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Minnesota Timberwolves 117 – Phoenix Suns 86

March 23, 2013 by

Photo credit: AP/Matt York

Photo credit: AP/Matt York

Game Summary

After a cold night shooting in Sacramento on Thursday, the Timberwolves visited the Phoenix Suns with the hopes of warming up in the desert on Friday.  With both seasons virtually over, there wasn’t too much excitement in the air, and with the Gophers playing a late game in the NCAA tournament Friday night, you might excuse fans in Minnesota of being distracted from the Wolves.  Nevertheless, here is a recap of Friday night’s game.

The Wolves opened up with the same lineup – Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Suns opened up with Goran Dragic, Wes Johnson, Markieff Morris, PJ Tucker, and Luis Scola.  Wolves’ fans might notice that the Suns are now starting Wes at the SG position.  If you were wondering why the Suns were playing .333 ball that would be part of the answer.  Also note that the Suns were without Gortat (probably out for the season, per Suns announcers), O’Neal, and Dudley for Friday’s game.

After a slow first few minutes, the Timberwolves came alive in the 1st quarter, somewhat erasing the memories of Thursday night in Sacramento.  Pekovic and Kirilenko led the way and really controlled the paint on both ends of the floor.  With about 6.5 minutes left in the quarter, the Wolves were up 13-10.  From that point, the Wolves owned the 1st, outscoring the Suns 21-8, taking a 31-18 lead into the 2nd quarter.

While Pups fans might have expected the team to come back to earth a bit, the 2nd quarter looked very similar to the 1st, with the visiting team pouring it on offensively against the Suns.  Chase Budinger helped start the quarter off strong, forcing Suns coach Lindsey Hunter to call a timeout within the first minute of the 2nd.  Budinger was an early 3-4 from the field and helped increase the Wolves lead to 15+ points.  It was off to the races from this point on.

The Suns big men were all in foul trouble – as Scola and Morris were clearly outplayed by the Wolves frontline.  At the half, the Wolves held a 67-39 lead.  The 67 points from the Wolves are/were the most points the team has scored in a half all season.  Here are a couple of halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • It is pretty amazing what the Wolves look like when they shoot north of 44%, and they look very formidable when around 50%.
  • The Suns are an abysmal team and looked asleep at the wheel.  This is what happens when you rely on Beasley and Johnson.

All the Wolves had to do was avoid playing “not to lose” in the second half and they would pull out the victory.  That’s exactly what they were able to do.  The Suns fans remaining in the stands in the 3rd quarter were treated to an exciting quarter of basketball, even if you could hear crickets through the television.  The Suns weren’t able to do much of anything in terms of making a comeback.  While outscoring the Wolves 30-28 in the 3rd quarter, it did virtually nothing to make it more of a game.  At the end of the quarter, the Wolves held a 26 point advantage and a 95-69 lead.

Even less Suns fans remained for the 4th quarter and those that did deserve a refund from the Sarver family because it was a pathetic effort from the team.  After giving up 95 point in three quarters to one of the worst offensive teams in the league, you would think the Suns would have come out in the 4th with a little bit more pride.  Again, I guess it shouldn’t have been expected when you are led by those two ex-Timberwolves.  Anyone that wishes either of those two were still on the team doesn’t understand the locker room impact on a team and/or that some players just don’t have what it takes internally to ‘turn it on’.

The Wolves outscored the Suns 22-17 in the 4th quarter and coasted to a very easy 117-86 victory.  Friday’s game was exactly what the Wolves players (and fans) needed; a victory that was never in doubt in the 2nd half.  Adelman had the ability to limit the minutes of many of his starters, particularly Pekovic, Kirilenko, and Williams’.  In fact, he was able to limit the minutes of everyone on the end of a back to back, and were afforded to do so because the reserves also outplayed anyone the Suns put on the floor.

Keys of the Game

  • Free Throws – The Wolves were 15-21 from the FT line in the 1st half, while the Suns were only 4-8.  That trend continued into the 2nd half as the Wolves finished 31-40 on the game.  Conversely, the Suns (and their lack of heart/effort) finished the game 10-21 from the line.  Again, just a pathetic effort all around from Phoenix.
  • Whistles – A deep correlation to FT’s but worth calling out separately, as the Suns big men were in foul trouble all night and couldn’t contain Minnesota’s frontline – both the starters and reserves.  The Suns were whistled for 29 personal fouls in the game vs. just 18 for the Wolves – which includes Stiemsma’s 5 PF’s.
  • Shooting – The Wolves shot 58% from the field in the 1st half to blow the game open and stayed above the 50% line throughout, finishing 42-79 for 53% on the night.  While the three point shooting woes continued (2-12), the team limited the total number attempted … as they should through the remainder of the season.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Greg Stiemsma – I’m going to go with Stiemsma as the #1 start due to the big minutes he played, but also because his contributions made a big impact in building the Wolves lead in the 1st half.  Greg finished 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a game high 34+ minutes.
  2. Andrei Kirilenko – Friday night felt like the return of the “real” (or at least desired) Kirilenko.  He was active on both ends of the floor and was a main cog in the machine that helped drive the huge advantage for the Wolves on the scoreboard.  Andrei finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds, including getting to the line 10 times on the evening.
  3. Ricky Rubio – Again, I’m going with guys that played heavier minutes in the 1st half to drive home the advantage over someone like Dante Cunningham, who played great Friday night, but it was in excessive garbage time in my opinion.  (There is nothing wrong with that by the way.)  Rubio finished the game with 12 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.  By the way, he’s awesome!
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Minnesota Timberwolves 98, Sacramento Kings 101

March 22, 2013 by

demarcus_vs_pekGame Summary:

Here we go again. Following a last-ditch pass from Ricky Rubio to Dante Cunningham for a missed desperation three-point attempt, the Wolves found themselves on the wrong side of a matchup against a vastly inferior opponent in the Sacramento Kings. Led by young guards Isaiah Thomas and Tyreke Evans, the Kings defeated Minnesota by a score of 101-98.

Inching closer to full strength, the Wolves once again started the lineup of Rubio-Ridnour-Kirilenko-Williams-Pekovic but saw marginal production from their primary scorers. AK-47 provided just 6 points on 3-9 shooting while Luke Ridnour shot just 1-7 from the field notching only 4 points.

Some good news for Timberwolves fans from Thursday night was the return of Chase Budinger, who after suffering a torn meniscus back on November 10th was able to log 18 minutes against the Kings. It is too late for Chase to help Minnesota push to the playoffs, but he is sure to provide improved perimeter shooting for the last month of the season. Budinger finished with 9 points (3-7 FG) and 4 rebounds.

Who would have thought that 66 games into the season, Minnesota would have a worse record than the 25-44 Sacramento Kings. This is a tremendous failure for a team that came into the season with legitimate playoff aspirations. Regardless of the myriad of injuries this team has faced, the Kings should in no way be outperforming the Love-less Pups.

Derrick Williams had a tough night shooting as he scored 12 points on 6-16 shooting. Following a strong past month of play, D-Will has been unable to gain consistency in his scoring on a nightly basis and it is tough to know which Derrick is going to show up. I will be the first to admit that I have been very impressed by the 21-year-olds growth this season as he has come a long way since the final two months of the previous season, but I really want to see Derrick use the last several weeks to start to produce on a much more consistent basis.

Nikola Pekovic led the Timberwolves in scoring with 18 points to go along with 12 boards, but shot only 6-12 from the field. Minnesota really needs Pek to step up in a big way if they are to finish the season on a strong note.

Keys of the Game:

  • Three-point shooting - It is very difficult to win a game when you shoot 1-19 from three. Well, that is precisely what the Timberwolves did as they lost by a mere 3 points. Finding and signing three-point shooters must be a priority of the Timberwolves brass this coming summer as they have struggled mightily from beyond the arc this season.
  • Shot-blocking - The Wolves blocked just two shots compared to 6 by the Kings. Minnesota has not done a great job of protecting the rim this season as they lack athleticism and length in their frontcourt.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Tyreke Evans - Evans managed to score 19 of his 21 points in the second half to go along with 5 points and 5 rebounds in 39 minutes. Despite a quiet first half in which Tyreke seemed to disappear, the third-year guard stayed patient and was ultimately the key to Sacramento’s victory. Evans shot 8-11 from the floor and put on full display the top end talent and abilities that made him the rookie of the year just a few years ago.
  2. Isaiah Thomas - Taken with the 60th – and final – selection of the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas has turned into a valuable piece of the Kings young rotation. After Aaron Brooks flopped as the starting point guard for Sacramento, Thomas has continued to provide crafty scoring and good passing as the starter. Standing at only 5-foot-9, Thomas matched up well against JJ Barea but had a more difficult time on the defensive end opposite of the taller and longer Ricky Rubio. In 35 minutes, Thomas finished with 24 points (8-15 FG, 3-6 3PT), 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
  3. Ricky Rubio - Another near triple-double for Ricky, who committed only 1 turnover in 32 minutes while recording 12 points (4-13 FG), 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. It was another frustrating night shooting the ball for the Spaniard, and it is clear that shooting must be the focus of his offseason training for this coming summer. Although he has established himself as an above-average free throw shooter, Ricky has a lot of trouble knocking down shots off the dribble in the speed of the NBA game.
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VOTW – George Mikan

March 19, 2013 by

Here’s a real throwback for you – a relatively quick reel on Minnesota’s greatest basketball player, George Mikan.  “The NBA’s first superstar” was the dominant force of the newly named/formed NBA in 1949.  His career numbers tell the story for itself, as Mikan led the Minneapolis Lakers to the NBA title in 1950 and 1952-1954 (along with a BAA title in 1949 – the season before the merger with the NBL).

This YouTube clip starts off with the commercial Mikan filmed for/with Sportscenter – back when SC as I knew and loved it existed.  How often do you find yourself saying “remember when they used to use the chest pass” and other ‘throwback’ moves.  (Insert praise for Ricky Rubio here)

You have to love the story in the clip regarding playing his brother and breaking his nose during one of their match-ups on the court and then telling his mother that he would do the same to her if she had been out there.  That is a level of desire that only the true greats possess.

Take a trip down Nostalgia Avenue for a few minutes with this clip.  Timberwolves fans, please note that there was a bright spot in Minneapolis basketball, it just happens to be back in the 1950’s.  All we can do is sit and wait for these great moments from the Pups.

Filed Under: Video of the Week Tagged With:

Minnesota Timberwolves 77 – Memphis Grizzlies 92

March 18, 2013 by

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Danny Johnston

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Danny Johnston

Game Summary:

Less than 24 hours afer a nice win on their home floor, the Timberwolves were back on the court in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies.  Let’s get right to it; the Wolves opened up with the same lineup from Sunday night (!!) – Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Grizzlies opened up with Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol.

The Pups jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, with the entire starting lineup contributing a little bit of something to the advantage.  That forced an early timeout from Lionel Hollins.  However, that advantage slowly but surely diminished over the rest of the quarter, as the Grizzlies ended the quarter on a 9-0 run and held a 22-20 advantage at the end of the 1st quarter.

While low scoring, the 2nd quarter was relatively enjoyable.  Earlier in the quarter, Alexey Shved looked to be heating up a bit hitting his first two jumpers.  Unfortunately that run was short lived and he seemed to disappear as the minutes wore on.  I think Alexey could use a night off.  That can’t happen right now given the roster, but it probably wouldn’t hurt.  The bad version of JJ Barea came to play in Memphis.  At halftime, Barea was 1-7 from the field

The Grizzlies big men dominated the first half with Prince, Randolph, and Gasol all having very nice quarters.  Ed Davis came in to grab 5 rebounds and 2 blocks as well.  Memphis closed the quarter with a fury, as a Mike Conley jumper was sandwiched between a few defensive highlights from Prince.  At the half, the Grizzlies held a 45-39 lead.  Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • After a good shooting night Sunday, the Wolves were back to 36% for the first half
  • JJ and Ricky were a combined 2-12 from the field in the half – that isn’t going to get it done
  • Very few FT’s in the half, as the Wolves were 3-3 and the Grizzlies were 4-6

Someone forgot to tell the Pups that the 3rd quarter started as the Grizzlies jumped out to a 9-0 run to build a double digit lead.  The Marc Gasol show continued as he made Pekovic look inferior.  The entire Wolves squad were ice cold in the first half and even worse in the 3rd quarter.  Halfway through the quarter, the Grizzlies outscored the Wolves 18-4 and held a 20 point lead, 63-43.

With a 70-47 lead in the 3rd quarter, Wolves fans around the world had heart problems.  Ricky Rubio collided knees with Jerryd Bayless and limped off to the court.  As TV coverage returned to the game, Rubio was on the bench.  Minutes later, the Grizzlies TV crew noted that he was on his way to the locker room.  Words cannot describe the level of frustration this season has become.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Grizzlies held a 74-53 lead. It was ugly while Rubio was in there, the game became a sideshow afterward, with the Grizzlies pouring it on with highlight reel dunks and uncontested three pointers.  The only good news to come out of this entire portion of the game was that the Wolves sideline reported that Rubio simply tweaked his groin and he was in the back trying to stretch it out.  He should be good to go later in the week when the Wolves return to action.

While the Pups reserves made a run in the 4th quarter, it was far too little, too late.  Minnesota outscored the Grizzlies 24-18 in the final frame, but it did little to make the final score look much better.  I’ll spare you the details.  This might help paint a picture: Alexey Shved was the Wolves leading scorer in the game with 12 points.

Keys of the Game

  • Shooting– Once again, the Wolves shoot a low percentage (34%) and it completely deflates your hopes of a comeback.  At the same time, they took 24 (?!?!) three point attempts.  This roster is horrific at 3PT shooting and yet they continue to hoist them up.
  • Frontline play – The Grizzlies starting frontline ate up the Wolves tonight.  Prince and Randolph both had double doubles and Marc Gasol looked better than both of them.  None of the Wolves frontline starters scored in double digits and Williams “led” the three Pups with 6 rebounds.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Mike Conley – Dominated the PG matchup tonight against Rubio with 20 points, including 8-14 from the field and 3-6 from long range.  He also added 6 assists and 2 steals, with only 1 turnover.
  2. Marc Gasol – Also dominated his Wolves counterpart.  There has been a good amount of chatter on Pekovic’s forthcoming free agency online.  Tonight’s game didn’t help his cause.
  3. Tayshaun Prince – 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Grizzlies starting SF.  Prince shut down Kirilenko and made a few, key defensive plays in the game to halt small runs by the Wolves.
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Preview – Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies 3-18-13

March 18, 2013 by

wolves grizz previewSetting the stage:

After a nice win at the Target Center on St. Patrick’s Day, the Timberwolves reward was to get on a plane and head to Memphis for the second of a back-to-back against the Grizzlies.  The two teams have only played once thus far this season, back on 2/11, where the Grizzlies dominated the Wolves and won by a final score of 105-88.

Memphis has had the Wolves number for some time now, winning the last ten meetings between the two teams.  The Grizzlies will also be looking to win their eighth straight on their home court, which would also snap a two game losing streak that they are on.  They are coming off of a loss in Utah on Saturday night, which puts them in a dead heat with the Nuggets for the 4th seed in the Western Conference.

Minnesota received a boost on Sunday with the return of Andrei Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic to the starting lineup.  While Pekovic looked solid throughout the game against the Hornets, it looked like Kirilenko was a little rusty.  However, he came up with the key defensive plays at the end of the game to help seal the win for the team.  While he isn’t expected to be ready to play tonight, there are rumblings that Chase Budinger’s return is near as well.

Player to watch:

Zach Randolph – Since returning to the lineup last week, Randolph has been on a tear, averaging 17.3 ppg and 11.3 rpg.  He’ll be facing a vastly improved Derrick Williams and it will be interesting to see what the crafty lefthander can do against an un-caged lion.

Match-up to watch:

Nikola Pekovic vs. Marc Gasol.  Pekovic looked good in his return on Sunday night but did not have a great defensive game against Robin Lopez and Anthony Davis.  He will need to step it up tonight when he faces an underrated center in Marc Gasol.  In the meeting in February, Gasol put up 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.  At the same time, he held Pekovic to only 8 points and 6 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Predictions:

Tonight’s game includes a tough travel itinerary and a very tough team/match-up for the Wolves.

Final score prediction: Timberwolves 82, Grizzlies 96

Three stars of the game predictions:

  1. Marc Gasol
  2. Zach Randolph
  3. Ricky Rubio

Let’s go Wolves!

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Minnesota Timberwolves 97 – New Orleans Hornets 95

March 17, 2013 by
Who wants the green Twolves t-shirt? The author of this recap. Photo credit: NBAE

Who wants the green Twolves t-shirt? The author of this recap. Photo credit: NBAE

Game Summary

The luck o’ the Irish came through for the Timberwolves on Sunday, as Andrei Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic were back in the lineup for the team and the team pulled out the victory in the late seconds!  Here is how things transpired on St. Patrick’s Day.

The Wolves starting lineup looked like this: Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Hornets opened up with Greivis Vasquez, Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Anthony Davis, and Robin Lopez.

Going into the first timeout of the game, the Hornets held a 13-9 lead.  The Wolves looked a little disoriented, trying to get Pekovic and Kirilenko back in the flow.  While Pekovic was succeeding in the paint, Andrei looked a little off in the early minutes.  Luckily, the Hornets had already turned the ball over four times.  In other words, the game was being played like you might expect from two teams that are a combined 41 games under .500.

Toward the end of the 1st quarter, the Wolves managed to go on a little run to take a 28-27 lead into the 2nd quarter.  Derrick Williams came alive in the final few minutes of the 1st, including a three pointer as the clock was running down in the quarter.  The Hornets frontcourt of Lopez and Davis also had a nice quarter, shooting 7-9 from the field for 50% of the teams points.

A few minutes into the 2nd quarter, the Hornets went on a 9-0 run to take a 43-39 lead.  Adelman had seen enough and burned a timeout.  The rest of the 2nd quarter was only slightly better for the Wolves, as they never regained the lead from the Hornets.  The teams combined for 19 turnovers in the half but they went up and down the court enough to make for a visually appealing half of basketball.

At the half, the Hornets held a 52-50 lead.  Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • Even with Rubio much healthier, Greivis Vasquez continued to eat up the Wolves; 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first 24 minutes of action
  • While Pekovic looked pretty solid, Kirilenko looked flat and out of sync
  • I would like to see a Chris Johnson & Pekovic frontline in the near future

Early in the 3rd quarter, Pekovic picked up his 4th foul and was quickly replaced by Stiemsma on the floor.  The teams went back and forth in the early minutes of the quarter until Luke Ridnour threw a behind the back pass to DWill for the flush, giving the Wolves their first lead in some time, 63-62.  The highlight led to a Monty Williams timeout with slightly more than six minutes left in the quarter.

Similar to prior quarters, The Wolves finished the 3rd quarter strong and took a 76-73 lead into the final frame.  Derrick Williams led the way in the quarter, finishing the quarter with 20 points.  However, the referees failed to call a foul on the Hornets as time expired in the quarter which would have (read: should have) sent Williams to the line with a chance to expand the lead.

Apologies in advance for the brevity of the 4th quarter recap.  The game was actually enjoyable to watch and with about 90 seconds to play I noticed that I hadn’t typed in a single note from the quarter.  The Hornets and Wolves kept it tight throughout the final twelve minutes.  Greivis Vasquez had a huge quarter, scoring 12 of his 24 points in the 4th to keep the Hornets in the game.  However, after going down 95-91, the Wolves scored the last 6 points of the game to steal the win on their home floor thanks to two defensive stops from Kirilenko.  Pekovic and AK hit three free throws in the final seconds to put the Wolves on top and secured the victory!

Recap - Minnesota Timberwolves 97 - New Orleans Hornets 95

Keys of the Game

  • Blocks – When you are significantly outrebounded by your opponent, you have to find another way to win the game and the Pups did so in the blocks department; 10 blocks for the team, 2 apiece for four different players.
  • Free throws – First and foremost, the Wolves made them.  Second, they got to the line 11 more times than the Hornets and made 8 more, including the three in final seconds to put them on top.
  • Shutting down Eric Gordon – I’m not exactly sure how this happened, but the Wolves did a great job on Gordon tonight, holding him to just 7 points on 3-6 shooting.  Rubio was on him for a portion of the game, but this was a tremendous team effort to erase Gordon’s offensive game.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Derrick Williams – Career high 28 points for DWill to go with 7 rebounds.  More importantly, he attacked the rim and played aggressively against Anthony Davis and others.
  2. Greivis Vasquez – While he didn’t have a good shooting night (10-25), Vasquez helped keep his team in the game with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Note the 6 TO’s though.
  3. Ricky Rubio – Rubio had a nice game shooting the ball, as he was 7-11 from the field for 16 points.  He also had 6 assists and respectable defense against a solid Hornets backcourt.
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Preview – Minnesota Timberwolves vs New Orleans Hornets 3-17-13

March 17, 2013 by

hornets wolves previewSetting the stage:

For the fourth and final time this season, the Timberwolves will meet the New Orleans Hornets.  Minnesota has taken two of the three prior meetings, including a rout last month at the Target Center, where our Pups pulled away early and never looked back, winning 115-86.  That win snapped a six game losing streak for the Wolves at the time, but they haven’t had much to smile about since.

While maintaining that big lead against the Hornets is one thing, the Wolves are coming off of a loss on Friday night to the Rockets in which they blew a 20 point lead in the second half.  While the team continues to play with only nine capable bodies, those types of losses shouldn’t happen.  As of this morning’s writing, there is no news on whether or not Pekovic or Kirilenko would be available for tonight’s game.  The team didn’t practice on Saturday and Adelman has cancelled this afternoon’s shoot-around.

The Hornets come into Sunday’s game on a two game losing streak as well.  Their last loss also came on Friday night against the Wizards.  If the team is looking for any type of good news, it can be found in the fact that Eric Gordon is back on the court again for the team.  Gordon has played 30+ minutes in each of the team’s last two games.

Our Pups are only 1.5 games ahead of the Hornets in the loss column this season, so this game could have ping pong ball implications.  If the Hornets win tonight, it brings the team closer to the potential coin flip for lottery positioning.  The entire premise of this paragraph is making me nauseous so I am going to stop now and not say/type where the rest of this goes.

Player to watch:

Eric Gordon – Gordon has missed a tremendous amount of time again for the Hornets.  However, when he plays, he is typically putting up respectable numbers.  Gordon matches up nicely against Ridnour and Shved, so it could be another big performance from the SG.

Match-up to watch:

Ricky Rubio vs. Greivis Vasquez.  This match-up has been highlighted before in earlier previews this season and there isn’t a reason to not do so again.  Vasquez has been phenomenal against the Wolves this season, averaging 13.3 ppg, 12 apg, and 5 rpg in the three, prior match-ups.  As you are likely well aware, Rubio has been a monster over the past month or so.  His earlier games against the Hornets were not very successful, but we should expect to see a much stronger performance from Ricky this evening.

Predictions:

Sunday home game for the Pups and let’s hope for a little luck o’ the Irish!

Final score prediction: Timberwolves 100, Hornets 91

Three stars of the game predictions:

  1. Ricky Rubio
  2. Derrick Williams
  3. Eric Gordon

Let’s go Wolves!

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Minnesota Timberwolves 100 – Houston Rockets 108

March 15, 2013 by

wolvesrockets315Game Summary

On Friday night the Wolves visited the Houston Rockets to start the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend.  There was no luck of the Irish (or any other nationality) for our Pups in the Toyota Center as the Wolves fell and fell hard.  Interested in a quick Recap - Minnesota Timberwolves 100 - Houston Rockets 108.  Interested in more?  Here is how the night transpired.

The Wolves continued on without Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko, their 8th and 9th games missed in a row, respectively.  The starting lineup remained as Rubio, Ridnour, Gelabale, Williams, and Stiemsma.  The Rockets opened up with Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Donatas Motiejunas, and Omer Asik.

Early in the game, Derrick Williams picked up an offensive foul that was arguably the worst I have seen called all season.  Not two minutes later, Williams picked up his second offensive foul and he was on the bench less than four minutes into the game; with the team already down to a bare minimum of able bodies.  The writing felt like it was on the wall for this one pretty early.

However, the Wolves played very well early despite missing Williams.  Dante Cunningham played well and the Wolves hit 59% of their shots in the 1st quarter.  Mickael Gelabale had a very strong quarter, with 4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  Greg Stiemsma also played well, shooting 3-3 from the field for 6 points to go with 2 blocks.  At the end of the 1st, the Pups held a 27-22 over the Rockets.

The good times continued for the Wolves in the 2nd quarter, as they were able to stave off an early run from the Rockets.  In the latter portion of the quarter, the Wolves were able to increase their lead and it had the early looks of a blowout.  Minnesota outscored Houston 30-17 in the quarter to take a 57-39 lead.   Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • The NBA TV studio crew practically destroyed the Wolves in pregame and spent most of halftime trying to change the topic
  • The Rockets looked like they were asleep at the wheel, with 15 turnovers through 2 quarters
  • Total team effort from the Wolves; 57 points, with four different players with a team high 8 points
  • It is amazing how well the Pups look when they hit shots – 55% at the half

The Rockets started the 3rd quarter like a completely different team, hitting jump shots and playing much better defense.  They started the quarter on a 12-5 run to cut the Wolves lead to 11, forcing Adelman to burn an early timeout.  James Harden came alive in the 3rd quarter and took it to the Wolves.  Unfortunately, the Wolves didn’t make any defensive adjustments (i.e. switching Rubio and Ridnour on one end of the floor) until there were less than two minutes in the quarter and after the Rockets cut the lead to 5 points.  After a wild, final ninety seconds of the quarter, the Wolves took an 80-74 lead into the 4th quarter.

There was another 12-5 run by the Rockets to start the 4th quarter, which gave the home team the lead and forced another timeout by Adelman.  The remainder of the quarter was not much better.  With two minutes left in the game, the Rockets still had the Wolves doubled up in the quarter, 25-12 and held a 99-92 lead.  At this point, realistic fans should have been well aware that this game was over.  The Wolves couldn’t do anything to stop or contain the Rockets in the second half and ultimately fell 108-100.

Keys of the Game

  • Game of two halves – Wolves defense gave up 39 points in the 1st half and 69 points in the 2nd.  They scored 57 points of their own in the 1st half and were held to 43 in the 2nd.
  • Rebounding – The Rockets outrebounded the Wolves 44-36, allowing Carlos Delfino to grab 10 rebounds (4 offensive).
  • Three point shooting – The coaching staff needs to put a limit on 3PT’s taken during a game and put some type of penalty on the team when it exceeds said number.  For a team that is really, REALLY bad at long range shooting, the Wolves remain way too trigger happy.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. James Harden – Huge second quarter from Harden without any response from the Wolves – 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, including 16-18 from the FT line.
  2. Jeremy Lin – Virtually the exact same comment as above for Harden.  24 points and 8 rebounds.
  3. JJ Barea – Barea had a nice game for the Wolves, with 19 points off the bench on 8-12 shooting.
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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets 3-15-13

March 15, 2013 by

Photo credit: Buzzfeed.com

Photo credit: Buzzfeed.com

Setting the stage:

The Timberwolves will once again grace the national audience with theirpresence, as NBA TV will be airing tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets. The Timberwolves are coming off of a loss Wednesday night in Indiana, a day after upsetting the Spurs at Target Center.  The Rockets come into the game with a 35-30 record on the season and are currently in the 7 seed in the Western Conference.

The two teams have met twice before this season, both in Minnesota, with each team claiming a victory.  Back on 12/26, the Rockets caught the Pup

s with aChristmas hangover, making a ferocious comeback in the 4th quarter to steal the victory.  The Wolves returned the favor on 1/19, with a 92-79 drumming of the Rockets at TC.  The latter game was a coming out party for Chris Johnson who had recently joined the team at that time.

In terms of injury news, there is nothing new to report for the Wolves.  Love and Budinger will remain out and it doesn’t look promising for Kirilenko or Pekovic.  There is also a small chance James Harden misses Friday’s game with a sore foot.  He is listed as a game time decision.

Player to watch:

Chandler Parsons – Friday night’s game is another opportunity to say “what if…” from prior draft nights.  Parsons is an excellent shooter from the SF spot and is averaging a little over 15 ppg and 5 rpg.  In the two earlier match-ups this year, he had been held in check by the Wolves wings, so he might be due for a breakout game.

Match-up to watch:

Ricky Rubio vs. Jeremy Lin.  Rubio has been on fire over the past few weeks and likely helping a lot of fantasy teams these days.  After a rough start to the season, Jeremy Lin has found consistency in his game, particularly in March.  Lin has averaged 13.8 ppg and 5.2 apg, but is doing so in a much more efficient manner, shooting 49% from the field for the month.  I couldn’t speak about a strong month without mentioning Rubio’s numbers halfway through the month; 14.4 ppg, 8.7 apg, 6.9 rpg.

Predictions:

The Rockets are fighting to stay in the top 8 in the conference and they can’t afford a letdown game right now against one of the weaker teams in the NBA.

Final score prediction: Timberwolves 86, Rockets 94

Three stars of the game predictions:

  1. Omer Asik
  2. Chandler Parsons
  3. Ricky Rubio

Let’s go Wolves!

Filed Under: Game Previews Tagged With: , ,

Timberwolves VOTW: Crunch Kills the Miami Harlem Shake

March 13, 2013 by

The Minnesota Timberwolves digital team strikes again with another gem.  After the Miami Heat released their Harlem Shake video – which I still don’t fully understand this craze, but that is neither here nor there as I’m 85 years old – the YouTube hits continued to climb.  Well, the Wolves staff countered with this beauty, enlisting Crunch to do the damage to the poor soul in the video.

With almost four million views on YouTube at the time of this posting, we surely aren’t the only ones who loved this week’s VOTW!  Well done Timberwolves, well done!

Filed Under: Video of the Week Tagged With:
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