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VOTW – Felton Spencer Meets Mr. Perfect

April 7, 2013 by

“With the sixth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select … Felton Spencer, Senior, Louisville University” … or something similar to that from Commissioner Stern. Hilarity ensued. This week’s VOTW takes us back to Spencer’s career highlight with the Timberwolves, filming a WWE clip with Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig. I’m not sure which is worse, Spencer’s acting or Hennig’s form on his jump shot.

For those of you who don’t remember, or never knew, Spencer had an anticlimactic career. The Timberwolves front office managed to ruin any chance he had for success when they went ahead and took Luc Longley with the seventh pick of the 1991 draft. (The franchise has always had a penchant for success on draft night.) Spencer had two decent years in Utah before rupturing his Achilles during the ’94-’95 season. His career never recovered from there as he became an end of the rotation big man for several teams until he retired in 2002.

Enjoy the early 90’s cheesiness of this week’s VOTW!

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Minnesota Timberwolves 107, Detroit Pistons 101

April 7, 2013 by
Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Game Summary:

The Timberwolves hosted the Detroit Pistons at the Target Center on Saturday night with Rick Adelman receiving another opportunity to win his 1000th career victory in his 22nd season as an NBA coach. The Pups came within a few points of achieving the feat the previous night against Toronto, but ultimately fell by a score of 95-93 leaving Adelman at 999 career victories.

Detroit boasted their tough frontcourt of rising star Greg Monroe paired with rookie phenom Andre Drummond, it was no easy task for Minnesota starters Nikola Pekovic and Derrick Williams on the interior. The centers matchup of Pekovic and Drummond was sure not to disappoint, as it was a matchup of Minnesota’s polished bruiser against Detroit’s young Amar’e Stoudemire clone.

For the last time this season, it was a Spaniard vs. Spaniard PG matchup as buddies Ricky Rubio and Jose Calderon faced off for the final time of the regular season. While both are familiar from their participation on the Spanish National team, each player possesses their own unique style. The long time Raptor Calderon focuses his scoring from long mid-range jumpers stretching beyond the arc, and due to his lack of elite quickness uses precision in his movements to make plays. On the other end, Tricky Ricky as many call him threads passes through tight windows while using his eyes to lead defenses one way while he does what they least expect him to. Despite the different styles, both Rubio and Calderon have enjoyed very good campaigns in 2012-13.

Detroit got running in transition early, as they were very active at getting hands in the passing lanes and forcing turnovers. They did a nice job of pushing the ball hard down the floor following steals, but they had a difficult job of finishing at the rim with the advantage in transition.

Derrick Williams got off to a strong start as he netted 6 of the Wolves’ first 14 points as Minnesota led 14-6 with 7:36 remaining in the first quarter. Ricky had  a tough time getting penetration in the first period as Detroit showed strong resilience as a unit on the defensive end. However, the Wolves advantage in transition allowed them a 33-25 lead at the culmination of the first quarter.

Detroit got nice bench contributions from Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey in the second quarter and the Pistons and Wolves went back and forth in the second period. Coming off the bench, JJ Barea came right back and provided a great spark for the Wolves, creating off the dribble and doing a great job of mixing up pull up jumpers and shot fakes for easy buckets off of the drive. Continuing to flow the offense through their 290-pound mammoth, Minnesota headed to the locker room with a 61-55 first half lead.

The second half continued to be a dog fight as Detroit outshot the Timberwolves, but continually committed careless turnovers on the offensive end which led to some easy transition buckets for Minnesota. The Pups dug deep for their head coach and held on to a three point lead heading into the final period of play.

With six different Pistons finishing with at least 3 turnovers last night, it is easy to understand why Minnesota ultimately won the game 107-101. However, a win is a win and Rick Adelman was quick to rush over to his wife Mary Kay who awaited him in the corner of the court. Despite all the health issues that Mary Kay and Rick have fought together, they were both on the court on Saturday night to witness Rick become the eighth coach in NBA history to reach the 1,000 mark. All of the Timberwolves players joined in celebration following the home victory and fans relished in something meaningful during an anticlimactic and disappointing season. Go Rick, you deserve all the credit you get.

Notable Performances:

Alexey Shved played only 4 minutes and scored 0 points after failing to attempt a field goal. It has been a disastrous second half of the season for the 24-year-old Shved, who after lighting it up in the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star weekend has fell to near the bottom of Adelman’s rotation. It will be a crucial summer for Alexey as he needs to regain the confidence and swagger that he displayed throughout much of the first half of the season.

Ricky Rubio shot just 1-13 from the field, but was nonetheless a +17 on the floor while notching 6 assists, 5 steals, and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. Games like these remind everybody watching what Ricky’s offseason priority must be: taking as many jump shots in the gym as possible.

Rodney Stuckey has come on strong in his past four games, averaging 20 points over that very span. After receiving a 5-year, $50 million deal Stuckey has fallen very short of his expectations and has become an afterthought of the common Pistons fan. Regardless of the past, the 6-foot-5 combo-guard played a solid 28 minutes and finished the night with 20 points (8-15 FG), 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers.

Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe combined for 25 points and 16 rebounds, but were unable to contain Pekovic as he recorded yet another double-double. The 22-year-old Monroe and 19-year-old Drummond together may be the most exiting future frontcourt in the NBA, and each could prove perfect compliments to the others game as the Pistons move forward in their rebuilding efforts.

Keys of the Game:

  • Free throws - Coming into the game fifth in the NBA in free throw attempts per game, the Timberwolves attempted 17 more free throws than Detroit while hitting at a similar percentage as their counterparts. However, the total trips to the line proved to be a key advantage as the Pups netted 29 of their 38 attempts compared to 15 of 21 for the Pistons.
  • Turnovers - In and out of injuries for much of the second half of the season, Andrei Kirilenko appears to be 100% as far as his health goes and it was evident tonight on the defensive end where the Russian recorded 7 of Minnesota’s 16 steals. Rubio was also able to add 5 steals of his own while Detroit only managed 10 as a team on their way to 24 Pistons turnovers to only 14 by the Pups.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Rick Adelman - I had to, right? Congratulations to Minnesota’s head coach who became just the eighth coach all-time to hit four digits in the wins column, and while his future surrounding his potential retirement clouds his future as the Wolves’ head coach, the Pups are very lucky to have a historic coach at the helm in the meantime.
  2. Nikola Pekovic - Boy has Pek been on a tear as of late. The Timberwolves man in the middle has flourished as the Timberwolves primary scorer with Kevin Love potentially done for the season with his broken hand, and Pek has taken full advantage of the spotlight as he auditions for a huge contract this summer. Finishing the night with 20 points (7-15 FG) and 13 rebounds while possessing a game-high +20 in 36 minutes on the floor, there is no question that Pek has been producing as a top-tier center in the NBA over the past month. The biggest question is if the oft-injured center who is in just his third NBA season will be worth spending a probable $10+ million per year contract on as he nears restricted free agency this upcoming summer. With the notoriously cheap Glen Taylor running the team, there are no guarantees that we will see our Montenegrin big man in a Timberwolves uniform next season.
  3. Brandon Knight - This was a tough decision between Rodney Stuckey and Knight as each player provided a huge impact in their own respect. I ultimately gave the nod to Knight as he was able to make a huge impact from beyond the arc as well as driving to the basket. The second year combo-guard out of Kentucky has had a somewhat difficult transition from college to the NBA, but his versatility gives him the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways. He ironically is a very similar player to his overpaid backup in Stuckey, but remains five years younger and much more consistent despite having had much less professional experience. In 41 minutes, Knight scored a game-high 25 points (9-15 FG, 3-4 3Pt) to pair with 6 assists and 2 steals.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 93 – Toronto Raptors 95

April 5, 2013 by

Rick Adelman - Minnesota Timberwolves head coach

1,000 career victories?!
(Photo credit: AP)


 
Game Summary

Friday night’s game at the Target Center was a chance for fans in the Twin Cities to see a small piece of history, as Rick Adelman was sitting on a coaching career win total of 999.  With the Raptors in town and the way the Wolves have been playing over the past two weeks, things looked promising to see Adelman get to 1K.

Minnesota’s starting lineup had no surprises in it; Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Raptors opened up the game with Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas.

Friday’s game provided Pups fans to see Dwane Casey’s return to the Target Center sidelines.  Casey didn’t get a fair shake as head coach here in Minnesota, but he also hasn’t necessarily proven anyone wrong with his track with the Raptors.  To be fair, between head coaching gigs in Minnesota and Toronto, Casey was an assistant on the Dallas Mavericks, including their championship team in 2011.

With that out of the way, here is a rundown of Friday night’s events.  After falling behind in the very early minutes of the 1st quarter, the Wolves quickly came alive and built a 21-13 lead.  With the exception of some poor moves from DWill around the paint, the Wolves’ starters looked strong, led by Kirilenko and Pekovic down low in the paint.  The Raptors tried to exploit DeMar DeRozan’s advantages over Ridnour at the SG position, but DeMar wound up missing 4 of his first 7 shots in the quarter.

Going into the 2nd quarter, the Wolves held a 24-18 lead.  Adelman sent out the reserves to start the quarter, going with Barea, Shved, Budinger, Cunningham, and Stiemsma.  While they looked lackluster on the offensive end, they were able to limit the damage on the defensive side of the floor.  Going into the first timeout of the quarter, the Wolves had only lost one point off of their lead, holding a 30-25 advantage.

Unfortunately, Adelman didn’t go back to any of his starters coming out of the timeout.  Alexey Shved looks beaten up.  Adding insult to injury, he is not getting any calls on the offensive end.  He and JJ Barea launched 4 three pointers over the course of the next few minutes and hit exactly 0 of them.  The worst part of this second unit is the lack of any ability in the second string big men to create their own shot in the post.  That leaves the guards doing the vast majority of the heavy lifting and leaves Shved and Barea hoisting up long jumpers time and time again.

At halftime, the Wolves held a 48-46 lead.  Here are a couple of halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • The Wolves were off from three point range in the first half (1-8) and hopefully that part of the game plan is removed for the second half.
  • 15 assists for the Wolves on 19 made baskets, 10 of which came from Rubio and Ridnour.

After the Raptors took a 50-48 lead in the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter, the light bulb seemed to go off for the Wolves starters.  They went on a 13-0 run to take a 61-50 lead and forced Casey to take a timeout (which was probably a series or two late).  However, the Raptors answered with their own 12-3 run to cut it back to a two point game.

Ricky Rubio seemed to will the team through the 3rd quarter, pushing the right buttons at the right time and setting up his teammates for easy baskets.  This included a bucket for Chase Budinger at the end of the quarter to untie the game.  With the last second basket, the Wolves took a 73-71 lead into the final quarter.  To be honest, the Wolves did not look good after the 13-0 run early in the quarter.  The Raptors shot 50% from the field in the 3rd quarter and had too many easy baskets.

The teams went back and forth in the 4th quarter with neither team capable of pulling away from the other.  DeMar DeRozan entered a little bit of a hot streak, with tremendous moves off the dribble for a few baskets.  Adelman noticed this as well and moved AK47 over to guard the hot hand and made an immediate impact on the defensive end, leading to a missed basket from DeMar.

The final minutes of the quarter were incredibly frustrating for the Wolves and fans alike.  The team missed a number of free throws, couldn’t grab the necessary defensive rebounds and lost a very winnable game at home against a poor Raptors team.  For those that yearn for draft positioning, this loss was for you.

In case you missed it, in the final seconds, the Wolves played solid defense on Rudy Gay, forcing a missed mid-range jumper.  From there, Rubio sped down the court to draw a foul.  Unfortunately, Ricky made the first but missed the second.  The Wolves were forced to foul but there was one-tenth of a second left in the game.  Amir Johnson made the first attempt and intentionally missed the second, allowing time to expire and the Raptor to pull out the 95-93 victory at Target Center.

Keys of the Game

  • Free throws – Amazing how I always cover games that come down to free throws.  This was going to be the #1 key to the game no matter who was the victor.  The Pups got to the line 40 times, while the Raptors only shot 16 FT’s all game.  However, the Wolves shot themselves in the foot by missing 10 of those attempts, including several in the final minutes.
  • Wing play – For the first time in a while, at least from my own perspective, the Wolves were dominated by the opposing team’s wings.  DeRozan and Gay both went off tonight and the Wolves didn’t (or couldn’t) do enough to contain them.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Rudy Gay – I know Big Al hates this one – 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  Gay also shot just over 50% from the field.
  2. Nikola Pekovic – Another big game from Pek, who finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds; including 12-16 from the FT line.
  3. DeMar DeRozan – DeRozan matched Gay’s 12-23 from the field and put in 2 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.  He also led the charge in the 4th quarter.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 107, Milwaukee Bucks 98

April 4, 2013 by

NikolaPekGame Summary

The Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves just a five hour drive away from Minneapolis on Wednesday night as they faced off against the Bucks in the Bradley Center of Milwaukee. With some help from Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic the Wolves were able to knock off the playoff-destined Bucks, winning by a score of 107-98.

Wednesday night featured an intriguing matchup between Nikola Pekovic and Bucks’ center Larry Sanders, who in his third NBA season has really begun to establish himself as one of the premier shot-blockers and interior defenders in the Association.

From the get-go, Pek established himself on the low block and was especially effective on the offensive glass. Minnesota’s 290-pound bulldozer did a heck of a job against a top-flight defender in Sanders, and he continues to produce in a big way as the focal point of the Timberwolves’ offense with Kevin Love sidelined.

Our Montenegrin man in the middle has really turned heads in the NBA community due to his strong play over the past month. Although he has been vulnerable to a myriad of injuries just in his third NBA season, when healthy Pekovic is one of the top centers in the Western Conference. By always fighting on the offensive glass, big Pek creates second chance opportunities that backup Greg Stiemsma has been unable to provide in his first season playing for Minnesota.

Milwaukee entered last night’s game with a respectable 36-37 record, good for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. 6 games up on the nitnth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers with 8 more games to play, the Bucks’ are a virtual lock to make the playoffs to likely face the heavily favored potential championship winners, LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

The awkward combination of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis – two players with virtually the same exact skill set – in the Bucks’ backcourt has been a joy and a nightmare for Milwaukee  fans to watch this season, as both players look like they are trying to each assume the same role in the offense as each other. Ellis has been mum on whether he will exercise his pricey price tag for next season or if he will use his early termination clause in order to become a free agent to sign a long-term deal this summer. I do not see the Bucks bringing him back unless he is willing to take a big pay cut or if Jennings himself heads elsewhere regardless of his status as a pending restricted free agent. Whatever the case ends up being, it is more than likely that either Ellis or Jennings will be headed for greener pastures this summer while the Bucks use some of their cap space on recently acquired sharpshooter JJ Redick.

The Timberwolves led 34-23 after the first quarter while the Bucks looked stagnant on defense for much of the last 5 minutes in the first period. The Wolves extended that lead to 40-26 thanks to a big Pekovic and-1 less than two minutes into the quarter. However, Brandon Jennings sprinted right back down the court and gave the Milwaukee bench a surge of energy following an and-1 of his own.

Two things that particularly stood out to me in the second quarter was the Pups’ impressive floor spacing and ball movement in the halfcourt offense against a tough defensive opponent. The Wolves opened up good looks for their shooters and took advantage of poor close outs from the Bucks’ perimeter defenders to hit 5 of their first 8 attempts from long range, with Tricky Ricky knocking down two of them.

Milwaukee answered back beginning around the 5 minute mark to eventually take a 48-46 lead with 2:40 to play in the first half. The Bucks’ new six-man Redick provided a nice spark with his shooting and overall veteran acumen in the backcourt. I am not alone in believing that the Milwaukee offense flows much more productively when pairing a true shooting guard like Redick with either of their play-making guards running the point.

Who said Ricky can’t shoot? Despite owning shooting percentages of 37% and 27% from the field and beyond the arc, respectively, Ricky knocked down each of his first 5 attempts – yes, you read that correctly – from long range in the first half as the Wolves headed into the locker room with a 55-52 lead at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Rubio’s improved scoring since the All-Star break has been extremely satisfying to witness as he struggled mightily in his first month back after recovering from ACL surgery. Rubio led all Wolves in the first half with 15 points on 5 three-pointers.

I could not help but wonder if Rubio’s hot shooting had anything to do with Jennings’ comment of “the dude is just all hype” when he was asked about playing against him in Europe during his solo year playing abroad. While Ricky is not one for verbal or physical confrontation, I believe his game spoke for itself as he forced the Bucks’ point guard to eat his past words on Wednesday night.

The Timberwolves doubled their halftime lead and led the Bucks 87-81 heading into the final period of play. Milwaukee’s frontcourt toughened up to begin the final period, fighting on the offensive glass while doing a good job of creating second chance opportunities. However, on the other end Minnesota’s man in the middle continually established great inside positioning on the low block and Pek found himself closing in on a monster stat line of 27 points and 8 rebounds all the while facing a strong defensive Milwaukee frontcourt.

A 12 foot Larry Sanders jumper made it 95-91 with just less than 6 minutes to play. The Bucks attempted to get the momentum back in their favor, but they were ultimately unable to stop Pekovic on the low block and they did a poor job as a team of getting hands in passing lanes. The Pups went on improve their record to 28-48, winning by a score of 107-98. Ersan Ilyasova’s led all scorers with 29 points.

Keys of the Game

  • Three-point shooting - How many times have we seen it this season that when the Timberwolves convert on their open threes that they usually walk off the court with the victory. They have been especially ineffective from deep on the road sporting a 9-27 record away from the Target Center this season, so it was particularly enjoyable to see them not knock down 8 of 13 three-point attempts on their way to their tenth road victory this season. The Bucks needed 10
  • Ball Movement - Minnesota recorded a ridiculous 33 assists as a team on 44 made field goals – think about that for a second – to just 19 from Milwaukee. Jennings led the Bucks with 8, but no other Buck was able to record more than 4.

 Three Stars of the Game

  1. Nikola Pekovic - This one was a pretty tough choice between Pek and Rubio given that Ricky was only 2 steals away from recording a triple-double. However, the Spaniard also turned the ball over 8 times while Pekovic converted on 11 of his 14 field goals attempts while turning the ball over only once. If Pek keeps playing this well and stays healthy the rest of the season, he should receive contract offers this summer in the $50 million range for four years.
  2. Ricky Rubio - As I mentioned above, Ricky nearly notched another triple-double and he finished the night with 19 points (7-12 FG, 5-6 3Pt), 12 assists, 8 steals, 4 rebounds while turning the ball over 8 times in 34 minutes. Ricky greatly outplayed Jennings and helped the Wolves complete a season sweep of the Bucks.
  3. Ersan Ilyasova - The Turkish stretch-4 had a very nice night knocking down 12 of his 21 attempts on his way to a game-high 29 points. After a rough start to the season, Ilyasova is back in the prime form that netted him the big contract he received last summer.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 110 – Boston Celtics 100

April 1, 2013 by
Was he hurt or was it personal reasons? Pups fans won't shed a tear. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Was he hurt or was it personal reasons? Pups fans won’t shed a tear either way. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Game Summary

The Boston Celtics visited Target Center Monday night, following a bad loss on Sunday against the Knicks in New York. Unfortunately for Wolves fans at the game, Kevin Garnett once again missed his return to Minnesota due to an injury.  The Celtics came into the game as the seven seed in the Eastern Conference.  The Wolves came into Monday’s game off of a Saturday night loss against Memphis, moving the team’s record to 26-46 on the season.

Par for the course when watching the Wolves, there were a few injuries to account for in the starting lineup on Monday night.  However, they weren’t driven by the Pups for once!  The Wolves opened up with Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams and Pekovic.  The Celtics played without much of their ‘normal’ starting lineup, beginning the game with Avery Bradley, Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, and Chris Wilcox.  Aside from Rondo and KG, the Celtics were also without Paul Pierce, who injured his leg on Sunday against the Knicks but was deemed out prior to the game for “personal reasons”.

The game had a nice flow early on with the Wolves and Celtics battling back and forth, particularly in the paint.  Pekovic and Kirilenko drew several early fouls on the Celtics’ big men.  At the same time, Rubio was aggressive looking for his shot and setting up others.  The Celtics countered with fast starts from Avery Bradley and Jeff Green.  Going into the first stoppage of play with under five minutes left in the 1st quarter, the Pups held a 17-13 lead.

At the end of the 1st quarter, the Wolves held a 27-25 lead.  Pekovic was dominant in the opening frame, finishing with 15 points on 5-6 shooting in the first twelve minutes.  More importantly, he had already drawn 2 fouls on Wilcox and 3 on Shavlik Randolph.  Overall, a very nice quarter from the Pups showing the ability to get to the free throw line and run Adelman’s offense.

The Wolves built a 42-36 lead going into a timeout with more than six minutes gone in the 2nd quarter.  Alexey Shved had two baskets in the paint and looked like he was a lot fresher; he only played ~17 minutes in the two games Friday and Saturday night.  Granted the Celtics were down their lead options and playing the second half of a back to back, but the Wolves were looking very good in the 1st half.

After the Celtics tied the game at 45, the Wolves went on a mini-run, taking a 57-52 lead into the locker room at the half.  Here are a couple of halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • The last week or so of games has to make you yearn for “what could have been” with an even remotely healthy lineup for the better portion of the season.
  • Very nice half of basketball from Pekovic (21 points) and Kirilenko (8 & 8).
  • If the Celtics can’t get healthy (quickly) they are going to be in a lot of trouble trying to avoid the 8 seed and the Miami Heat.

The Wolves tried to break the game open in the 3rd quarter, building a double digit lead halfway through the quarter.  After an AK47 steal and dunk to increase the lead to 12 points, Doc Rivers had seen enough and had to burn a timeout.  It was essentially more of the same from the same three players on the Pups – Pekovic, AK, and Rubio.  At the same time, the Wolves were doing a nice job shutting down the Celtics’ wings, holding Courtney Lee and Jeff Green to minimal contributions.

Boston made a small run towards the end of the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to six points going into the final frame at Target Center.  The Wolves were a little lucky it wasn’t closer as they missed a few buckets in the final few minutes, while Boston also missed a three pointer at the buzzer.  At the end of three, Minnesota led 84-78.

Someone call the league office and ask them to restart the NBA season with a healthy Wolves roster.  The Pups got off to a 12-4 run to start the 4th quarter to increase their lead back to double digits.  From there, it was only a matter of whether or not the Wolves would play fundamental basketball to hold on to the win and that is exactly what they were able to do.  Minnesota outscored Boston in all four quarters Monday night, including 26-22 in the 4th, to win 110-100.

Keys of the Game

  • Fast break points – The Wolves won the fast break battle 23-9.  Without their new big three, the Celtics tried to slow down the game to a screeching halt, but the Wolves wanted nothing to do with that tempo and moved the ball up the court.
  • Free throws – The Wolves were 25-27 (?!?!) from the charity stripe tonight, outpacing the Celtics 9-14 effort from the line.
  • Turnovers – Watching this game and seeing the final lines, you almost wonder how the Wolves didn’t win by an even larger margin.  Minnesota only turned the ball over 8 times Monday night, while Boston had 17.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Nikola Pekovic – Another huge performance from Pekovic, with 29 points on 9-15 shooting from the field and 11-11 from the FT line.  Pekovic set the tone early and dominated the Celtics big men in the paint, putting them both in foul trouble early.
  2. Andrei Kirilenko – Nice effort from AK47 Monday night, with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
  3. Dante Cunningham – Ham had another nice shooting night on the Target Center floor, going 7-12 from the field for 19 points.  He also threw in 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 86, Memphis Grizzlies 99

March 31, 2013 by

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Game Summary:

The Memphis Grizzlies blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter to sweep the season series between the two squads and to extend the Grizzlies’ win streak over the Pups to 11. Leading the way was Marc Gasol, who helped overcome a big performance on the other end from close friend and fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio.

Gasol, who has been playing through injury after suffering a torn abdominal muscle just a couple weeks ago, took advantage of the short-handed Wolves who were missing big man Nikola Pekovic to a sprained ankle. The 7-foot-1 center has played a big part in what has become an impressive Memphis season this year.

With Minnesota taking a 67-65 lead into the final period of play, the Grizzlies ignited to blow out the Pups 34-19 in the fourth quarter and Memphis improved to 49-24 on the season. The frontcourt options for Memphis were seemingly endless for a team that had enough time covering for Pekovic’s 290-pound body in the paint.

Memphis survived a near triple-double from Tricky Ricky as he fell one assists shy of his second career triple-double. The Grizz fought back with 50% field goal shooting as a team and 60% marksmanship from beyond the arc. Backup forward Darrell Arthur added 14 points (6-9 FG) off of the bench to spark a strong second unit bunch and point guard Mike Conley controlled the pace in the final period to help extend the Grizzlies’ dominance over the Timberwolves.

Keys of the Game:

  • Steals - The Lionel Hollins-led group did an excellent job of getting hands in the passing lanes and really interfered with the Wolves ball movement in the fourth quarter especially. Out-stealing Minnesota 9-3, six different Memphis players recorded at least one steal in an impressive show of defense.
  • Turnovers - Whenever you give the other team extra opportunities to score, you are shooting yourself in the foot and that is exactly what Minnesota did as they committed 16 turnovers to only 9 by the Grizzlies. Memphis does an excellent job of lateral ball movement in the half court offense and displayed excellent patience by working the shot clock to find the open man on the offensive end.
  • Shooting - The Grizzlies were precise in their shot looks as they nailed 6 of their 10 attempts from long-range and 37 of 73 looks from the field.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Marc Gasol - The loss of Pekovic from Minnesota’s frontcourt proved to be the dagger in this game as the Pups had a very difficult time containing Gasol with the combo of Greg Stiemsma and Chris Johnson. Well regarded as one of the top passing big men in the NBA, Gasol tallied 6 assists while also converting on 8 of his 12 field goal attempts as he notched 21 points and 8 rebounds. While many feared he may be lost for the season following his recent re-injury of his abdomen, Gasol has come on strong over the past few games and continues to give his squad momentum as they eye a playoff run in the following weeks.
  2. Ricky Rubio - Ricky truly played another fantastic game despite little support from his teammates in the final period, and unfortunately fell only 1 assist shy of notching his second career triple-double. In 40 minutes, Rubio finished with the line of 23 points (6-12 FG), 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Ricky provided more scoring than he is used to and carried the team offensively throughout much of the game.
  3. Mike Conley - Memphis’ point guard really set the tone for the Grizzlies offense in the final period of play and did an excellent job of pushing the ball up the floor for transition buckets. The former Ohio State standout finished with the line of 19 points (8-15 FG, 3-3 3Pt) and 4 assists in 33 minutes.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 101 – Oklahoma City Thunder 93

March 29, 2013 by

Rubio over Durant ... Yes! (Photo credit: Timberwolves Facebook)

Rubio over Durant … Yes! (Photo credit: Timberwolves Facebook)

Game Summary

The 53-19, Northwest division leaders, OKC Thunder took their show on the road to the Target Center Friday night to take on our Timberwolves for the last time this season.  The Timberwolves beat the Thunder at home back on 12/20, but have dropped the last meetings in Oklahoma City by a wide margin.

While the Timberwolves have been playing better via getting injured players back into the lineup over the past two weeks, the team was hit with a bit of bad news earlier Friday; Kevin Love still isn’t cleared to play because of his hand injury.  We might learn more next week on whether or not Love will be able to return to action at all this season.

Here is how Friday night’s game progressed.  The Wolves opened up with the following lineup – Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Thunder countered with Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Kendrick Perkins.

Both teams started off cold from the field with the Wolves taking a small lead in the early minutes.  Going into the first timeout, the Thunder and Wolves were tied at 10, but both teams were shooting under 35% from the field.  Coming out of the timeout, Russell Westbrook seemed to decide that it was his time to take over, putting in a quick 7 points and 3 assists with a few minutes left in the 1st quarter.

At the end of the 1st, the Timberwolves and Thunder were tied at 23 apiece.  The Wolves were able to stick with the Thunder via their offensive rebounding prowess, collecting 7 in the first twelve minutes.  Nikola Pekovic had a very strong 1st quarter, with a game high 8 points and 7 rebounds going into the 2nd.  The only other worthwhile note from the 1st would be a chippy sequence between Barea and Kevin Martin.  Barea seems to get under someone’s skin every game now (if you include mine).

The Thunder came out strong in the 2nd quarter, including a surprise performance from Hasheem Thabeet.  Thabeet put down a thunder dunk (pun alert) in the opening minute and then picked up a steal to lead to a fast break.  After a Derek Fisher three pointer, the Thunder took their biggest lead of the game, 30-23.  However, the Wolves countered quickly with their own 7-0 run to tie the game up, leading to a Thunder timeout.

A back and forth affair continued through the remainder of the 2nd quarter.  The good news; the Wolves held a 53-48 lead at halftime.  Chase Budinger had a solid few minutes as well – going 2-3 from the field, both of his makes from three point range, and 2-2 from the free throw line for 8 points.  The bad news; Dante Cunningham left the court and went to the locker room with a wrist injury in the 2nd quarter.

Here are a couple of halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • Breaking: Kevin Durant is good.  8-9 for 17 points in the 1st half and it looked effortless
  • Russell Westbrook and the Thunder forced two early fouls on Rubio but he was able to avoid picking up a third for the remainder of the half.  (A huge break)
  • Paging Andrei Kirilenko!  Where are you?

Minnesota continued their strong play in the 3rd quarter, going down low to Pekovic, but also coming alive from long range as well.  Durant and Westbrook continued to carry the Thunder, keeping the team within striking distance.  Tonight’s game actually has me rethinking my thoughts on the forthcoming playoffs.  I have been thinking it was the Thunder’s really to lose and didn’t see it happening.  However, without a consistent Kevin Martin / third wheel, they are going to struggle to get through the conference and are absolutely beatable in a seven game series.

Pekovic continued to dominate in the paint, finishing the 3rd quarter with 18 & 14.  Kirilenko and Rubio had strong quarters as well.  In more good news, Dante Cunningham returned to the court for the final few seconds of the 3rd quarter.  After three quarters of very enjoyable basketball, the Pups held an 80-77 lead going into the final twelve minutes.

The Thunder went cold in the 4th quarter allowing the Wolves to extend their lead to 11 points with five minutes left in the game.  Rubio, Cunningham, Budinger, and Pekovic were all making positive contributions.  However, you knew the Thunder weren’t going to go away quietly, as they quickly cut the lead down to 5 points with about four minutes to go.

Despite their effort, the Thunder couldn’t complete the comeback.  The Wolves wind up splitting the season series with the Thunder, with both teams winning their two, respective home games.  Final score from the Target Center was Minnesota Timberwolves 101 – Oklahoma City Thunder 93.  A great, team win from our Pups!

Keys of the Game

  • Bench play – The Wolves bench scored 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.  Solid performances throughout the rotation for the home team.  OKC’s bench was virtually nonexistent, putting up 17 points; including a miserable performance from Kevin Martin (1-9 from the field for 4 points and very little else).
  • Free throws – While by no means did the Wolves dominate this area (22-27 vs. 16-20 for OKC) it is an area worth calling out, given the Thunder’s overall strength in getting to and converting on free throws (#1 in the league in both).

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Nikola Pekovic – A huge night from Pekovic from beginning to end.  He dominated the Thunder in the paint, finishing with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
  2. Kevin Durant – Durant showed the locals why he is the NBA’s second greatest star right now, behind LeBron.  KD finished with 36 points on 13-19 shooting and 7 rebounds.
  3. Ricky Rubio – This was very close to going to Chase Budinger, and then Rubio poked away the ball with twenty seconds remaining in the game to seal the victory.  Rubio finished with 17 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals.  Rubio was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line tonight.

 

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Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Los Angeles Lakers 120

March 28, 2013 by

08^740919 05WOLF032813.jpgGame Summary:

Before spoiling the big ending between the Timberwolves and Lakers on Wednesday night, let me set up the context to what would ultimately be one of the most controversial endings to this NBA season. With 5 and a half to play in the final period of play, the Wolves trailed LA 106-94 playing in the Target Center. The Pups were hanging by a thread as Dante Cunningham was playing hero due to his red-hot mid-ranger game and Ricky Rubio doing everything to find him for 15-18 footers. With just around 3 minutes left to play, the Timberwolves switched things up and took part in the infamous hack-a-Dwight strategy. Fouling Dwight on every LA offensive possession, the strategy worked brilliantly as the big man hit only 2 of his 8 free throws over the course of the next minute while Minnesota cut their deficit to only 7 points with right around 2 minutes to play. Dwight, who is shooting 49% from the charity stripe on the season, has been unable to significantly improve his free throw shooting since joining the NBA as a 19-year-old, nearly 8 years ago.

Here’s where things got insane. With 3.4 seconds left and Kobe shooting the second of his two foul shots, Minnesota was out of timeouts and was in need of some serious luck in order to extend the game into overtime. As Kobe released the free throw, the ball bounced graciously off of the front of the rim as Rubio found himself able to easily the ball falling right in front of his face. Racing down the court with no timeouts, Ricky dashed the length of the court in order to get up a last second three-pointer in hopes of tying the game and taking it into overtime in front of the screaming Target Center audience. Just as Ricky approached the three-point line in the midst of a race to beat the clock, Kobe’s arm extended from behind Ricky’s head and came down upon the Spaniards’ left arm just as he was releasing the ball. On the right side, Dwight Howard made significant contact with Ricky’s other side before the shot was released, and Minnesota fans paused for a split second before seeing their hopes for three free throws and a shot at overtime go straight down the drain. No foul was called, despite one official having a clear view of the contact right next to Ricky and Kobe quickly headed through to the lockerroom as the game was official, 120-117 in favor of Los Angeles.

I could go on and on about how the referees blew the game and that Minnesota got jipped, but what good would that do? The fact is that the Wolves waited until the very end of the game to stage a run and ultimately came up a hair short to a player and organization that is clearly favored by the National Basketball Association. It would be ignorant to say that the NBA does not want Los Angeles to grab the eighth seed in the playoffs, because if the Lakers are able to grab the final spot there will be a lot more money in this year’s postseason than there would be if, say, Utah jumped ahead of LA.

Regardless of the finish, I was happy to see Minnesota finish this game with some pride while also saving their best play for last. This 24 game losing streak to LA, however, needs to end soon.

Keys of the Game:

  • Shot-blocking - The Lakers out-blocked the Timberwolves 9 to 3 as D-12 did an excellent job of setting the tempo in the interior for Los Angeles. With Greg Stiemsma an inefficient bench option and Pekovic lacking vertical leap, the Timberwolves are essentially without a shot-blocker in their current rotation with Chris Johnson warming the bench for the foreseeable future.
  • Three-point shooting - After draining 14 threes the night before in Detroit, the Timberwolves were only able to knock down 5 of their 17 attempts while the Lakers nailed 10 of their 22 looks from beyond the arc. Kobe, Nash, Steve Blake and Antawn Jamison all hit at least 2 threes for Los Angeles

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Kobe Bryant - What’s new? Kobe dominated the Timberwolves for the umpteenth time of his career in route to extending the Lakers current win streak over Minnesota to 24 games. While he definitely got away with a foul on Rubio which could have sent the game into overtime, it was Kobe who did just enough to keep LA from imploding after the hack-a-Dwight debacle cut the Wolves deficit late in the fourth quarter. Kobe finished the night with a line of 31 points (12-21 FG), 7 assists and 3 rebounds in 38 minutes.
  2. Dwight Howard - Yes, Dwight shot a horrendous 7-17 from the free throw line and was being laughed at by many Wolves fans in attendance, but he also completely dominated the paint in the fourth quarter and finished with 25 points (9-13 FG), 16 points, 5 steals and 5 blocks in 34 minutes.
  3. Dante Cunningham - Cunningham was Minnesota’s spark in the fourth quarter and his mid-range game was red-hot. Cunningham faced very soft close outs from LA defenders and responded by draining jumper after jumper in the faces of defenders. DC Hustle scored 18 points (9-15 FG) to pair with 4 rebounds in 19 minutes off of the bench.
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Minnesota Timberwolves 105, Detroit Pistons 82

March 27, 2013 by
Photo Credit: Associated Press

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Game Recap:

On various occasions this season, the Timberwolves have shown us glimpses of what could have potentially been a special 2012-13 campaign had it not been for the myriad of injuries that led the season down the drain. Tuesday night happened to be one of those instances.

Travelling to Detroit to take on the Pistons, the Timberpups staged a second-half blowout due to an explosion of three-pointers despite ranking dead-last as a team in shooting from range. Once the Wolves got hot in the third quarter, the lackluster Pistons seemingly went into autopilot mode and disappeared as they fell to 24-48 on the season.

This game was not as lopsided in the first half as it ultimately turned out to be, and was much more of a defensive battle than the shooting contest it later evolved into. The Pups led 19-16 after the first quarter as Nikola Pekovic controlled the pace in the paint. Detroit, still without rookie center Andre Drummond as he recovers from back surgery, had a difficult time containing Pek as he managed to muscle his way around the interior for second-chance buckets. Drummond, who was the eighth overall selection in last summers NBA Draft, has played absolutely fantastic for Detroit this season before requiring back surgery. The 19-year-0ld center was making a case for Rookie of the Year before falling to injury, and the Pistons have sorely missed his presence in the middle as PF Greg Monroe has been forced to play out of position at the 5.

The second quarter was largely uneventful as the two teams kept it close for the majority of the period. Alexey Shved continued his underwhelming second half of the season highlighted with a few stupid turnovers that led to Detroit fast breaks. Both of his turnovers in the second quarter were the result of him leaving his feet and broadcasting passes across the defense, leading to easy interceptions by defenders watching both their man and the ball. In order to limit these turnovers, Shved needs to take more direct lines on his drives and not leave his feet before deciding to pass.

Pekovic led the Timberwolves with 14 points and 8 rebounds on 6-7 shooting in first half as the Wolves went into the lockerroom with a 44-38 lead. For the Pistons, Monroe led with 8 points and 4 rebounds while having a very difficult time sticking with the 290-pound monster opposite of him in the paint.

The game shifted after the break as Minnesota came out of halftime red-hot from behind the arc. For the first few minutes of the third period, the two teams traded three-pointers as each squad demonstrated good ball movement and spacing. The Pups opened up the second half by hitting 5 of their first 6 three-point attempts and closed the quarter a ridiculous 7-9 from long range as a team. After going scoreless in the first half, Andrei Kirilenko added 7 points in the third quarter as he was very active in the cutting lanes and along the baseline. Pekovic contributed some fierce defense on the Pistons primary scorer, Monroe, and the team highlighted their big third quarter by turning a 6-point halftime lead into a 28-point lead to close the quarter.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with a few more JJ Barea three-pointers and a raising temper from Pistons Head Coach Lawrence Frank. The Pups held on the win by a score of 105-82.

Keys of the Game:

  • Three-point shooting - Take a note, Wolves fans. This is what happens when more than one Timberwolves player heats it up from downtown and when players effectively feed off of each other on offense. While this is only one game and a total outlier to take from this season, it is important to recognize the importance of Minnesota gaining more healthy bodies – especially when those healthy bodies can shoot threes. Seven different players hit at least one three pointer for Minnesota, and as a team they shot 14-26 from deep.
  • Passing - The Wolves tallied 26 assists as a team and did a very good job of rotating the ball the find the open man on the perimeter. It must be noted that the Pistons did a poor job of closing out Minnesota shooters, but it is encouraging to see the Wolves actually knock down open shot attempts.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Nikola Pekovic - While JJ Barea may have had the best performance statistically, I believe that Pek deserves the credit for effectively opening up shots on the perimeter due to his interior dominance in the first half. After a big first half, Pek finished the game with 18 points (7-10 FG) and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes.
  2. JJ Barea - Huge game for Minnesota’s sparkplug PG as he recorded 21 points (8-11 FG) in only 21 minutes. Throw in 5-7 from beyond the arc and only 3 turnovers and you have a classic example of what “Good JJ” can do for a team off of the bench.
  3. Ricky Rubio - Ricky faced off against his close friend and fellow Spanish National teammate Jose Calderon and had the edge in the matchup. Only needing to play 27 minutes, Ricky finished with 14 points (6-9 FG), 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Rubio hit both of his attempts from long range and provided solid defense against a good PG in Calderon.

 

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Minnesota Timberwolves 97 – Chicago Bulls 104

March 24, 2013 by

Source: Timberwolves Facebook page

Source: Timberwolves Facebook page

Game Summary

After a quick trip out west, the Minnesota Timberwolves returned to the Target Center for a Sunday evening game against the Chicago Bulls.  The Wolves were victorious Friday night against a hapless Phoenix Suns team.  The Bulls were coming off a big victory Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers.

The Wolves opened up with the following lineup – Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Bulls continue to miss Derrick Rose, while Joakim Noah missed his second straight game.  They were also without Rip Hamilton.  Given all of this, the Bulls starting lineup consisted of Kirk Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Nazr Mohammed.

Going into the first timeout of the game, the Wolves held a 12-10 lead.  The only Bulls player doing anything positive for the team on the offensive end was Hinrich, who had 8 of the team’s 10 points.  Each of the Wolves’ starters contributed at least 2 points.  However, coming out of the timeout, the Bulls came alive, going on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game.

At the end of the 1st, the Bulls held a 23-16 lead, continuing their run for the remainder of the quarter.  They dominated the Pups on the offensive boards, with 11 offensive rebounds in the 1st quarter.  By comparison, the Wolves had 1 offensive rebound and 10 total rebounds in the quarter.  Chicago was led by Hinrich and Deng, while the Ricky Rubio was doing his part to lead the Wolves.  Unfortunately, the Wolves frontline looked completely overmatched.

The 2nd quarter got off to a rough start for the Wolves as well.  Adelman had to burn a timeout within the first three minutes, as the Bulls doubled up the Wolves on the scoreboard 12-6 to start the quarter and took a 35-22 lead.  Nate Robinson provided a spark for the Bulls in the quarter, with 9 points and 6 assists during his time on the floor.

The Bulls do an excellent job of slowing down a game and frustrating their opponent.  The Wolves fell victim on both accounts in the 1st half.  The body language was not good and the amount of complaining to the officials was overdone.  The only Pup that really stood out in the half was Dante Cunningham, who had 8 points in the half, but didn’t have a single rebound.

At the half, the Bulls held a 56-43 advantage after a wild final seconds.  The Bulls grabbed a defensive rebound and Nate Robinson threw a beautiful lob to Taj Gibson for a slam.  However, with about four seconds on the clock, the Wolves had enough time to get up the court, leading to a Derrick Williams rainbow three pointer that went in as time expired.  Williams was overheard calling glass.  (OK, not really)

Here are a couple of halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • The Wolves broadcast announced during the 1st quarter that Kevin Love would send x-rays to NY on his hand later this week and he could be cleared to play thereafter.  Love said his shooting has improved greatly.
  • It was 80’s night at the Target Center Sunday night.  However, the team wore their current uniforms?  Would have liked to have seen the original uniforms from 1989.
  • There were a number of Bulls fans in the crowd, as they could clearly be heard over the TV broadcast.

Ricky Rubio came out of the locker room and was fired up.  He was creating havoc on the floor in the early minutes of the 3rd quarter.  With a little over five minutes to play in the quarter, the Wolves were finally able to get the lead down to single digits, forcing a Chicago timeout.  Rubio was doing everything in his power to get the team back in the game and it looked like it was finally starting to rub off on the other Pups.

Chicago was able to counter every mini-run the Wolves made and at the end of the 3rd quarter, maintained a double digit lead, 78-68.  Carlos Boozer came alive in the quarter and had already amassed a double-double (15 & 10) by the end of the 3rd.  On the Wolves’ end, Pekovic and Williams had decent 3rd quarters, but Andrei Kirilenko was MIA.

Minnesota tried to claw back into the game multiple times in the 4th quarter as well.  Completely against the season long trend, the team caught fire from long range, with three’s from Budinger, Shved, and Williams to cut the lead to single digits again.  Carlos Boozer clearly had other plans on the night, as he continued to put the Bulls on his back and end each Wolves run.

Despite their efforts in the 2nd half, the Wolves were never able to overcome the deficit and fell to Chicago 104-97.  Overall, it was an enjoyable game to watch, just didn’t have the outcome Wolves fans would want.

Keys of the Game

  • Rebounding – The clear differentiator in tonight’s game.  The Bulls owned the offensive boards, grabbing 20 of them Sunday night, while the Wolves were only able to grab 6.  Those advantages carried right over to total rebounds as well, with the Bulls holding a 52-32 advantage on the night.
  • Effort – The Pups looked incredibly flat in the 1st half.  Ridnour, Pekovic, and Kirilenko all looked worn down (and were virtually non-existent).  Despite playing Saturday night, the Bulls came out as the more aggressive team and that helped them build and maintain their lead throughout much of the game.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Carlos Boozer – Always seemed to have the answer when the Wolves made a run and owned the boards throughout the evening.  Boozer finished with 19 points & 12 rebounds.
  2. Nate Robinson – Chicago’s sparkplug helped build the lead in the 1st half and drove home a dagger three pointer in the 4th quarter.  Robinson finished with 22 points & 10 assists.
  3. Jimmy Butler – A very strong performance from Butler tonight; 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.
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