would have trade value that Luke doesn’t.)
* The Kings might improve some if Francisco Garcia played more. He “fits in” out there and doesn’t need to dominate the ball. They’ve got a surplus of ball-dominant wings (without a single true point) who like to slash. The lone saving grace is that they penetrate-and-kick. On some similarly-built offenses (the Dunleavy-led Clips come to mind) the isolation is without passing. Sacramento doesn’t seem quite as selfish as they do mismanaged. Jimmer was a stupid draft pick for that roster.
* Pekovic fouls on damn-near every possession. He was called for 4 tonight in 16 minutes and none of those were the time he threw DMC to the ground after a missed free throw.
* Derrick Williams made exactly one move tonight that got me excited. He squared up a defender from 14 feet and went right at him to the cup. This is the Amar’e stuff that he seems to have the potential to try. He got fouled and made a pair of free throws; his only points. The next time he found himself on the elbow with one-on-one coverage, he looked lost and passed it off after a hesitation. He is battling some confidence issues. Given this team’s propensity to start chucking from three (perhaps the best way to win games, right now) it sure would be nice if it could incorporate D-Thrill as an interior scoring presence.
Season Record: 5-8
Filed under Timberwolves
Punch-Drunk Wolves 