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Kevin Love Breaks Hand, Out 6-8 Weeks

October 18, 2012 by

Well, here we are again, Minnesota sports fans. In a fluke accident that involved knuckle push-ups, Kevin Love suffered a broken right hand while working out with personal trainer Rob McClanaghan at his condo on Wednesday. After a trip to New York to visit Doctor Andy Weiland, it was confirmed that Love broke the third and fourth metacarpals in his hand and the initial diagnosis of a 6-8 week recovery period was confirmed. K-Love commented on the shocking blow to a team that is already without Ricky Rubio in a release sent out by the Timberwolves:

“Yesterday I had a post-practice commitment and decided to work out at my home with my personal trainer before heading to Target Center,” he said. “While doing various pushups, including knuckle pushups, which are a part of my regular workout routine, I hurt my hand. I immediately knew something was wrong and called head athletic trainer Gregg Farnam.

“Although I’m disappointed that this injury happened, I will work extremely hard to stay in shape and return to the court as quickly as possible. We have added a lot of depth to our roster this season, and I have complete confidence in my teammates and coaching staff that they will step up and we will be successful during this time. I’m looking forward to supporting our team and helping out any way I can until I get back on the court.”

The Wolves have been predicted by many to be in an extremely competitive race for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference, and playing without Rubio and Love for upwards of two months could be enough to put the team in a hole to deep to get themselves out of once they get their two top players back. One thing is for certain: several players will have to step up big in order to keep this team afloat by the time mid-December comes, and a realistic – yet seemingly improbable – goal for the team will be to be sitting around .500 basketball by the time they get their two stars back.

David Kahn and Rick Adelman’s offseason moves will be in the spotlight for the first few months of the season, as newly acquired players Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Dante Cunningham, Chase Budinger, Lou Amundson, and Greg Stiemsma will likely be called upon to provide much greater roles than initially expected. The biggest X-factors will include Nikola Pekovic and Derrick Williams, as both players will need to produce on the low-block at a much higher rate without K-Love as the focal point of the offense.

Love was certainly the best three-point option for the Wolves last year, and the team will now look largely to Roy and Budinger to provide perimeter shooting in place of Love’s prolific shooting. If Derrick Williams ever needed some serious adversity to elevate his game to the next level, well here it is. D-Will now has the opportunity to get the minutes he wants and a role that is vastly increased, and without Love Williams could assume a role very similar to the one he had at Arizona. If the former number 2 pick can prove that he can handle big minutes and provide inside-out scoring, it would be a tremendous help to a team in dire need for some leadership.

Andrei Kirilenko was initially seen as the starting SF with Love in the lineup, but he will likely move to PF with Williams operating at the 3. Both AK-47 and D-Will are tweener forwards, so they may very likely have interchangeable roles in the offense. Pekovic will now be the focal point of the offense in the post, and I am truly excited to see how the lean and extra mean Pek responds to an increase in touches.

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Timberwolves Training Camp – Weeks 1 & 2 Rewind

October 12, 2012 by

Well Twolves fans, we have arrived!  Training camp and the preseason are upon us and the season is weeks away!

The Pups officially broke from their first camp in Mankato a week ago (10/5) after four substantive practices with the new roster.  The first day’s camp lasted four hours and the rest weren’t much shorter.  The bad news, we have a few injuries.  The good news, it doesn’t seem to be anything too detrimental and none of it includes the words “Brandon Roy’s knee”.

Rather than bore you with two week’s worth of information that you are already likely aware of, here are two places to consider if you need to be brought up to speed.  Jerry Zgoda has done a real nice job, in my opinion, on covering camp and provided blog entries after each day’s practice.  Thanks Jerry!  I also thought the Wolves Digital team came through again with a lot of information, interviews, and in general, engaging content for fans.

In regards to the injuries, we are all well aware that Ricky isn’t doing much but hanging out with the team and doing a little bit of bike work, running, and flat-footed shooting.  There isn’t much new to report here and the team is still looking for a mid-December return to the court for the franchise cornerstone.  However, what was once thought of a place of strength and depth, our PG position is looking a bit concerning right now.  Luke Ridnour missed the first preseason game on Wednesday with a sore back.  He has since traveled to Fargo to join the team but is out again tonight.  I have to say that I don’t see the need to play Luke at all until he is back at full strength (pun intended).  He needs to be ready for Friday, 11/2 vs. Sacramento, not Friday, 10/12.  Malcolm Lee also missed Wednesday’s game with a groin injury and I haven’t seen news one way or the other on his return for tonight’s game.  Unlike Ridnour, I would like to see Lee in the lineup and getting minutes this preseason.

Everyone else seems to have a clean slate on the health/injury front.  That showed on Wednesday night as the Twolves hosted the Pacers for the opening of preseason games in Fargo.  I was able to watch a lot of this game online (don’t ask) and came away largely impressed with the team effort that was put forth.  The Wolves won big (84-70) and it never really felt that close.  Here are a few random notes that I had written down for particular players and/or within the flow of the game itself:

  • Starting lineup: Barea, Roy, Kirilenko, Love, Pekovic
  • Barea played a really nice, solid game I thought.  He was playing much more into the flow of the game itself and not out of control like 80% of the time last season.
  • Roy also played well, showing an ability to play in the post, do some cutting to the basket and getting to the FT line – an area we need him to come through on.
  • Kirilenko finished the game with 3 points and I was waiting to see someone send out a negative tweet on the performance.  Why?  Because if you saw the game, you would know that AK47 was arguably the biggest influencer on the final outcome.  There are no 0’s in his box score.  You may recall I brought this up in the Olympics write-up.  You can either call me Nostradamus, or just lazy for not wanting to write about it any further.
  • Love didn’t shoot the ball incredibly well (5-14) but ho-hum, just your average 12 and 8 in under 30 minutes of action.  He did manage to complain to the refs a few times and I’d really like to see that be cut down quite a bit.
  • Pekovic looked really good.  He showed good footwork on the block and a handful of post moves.  He absolutely dominated Hibbert, who picked up 5 fouls and was quiet throughout.
  • Budinger and Shved were the first two off the bench and both played well.  This is beginning to sound like a homer’s take on the game.
  • Budinger hit corner jump shots and made the Wes Johnson era look just as abysmal as we all thought it was.
  • Shved played with some flair, but didn’t hit a shot and went under/behind screens too often.  That said, he did have 4 rebounds and 4 assists and played both guard positions.  My expectations are getting too high for this kid.
  • DWill, Steimsma, and Conroy were the next trio off the bench in the rotation.
  • DWill had a decent shooting game, but there were a few soundbytes from Adelman after the game that hinted at him not enjoying the long distance jumpers.  I have absolutely no idea what to expect from DWill this year.
  • Steimsma & Conroy played less than 20 minutes each, but I thought both filled backup roles pretty nicely.  Steimsma surprised me by hitting an outside jumper in the 2nd quarter.
  • Cunningham & Amundson got some extensive “gah-bage” time due to the score of the game and both gave their hustle and effort type performances.
  • Mike Harris checked in towards the very end of the game and this scouting report ends right now.

Overall, I thought it was a great way to get back into the action for the Pups.  There was ball movement, good defense, and enough offense to never really make the game close once they broke out with the lead in the 2nd quarter.

The Wolves play the Pacers again tonight (Friday) and it looks like Adelman will try a few different lineups.  It will be interesting to see what he decides to do with Roy as well, given there is another game tomorrow and there has been a lot of talk about not playing him in back to back games this preseason.  There really isn’t a need to in my opinion.

It’s nice to have the Twolves back!  Let’s go Wolves!

Filed Under: Team News

Timberwolves September 2012 in Review

October 2, 2012 by

Another month gone, and another month closer to the start of the Minnesota Timberwolves 2012-13 season. We began the month of September by analyzing the rumors behind the Timberwolves then-apparent interest in free agent knucklehead Andray Blatche, who ultimately failed to receive a contract offer from Minnesota and ended up signing a deal to play for the Brooklyn Nets.

Along with Blatche, former Sacramento King center Hassan Whiteside received interest from Minnesota and was even flown to Minneapolis for a private workout with the team. However, Whiteside too did not receive a contract offer from the club as Minnesota instead signed veteran PF-C Lou Amundson, who most recently played for Indiana last season. The signing of Amundson spelled the end of contract negotiations between Anthony Tolliver and the Pups, and Tolliver instead signed a veteran minimum deal to play for the Atlanta Hawks.
[Read more...]

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Timberwolves Add Lou Amundson, Spells End For Tolliver

September 25, 2012 by

Amundson diving for ball with Darko. Source: Getty Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves have come to terms on a veteran minimum contract with free agent power forward-center Lou Amundson. Amundson, 29, has previously played for Utah, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Golden State after going undrafted in the 2006 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-9, 225 pound big man adds depth to Minnesota’s frontcourt and his addition surely spells the end of Anthony Tolliver’s time with the Timberpups. Tolliver, unwilling to accept the veteran minimum, will most certainly sign elsewhere and players including Dante Cunningham, Derrick Williams, and now Amundson will likely see increased minutes in Tolliver’s stead.
[Read more...]

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Timberwolves Summer 2012 Recap

September 21, 2012 by

Since David Kahn took over as President of Basketball Operations in May 2009, we have heard the continual promotion of flexibility, youth, rebuilding, cap space, etc. etc.  Shortly after Kahn was able to convince Kevin Love to sign an extension back in January, this all changed, as Love started to provide his own thoughts to the media on how the Twolves needed to start showing improvement and to get to the playoffs.  With a decent amount of flexibility and the added pressure of appeasing one of team’s core pieces, Kahn and the rest of the front office had their work cut out for them this offseason.  To Kahn’s credit, at least he didn’t take a month off to go fishing …

Here’s my take on the Timberpups offseason.

NBA Draft

Heading into Draft week, the Twolves held the 18th and 58th picks.  Two nights before the draft, Kahn sent the 18th pick to Houston for Chase Budinger.  In general, I hate seeing trades like this.  If you have something like this lined up, why not wait until draft night?  I understand that Houston was looking for ways to get Dwight Howard, but I still hate the notion of giving up your pick so far in advance.  I would like to think there will be a time when the Twolves actually take advantage of someone else’s panic move over the course of a draft night.  When this happens, I’ll immediately drive to Shop Rite to stock up on their can-can special.

As for the trade itself, I like Budinger as a complementary wing / role player at SF.  If nothing else, he’s competent and that is more than what we can say about any wing on last year’s roster.  As an added bonus – based off of his Twitter feed – he seems to have a great personality.

With the 58th pick, the Twolves selected Robbie Hummel, who has had quite the busy summer.  Given the moves that the Wolves have made since (we’re getting there, promise), Hummel decided to sign with a team in Spain (Obradoiro).  I think that was a wise choice for Hummel given the team’s other moves and the lack of PT that would have come his way, if any at all.  More than likely, he would have wound up in the D-League.  However, since going over to join the team in Spain, Hummel has since torn his meniscus again and will be out for several weeks.

I had high hopes going into the draft; A. trading Derrick Williams and filler for MKG or Beal and B. trading Wes Johnson for Crowder / anyone worthwhile.  The DWill moves were a bit of a pipedream.  However, Kahn technically had 34 chances to find a way to get Jae Crowder and trading Wes to anyone in the late first round / early second would have been a fantastic move.  Alas, no avail.

This wasn’t the start of the offseason that I was looking for.  Beyond Ricky Rubio falling into Kahn’s lap with the fifth pick in ’09, his draft night performances have been 50 shades of abysmal.  (See what I did there?  Building your female audience 101)

My draft grade: C-
[Read more...]

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Robbie Hummel Tears Meniscus: Out 4-6 Weeks

September 19, 2012 by

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Timberwolves 2012 second-round draft pick Robbie Hummel underwent successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The procedure was done by Dr. David Altcheck, who previously performed surgery to repair the second of two torn ACLs that Hummel suffered during his time with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Hummel is currently playing overseas in Spain for the Spanish club Obradoiro, and his injury will most likely keep him from playing in the club’s first 2 or 3 games. The 58th overall selection in this summers NBA draft, Hummel has had a tough time staying healthy as he has had 3 surgeries on his right knee in the last 3 years. Although a meniscusal tear will most likely only keep him off the court for 4-6 weeks, it remains unsettling that it is once again his right knee which is causing the 6-foot-8 forward problems.

With the additions of Chase Budinger and Andrei Kirilenko, the Timberwolves appear to be set at SF for the next few seasons, meaning Hummel may not end up providing an impact for Minnesota for a few years to come. However, if the former Purdue standout can find a way onto the Wolves active roster next season, the Timberpups could greatly use his perimeter shooting and leadership.

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Who is the Timberpups M.I.C. in 2012-13?

September 18, 2012 by

As the Timberpups have started to descend on Minneapolis from (literally) all over the world, news and reports have started to disseminate on the early inhabitants – Brandon Roy, Nikola Pekovic, Malcolm Lee, Chase Budinger, and even Anthony Tolliver, who still doesn’t have a contract with anyone in the NBA and is currently being pursued by Panathinaikos in Greece.

I wanted to take some time to write about Pekovic, who I view as the Twolves M.I.C. – Most Important Cog – for the coming season.  Look, we know that Kevin Love is the team’s “best player” and we know that Ricky Rubio may be the team’s “most valuable player.”  If you don’t believe the latter, please revisit last season after Rubio’s ACL tear.  So we’re creating another acronym here at Timberpups.com and we’re going with M.I.C. [Read more...]

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