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Minnesota Timberwolves 87, Washington Wizards 82

March 7, 2013 by
Jim Mone/Associated Press

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Game Summary:

On Wednesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves faced off at home against the Washington Wizards in a battle of two lottery-bound teams. The Wizards and Timberwolves entered the game with 19 and 20 wins, respectively, despite beginning the season with aspirations for a postseason berth. Washington was without rising rookie Bradley Beal, who injured his ankle after a nasty fall in Washington’s recent win over the 76ers. Beal narrowly escaped with only a sprained ankle, and will likely be out for up to another week.

Unsurprisingly, Minnesota was also without two of their starters in Andrei Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic as both have been ravaged by a myriad of small injuries since the All-Star break. Mickael Gelabale and Greg Stiemsma started in their places in what was sure to be a snoozefest for the devoted fans who continue to occupy the graveyard atmosphere that the Target Center has once again become.

The matchup of Ricky Rubio and John Wall was sure to be a captivating one at that, with the first overall pick of the 2009 draft versus the fifth overall pick from the same draft. With both players standing at 6-foot-4, the game featured a matchup of two of the tallest point guards in the NBA despite having very skill sets. Wall, not known for his shooting, started off the game by knocking down several mid-range jumpers that are considered one of his weaknesses. Rubio started the game sagging off Wall by a step or two in order to take away his elite ability to get to the rim, and the former Kentucky standout responded by showing off an uncharacteristic soft touch from 16-18 feet. With the Wizards leading 29-24 after the first quarter, Wall had hit all 4 of his field goal attempts. Rubio held his own as he recorded 6 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the opening period.

The Wolves did a much better job on the defensive end in the second quarter as the tandem of Dante Cunningham and Chris Johnson provided strong interior defense. Johnson, who has received sporadic minutes since Rick Adelman returned from missed time, was pure energy and hustle during his minutes in the first half. The long and skinny Johnson pushed the tempo beating the defense down the court and converted all three of his field goal attempts. Although Johnson is mainly receiving minutes due to the absence of Pekovic from the lineup, he continues to produce in the minutes he receives and is consistently the first Pup down the court on offense and the first player back on defense.

Leading 48-43 after the first half behind 51% shooting. The two teams sparred in the third quarter as neither club was able to get hot shooting the ball or creating opportunities in the half-court offense. The Wolves headed into the final quarter of play with a 65-63 lead.

One of the highlights of the fourth quarter came from Luke Ridnour in an uncharacteristic display of frustration with the officiating as he chucked the ball down the court following a no-call on a drive. Washington shot ahead to a 73-65 lead and it began to appear as if the Wolves were headed towards another fourth-quarter collapse. However, our Catalan leader put together another near quadruple-double and JJ Barea knocked down some key looks and the Wolves ended their losing streak, winning 87-82.

Notable Performances:

Martell Webster, after being cut by Minnesota before the season, entered the game with the second-best three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. Ironically, the Wolves are currently the worst three-point shooting team in the league. Starting for the Wizards at Small Forward, Webster logged 41 minutes of playing time despite only knocking down 2 of his 8 long-range attempts.

Derrick Williams put up a respectable line of 16 points and 8 rebounds, but shot just 4-12 from the field and struggled mightily after a strong first quarter.

Trevor Ariza continued his strong play of late as he recorded 16 points (4-10 FG, 3-7 3PT), 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes. Ariza was acquired by the Wizards along with Emeka Okafor last summer in hopes of boosting Washington into playoff contention.

Keys of the Game:

  • Turnovers - Washington shot themselves in the foot time and time again and they committed 24 turnovers to only 14 by Minnesota.
  • Personal Fouls - As if the game was not made sloppy enough by all of Washington’s turnovers, they committed an absurd 29 personal fouls and essentially handed Minnesota the game in the final period of play.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Ricky Rubio - This selection is a no-brainer. For the second time since the All-Star break, Ricky legitimately flirted with the mystic quadruple-double as he finished the night with 15 points (4-15 FG), 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals in 38 minutes. Although he had another tough game shooting the ball, Tricky Ricky provided for the Wolves in so many different ways on both ends of the floor and willed the team to victory.
  2. John Wall - Wall showed a lot of improvement in his game especially in his ability to knock down the mid-range jumper. As tremendous of a player as Wall is, there still remains many areas in which he will need to master if he is to become the superstar that he was predicted to be when he was selected with the first pick. Wall finished the night with 19 points (7-15 FG), 7 assists, 3 steals and 6 turnovers in 39 minutes.
  3. JJ Barea - JJ came up big in the fourth quarter and was one of the only Wolves who could make a shot in the second half. He held his own on defense despite having enormous size disadvantages in his matchups and was able to provide 12 points in 23 minutes off of the bench.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 94, Los Angeles Lakers 116

March 1, 2013 by
Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Game Summary:

In the second of their three-game road trip, the Timberwolves squared off against the steadily-improving Los Angeles Lakers on a court that they had previously lost the past twelve games on. Without starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko, matters were made worse as the Wolves lost yet another important member of their squad due to injury. Behind a terrific night from reigning Western Conference Player of the Week Kobe Bryant, the Lakers blew out the Wolves 116-94 as they continue to claw their way back from a terrible start to the season.

To be fair, Minnesota kept it close… for one quarter. One of the key matchups of the game was that of Dwight Howard vs. Nikola Pekovic, two of the biggest and strongest players in the league. Early on, Pek did a good job of establishing inside position while Ricky Rubio did a brilliant job of finding him for easy looks on multiple occasions. However, the after playing only 9 minutes, Pekovic was forced to head to the locker room late in the first quarter with what turned out to be an abdominal strain. His prognosis came out in the second period as we learned that Pek would miss the remainder of the game and would be out indefinitely. The big fella finished with 8 points (4-6 FG) and 3 rebounds.

With injuries completely obliterating Minnesota’s depth, the Wolves looked to young Derrick Williams to do his best against, ugh, Kobe Bryant. While D-Will did not do a terrible job guarding Kobe, he had very little help from his teammates as the Timberwolves were very slow rotating and closing gaps on defense.

The Lakers came out of the gate with some hot shooting which foreshadowed what was to happen for the rest of the contest. To Minnesota’s credit, they were severely under-manned and the Lakers had several blatant mismatches to exploit. Minnesota hung around in the first period as they did a good job of spacing the floor while Ricky dazzled the LA fans with some incredible passing.

The Timberwolves trailed Los Angeles 28-22 heading into the second quarter. With no Pekovic in the lane, the Lakers were able to effectively stretch the floor on offense leading to many open three-point opportunities, which they knocked down at a high rate. Offensively, the Timberwolves had a very difficult time creating offense with Rubio getting a breather. Alexey Shved had a difficult time against the physical LA perimeter defense, and he did not do the Wolves a favor by continually settling for long two-point  shots. Defensively, the Wolves were awful on their rotations as noone pushed out to contest shots on the perimeter. Getting the start for AK-47, Dante Cunningham was ice-cold and could not hit his 18-footer that he loves so much.

At the half, Los Angeles led the Pups 57-47. My observations of the first two periods are as follows:

  • Luke Ridnour had the hot hand for Minnesota, knocking down two corner threes and hitting just about everything he took.
  • Dwight’s duties were made incredibly easy without Pekovic in the lane, and the self-proclaimed “Chocolate Shoulders” did a phenomenal job of protecting the rim against the team that finishes at the rim worse than any other NBA team.
  • The Wolves could be seen with three point guards on the court at times, and if that doesn’t make you wince, you need help.
  • Can’t say enough about Rubio, he was the only thing keeping this game from exploding into nightmare in the first half.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody watching, the Lakers controlled the game in the second half with the game getting ugly in the final quarter. Despite three strong overall performances by Ridnour, JJ Barea, and Rubio, the size differential between the two teams completely inhibited the Pups’ ability to compete on both ends of the floor. I could continue to elaborate on the second half, but I will save you the misery.

Notable Performances:

  • Jodie Meeks made 4 of his 9 three-point attempts after missing his first 3 tries from deep, and reminded LA fans why they went out and got him last offseason.
  • Steve Blake had a highly productive 25 minutes finishing the night with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists off the bench.
  •  Luke Ridnour did just about everything he could have done for Minnesota and his great performance will most likely be overlooked by the end result of the game. Ridnour scored 19 points (7-10 FG, 2-4 3PT) and added 3 steals in an efficient offensive performance.
  • Derrick Williams played 39 minutes and was a game-worst -26 on the floor. I do not want to rag on him too much because he was asked to play out of position guarding Kobe. Williams contributed 15 points (6-14 FG), 8 rebounds and 3 turnovers in a long night for the second-year player.

Keys of the Game:

  • Three-point shooting - I cannot emphasize enough the importance that perimeter shooting played in this one. The Lakers used the simple formula of feeding the ball into the post drawing Minnesota defenders into the interior, while Howard and other Lakers bigs found their open teammates waiting contently on the outside for wide-open three-pointers. LA converted a ridiculous 16 of their 32 attempts from deep as Minnesota shot a reasonable 7-21 themselves.
  • Rebounding - LA 49, MN 35. No Pek + no AK + no Love = no rebounding. It’s a pretty simple formula.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Kobe Bryant - Oh boy, was the Black Mamba hot tonight. Kobe finished with 33 points (13-22 FG, 4-8 3PT), 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes tonight. He showed off his range with a couple of very deep three-pointers and posterized Pekovic before the big man ultimately left with injury.
  2. Dwight Howard - Loved what I saw from the Dwightmare, who completely set the tone for LA defensively. The soon-to-be unrestricted free agent is beginning to come into his own as a Laker and in 33 minutes finished with 11 points (5-6 FG), 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.
  3. Ricky Rubio - Rubio came very close to recording his first career triple-double but fell 2 rebounds short, as he finished the night with 13 points (5-11 FG), 13 assists, 8 rebounds and 4 turnovers in 33 minutes. I am sure many Laker fans left the Staples Center satisfied of what they saw from the young Spaniard.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 99, Golden State Warriors 100

February 24, 2013 by
Photo Credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty

Photo Credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty

For this afternoon’s game, John and I spontaneously decided to co-author the recap of the Timberwolves 100-99 home loss to the Golden State Warriors so that you can ponder the thoughts of two bummed-out Wolves fans instead of one. Enjoy.

Game Summary

Big Al:

Luke Ridnour’s last second floater over a trailing defender went up and rimmed out just moments before the buzzer sounded, completing the Warriors come-from-behind victory separated by a single point. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the first quarter, Golden State overcame Minnesota’s 5-point fourth quarter cushion and narrowly escaped with the victory on a night where nothing seemed to be going right for the playoff-destined Warriors.

Losing their tenth game when possessing a lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves imploded in the final period and were impacted by questionable officiating throughout the contest.

The imposing Golden State frontcourt featuring All-Star David Lee and backup extraordinare Carl Landry got off to a very slow start as Nikola Pekovic and Williams established themselves on the low block. The Pups displayed strong ball movement in the interior courtesy of some fancy passes from Andrei Kirilenko.

Andrew Bogut, who was acquired last season in a trade involving Monta Ellis, did not travel to Minnesota for Sunday’s matchup after an MRI revealed a disk protrusion which was causing back spasms. The 7-foot center has been one of the most injury-riddled players in the entire association since being taken with the first pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Bogut, who has been limited to only 12 games since returning from surgery on his troublesome ankle, has not been worth his $13 million price tag since arriving in Oakland. The Warriors hope Bogut can be healthy in time for the playoffs when they will greatly need him for their frontcourt depth.

John:

The Wolves jumped out to a very strong start, taking an 18-6 lead heading into the first timeout and receiving positive contributions from everyone in the starting lineup.  At the same time, Stephen Curry picked up two quick fouls and had to take an early seat on the bench.  This normally would have been a net-positive for the Wolves, but Jarrett Jack came in and hit two quick three pointers.

If it weren’t for Jack, the Warriors would have been down quite a bit more.  Jack had 11 of the Warriors 18 points in the 1st quarter.  However, he couldn’t contain the strong play of the Wolves, who filled the highlight reel in the first twelve minutes.  Rubio, Pekovic, Kirilenko and Williams all had very strong 1st quarters.  At the end of the 1st, the Wolves held a 32-18 lead.

Slowly but surely, the Warriors cut the Pups lead throughout the 2nd quarter.  With under a minute to go, Golden State cut the lead to one point due to poor execution on both ends of the court.  The quarter got a little chippy between the two teams with Jack and Stiemsma going at it a bit.  The officials were letting the teams play through a lot of banging and slapping in the paint.

At the end of the first half, the Wolves held a 55-52 lead.  Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • Minnesota dominated the paint, particularly in the 1st quarter and needed to revert back to this quickly (36 points for the Pups vs. 20 for GSW in the first half)
  • A very nice team effort from the Wolves in the first half, with four players in double digits
  • Rubio was doing a little bit of everything – 4 points, rebounds, and steals, to go along with 5 assists

Despite some questionable officiating, the Wolves were able to maintain their lead through the 3rd quarter, going into final 12 minutes, holding an 81-76 lead.  Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio helped lead the charge for the Wolves in the quarter, playing the entire twelve minutes and putting in a number of highlights.  In fact, Williams led the Pups with 18 and 11, putting up another double-double in only three quarters.

Big Al:

As mentioned above, the Wolves dropped their tenth game after heading into the final quarter with the lead, which leads the NBA. Minnesota’s woes in the fourth quarter were largely due to their inability to hit the long ball (0-7 in the final quarter) and too many mental and physical mistakes leading to 5 fourth-quarter turnovers. Jack and Curry each hit big shots in the final minute to seal the victory while Minnesota couldn’t buy a basket (AK-47 wide-open airball, Ridnour missed floater).

Keys of the Game

  • Three-point Shooting - The most blatant difference between Minnesota and Golden State revolves around the two teams ability (and inability in the Wolves’ case) to knock down three-pointers. The Pups shot a horrendous 1-11 from downtown while the Warriors converted on 7 of their 17 attempts. Jack was an assassin from deep as he drilled 5 of his 7 three-point attempts.
  • Free throws - In games that are ultimately separated by a few points, it is easy to point to missed free throws as the scapegoat. While the results of a game extend much further than a couple of missed attempts at the charity stripe, it must be noted how significant Rubio’s only missed free throw was following his and-1 late in the final period. Golden State got it down from the line as they converted 19 of their 23 tries (83%), while Minnesota hit just 24 of their 31 tries.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Jarrett Jack - What a game for the Warriors 6-man as he finished the night with 23 points (8-19 FG, 5-7 3PT), 8 assists, 5 rebounds and only 2 turnovers in 36 minutes. Jack, who is playing for his fifth team in eight NBA seasons, is enjoying what may very well be his best season of his career off the bench for the Warriors. The former Georgia Tech standout has become the leader of one of the top second units in the league, and will undoubtedly be a leading candidate for the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year award.
  2. Ricky Rubio - Although he appeared shook and heartily disappointed with the end result, Ricky provided a ridiculous performance in which he gave a legitimate run at a quadruple-double finishing with the line of 16 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 6 turnovers in 39 minutes for the Wolves. Turnovers were a problem and he had a tough time shooting the ball (3-10 FG), but he affected the game in so many ways that his shortcomings were easily overlooked. The Spaniard gave tremendous effort on both sides of the ball all night and made Stephen Curry earn every point that he got this afternoon.
  3. David Lee - Big night for the All-Star following a slow start for the big fella. Lee notched a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds and was a big part of the Warriors late-game run which culminated in the Warriors stealing a game on the first night of their 5-game road trip.

 

 

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Minnesota Timberwolves 94, Philadelphia 76ers 87

February 21, 2013 by
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jim Mone

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jim Mone

Game Summary

The Minnesota Timberwolves opened up the second half of the 2012-13 NBA season on a positive note with a 94-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Target Center on Wednesday behind a huge performance from Nikola Pekovic. Andrei Kirilenko returned for the Pups after missing the previous five games for the injury-riddled T-Wolves, and Minnesota wore out Philly’s bigs with their length and versatility.

Minnesota shot over 59% in the first quarter and led the 76ers 35-25 behind strong play from Derrick Williams as well as Pekovic. Williams looked very comfortable in the offense and attempted and drilled a few mid-range jumpers that we have grown accustomed to seeing him pass up. What impressed me most from D-Will early on was that he was rarely idle with the ball in his hands and that he appeared to flow with the rest of the Wolves in the offense.

The Pups maintained their hot shooting in the second half, stretching their lead to 53-34 with 2:50 to play in the second quarter. The Wolves second unit thrived against a Philadelphia team that is weak in frontcourt depth after the the loss of talented forward Thaddeus Young to a strained hamstring.

76ers head coach Doug Collins responded to the Timberwolves physicality in the paint by replacing starters Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen with Kwame Brown and Damien Wilkins to start the second half. Philly’s lone All-Star, Jrue Holiday, picked up his fourth personal foul half way through the third quarter and the short-handed 76ers were forced to fight for buckets without their greatest offensive threat on the court.

Philly clawed their way back in the third quarter and trailed the Pups 76-67 heading into the final quarter of play. Minnesota focused their offense on feeding Pekovic on the low block, and Pek responded by wearing out the opposing frontcourt on his way to a 27-point, 18-rebound night. The 76ers could not compete with the Wolves’ length in a game that new 76er Andrew Bynum could have played a big part in had his knees not faltered this season. The soon-to-be unrestricted free agent has yet to play a game for Philadelphia after being acquired in last summer’s blockbuster trade that sent Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and Andre Igoudala to Denver. Bynum, who is expected to demand a max-contract offer this summer, may very likely never play a single game for Philly as the organization pays a high premium for the gamble they took on the All-Star center.

The Pups went ice cold in the final period of play and allowed the 76ers to come within 4 points with a minute left to play. Minnesota left the game wide-open with very poor shooting down the stretch, but fortunately Philly matched their shooting incompetence. Despite shooting an atrocious 1-12 from the field in the fourth quarter, Minnesota held on to take this one by a score of 94-87.

Timberpups Notable Performances

  • Ricky Rubio played 29 minutes and was a +10 on the floor although committing 6 turnovers and 5 personal fouls. While it was not the greatest performance from the Spaniard, he was able to make a large impact on the defensive end and provided 3 steals and 6 rebounds. On offense, Ricky was a great facilitator in the second half and created many easy scoring opportunities for his teammates despite their shooting woes. He scored 9 of his 11 points from the free throw line and also tallied 6 assists.
  • Evan Turner had a tough time finishing at the rim but had an overall decent performance finishing with 17 points (6-16 FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 4 turnovers in 36 minutes. The former number-2 overall selection from Ohio State has had mixed results as a pro, but Philly continues to display their confidence in him by looking to him as one of the focal points of their offense. While I am not yet sold on Turner, I continue to be intrigued with his prototypical combination of size, length, athleticism and vision. He needs to improve his efficiency on the offensive end, and if he does he very well could play a role similar to the one Andre Igoudala played so many seasons for Philadelphia.

Keys of the Game

  • Rebounding - MN 51, PHI 39. Pekovic pulled down a game-high 18 boards for the Wolves and established deep inside positioning on both ends of the floor as he grabbed 7 of the Pups’ 10 offensive rebounds. Spencer Hawes led the 76ers with 8 rebounds.
  • Free Throws - Despite hitting 3 less field goals than Philly, the Wolves did work at the charity stripe as they converted 33 of their 44 free throw attempts while the 76ers were only able to convert 21 of 32. Philadelphia struggled with foul trouble in the fourth quarter and committed a ridiculous 30 team fouls compared to 23 by Minnesota.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Nikola Pekovic - Impressive night for Pek as he was the clear MVP of the game last night. Exploding for 27 points and 18 rebounds in a game-high 41 minutes played, Pek made mincemeat of the interior defense brought on by the 76ers frontcourt. I would have thoroughly enjoyed watching Pek battle against the monstrous Bynum who continues to sit with arthritic knees, but it is merely a pipe dream as the Wolves finished their season series against the 76ers last night.
  2. Derrick Williams - After his 24-point, 16-rebound effort against Utah in Minnesota’s last game before the All-Star break, Derrick had another strong performance against the 76ers with 17 points (7-12 FG), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 36 minutes. D-Will is beginning to look comfortable in the offense and is finally starting to take more of the open looks he receives which is very good news for his development as a pro. The less Derrick is thinking on the court, the more he is going to allow his instincts to take over. Going forward, he will need to continue to trust himself and to let the game come to him. It is pretty amazing to think that he is still only 21 years of age.
  3. Jrue Holiday - The 22-year-old All-Star fouled out after 35 minutes but finished with the line of 16 points (7-17 FG), 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds and 4 turnovers. Holiday was presented with tremendous perimeter defense from Rubio and had a difficult time penetrating the Wolves half-court defense in order to create plays.
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Timberwolves 2013 Mid-Season Roundtable

February 18, 2013 by
How will the second half fare for Ricky Rubio?

How will the second half fare for Ricky Rubio and the Timberwolves?

Welcome to the Minnesota Timberwolves 2013 Mid-Season Roundtable. We have gathered some of the most devoted Timberwolves minds from the web in order to debate some of the hottest topics surrounding the Timberpups’ current state of affairs. Joining me in this effort are Howlin’ T-Wolf’s own Derek James (@DerekJamesNBA), Andy Grimsrud (@PDWolves) of Punch-Drunk Wolves, Ben McDonald (@BenMac_STOB) of STOB Blog, and Timberpups very own John Flesta (@jflesta).

 

1. What is the Timberwolves biggest need, what can they do to address it, and when is it appropriate to do so?  (Trade, Draft, Free Agency)

 

Alex Glennon, Timberpups:

The Timberwolves rank dead last in the NBA in three-point shooting and currently lack a legitimate shooting guard on the team’s entire roster. To put into persepective the importance of three-point shooting, take a look at the top 6 three-point shooting ball clubs in the league as it currently stands: Golden State, OKC, Miami, San Antonio, Atlanta, and New York. Each of these teams are headed to the playoffs and have versatile rosters which allow for a much more balanced offensive attack that does not rely too heavily on one area of scoring.

Obviously, the loss of last season’s three-point champion in Kevin Love was a huge blow for a team with very little shooting depth, but this season has put spotlight on the Timberwolves’ desperate need for perimeter shooting and a real, legitimate shooting guard who thrives when playing off-ball. Alexey Shved has been a pleasant surprise this season, but the fact remains that he is not a traditional shooting guard and he should not be looked at as the future starting 2-guard for this team. Depending on Minnesota’s draft position (and number of first-round picks) it would most likely be a good idea to find a youngster to throw into the mix for next season, but I believe that the Timberwolves brass must do everything in their power this summer to bring in an accomplished sharp-shooter to man the position. Some possibilities that immediately come to mind are JJ Redick, Kevin Martin, Anthony Morrow, and Kyle Korver.

Derek James, Howlin’ T-Wolf – Rufus on Fire: 

Shooters, right? Of course, injuries will help with this some once Kevin Love and Chase Budinger get healthy, but after them, there still aren’t a ton of guys on this roster that are capable of stretching the floor. As a result of all of these injuries, the Timberwolves have become the leagues most dismal shooting team, and it’s no doubt cost them some games. It sure didn’t help that the Brandon Roy gamble didn’t pay off because that would’ve meant having an extra shooter at their disposal. As far as fixing it, I don’t feel like trades are the answer at this point, and I don’t know enough about the draft to really say there. So, that likely means seeing what niche players are out on the market this summer.

John Flesta, Timberpups:

Yes, shooters are the answer to this question.  I agree with Derek, I don’t necessarily see the ultimate fix being via trade, specifically before the forthcoming deadline.  If we can get rid of Barea (OK fine, Ridnour) for a complementary piece that would help next season and beyond, that would be nice. Ideally, that would just help balance out the rotations a bit more vs. having to use multiple PG’s all the time.   However, I think the long term answer is most likely found in the draft with a lot of luck or in free agency.

Andy Grimsrud, Punch-Drunk Wolves:

The cop-out answer is that the Timberwolves’ biggest need is a healthy Kevin Love.  Love is a great player in any system, because of his elite rebounding and foul-drawing abilities.  But his jumper — and the way it stretches opposing defenses — is what is missed most, right now.  The Wolves are dead last in the NBA in three-point shooting accuracy, and by a significant margin.  In that Thursday night TNT game versus the Thunder, Love teased us (by shooting well, with his bad hand) with a sampling of what could be with this team of Rubio/Shved, Love, and Nikola Pekovic.  Great passing, shooting, and interior scoring looked incredible for one night.  But Love’s hand hasn’t been right ever since he broke it and that needs repair more than this team needs anything else.

Outside of the current roster?  A wing that can shoot threes, defend and run the floor would be helpful.  Maybe that’s Chase Budinger?  Mickael Gelabale?  I’m not sure, but I think a team led by Ricky Rubio should do more damage in transition than it is doing, right now.  Some speed and shooting ability would help.  

Ben McDonald, STOB Blog:

I have an ongoing discussion going with a buddy about this.  I vote we need a shooting guard most. He argues small forward is more an area of need.

My argument is that Shved is our only true shooting guard, as Budinger over his career has played most often, and his best, at the small forward position.  I’m yet to see if Malcolm Lee will ever be a competent NBA player to the extent we can trust him to be the backup to Shved.  Following this year, I never…EVER…want to see Ridnour starting at shooting guard for this team.  I’m flat embarrassed for our team when Ridnour is being posted up by the likes of Kobe Bryant.  It isn’t Luke’s fault and I applaud him for battling the way he does with the mismatches he has to face almost nightly.

My buddy’s argument is that once AK’s contract is up after next year he will either A) leave or B) start showing his age to the point that we become very thin at small forward especially since it seems D-Will isn’t going to become a small forward anytime soon.  We’d be left with (if we re-sign him) Budinger as our only true small forward.

I look to the best in the league and see how I can copy them.  The old “if you can’t beat em, join em” holds true.  One of Miami’s most effective lineups according the 82games.com is Wade-Allen-Battier-James-Bosh.  In affect, they play a SG/SG/SF/Freak/PF lineup.  If you are one that needs the assignment of positions to all basketball players and wants a PG/SG/SF/PF/C perfect lineup every time, then this is sacrilegious, but it works.  With that in mind I’m trying to fight that instinct the more I see the game transition away from pigeon holed position players, to more diversely skilled and sized players working together without the worry of position.

With that being said, the Wolves biggest need to me is a wing player.  Honestly, if we could just clone the Budinger we were seeing in those few precious games we got from him earlier this year, that’d be the guy I’m looking for.  Can play multiple positions, has good size, athleticism, can hit an open shot, attacks the rim and is basketball smart.

To acquire this type of player I truly think the draft will be our best bet.  Looks like we’ll be in the lottery, maybe Stern throws us a bone for once and we win the thing.  Then we get Ben McLemore and live happily ever after.  Otherwise if we get everyone back healthy at the end of this season and D-Will starts warming the bench more than the nets, and we get a late lottery pick, I look to trade up in the draft or just a trade using D-Will and our pick in hopes of grabbing that guy.

 

2. Nikola Pekovic is sure to garner a lot of attention this summer and may even receive a max-contract offer sheet. With that being said, what should the Timberwolves do with their Montenegrin bruiser? Is he worth matching a max contract extension should he receive one? If he is not worth a max contract, how much money is he worth?

 

Alex Glennon:

Here is where David Kahn’s situation gets very tricky. How do you value a player who has been injured a significant percentage of his time during his first three years in the league, but when healthy, has been one of the most destructive scorers on the low block. Last season, Nikola Pekovic held the highest offensive rebounding percentage in the NBA and got jipped out of the Most Improved Player award after averaging 13.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg with an astounding 21.47 PER. The 27-year-old Montenegrin center has proven to be an ideal teammate and student of the game and has gained the admiration from a future Hall of Fame coach and a highly regarded assistant coaching staff.

Here is my take on the Pek situation: listen to trade offers before the deadline in case another team offers a great haul of cheap and young assets, but otherwise match any offer that Pek shall receive. It is no secret that Minnesota owner Glen Taylor has a long history of taking the “cheap” route in free agency, and I do not know if I trust the Timberwolves management to make use of the extra cap space should they decide not to match a Pekovic offer sheet. Pek is simply too important for the future of this team and gives Minnesota a presence on both ends of the floor that few teams get from the center position.

Derek James:

The Pekovic situation isn’t an easy one. He will get attention, and likely a lucrative offer. Being able to re-sign him will also be determined by how willing the organization is to go over the cap to keep him, which they can do since they have his Bird Rights. Somewhere between $10-$12m to keep him makes a lot of sense. Let’s be careful not to overrate our own player here, and try to justify paying him upwards of, say, $15m to keep him when he’s been inconsistent at times and susceptible to injury. I like Pek a lot, but at the right price.

 John Flesta:

If Pekovic gets a max offer from Portland, he should be wearing a Blazer uniform next season.  Under no circumstance should we match that contract offer.  None.  The $10-$11 million range is the ceiling I would put on the new contract.  As long as it isn’t a max contract offer from Portland, you probably match it unless they have something up their sleeve – i.e. Pekovic for Batum or something like that.

Andy Grimsrud: 

Pekovic must be re-signed.  Even if he signs a max offer sheet?  Yes.  This is much more, “Pek is worth 4 years/$60 Million to the Timberwolves” than it is, “If Pekovic were an unrestricted free agent, he’d receive 4 years/$60 Million from Hypothetical Team X/Y/Z.”  It’s difficult to assign “market value” to any player.  But the Wolves can pay a lot of money to Love and Pek for the next two seasons while still having Ricky Rubio and Alexey Shved signed to cheap deals.  If and when a time comes when the luxury tax threatens, they can do exactly what Memphis did with Rudy Gay.  Guys like Love and Pek will always have enough value to be moved.  For what it’s worth, I don’t expect Pekovic to receive a full max offer.  I think it’ll look more like what the Wolves offered Nic Batum, and it might even be Batum’s team that signs the deal.  But they’ve got to keep Pek.  He’s a huge fan favorite and worthy of a big salary. 

Ben McDonald:

Max contract offer is tough to stomach but at the same time the fact is there are only a handful of centers out there on the level of Pek.  Wolves need to be smart on this one and really hope that they can get Pek for something in the range of what OKC gave Serge Ibaka and Memphis gave Marc Gasol, 4 years around $50 mil.  I think that is the range you have to pay to keep a big man with the skills that Pek has.

Portland is going to be out for blood with Pek though and that price may rise, then the decision makers need to be smart to not put us in a situation in which we can’t afford Ricky/Love/Pek all together when the time comes to pay the piper on all three.

 

3. With Rubio improving and logging increased minutes, is it time to trade either JJ or Luke?  If so, which one do you keep and why?

 

Alex Glennon:

Despite recent criticism, JJ Barea has had a decent season and has clearly out-played Luke Ridnour at the point guard position. However, with Ricky back in the starting lineup and Ridnour functioning much more efficiently as a shooting guard, Barea has become Minnesota’s most frustrating guard and has had trouble adjusting to his ambiguous role.

I would like to see Minnesota move one of the players before the deadline in exchange for an expiring contract, a young asset or a draft selection. It is abundantly clear that there is not a need for both players on this team with Rubio healthy, and I think that it may be a wiser choice to move Barea due to his longer contract and potentially higher trade value. Many contending teams would love to acquire the sparkplug, high-energy role player and he offers an affordable contract to a playoff-bound team in need of bench scoring.

Derek James: 

Well, apparently they already are shopping one or both. Both have similar contracts, but I feel like Ridnour has the most value of the two, and if you want to get a good return, you have to give something. If that’s how they improve their shooting situation, then that’s fine, but Luke is also one of this team’s top shooter’s even when this team is healthy. The thing is, if he’s at least an average to above-average shooter who plays at the off-guard, don’t you have to at least try and get back a better shooter at that position? Otherwise, I feel like you’re trading a proven player on a very reasonable contract for a player who may cost more, and may not be as good of a fit.

John Flesta:

Until this season I have been saying Ridnour.  I’ve completely flip-flopped like Obama or Romney on this one.  (Yes, that was a political reference and please note that I called out both parties.)  I would like to see JJ traded for that more complementary wing player.  This gets us out of the longer contract (between the two of them).  I’m OK with waiting on the trade itself until the summer, where perhaps either one of them are packaged with Derrick Williams for a bigger contract / better player.

I can’t stand the way Barea is playing this year.  Look, Luke has his faults, but you know what you are getting from him when he is out there.  You have no idea what type of mood Barea is going to be in each night and how he is (or is not) going to play within the system.  Throw in how much he has been banged up over the past year and a half and that makes the decision that much easier.

Andy Grimsrud:

I don’t know if this matters too much, except to one or both of those guys if they see their minutes drastically cut.  Between the two of them I’d rather keep Luke because his contract is shorter.

Ben McDonald:

Definitely.  If I had it my way, I’d likely trade JJ.  Barea drives me insane.  I wrote about this dilemma on my blog a week or so ago and in the end I came to the conclusion that, though Barea makes my skin crawl, we deal whoever the teams we are trading with are willing to give the most for.

I can stomach either Ridnour or Barea as our back up point, so let’s get as much as we can for whoever someone else wants.  With Shved we don’t need to carry a third point guard (if we get another shooting guard) since Shved can also play point when needed.  If you can trust the rumors, seems as if Luke is going to be the odd man out.

 

4. Speaking of La Pistola, what is your take on the early results? Are you disappointed with his return or is it unfair to judge the flaws given his return from major knee surgery?

 

Alex Glennon: 

Over the past two weeks, we have seen Ricky take a huge step forward in his game as he is becoming much more comfortable looking for his shot and initiating contact in the lane. The Spaniard has done a great job getting to the free throw line where he has converted at a nice rate, and his abilities as a passer have been on full display as of late.

The blatant flaws in Ricky’s shooting should be taken with a grain of salt as he did not have a proper offseason to improve his stroke. His woes from behind the three-point line have caused frustration when considering he shot a relatively strong 34% last season, but it must be noted that without proper lower body strength, it is extremely difficult to shoot from long range. As he continues to build his confidence and log increased minutes, it is only a matter of time before we see Ricky knocking down his spotted-up looks.

Ricky ended the first-half of the season on a very positive note and I am sure he will only improve from this point on.

Derek James:

Rubio’s struggles returning were to be expected. A lot of fans in Minnesota expected and Adrian Peterson like return, but that is by far the exception, not the rule. What you want to see from Rubio is gradual improvement, and I think that’s what we’re seeing. Everyone just needs to be patient.

 John Flesta:

Here’s where I turn into a homer.  Rubio’s return has been about what I expected.  He has clearly turned a corner over the past few weeks and is playing a lot better.  However, I do want to see him be a little more careful with the ball (way too many turnovers) and start hitting his shot more consistently.  I don’t think the latter will come this season, it is going to take more time and effort in the offseason.  That said, I fully expect it to happen.

Andy Grimsrud:

I’m not at all disappointed with Rubio’s return.  He struggled for a handful of games — particularly with his shooting — but he looks to be quick on defense and in great physical shape.  He played 40 great minutes last night against a good Utah team, nearly posting a triple double.  In the off-season, I hope they perform reconstructive surgery on his jumper (instead of his knee, this time) to get his mechanics fixed and his confidence up.  But so much of his game helps the Wolves that it’s hard to feel anything but impressed by his prompt return to quality point guard play.

Ben McDonald:

He is back!  Ricky was struggling big time up until about 2 weeks ago.  I was very concerned and was starting to wonder if that spark he had would come back this year or ever.  Unbelievably excited that it seems to have fully returned, as I write this he is coming off a 1 rebound short of a triple double performance and over his last 10 games he is averaging 13.1 ppg and 8.6 ast.

This is the guy this franchise needs to be built around from here on out.  I’d lost that belief a bit with his struggles post-return, but the faith is back.  Every organizational decision from here on out needs to be prefaced by the question, “does this work well with what Ricky does?” 

 

5. Injuries have come to define the Wolves this year, but how would you evaluate them as they move forward? Is there enough talent on this team to make the playoffs in the future with a healthy roster, or is this team in need of further re-tooling?

 

Alex Glennon:

Coming into this season, I thought the Wolves were a lock to make the playoffs. Countless injuries later, I consider myself much more of a pessimist towards Minnesota’s chances of landing a bottom seed in the Western Conference. The Wolves’ miserable predicament has absolutely zero reflection on what this team could do when completely healthy, and I wholeheartedly believe that this very roster could reach a playoff berth under more favorable circumstances.

Without Love, much of the Pups hope goes out the window as he has been their go-to guy for the past three seasons and is the team’s national symbol for optimism in Minnesota. His injury situation was a very unfortunate series of events for Timberwolves fans, and it looks like fans will have to wait even longer in order to see what this team can do when healthy together.

Regardless of how the team’s roster may currently look, much is set to change as we draw nearer to summer. If Minnesota decides to match a big Pekovic offer, how will that affect the possible signing of Budinger who is also set to become a restricted free agent? Will Minnesota have 2 first-round draft picks, and if they do, will they use or deal them? Will this team acquire three-point shooters, and can we finally have an actual shooting guard manning the 2?

Derek James:

There is absolutely enough talent on this team to be considered a playoff team, and I think we’ve seen a flash or two of that at certain points in the season. Yet, being decimated by injuries, this has been a bit of a lost season in that regard, to me. People have been so quick to want to trade for someone to fix it for this season when there is already a good team in place that needs to get healthy, and you don’t try to use a permanent solution to fix a temporary problem. Even when Johnson and Gelabale were signed and people were crying out that they weren’t signing “Player X” or “Player Y”; well, guess what? All of the good players are on NBA teams already, and no team wants to trade a top player in their rotation for the Timberwolves’ spare parts. Again, we just have to be patient, even though we’re sick of waiting. But, with what we’ve seen, it looks as if we’ll get there eventually.

John Flesta:

The current roster, if/when healthy, is certainly a playoff team in my honest opinion.  Are they a championship team?  No, they aren’t.  The right steps in the process were finally taken this past offseason with trying to sign Batum, landing on Kirilenko, Shved, and Budinger.  As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, it would have been nice to hear that Kahn somewhat aggressively went after OJ Mayo before picking Brandon Roy.

I wish the Wolves would hire a draft guru because that has clearly been missing during Kahn’s era (and before).  If that were to happen, I would have much more confidence in this team being able to use just the forthcoming offseason to turn itself into championship contender and giving itself a two year window to compete for the title.  I don’t think it would take much beyond the following: good health for a season, resigning Pek, trading Barea and/or Derrick Williams for an above average SG and finding more depth at the wing position via the draft to put into the rotation.  This really shouldn’t be too hard.

 Andy Grimsrud:

It’s difficult to evaluate the Wolves as a potential playoff team because we have yet to see them at full strength.  Certain statistical models had this team (assuming only Rubio’s injury) winning north of 50 games before this season.  Injuries to Kevin Love and to a lesser extent Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger obviously changed that.  I think the Western Conference is loaded with good teams and any spot above a 1/8 matchup with Oklahoma City means a realistic chance at advancing to the 2nd Round.  Are the Wolves that good?  I think they could be, but it’s impossible to predict with any confidence because of the strength of the West.  In the East, a good team can be sure it’s making the playoffs.  Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way in the West.  What CAN be guaranteed is a competitive season with 70 or more games that are enjoyable to watch.  We were going to get that this year, until the injuries came on.

In terms of whether the team should re-tool, I’d say no; not right now.  Obviously that could change if some unforeseen trade offer lands on David Kahn’s desk, but from the outside looking in I’d rather they get healthy and try again with the Rubio/Kirilenko/Love/Pekovic core, with some Shved and Dante Cunningham sprinkled in.  Some internal improvement (Ricky’s continued rehab, Shved refining a few of his weaknesses) should happen with a young team and “just getting healthy” might prove to be the only remedy this team needs.  A Derrick Williams trade might make some sense, but I don’t know if he has much value to bring back helpful assets.

Ben McDonald:

Every team needs further re-tooling.  Look again to the best, Miami didn’t rest after its championship last summer; they re-tooled around their base and may have gotten better.

Moving forward this season I think there are a few things I’m looking to get out of what is no longer a playoff hunt:

First, I want to find out if a trio of Rubio/K-Love/Pek is going to be our foundation or not.  Getting Love back healthy for the remainder of the year and keeping Rubio/Pek healthy at the same time will be necessary for this to happen.  If it looks like we are a mid level western conference playoff team with everyone healthy for the final 12-15 games of the season, then we ensure we get Pek back and look to fill in the holes around the big 3.  If not, maybe we let Pek go and look elsewhere for that third cog.

Second, I want to see if Derrick Williams fits in with everyone back and healthy.  This entire year you couldn’t tell how D-Will would fit in with everyone healthy due to Love being out and AK also missing time.  If he doesn’t fit in, then the Wolves need to look to make a deal this summer using Williams and getting a player who more aptly fits our needs.  Williams is such a key to me because of the players we’d likely trade (unless you believe Love is on the table) he has the highest value. Therefore, D-Will should not just rot on our bench until Love breaks his hand again next year buttering his toast.  Mix in some milk K-Love!

I do believe this team has the overall talent to make the playoffs currently on the roster and am hoping to see that potential met if we can ever get everyone on the court at the same time before this season is over.  Kahn will have a real difficult time with offseason decisions if he doesn’t know how this team would play as it is currently put together.  It will be a small sample size, but even a few games would help.

 

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed our discussion. The Timberwolves begin the second half of their season as they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

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Minnesota Timberwolves 93, Utah Jazz 97

February 14, 2013 by
Photo Credit: Associated Press

Photo Credit: Associated Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game Summary

Playing their last game before the NBA All-Star break, the Minnesota Timberwolves hosted the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night and saw big performances from second-year players Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams. Despite a near triple-double for the Spaniard and a 24-point, 16-rebound explosion from the streaky Williams, the Wolves dropped their 16th game over their past 19 games as they fell by a score of 97-93.

Still without Kevin Love as he targets a mid- to late-March return from his broken hand, the Timberpups went against a talented and deep Utah frontcourt without the services of Andrei Kirilenko as he recovers from a strained right quadriceps. The undersized Pups had a very difficult time keeping the Jazz out of the lane, and their overall lack of depth was too much to overcome against the 30-24 Jazz.

In the first quarter of play, the Timberwolves had their fair share of difficulty shooting the ball and had a tough time keeping Utah’s bigs out of the lane. Derrick Williams faced a difficult matchup opposite of Paul Millsap, and allowed his opponent to establish deep inside position in the paint. Despite giving Millsap (and Jefferson on switches) a positioning advantage, Williams did an adequate job in his man defense and even pulled down 9 first-quarter rebounds. On the offensive end, Nikola Pekovic was stymied by the interior defense presented by former Pup Al Jefferson, Millsap and substitute Derrick Favors. Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour were the catalysts to the Wolves early 17-10 lead, as they were matched against a smaller and less talented Utah backcourt.

Minnesota trailed Utah 42-40 at the half, with Ridnour and Williams leading Minnesota scorers with 12 points a piece. Despite a first-half line of 12 points and 9 rebounds, D-Will struggled immensely in one particular area: finishing at the rim. Perhaps the most overlooked area of his game around the time he was drafted, it has become evident that Williams is very poor at converting on what is to most players the highest-percentage looks. When considering his freak athleticism and good size, it is immediately confusing as to why the former number-2 overall selection shoots below league average from around the rim. It is not to say that these problems are a red flag and that the Timberwolves need to get rid of him, because I actually believe the opposite. However, it is going to take Derrick a lot of practice and dedication in order to become comfortable driving through crowded lanes while creating separation and body control in order to put himself in a position to score. At this point in the season, I strongly believe that his blatant lack of confidence when attempting shots in the interior is contributing to his poor respective shooting percentages. In the NBA, confidence is everything. It is up to Derrick to go out and continue to not shy away from these shots because he is going to need to fail over and over again in order to ultimately master that part of his game. If and when he is able to become a great finisher at the rim,  he will have an opportunity to be a threat to score from all over the floor, a skill that very few players in this league have.

The Pups did their best to hang with the much bigger and more talented Jazz squad in the third quarter and ended the quarter with a relatively small 5-point deficit. Utah’s decision to go with a bigger lineup that included Favors, Jefferson and Millsap paid dividends as they ran Millsap off curl screens and crowded the lane with the three natural power forwards. Minnesota’s inability to score on the low block or from beyond the arc was a large inhibitor from making a big run, and their lack of physicality on defense (with the exception of Rubio) kept the momentum in Utah’s favor.

After falling behind by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, Tricky Ricky fueled a comeback that brought this game down to the last seconds. The Jazz were able to make their free throws in crunch time and Ricky’s dazzling passes were not enough to ultimately win this one. As cliche as this is beginning to sound, the Timberwolves are simply not big enough to compete with a number of teams as injuries have taken away much of their size and versatility.

Timberpups Notable Performances

  • Derrick Williams finished with his best line this season of 24 points and 16 boards. Not only did he finish with only 1 turnover in 37 minutes, but he was even +6 on the court despite his difficulties defending Utah’s frontcourt. All was not perfect for the former Wildcat, however, as he shot just 7-17 from the floor and struggled mightily around the rim. What I did enjoy seeing was how much improved he was at getting to the free throw line, regardless of if some of his shots should have resulted in and-1s instead of 2 free throws. The more Derrick can make the game easier on himself by getting more and more free trips to the charity stripe, the easier it will be for him to build his confidence and continue to grow as a professional player.
  • Luke Ridnour is so much more appeasable as a shooting guard than as a point guard, and I have been thoroughly pleased with his play as of late. Starting side-by-side with Ricky, Luke was a game high +14 on the floor and finished the night with 18 points on 7-15 shooting while turning the ball over once. Meanwhile, JJ Barea had a nightmarish performance on 2-10 shooting in 24 minutes.
  • Nikola Pekovic was initially overwhelmed by the interior defense brought on by Utah, but turned it on late in the game to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes. His inability to play above the rim helped the long and athletic Jazz frontcourt slow him down, but he did face more double teams and help defense without Kevin Love by his side. To his credit, Nikola had a strong performance and is starting to really get into a rhythm since returning from injury.

Keys of the Game

  • Points in the Paint - The combination of Millsap and Jefferson combined for 41 points and 19 rebounds, and as a whole the Utah Jazz scored 54 of their 97 points in the paint – the Timberwolves recorded only 30 in the interior. Utah took advantage of Minnesota’s lack of size and athleticism and did a very good job establishing inside position and creating second-chance opportunities.
  • Shot-Blocking - Utah out-blocked the Pups 9-3 with an astounding 7 different players recording at least 1 block. Minnesota’s most talented shot blocker, Chris Johnson, received less than a minute of playing time.
  • Bench Scoring - The Jazz bench outscored Minnesota’s bench 43-12. Yes, you read that correctly. Alexey Shved’s tailspin leading into All-Star weekend culminated in an 0-4, 0 point performance last night and he appears to have totally lost his confidence in his shot. Alec Burks, Enes Kanter, and Derrick Favors all provided important minutes for the Jazz in the second half and helped set the tone on defense and in transition.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Paul Millsap - Surrounded with trade rumors for the past month, Millsap has kept his mind clear and was the key to last night’s W for Utah. Asked to play both small forward, power forward, and even center at times, the versatile 6-foot-8 tweener forward scored 21 points with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 36 minutes. What Millsap lacks in ability he makes up for with a tireless work ethic and tremendous attitude. D-Will should take a page from Millsap’s book and realize that he does not need to be 6-foot-10 in order to be a very effective player in this league.
  2. Al Jefferson - The former face of Minnesota’s franchise continues to dominate on his old home floor, finishing last night with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals in 34 minutes. Jefferson, who is making $15 million this season, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and will likely demand top dollar from a number of suitors. The question remains if Utah will keep both Jefferson and Millsap (who will also become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end) before the trade deadline in an attempt to strengthen their postseason run, or if it will be more feasible to trade one of the two for young assets.
  3. Ricky Rubio - Good news in Wolves land: Ricky is getting his confidence back. La Pistola continues to play his best ball at the end of games, and last night he missed out on his first career triple-double by 1 rebound. Our favorite floppy-haired point guard finished the ball game with 18 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block in a season-high 40 minutes on the floor. For those who watched the game, Ricky could have easily tallied 15+ assists if his teammates could have finished more layups and drained more open shots, but the important thing is that he is regaining his swagger and he continues to put his teammates, namely Ridnour, in more and more opportunities for easy success.
Filed Under: Game Recaps Tagged With: , ,

Minnesota Timberwolves 88, Memphis Grizzlies 105

February 11, 2013 by
Recently acquired SF Tayshaun Prince converted on all 8 of his field goal attempts and the Memphis Grizzlies extended the Minnesota Timberwolves road losing streak to 8 games (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

Recently acquired SF Tayshaun Prince converted on all 8 of his field goal attempts and the Memphis Grizzlies extended the Minnesota Timberwolves road losing streak to 8 games (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

It looks like Memphis may end up just fine without Rudy Gay. Taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the FedExForum in Memphis, TN, the new-look Grizzlies showed just how dominant they can be with their new pieces acquired in the Rudy Gay blockbuster trade. Recently acquired forwards Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye combined to score 34 points on a ridiculous 14-17 shooting and the Grizzlies went on to blow out the Timberpups 105-88, extending Minnesota’s road losing streak to 8 games.

The Wolves, who stood at 16-15 on January 8 of this year, are now an abysmal 18-30 including a horrific 6-18 on the road. Injuries have depleted Minnesota’s roster and young, high-upside players Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved have been unable to step up in order to keep this team afloat.

JJ Barea was a late scratch for Minnesota with a left foot sprain, and the Timberwolves had a very tough time spacing the floor and creating offense against the defensive-minded Grizzlies.

To add to the Pups’ injury woes, Andrei Kirilenko missed his third consecutive game due to a strained right quadriceps muscle. In his place, Mickael Gelabale got the start at small forward but had a very difficult time defending the long and athletic Prince, who hit all of his 8 field goal attempts in 23 minutes on the court. The other former Detroit Piston, Austin Daye, seems to enjoy his new playoff-destined squad and added 16 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

Minnesota led the Grizz 21-20 after the first period, but problems with turnovers and transition defense allowed Memphis to hold a 47-37 lead at the half. Memphis, led by head coach Lionel Hollins, did a tremendous job of pressuring the Pups on the perimeter and were able to record 12 steals as a team. More often than not these steals led to fast-breaks for the quick and athletic Grizzlies, and Memphis went on to outscore the Pups on the fast break 20-4. It is awfully difficult to stop Mike Conley and Tony Allen once they are running in transition, and Memphis did a much better job than the Pups of spacing the floor and creating high-percentage  scoring opportunities.

Things only got worse for Minnesota following the break, and the Pups lack of playmakers inhibited their ability to make a legitimate run to get back into the game. With Barea and AK-47 sidelined due to injury, the Wolves essentially lacked even a single player who could create their own shot. Ricky Rubio stepped up and provided 17 points on 6-11 shooting, but tallied only 4 assists as the Memphis defense did a very good job of pouring the help defense on Minnesota’s greatest threat. Shved, who is in the midst of a miserable shooting slump, scored 10 points on 50% shooting and even notched 9 assists, all the while committing 5 turnovers in 31 minutes played.

Apparently Rick Adelman does not think much of new fan-favorite Chris Johnson, who did not play until the fourth-quarter when the game was far of hand. Johnson, who has shot 72% for the Wolves and who owns an impressive 24.83 PER seems to be incapable of proving himself to the veteran head coach. While the sample size is small and the statistics may be skewed in Johnson’s favor, I do not understand the lack of minutes as he has played extremely well in every single opportunity he has been given. At least let him fail before keeping him on the bench for eternity.

Derrick Williams finished with a line of 9 points 0n 4-11 shooting (0-3 3PT), 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 25 minutes on the floor. D-Will started at power forward opposite of the much bigger and stronger Zach Randolph, who dominated the former Arizona star on the low block on his way to 16 points and 8 rebounds. While Derrick is technically a power forward, the ways he has been primarily looking to score has been on midrange to three-point jump-shots, and I have noticed a few troubling trends with his shot that may be the leading cause for his poor shooting percentages of late. To begin, when bringing himself to shoot, he has too narrow of a base and a poor center of gravity which allows him to sway and fade on anything besides spotted-up jumpers. Lately, his shoulders have not consistently been square to the basket which has contributed to his lateral accuracy issues. Often times his misses result in misses on either side of the rim, instead of misses that are either too long or too short like K-Love’s. Another troubling trend has been D-Will’s incapacity for penetrating the lane and getting to the free throw lane. Even if nothing is there, the Wolves need more players to get past the opponent’s perimeter defense in order to create opportunities for other Wolves on the perimeter, and too often Derrick receives a pass and stands in place with the ball like a frightened deer in headlights.

Keys of the Game

  • Defense - Memphis recorded 12 steals and Minnesota turned the ball over 19 times which led to easy transition buckets for the home team. The Grizzlies did a great job on the perimeter, namely shooting guard Tony Allen, and disrupted the Wolves system of dribble-exchange in the half-court. This effectively slowed down the Wolves ball movement on offense and led to many more drained shot clocks and contested shots. In the interior Memphis center Marc Gasol and power forward Randolph combined for 17 rebounds and 5 steals while holding Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic to just 8 points in 30 minutes.
  • Ball Movement - Inside and out, the Grizzlies worked to find the open man and continuously found teammates open on backdoor cuts with Minnesota defenders sleeping. With arguably the best passing big man in the game in Gasol on the low block, Memphis dissected the Pups half-court defense and allowed the Grizzlies’ center to record 8 of the team’s 30 assists.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Tayshaun Prince - In his best game as a Grizzly, Prince reminded everyone why it may not be the end of the world for Memphis with Rudy Gay on the wing. The truth is that Gay is receiving max contract dollars and is currently playing below league average in terms of efficiency, and I tip my cap to John Hollinger and the boys of the Memphis brass for ridding the team of a detrimental contract. 
  2. Marc Gasol - Rubio’s close friend and fellow Spanish national teammate nearly had a triple-double of 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists while playing spectacular defense on a great player in Nikola Pekovic. Gasol uses his size, length, and smarts in unison and is worth every dollar that he is being paid.
  3. Mike Conley - Conley logged the most minutes of any Grizzly (36) and did not turn the ball over once while adding 16 points and 8 assists. One of the top perimeter defenders in the NBA, Conley and and Tony Allen completely disrupted the Timberwolves backcourt.

 

 

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