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Ricky Rubio Injury Update: Rubio Ahead of Schedule?

November 27, 2012 by

Ricky Rubio Injury Update

On Monday, Ricky Rubio began a three-day visit in Vail, Colorodo to visit Dr. Richard Steadman for what may be his final checkup with the doctor before he begins contact practice with the team. The initial prognosis of having Tricky Ricky return around Christmas or later appears to no longer be the case as it is very likely that Ricky may be cleared for unrestricted contact practice beginning November 29.

After witnessing the triumphant return of Kevin Love weeks ahead of schedule, a similar optimism has become tied with Ricky’s return. Although getting back K-Love has unquestionably improved the team, it remains apparent that the platoon at PG of Luke Ridnour, JJ Barea, and Malcolm Lee is simply nowhere in comparison to what Rubio brings to the table.

David Kahn has continued to state that there remains no timetable on Rubio’s return, but after seeing Love return seemingly out of nowhere, it appears that the Timberwolves brass likes to keep this type of information under wraps. Should Ricky return to practice this Thursday, probable dates for his return are December 7 at home against Cleveland or December 12 at home versus Denver.

The Timberwolves have desperately missed Rubio’s perimeter defense and playmaking abilities on offense. To put it simply, the team flows so much better with their Spanish, floppy-haired PG on the floor and pairing him with Alexey Shved in the backcourt should be some fun to watch.

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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings

November 27, 2012 by

The Minnesota Timberwolves travel to Sacramento Tuesday for the third game of their present road trip and take on a Kings squad fresh off a win against the Utah Jazz. Minnesota, who is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, has had a tough time acclimating to the return of All-Star Kevin Love, who has played well despite regaining strength in his right shooting hand. On Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors, Love threw his protective black glove to the sidelines in frustration and played the remainder of the game with no restrictions on his right hand, and it appears that he is officially done with the protective glove.

Andrei Kirilenko was a main component of the Timberwolves unexpected 5-2 start, but has had a tough time getting in a rhythm since the return of K-Love. In the past three games, AK-47 has shot a tough 9-29 from the field after starting the season red-hot. Kirilenko sat out practice on Monday due to back spasms, but states that he is fine to start tonight against the Kings.

While many have begun to panic due to the Timberwolves continued losing despite the addition of Love, the notion that this team is better without Love in the lineup is absolutely unjustifiable. Yes, the team has seen poorer defensive efficiency numbers from their star in the middle and K-Love has had a tougher time shooting due to his strengthening wrist, but it is obviously going to take time before the offense and defense gains the appropriate chemistry they missed out on when Love sat out the preseason and start of the season.

An important thing to note is the success that the Timberpups had when playing without their main offensive focus, and how they used good ball movement and cutting to beat tougher opponents. With Love back in the mix, there has been less ball movement and more one-on-one basketball, and this has likewise caused players like AK-47 to play a much different kind of basketball than they were used to. This adjustment will unquestionably take time, and a few losses, in order to get back up to speed.

I have no problem with Love taking 20 shots a game, for he is certainly the best scorer on the team and gets to the free throw line at a very effective rate. However, within Adelman’s corner offense, I would really like to see more passing out of the superstar PF. Love is a more than capable passer and sees the floor as well as anyone on the team, and the success of the offense relies on passing and cutting from the high post, where Love is used to getting the ball. Just as Kobe has begun to adjust with the Lakers new offense, when the focus of the opposing defense is to shut Love down, there will be many more backdoor cutting opportunities for players like AK and Dante Cunningham which could create for an increase in high-percentage scoring chances.

Since I am a Timberwolves fan, I am ultimately going to constantly compare Kevin Love to our former superstar, KG, whether it is unfair or justified. The main difference I see in their games at this stage in their development is that Garnett started to become a world-class passer and was better at identifying when to score and when to find his teammates.  Love is averaging just 1.7 assists per contest, while Garnett averaged 4.3 in his fourth season in the league. In order to truly be a complete offensive force, K-Love must follow KG and evolve from a high-usage scorer to a true floor general. As we have seen from the effects of Ricky Rubio, a main key to the Timberwolves winning games lies in passing and ball movement, and the Wolves have certainly not done a good job of that since getting Love back in the lineup.

Tonight, the Pups face a vastly inferior opponent and should benefit from the opposition’s immaturity and lack of confidence. I want to see better rotations on defense and for Love to get AK more involved in the offense. Here is my prediction for the three stars of the game:

  1. Kevin Love
  2. Andrei Kirilenko
  3. Tyreke Evans
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Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors

November 24, 2012 by

After beginning the season 5-2, the Timberwolves are in the midst of a 4-game skid as they prepare for Saturday’s matchup in Oakland. Despite getting Kevin Love back this past Wednesday, the Pups fell to both Denver and Portland and will need to gain chemistry as a unit after getting back their top offensive weapon.

Golden State, 7-6, has seen tangible improvement due to a healthy unit led by Stephen Curry and David Lee. The Warriors are still waiting on the debut of Andrew Bogut, who has been hampered with ankle problems over the past few seasons. Adding Bogut to a frontcourt that already consists of Lee, rookie Festus Ezeli, and six-man stud Carl Landry could make Golden State one of the best low post teams in the West.

The Pups recently got both Nikola Pekovic and JJ Barea back from injury, but the team has looked very disoriented in their offensive and defensive sets with the newly healthy roster.

The Timberwolves still anxiously await the return of PG phenom Ricky Rubio, as the platoon at PG including Ridnour, Barea, and Malcolm Lee has proven to be deficient on both sides of the ball. Facing a Golden State backcourt that can really shoot the long-ball, the Wolves will need to bring tremendous intensity on defense in order to slow down sharp-shooters Curry and Klay Thompson.

Rookie Harrison Barnes has come into his own as of late, and previously scored 18 points in their earlier victory over the Wolves merely a week ago. Derrick Williams has received two consecutive DNP-CD since K-Love returned on Wednesday, and his long-term future with the Timberwolves is currently under hot debate. Despite ranking in the top-ten in defensive efficiency, Williams is in Adelman’s doghouse and how he will get back into the rotation remains a mystery.

Here is my prediction for the three stars of the game:

  1. Kevin Love
  2. David Lee
  3. Andrei Kirilenko
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Minnesota Timberwolves 95 – Portland Trail Blazers 103

November 24, 2012 by

Steve Dykes – US Presswire

Entering tonight’s game, the Minnesota Timberwolves were on a three game losing skid and traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the closest thing they currently have to a rivalry in the Portland Trailblazers.  The Blazers came into the game in last place in the Northwest division at 5-6 on the season.  The loser of tonight’s game was destined for the cellar of the division, so clearly the pressure was on 11 games into the season.  (That was my best impersonation of working for ESPN, hope you liked it.)

Similar to Wednesday night, the Pups starting lineup consisted of Ridnour, Lee, Kirilenko, Love, and Pekovic.  No surprises on the Blazers starting five, as they opened the game with Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, and Hickson.  Despite missing Brandon Roy and his return to Portland, a number of Pups have ties to Portland and could be viewed as “returning home”; with David Kahn and Kevin Love from the area and Rick Adelman’s past coaching successes with the franchise.  You can also throw in Luke Ridnour’s time at the University of Oregon.

The game itself got off to a very hot start.  The teams went into the first timeout about six minutes into the game with the Wolves holding an 18-13 lead.  Pekovic was dominant for the Wolves with a quick eight points.  Luke Ridnour also looked on target, hitting his first two jumpers for a quick five points.  Unfortunately, Luke was getting lit up on the other side of the floor, as Damian Lillard opened up with a quick seven points as well.

The 1st quarter ended with the Wolves up 33-28.  Aside from Pek and Ridnour, Love also had a strong quarter with six points and five rebounds.  The Blazers were completely overmatched in the paint for much of the quarter.  The “almost Pup” Nicholas Batum had a very nice quarter as well, doing a little bit of everything to help keep the Blazers in the game.

About six minutes into the 2nd quarter, Minnesota was able to double their lead to ten, largely using their reserve unit.  That reserve unit once again did not consist of Derrick Williams.  It is also worth noting that the Blazers bench provided virtually nothing in production.  I would expect the Blazers to really struggle late in the season, as they are going to have to rely on their starters for heavy minutes night in and night out.

At the end of the 2nd quarter, the Wolves maintained their five point lead, 55-50.  Portland’s starting backcourt was the only reason this game was close, as Lillard and Matthews combined for 31 points and 6 assists at halftime.  The Wolves continued to dominate down low, with Pekovic and Love providing the inside muscle to lead the way for the team.

Here are a few halftime thoughts through my Wolves lens:

  • Derrick Williams and Greg Stiemsma combined for 0 seconds on the floor in the first half.  The former shouldn’t be on the roster by the end of this road trip.  The latter has been struggling mightily over the past few games and is now behind Lou Amundson in the rotation, at least for the time being.
  • I love how the Twolves digital team is using various forms of social media and engaging fans not at the stadium.

The 3rd quarter got off to a bit of a chippy start.  Within the first few minutes of the quarter, Love and Aldridge picked up double technical fouls as the Blazers immediately cut into the Pups lead.  However, with the assistance of the T, Aldridge picked up his 5th personal foul before we were halfway through the quarter.

Both teams entered the penalty in the 3rd with more than four minutes left in the quarter.  In other words, the game lost the flow that was seen in the 1st half and play was consistently blown dead without too many trips up and down the court.

At the end of the 3rd, the Blazers held an 81-78 lead, thanks to a Nic Batum three pointer as the clock wound down to end the quarter.  Portland outscored the Wolves 31-23 in the 3rd, led again by Damian Lillard, who had 24 points and 7 assists through three.  In one word – wow!  The Wolves didn’t look good in the last few minutes of the quarter at all and that was only the beginning.

The 4th quarter felt like a runaway train as a Pups fan.  The Blazers opened up the quarter on a 14-6 run to increase the lead to 11 points, going into a Wolves timeout to try to stop the bleeding.  The Wolves could have called three TO’s in a row and it wouldn’t have mattered, as Wes Matthews caught fire in the quarter and finished the game with 30 points, as the Wolves fell 103-95 to the Blazers.

The Pups continued to miss FT’s (28-37 on the night) but this didn’t feel like the Charlotte and/or Denver loss.  They were outplayed in the 2nd half and the guard play from Portland completely dominated the Wolves.  The Ridnour/Barea backcourt used in the 2nd half of the game was atrocious.  It looked like the ‘11/’12 version of Barea and that isn’t a compliment whatsoever.  Finally, I’m not sure if it is the return of Love or a bit of fatigue, but Andrei Kirilenko has lost a bit of his mojo.  The ball needs to go through his hands more often on the offensive side of the court.

Three Stars of the Game:

  1. Damian Lillard
  2. Wesley Matthews
  3. Kevin Love

Paging Dr. Rubio, we need you!  Live from rumor-ville: in pregame, it was mentioned that Rubio could be cleared to practice with the team when they return to the Twin Cities.  We’re teetering on some sort of edge here right now.  Prior to the season, my goal for this team was to tread water until Love and Rubio returned.  It may be the hot start that increased expectations, but things need to get fixed quickly.

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Minnesota Timberwolves 94 – Denver Nuggets 101

November 22, 2012 by

Photo Credits: Jim Mone – Associated Press

He’s back! In a surprise activation for Wednesday’s home contest against the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Love was cleared to play by Timberwolves training personnel and stunned the home crowd by starting a game weeks ahead of his return schedule. Wearing a protective black glove on his right shooting hand, K-Love gave the fans plenty of reasons to cheer as he posted a remarkable 34 points (12-25 FG) and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes of play. However, Love’s heroics were not enough to put away a feisty Nuggets squad, and the Timberpups were unable to hold onto a 14-point halftime lead, ultimately falling by a score of 101-94.

The return of Love was enough to overshadow the fact that the Wolves blew a big first-half lead and lost a game at home that they definitely should have had. The glove on Love’s shooting hand appeared to slightly inhibit his ability to shoot, as displayed by his 2-9 3FG and his 8-14 from the free throw line. As his hand continues to gain strength, we should see the same K-Love we know from behind the arc and at the charity stripe, and it is truly a Thanksgiving blessing that an estimated mid-December return was transformed into a November 21st return.

Free throw shooting played a key part to the outcome of this game. Both teams were nearly deadlocked in all team statistical categories, except for free throws. Denver converted on 22 of their 26 opportunities, while Minnesota only saw 16 of their 25 attempts fall. In a game that was separated by only a few points until Minnesota’s last minute foul frenzy, free throws played a huge difference maker in deciding the winner of this one.

The other big storyline from Wednesday night involved Derrick Williams, who received his first did not play-coach’s decision of the season. Williams, who previously was the team’s starting PF until Love rejoined the team, amazingly did not see the court once and appears to have completely fallen out of favor with head coach Rick Adelman. What this means going forward is very unclear, as D-Will is still only a tender 21 years of age and has flashed moments of brilliance from time to time in his young career. Dissecting this situation from the perspective of Coach Adelman, it is clear that he has had enough of dealing with the game-immature Williams and is focusing on winning now, with little to no focus on long-term prospects of this team. The implications of this are both exciting and terrifying, given that a successful team should maintain a healthy balance of veterans and young, talented kids who can someday replace the veterans who have less than five years of NBA years left. The one thing that I will say about Derrick is that from everything that I know and have learned about him, he appears to have a very good head on his shoulders and has displayed great work ethic and devotion to the game. At the same time, he is an extremely gifted player and possesses talent that very few others have. Because of this, I believe that if he continues to work extremely hard and is not a risk to be an off-the-court distraction (aka Michael Beasley), he will ultimately find his way in the NBA and will be a very good player if given the appropriate time. How often does one witness a hyper-talented, good-hearted person devote themselves completely to something and fail? If one is to fail at something they are completely and utterly competent at doing, it generally lies in external factors, as we have seen with Beasley’s pot smoking.

Andrei Kirilenko, who has been the heart and soul of the Timberwolves thus far, had a relatively quiet night and saw a decreased role in the offense with the addition of Love. In 35 minutes, AK-47 scored just 7 points (2-7 FG) and had 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists and was a -1 on the floor. The Nuggets did a very good job of guarding AK, as they gave him an extra step on the perimeter to protect against his tremendous shot-fake which he had thus far used to perfection in order to blow past defenders.

The other member of the Wolves starting frontcourt, Nikola Pekovic, was also ultimately ineffective against a quicker a more dynamic Kenneth Faried. The Nuggets did an excellent job of making adjustments at halftime and went with quicker and more versatile defensive matchups against the big bruiser on the low block.

The Pups starting backcourt had a very inefficient night on the offensive end, as starters Luke Ridnour and Malcolm Lee combined to shoot a miserable 4-16 from the field. Backups Alexey Shved and JJ Barea did not fair much better, as they shot a combined 7-21 from the field. Barea, who also made his return from a nagging ankle injury on Wednesday night, made 4 three-pointers (which is the most for any individual Pup this season), but was out of control at times and did not do a proper job of running the offense. Caught in a chippy matchup with Ty Lawson, he and Barea went back and forth exchanging offensive fouls and at times it seemed as if the two players were so caught up in their individual matchup that they failed to see the other 9 players on the court. The bigger and stronger Lawson ultimately got the better of the matchup, and it is disappointing to see the veteran Barea allow his emotions to once again dictate the way he operates on the floor. Barea ended with 12 points (4-12 FG), 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 turnovers while Shved finished with 8 points (3-9 FG), 3 assists, and 2 rebounds.

When it comes down to it, Denver won this game in the post as they caught Minnesota defenders failing to box out on the weak side and took full advantage of their second chance opportunities in the second half. The Nuggets as a team outshot the Pups by 6% FG and were able to steal a divisional matchup on the road. However, there is no need to fret about last night as Love is only going to get his hand stronger and improved conditioning, and hopefully in only a few weeks we will have our starting PG in Ricky Rubio back. Happy Thanksgiving Pups fans, and here are my three stars of the game:

  1. Ty Lawson
  2. Kevin Love
  3. Andre Igoudala
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Chase Budinger Out Three Months with Torn Meniscus

November 13, 2012 by

Associated Press – Nam Y. Huh

Three weeks into the NBA season and the Pups are having a rough go at it.  Not from a record standpoint, as the team remains near the top of Northwest Division, but on the injury front.  Here’s what the last week has presented to the Wolves and their fans.

Last Wednesday, JJ Barea mildly sprained his ankle while diving for a loose ball in the 4th quarter of a blow-out win vs. Orlando.  Why?  Even JJ doesn’t know why he did this, but he did and the injury forced him to miss the next three games.  JJ is currently listed as day to day this week.

In the next game against Indiana, Brandon Roy never came out of the locker room for the 2nd half.  It was later reported that Roy had soreness in his degenerative right knee.  Brandon has since missed the last two games because of the injury and is also listed as day to day.  It sounds like there is a very good chance of Roy being ready for Wednesday’s game vs. Charlotte.

The very next night in Chicago, Chase Budinger tore his meniscus in his knee and a timetable for his return will be announced after the surgery.  Woj is reporting this morning that the surgery was completed earlier today (by Dr. James Andrews …) and Budinger will likely miss up to three months.

Finally, in last night’s game against Dallas, Nikola Pekovic rolled his ankle and didn’t return to the game.  I don’t expect Pek to be out very long though.  Why?  Let’s let him answer those questions, “I didn’t hurt nothing, just a lot of pain” and “I don’t use crutches”.  Those were his quotes on the injury after the game.  If anyone in the NBA deserves a “beast mode” tag, it should go to Pek.

So, this brings up a few questions and thoughts.  What in the world did the franchise do to deserve this?  Haven’t the Wolves paid enough for all of the bad decisions made over the past twenty-something years?  What does this mean for the team in the short and long term?

In the short term, this of course adds up to awful news for the team, who are already missing their two cornerstones until mid-December (in a best case scenario).  The team must make do without five guys in what would be Adelman’s regular rotation and adds pressure to the few remaining willing and able wings on the roster.  Everyone will need to step up, but allow me to be a bit pessimistic for the next few paragraphs.

Andrei Kirilenko has been an absolute blessing thus far this season.  He has done a little bit of everything.  However, he will now need to carry a larger burden of the scoring.  Will he be able to do this?  How will his body hold up given the presumed extra minutes he’s going to receive?  Only time will tell.

Derrick Williams has been wildly inconsistent to start the season, which isn’t too much of a surprise.  However, DWill has to step up.  He cannot produce one night and lay an egg the next.  Quite frankly, I don’t have high hopes here and it doesn’t feel or look like Adelman does either right now.

Alexey Shved has provided solid minutes from his backup, rotational spot.  How, or can he match up with starting two guards in the league?  Will his flaws become more visible and problematic for the team with increased minutes and playing more against starters?

Can the team get net-positive results from Malcolm Lee and/or Will Conroy?  Is it even fair to set these expectations?  In Monday’s game in Dallas, Lee got the starting nod and didn’t look great, but made enough plays to warrant more time there if/when needed, which would also allow Shved to come off the bench in a 6th man role.

Longer term, this puts another caveat into this season’s goal of making the playoffs.  There will likely be added pressure on the team come January/February to start winning at a greater percentage in order to make it to the playoffs as the team’s cornerstones return.  Roy and Budinger’s injuries are big question marks that may (more likely, will) have an impact throughout the year, but the others should be back sooner rather than later.  At this point, I believe the team will need to tread water for the rest of November.  The team plays every other day this week through Friday (including last night’s win in Dallas), and are then off until next Wednesday, which may be a small blessing in an otherwise crazy start to the season.

Let’s focus on Chase Budinger’s injury for a second, as JJ Barea should return soon and Brandon Roy’s knee injuries are well documented and should now be expected to be an on again, off again item for much of this season.  In a limited amount of games, Budinger had already proven to be a valuable commodity for the Wolves.

At the time of the injury, Chase was the second leading scorer on the team at 11.8ppg.  He was also throwing in 3.5rpg and 1spg.  Most importantly, Chase was clearly option 1A or 1B on shooting from three point range, depending on how you feel about Luke Ridnour.  At the same time, it looked like he was getting more and more acclimated to his teammates and building confidence in his own game.  So naturally, the injury had to occur now.

While very cliché, the healthy Pups that remain on the floor are going to have to collectively make up for these missing points and the outside shooting that Chase was providing.  A few guys – particularly Roy upon his return and Shved – will need to quickly find their outside jumpers that have been missing so far this season.  The team’s PG’s are also going to have to become more effective jump shooters as well and do a better job at spacing the floor.

Naturally, another option would be for the team to go out and sign another player.  However, the Wolves have virtually no flexibility with the cap and only have the veteran’s minimum to offer.  Who could this go to?  Here’s a very short list of player’s available that I would consider: Mickael Pietrus, Josh Howard, and/or Ryan Gomes.  If you really want to drive yourself crazy, we can talk about expediting Troy Hudson’s comeback to the NBA.  (Let’s not)

Net/net, the injuries have continued to mount for the Wolves, but I have to say that in watching the past handful of games, this year’s roster is light years ahead of last year’s squad.  Their ability to overcome deficits and the injuries to Love and Rubio have been highly commendable.  However, we are certainly teetering on the edge of the cliff of not being able to make up for all of the injuries this team is enduring.

Here’s to a speedy recovery to all of the Wolves and to a healthy 2013!  (Please?!)

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Timberwolves Video of the Week: Larry Fitzgerald Shaves Kevin Love’s Head for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 26, 2012 by

This week’s Timberwolves Video of the Week involves not only Kevin Love, but Minneapolis’ own Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. In an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer and show support to those women who lose their hair while undergoing chemo therapy, K-Love brought in a perennial superstar (and apparently decent barber) to turn K-Love into a Moby look-alike.

I have to say, I dig the new hair style. K-Love seems to make anything work – and look cool for that matter – but it’s too bad we can’t see Love in action until probably around mid-December. In all seriousness, I think it was a very noble thing that both Love and Fitz did in making a video tribute to raise awareness to the horrible, family-debilitating cancer, as no one should have to lose a loved one in the way that Fitz did.

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