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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 3/2/13

March 2, 2013 by

20130302-122214.jpgSetting the stage:

The million dollar question at this point is “who is in and who is out?” The Timberwolves conclude their western journeySaturday night in Portland and at the time of writing, we don’t know who will be available for the team. Beyond the “normal” group of players that remain out, will Andrei Kirilenko or Nikola Pekovic be ready for Saturday’s game? As soon as we know more, we’ll drop it into the comments section below.

Our Pups come off a loss on Thursday night to the Lakers, which was the team’s fourth loss in a row, and 20th out of their last 24 games. You don’t need a calculator to know that this isn’t very good. The latest losing streak has dropped the team’s record to 20-35. While still in the hunt for the playoffs, the Blazers have also been in a mini free-fall over the past few weeks and are on a 1-8 slide to close out February. Portland is currently 26-31 on the season and four games behind the Rockets for the 8th seed in the conference, with the Lakers also two games ahead of them for that final seed/spot in the playoffs.

Portland has taken care of the Wolves in each of their three prior meetings this season. While the games have been close and enjoyable to watch, the Wolves have found ways to lose. This includes letting Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews do whatever they want from the Blazers backcourt positions.

Player to watch:

Nicolas Batum – Given Stephen Curry’s 54 point explosion at MSG this week, why wouldn’t there be salt in the wound for Pups fans on Saturday night? Kirilenko has been great, probably the team MVP, but he isn’t going to be around in a few years whereas Batum looks like he is really coming into his own this season. I just expect to see a lot of “what could have been” and “imagine if he was with the Wolves” comments and tweets. While putting up strong performances in the first two meetings between the two teams, Batum really struggled in his last meeting with the Wolves, as AK47 was able to shut him down. Batum finished that game with more turnovers (7) than points (4). I expect to see some type of revenge on Saturday night.

Match-up to watch:

Ricky Rubio vs. Damian Lillard. Rubio just missed a triple double on Thursday night against the Lakers and it seems like he has been flirting with one quite a bit lately. The NBA can hand Damian Lillard the Rookie of the Year trophy right now if they really wanted to. He has been phenomenal for the Blazers this season and has not hit the rookie wall at all. There have only been four games to this point in the season in which Lillard has not reached double digits in scoring.

Given that Rubio now seems to be truly healthy, this match-up should be a lot of fun to watch/monitor and should pack the highlight reel.

Predictions:

I don’t see the Wolves pulling this one off, particularly if AK47 and/or Pekovic are out or severely hampered with their nagging injuries.

Final score prediction: Twolves 86, Blazers 101

Three stars of the game predictions:

1. Nicolas Batum
2. Wesley Matthews
3. Ricky Rubio

Let’s go Wolves!

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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 83, Phoenix Suns 84

February 27, 2013 by

DerrickGame Summary

The Timberwolves kicked off a three game road trip on Tuesday night in Phoenix.  Both teams came into the game well under .500 and fans are already thinking about what is the next step to bring each franchise back to the playoffs.  I think it is safe to say that the Pups are significantly closer to those aspirations, but Tuesday night’s performance didn’t help the minds (or hearts) of either fan base.  Here is how the night transpired.

There were no changes to the Wolves starting lineup – Rubio, Ridnour, Kirilenko, Williams, and Pekovic.  The Suns opened up with Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley, PJ Tucker, Luis Scola, and Marcin Gortat.

In the early stages of the game, the Wolves and Suns both struggled to make baskets and the Wolves managed to turn the ball over a few too many times.  Going into the first timeout/break in the game the Suns held a 10-6 lead through 6+ minutes.  Dr. James Naismith likely rolled over in his grave given the performance for the entire 12 minutes of the 1st quarter.  At the end of the 1st, the Suns held a 16-15 lead.

The Suns put together a 10-0 run but it could have, and should have been, much worse.  Through 18 minutes of the game, the Wolves had 21 points.  Seriously.  They were shooting sub-30%, turning the ball over, and being outrebounded 25-17 going into the TV timeout with under 6 minutes to go in the half.

Rather than belabor this any further, the Suns held a 47-33 lead at halftime.  Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • Mentioned this on Twitter, but if the Wolves continue to lose more often than not, does that make Adelman more or less likely to return next season?
  • Derrick Williams was the only bright spot, with 13 & 6 in the 1st half
  • Finally – 33 points?  Seriously?

Coming out to start the 3rd quarter, Alexey Shved was in the starting lineup replacing Andrei Kirilenko.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t Adelman trying to tweak the lineup to cause a spark, it was due to another injury.  AK47 suffered a calf strain and was deemed out for the rest of the game.  We’ll see the severity of the injury in the coming days and if Andrei will miss any more time.

The 3rd quarter itself was more of the same from the Wolves and Suns.  The Pups won the quarter 18-11 (ugh) and were only down 58-51 going into the final frame.  Derrick Williams remained the only Pup worth talking about, but he was also shooting 3-10 from the FT line through three quarters.  That said, he already posted a double-double, with 18 & 10 through three.

After starting out very slow in the 4th quarter, the Wolves went on a 7-0 run to cut the Suns lead to 6 points.  Pekovic started to come to life in the 4th quarter as well, quietly moving into double-double range.  The Wolves were met with a healthy dose of Wesley Johnson, who hit several three pointers, as well as a few baskets in/around the paint.

In the final two minutes, the Wolves were able to take a 76-75 lead.  After Rubio hit one of two FT’s, the Suns were able to tie the game up with a running layup by Gortat.  Rubio then proceeded to air-ball a mid-range jumper to put the game into overtime, which is exactly what the NBA and its fans didn’t need from these two teams.

The overtime period was more of the same from both teams; bad shooting, a lack of scoring, and turnovers.  Ricky Rubio looked completely gassed and Adelman pulled him for the final few minutes.  With time running down, Alexey Shved drove to the rim and missed a layup that would have given the Wolves the lead (and likely win).  The Suns escape with an 84-83 win after outscoring (or surviving) the Wolves 7-6 in OT.

Keys of the Game

  • Shooting – While the Suns were equally as bad, the Wolves shot 31-90 FG’s, including 5-19 from 3PT range and were 16-25 from the FT line.  Dear lord.
  • Bench play – Aside from JJ Barea – and you should probably account for all of his negatives here too – the Suns bench was widely superior Tuesday night, with Wes Johnson, Markieff Morris, and Jermaine O’Neal all with double digit points.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Jermaine O’Neal – Seriously, I mean who else does this go to?  A double-double from a 60 year old NBA player deserves to be recognized.  My only other option was “(Leave blank)”.
  2. Derrick Williams – 21 & 12 and another relatively solid outing for DWill.
  3. Wesley Johnson – Arguably the worst 1st round pick in the Timberwolves history, Johnson managed to have a career night with 14 points and 9 rebounds off the Suns bench.  Of course he did.
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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns, 2/26/13

February 26, 2013 by

wesjohnson_michaelbeasley

Setting the stage:

Oh what could have been with Mr. Beasley and Mr. Johnson on the Timberwolves, right folks?  (Crickets)

The Timberwolves travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns Tuesday night for the second time this season.  Back on 12/29, the Wolves handed the Suns a 111-107 loss, with the former Pups doing virtually nothing on their return the Target Center.  Beasley shot a woeful 1-8 from the field in 10 minutes and Johnson received another DNP-CD.

Since taking over for Alvin Gentry, it looks like Lindsey Hunter has come to realize just how bad these two players are.  Hunter took over on January 18th and has given both players a few opportunities to play heavier minutes.  In Phoenix’s most recent games, both players have been given limited opportunity to see the floor.

The Suns come into the game losers of three straight, which has dropped their season record to 18-39.  If this game were being played in April, we would be talking about who is tanking more unfortunately.  The Wolves come into Tuesday’s game off of a gut-wrenching loss to the Warriors on Sunday afternoon.  The Pups had every opportunity to win the game but found a way to lose, 100-99, with Luke Ridnour missing a floating jumper around the rim as the buzzer sounded.  That loss put the team at 1-2 since the All Star break and dropped their record to 20-33 on the season.  Despite the loss, the optimist in me would like to point out the overall performances of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams.  While both failed to make one or two plays down the stretch (and they were crucial) the duo put together very solid performances and are the main reasons worth tracking how or what the Wolves do the rest of the way this season.

Player to watch:

Jared Dudley – Timberwolves fans have been eyeing up Dudley for some time now, as a player that would be a great cog in the machine here in Minnesota.  While Jared has been inconsistent in February, Timberwolves fans might want to brace themselves for a breakout performance.  Dudley put up an 18 point, 8 rebound, 5 assist game back in late December and we should probably expect more of the same, given the lack of size the Wolves have to match up against Jared on the defensive end.

Match-up to watch:

Nikola Pekovic vs. Marcin Gortat.  The big men in the paint are the premiere match-up for the evening, as both men are quite the load in the paint.  Pekovic dominated the earlier meeting, putting up a 28 & 11 performance, and holding Gortat to 9 & 3.  Pekovic has had a nice month of February if you throw out the performance this past Friday night in OKC.  Even with that clunker, he’s averaged 15.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg over the course of the month.

Predictions:

Nothing excites me about this Suns team and I almost wish that I wasn’t responsible for covering this game.  OK, I do wish that actually.  Given the way the Wolves have been playing since the break, and even though it isn’t producing wins, I expect them to pull this one out on the road.

Final score prediction: Twolves 106, Suns 99

Three stars of the game predictions:

  1. Ricky Rubio
  2. Derrick Williams
  3. Jared Dudley

Let’s go Wolves!

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Timberwolves VOTW: Doug West Highlights

February 25, 2013 by

Continuing our throwback theme thanks to the power of the Internet and Youtube, here we find a nice highlight reel and collection of one of the greatest Wolves of all time, Doug West. This seems like an appropriate time to remind you of one of the first articles I wrote for Timberpups was my first and second all-time teams which included Doug West. As you can see in this video, Doug had tremendous athletic ability back in the day.

West was an original Pup, drafted in the 2nd round of the team’s first NBA draft in 1989. While it took him two years to adjust to the NBA and “get it”, he went on to have four solid seasons with the team between’91/’92 through 94/’95. After several down seasons, he was traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Anthony Peeler before the trading deadline on 2/18/98.

Enjoy the highlights!

Filed Under: Video of the Week Tagged With:

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 111, Oklahoma City Thunder 127

February 24, 2013 by

RickyrubioGame Summary

Coming off of a win Wednesday night at home against Philadelphia, the Timberwolves traveled to Oklahoma City to take on a league powerhouse in the Thunder.  As an added bonus, the Wolves were back on national television to kickoff ESPN’s Friday night doubleheader.  Unfortunately for those that don’t follow the Wolves closely, they are seeing half of a finished product.  Friday night was not much different as the Wolves found themselves down early and were never able to recover.

The Thunder got off to a hot start, going 8-11 from the field to start the game.  This led to an early 18-11 lead over the Wolves going into the first timeout of the game.  Ricky Rubio picked up two early fouls and was already on the bench prior to the timeout.  At the end of the 1st quarter, the Thunder held a ten point lead (33-23) and the game was not looking very promising for the Pups.

Aside from Rubio’s foul trouble, Derrick Williams finished the quarter 0-5 from the field, missing two 3 pointers and a few layups at the rim.  Russell Westbrook led the Thunder to the fast start, finishing the quarter with 11 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.  If you were looking for a silver lining, Kevin Durant was struggling from the field, only 1-4 from the field and finishing the quarter with 6 points.

In the 2nd quarter the Pups received several strong performances from their second unit, including; JJ Barea, Cunningham, Stiemsma, and Shved.  While the defensive effort didn’t improve much, at least the team was able to compete offensively and keep the game in striking distance.  At the end of the half, the Wolves cut the Thunder lead to 5 points and then Luke Ridnour pulled another bonehead play with the clock ticking down, fouling Russell Westbrook on a 3 pointer.  Westbrook hit all three free throws to give the Thunder a 66-58 lead going into the half.

Here are several halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • The Wolves second unit were the only reason they were in the game as the starters were shooting a woeful 7-25 from the field
  • Derrick Williams was the main ‘contributor’ to these shooting problems, throwing up a 1-8 from the field, including a number of blown layups
  • The ESPN crew ripped apart the moves David Kahn has made over the past few years during their halftime show – and I found myself agreeing with them in many cases, which just made it that much more annoying

The 3rd quarter could easily be described as a quarter of runs.  The Thunder increased their lead to 17 points, the Wolves cut it back to 8, and then the Thunder responded to increase the lead back to 17 points to close the quarter.  It was not a defensive struggle in Oklahoma City Friday night, as the home team held a 100-83 lead going into the final frame.  Unfortunately for the Pups, Kevin Durant got hot in the 3rd quarter, leading to a strong feeling of doubt that the Wolves had much of a chance of making a comeback.

The 4th quarter mentally felt like extreme “gah-bage” time, even though you could easily make an argument that the Wolves were technically in the game.  A quick kudos to Ricky Rubio who continued to run all over the court in an effort to pick up a quick steal, create a turnover, etc.  Outside of this effort, there really wasn’t too much to talk about – evidenced by the lack of game insight the ESPN crew were providing at the same time.  The final score of Friday’s game was a 127-111 victory for the Thunder.  The Wolves actually never held an advantage in the game.

Keys of the Game

  • Talent – This probably sounds pompous, but the Wolves just do not have the star power that the Thunder have.  Durant and Westbrook simply brought it on Friday night and took full advantage of the depleted Wolves.
  • Shutting down Pek – Coming off of a huge performance Wednesday night, Pekovic couldn’t get anything established for himself vs. Kendrick Perkins, and even to a lesser extent, against Hasheem Thabeet.  In 22 minutes, Pek had 5 points on 1-4 shooting with 2 rebounds.
  • The shooter’s touch – As a team, the Thunder were absolutely lights-out Friday night: 58% from the field, 64% from 3PT range, and a perfect 22-22 from the FT line.

Three Stars of the Game

  1. Russell Westbrook – Westbrook aided in getting Rubio into early foul trouble and took over the game from that point.  He finished with 37 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.
  2. Kevin Durant – Despite the slow 1st half, Durant finished the game strong to reach “his numbers” – 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists of his own.
  3. Kevin Martin – This could have gone to Rubio, but with the “blowout” loss, it didn’t feel right to give this to a Pup.  Martin was extremely efficient coming off the bench with 17 points on 7-11 FG’s.
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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors, 2/24/13

February 24, 2013 by

Photo Credit: Adidas

Photo Credit: Adidas

Our Pups return home after a high scoring affair Friday night against the OKC Thunder to take on the vastly improved Golden State Warriors Sunday afternoon. While the Wolves season has fallen apart, the Warriors are meeting or exceeding expectations to this point in the season. Minnesota comes into Sunday’s game with a 20-32 record, while the Warriors come into the game off of a big, overtime victory Friday night against San Antonio, improving their record to 32-23 on the year.

Before Friday’s game, the Warriors announced that Andrew Bogut would miss another indefinite amount of games due to problems with his back. This has to be frustrating for Warriors fans as the team has climbed to the six seed in the conference largely without their starting center. One must wonder “what could have been” if Bogut was able to stay healthy, particularly in an effort to avoid the Spurs and/or Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. That said, I don’t think the Warriors will get many pity points from the Timberwolves or their fans given what has transpired this season for our Pups.

These two teams have not met since November, when the Warriors handed the Wolves two losses over the span of eight days. Golden State took the first match-up 106-98 at the Target Center and then the second match-up in the Bay area 96-85.

Finally, in case you missed it, the Warriors launched a new jersey in Friday night’s game on ESPN – the Spurs-Warriors game followed the Wolves-Thunder match-up on ESPN’s doubleheader. The jersey is more t-shirt vs. jersey and is certainly an interesting mix into the lineup. The cynic in me suggests that this type of “jersey” makes it an easier transition for the NBA to start putting brand logos and advertisements on their apparel.

Player to watch:
David Lee – Lee had two solid performances against the Wolves in those November meetings, putting up 18 points and 13 rebounds in Minnesota and 17 & 8 in the following match-up. Without Kevin Love again, it will be important for Minnesota’s frontcourt to keep Lee off the boards as much as possible and to stay in front of him in the isolation sets, not allowing him to fly by the defender and/or having a second defender backing up whoever is matching up against Lee directly.

Match-up to watch:
Ricky Rubio vs. Stephen Curry. The could-have-been teammates are the primetime match-up in Sunday afternoon’s meeting. About the only positive topic the Wolves have going right now is the on-going improvement in Rubio’s game as he continues to build/gain confidence in his knee. Curry is having a career year this season, coming into the game averaging a career best 21.1 ppg, 6.6 apg, and 4.0 rpg. He also has a 19.8 PER, which is good for fifth highest in the league among PG’s.

Predictions:
The Warriors are coming off of a solid win against the Spurs Friday night, so there is a chance of a letdown here at the Target Center. However, I won’t go on record predicting one.
Final score prediction: Twolves 104, Warriors 112

Three stars of the game predictions:
1. Harrison Barnes
2. David Lee
3. Nikola Pekovic

Lets go Wolves!

Filed Under: Game Previews Tagged With: , , , ,

Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder, 2/22/13

February 22, 2013 by
Photo Credit: USA Basketball

Photo Credit: USA Basketball

The Timberwolves travel to Oklahoma City on Friday night to take on the defending Western Conference champion Thunder.  Minnesota comes into the game off of a victory against Philadelphia Wednesday night to move their record to 20-31 on the season.  The Thunder come into Friday’s game off a loss to the Rockets in Houston the same night, dropping their record to 39-15.

While these two teams are heading in very different directions this season, they tend to match-up well against one another and always seem to be enjoyable games to watch.  That wasn’t necessarily the case when Minnesota traveled to OKC on 1/9, as they were blown out of the building, 106-84.  This could have been a product of the Thunder returning the favor for their loss at the Target Center on 12/20.

A quick note about the trade deadline from Thursday – the Wolves made exactly zero moves to their roster and I have to say that I am not disappointed.  Derrick Williams can only help his trade value from now until the 2013 draft.  The team isn’t good enough to push Ridnour or Barea off to someone else for a short term rental (since we aren’t making the playoffs this season).  Finally, a semi-kudos to the team for not making a salary dump move to save a few dollars in Glen Taylor’s wallet.  Net/net, this team will be very active again this summer and has a full stock of assets to leverage.

While the Wolves stood pat, the Thunder made two minor moves that probably make them a bit stronger for the playoffs.  In separate trades, they sent Eric Maynor to the Blazers for a trade exception and acquired Ronnie Brewer from the Knicks for a 2nd round pick.  (I wonder if James Harden’s explosion Wednesday night aided their desire to make this move and get a little bigger in the back court.)

Oklahoma City remains a powerhouse in the Western Conference and have high aspirations come playoff time.  Led by perennial all-stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the team will look to work its way through the Western Conference and once again challenge for the NBA Championship.  Anything less is likely to be seen as a disappointment to fans.

With that mindset, this preview has been done in conjunction with the ‘Welcome to Loud City’ blog on SB Nation.  Here are the questions that we posed to J.A. Sherman from the team’s blog.  He passed along a few Wolves-related questions as well, and you can find those questions and our answers on their site.

Here’s were my questions for Trey …

Thunder Question #1 for Trey:

As a fan of the Thunder, can you please explain the mindset of “championship or bust” to us Wolves fans, who have been continuously tortured since 1989?  Do these expectations make the games easier or harder to watch regularly?  Would you consider anything less than a conference championship a failure? 

Trey:

As a Thunder fan, it’s certainly nice to have “championship or bust expectations.” It’s like being the Yankees of the NBA and the team has only been in the city since 2008. It makes the game easier to watch because you’re always dissecting the team’s play, no matter the opponent. Even if they’re on top for most of the game, it’s still fun to see what Durant and Westbrook are going to do next. Of course there are blowouts and nobody likes watching 48 minutes of a 20-point game, but it’s worth the price for 50-win seasons and Finals appearances.

This season, anything less than a conference championship would have to be considered a disappointment. I doubt there is anybody in the organization that feels any other way. After taking the step last year with their WCF win over San Antonio, it’s hard to imagine the Thunder would be satisfied with anything less. They’ve got the same two stars and although they sent Harden to Houston, Kevin Martin is still a good enough scorer to give them substantial firepower off the bench.  

 Thunder Question #2 for Trey:

Is there a particular weakness for the Thunder and/or do you fear that there might be something in the current construction of the team that could be exploited down the stretch and in the playoffs?  Coming off Harden’s performance Wednesday, does an elite wing worry you?

Trey:

I think one thing that showed up against Houston and also against the Heat before the All-Star Game is the fact Oklahoma City has problems running their offense while down late in games. I think it becomes too much Durant and Westbrook one-on-one rather than finding a good shot every possession. People tend to blame Westbrook because he’s the point guard. However, it’s just as much Durant’s fault. They both tend to force shots when the team is trailing late. Could a team in the West exploit this? I don’t think so because I’m not sure the Spurs or Clippers can develop big leads against the Thunder and force them into those one-on-one situations.

Well, if you consider LeBron James a wing, which I do, then I would be extremely worried. Harden and LeBron are obviously different players with much different arsenals and Harden is great, but in a seven-game series I’m not worried about him taking over for four victories. However, LeBron has dominated the Thunder this season. They don’t have an answer for him right now and unless newly acquired Ronnie Brewer can give him problems, the Heat could be looking at a second straight Finals victory over the Thunder.

 Thunder Question #3 for Trey:

Rather than ask you a question about Durant or Westbrook, let’s go deep into the rotation.  What are your thoughts on Hasheem Thabeet?  Do you think he has a long term future in the league?  Is there a light bulb there that might go off?  Finally, how would you grade his (limited) performance thus far?  

Trey:

I’m not sure Hasheem Thabeet has a long-term home in Oklahoma City, but he is putting up better numbers than last year’s backup center Nazr Mohammed. He seems to be a popular player in the locker room and usually give Scott Brooks quality minutes, but it’s hard to see him developing into much more than a 10-12 minutes kind of player.

I would give him a B so far this season. Like I said, he’s outplayed Mohammed’s production from a year ago, but with his size and frame you would think he could have more of an impact every night. Unless the Thunder moves Kendrick Perkins for somebody with more of an offensive game in the future, I can’t see the Thunder hanging on to Thabeet. This is already his fourth team since being drafted No. 2 overall by the Grizzlies in 2009 and I doubt it’s his last.

 

To see our Pups-related Q&A, please click here.

We hope you enjoyed the preview for this Friday’s match-up between the Pups and the Thunder.  Again, you can read more from J.A. at the Welcome to Loud City blog or follow them on Twitter.  As always, you can read more from John on Twitter.

Filed Under: Game Previews Tagged With: , , , , ,

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.
Filed Under: Game Recaps Tagged With: , ,
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