The Timberwolves were without Kevin Love for the second game of his two-game suspension and tonight it showed! The Wolves missed his scoring and his rebounding, tonight--more than ever! Let's get a rundown of tonight's game... 1.) I questioned the Timberwolves' backcourt for the first time tonight. Ricky Rubio & Luke Ridnour have been fairly effective this season. But tonight--on both ends of the floor--things just weren't working (granted not the only problem tonight). Ridnour struggled mightly against...Quincy Pondexter. Yeah, you read that right: Quincy Pondexter! Quincy scored a career-high 17pts (previous high: 14pts) on 50% shooting (7-14). Clearly--if a guy like Pondexter continues to take it to the rack on you and is having no trouble doing so--and is Quincy Pondexter, it's rightful to question! Don't get me wrong though--I have 100% faith in what Adelman does! 2.) The Timberwolves got slaughtered on the boards. They came into tonight's game out-rebounding their last eight opponents--clearly not the case tonight as the Grizz had a +12 on the boards (59-47). Marreese Speights dominated on the glass with 15 rebounds (tying a career-high). He had 5 offensive rebounds--in the first quarter! He finished with 8 (offensive rebounds) for the game. Also on the boards: Gay added 9, Gasol had 8, Cunningham had 7, Pondexter had 6...and the list goes on and on--the lowest was 2 boards by reserve point guard Jeremy Pargo. The Timberwolves no one in double-digits for rebounds, but Pek & D-Will both had 9, Rubio had 7 and Beas added 6. 3.) The Grizzlies finished with 21 offensive rebounds that they were able to turn into 22 second chance points! Those 21 offensive boards are also a season-high for opponents vs. the Wolves. The previous high was 19 vs. New Orleans on 1/13/12. You've got to assume with Love in this one--the game would've been MUCH different. 4.) The Timberwolves' rebounding wasn't the only thing that was dreadful tonight. The Wolves' transition defense was equally terrible. The Grizz had 20 fast break points. There were far too many times that the Wolves were giving up easy buckets--not just on the break--but also in half-court offense: something that, coming into the game--I thought the Wolves would be able to thrive on/with. 5.) The Timberwolves held a slim one-point lead early in the first quarter--but the Grizz quickly grabbed the lead and never gave it back. Memphis found themselves down 17 at one point (largest deficit of the night). Minnesota battled back in the final quarter under the likes of Barea, Ellington, Beasley, Tolliver & Randolph. In the third quarter the Timberwolves were able to cut it to just a six point lead 50-56 on the back of a 10-0 run, but an 8-0 run by the Grizzlies quickly made it 50-64 with just over a minute left in the third quarter. 6.) Here's a crazy stat for you: Ricky Rubio didn't have an assist in the entire first half. He finished with just one on the night (coming in the third quarter). Pretty crazy considering he came into the game averaging 9.1 a game! 7.) Clearly Rick Adelman wasn't happy with the way his starters were playing in the third quarter as they sat the entire final quarter! Anthony Randolph & Wayne Ellington came off the bench for the first time all night to start the fourth and played all 12 minutes! Ultimately a lineup of Barea, Ellington, Beasley, Tolliver & Randolph didn't get the job done in the final quarter either! 8.) For the Timberwolves--the high-point man was J.J. Barea off the bench. He finished with a season-high 17pts on 4-of-9 shooting. Also finishing with a team-high 6ast as well as 3rebs & 2stls. Pek played just 28 minutes and had 10pts & 9rebs as the starter, Williams added 13pts & 9rebs in 30 minutes (starting again in place of Love), Beas came off the bench and in 27 minutes had 13pts, 6rebs, 2ast & 2stls. 9.) For the Grizzlies their leading scorer was Gay with 19pts as well as 9rebs, 3ast, 3stls & a block. Pondexter added those 17pts as well as 6rebs & 2ast. Dante Cunningham added 12pts & 7rebs off the bench. 10.) The Timberwolves came into the game averaging 96.8ppg, but finished with just 80 (a season-low). Tonight also marked the end of the TWolves' three-game winning streak as well as their three-game winning streak on the road! Moving them to 13-13 on the year and 6-5 on the road this season. That's all for now. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **Follow us on Twitter @HOWL_MnTWolves for all the TWolves updates!**
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The Timberwolves will hit the road for just one game as they travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Let's get a rundown... 1.) The Wolves are coming off a narrow two-point win over the Sacramento Kings last night. They didn't have Kevin Love, but plenty of players stepped up with solid performances. Derrick Williams started in Love's place and had 14pts, 8rebs, 1ast, 1stl & 3blks. Michael Beasley came off the bench and had 17pts & 14rebs. Beas took 21 shots to get those 17pts, but his 14rebs was HUGE without Kevin Love. Ricky Rubio had 6pts, 6rebs & 14ast (8ast came in the 1st Q). And of course--the biggest performance of the night for Minnesota came from Nikola Pekovic. Pek had 23pts, 10rebs, 3stls, 2blks, shot 9-12 FG & 5-5 FT. 2.) For Nikola Pekovic it's clear the Darko Milicic era as the team's starting center may have finally come to an end! Darko missed yet another game--this time with a sprained ankle. His never-ending and various injuries are already getting old. My biggest concern is him being happy coming off the bench. I don't see him playing very well as a reserve. In fact, I'd be happy with the Wolves starting Pek and bringing Miller (and occasionally Randolph--in the right situation) off the bench as the main backup(s). 3.) The Timberwolves are getting even healthier--so much so, they could be at 15 healthy players in just a week or so. Malcolm Lee is currently playing a week's worth of game's in the D-League. He had his first game last night and had 16pts & 6ast as a starter. We'll keep you updated on his progress game-by-game. 4.) The Wolves will once again be without their All-Star forward: Kevin Love. Love is serving his second-game of the two-game suspension he received for stomping Houston's Luis Scola. Derrick Williams will likely get the start again. 5.) The Grizzlies are currently 12-13 this season. The Timberwolves passed them in the rankings just a few days ago. The TWolves are currently 13-12 on the year and are actually having a very successful year on the road, they're 6-4. The Grizzlies are comfortable playing at home as well, currently 7-4 on the year. 6.) The Timberwolves are currently riding a three-game winning streak, whereas the Grizzlies are currently on a three-game losing streak. 7.) INJURY REPORT: The Timberwolves may be without Darko Milicic who is recovering from a sprained ankle and is listed as day-to-day. For the Grizzlies--they may be without starting off-guard Tony Allen who is listed as day-to-day with a hip/knee injury. 8.) The Memphis Grizzlies are clear-cut favorites for this one--according to Accuscore. The Grizz are an 81-19 favorite! Apparently without Kevin Love the Wolves are big underdogs. The Grizzlies have won four-straight at home over Minnesota and have won eight of nine overall in this series. 9.) The marquee matchup of the night will be big man Marc Gasol & the Wolves' new starting center: Nikola Pekovic. Pek definitely has the physicality and toughness in this matchup, but Gasol can step out to 15-feet and hit jump shots. 10.) Ultimately, the Timberwolves will need to have guys like D-Will, Beasley, Pek & Rubio to step up once again--in this one--against the likes of Mayo, Conley, Gay & Gasol! That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **Follow us on Twitter @HOWL_MnTWolves for all your TWolves updates**
The Minnesota Timberwolves very nearly had a big let-down in tonight's game. They had a 15-point lead after just one quarter, however the Kings were able to rally back and it came down to the final seconds. The Kings had a chance to win it at the buzzer but missed and the Wolves finally moved above .500. This is the latest (in the season) the Wolves have been above .500. Last time was Jan. 21, 2007, when the Wolves were 20-19. With this win the TWolves are on a 3-game winning streak. This is their second three-game win streak of the season and the first time since 2008-09 that the Wolves have had two or more three-plus straight wins in the same season. The Timberwolves remain at 10th in the Western Conference after this win as they move two games above the Memphis Grizzlies who they play tomorrow night. Let's take a look at some key performers in tonight's victory for both teams...
The Timberwolves got another HUGE performance from PEK and moved to 6-2 when Pek plays more than 20 minutes. The marquee matchup of the night was definitely Pek vs. DMC. Nikola clearly got the better of Cousins as foul trouble forced him to play very limited minutes. He rebounded, shot a high percentage, blocked shots and got three steals! His all-around game was beyond impressive. I think it's safe to say that the Darko era at center is finally over! Darko missed tonight's game after spraining his ankle in practice. Beasley came off the bench and his 14 rebounds were HUGE for the Wolves who were without Kevin Love. Along with Beas: Pek (10), D-Will (8), Ridnour (6) & Rubio (6) all stepped up and grabbed another rebound or two. Williams started in place of Love and had a solid night in just 26 minutes. Rubio tied his career-high with 14 assists--8 of which came in the first quarter alone! The Kings got a big performance from Jimmer who came off the bench and played 17 minutes. His contribution came in the final quarter when he was a key part of the Kings' late rally. He scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter! A big part of the win was Pek keeping DMC in check. He was only able to play 25 minutes and there were a number of plays where Nikola just made him look ridiculous! Let's take a look at some team stats from tonight's game...
Neither team shot every high percentages from anywhere. The Wolves left 10 points at the line which would've/could've given them more 'breathing room' in the final quarter. Of course--the Kings themselves left seven points at the line themselves.
Even without Kevin Love the Wolves were still able to out-rebound the Kings. Granted it was just a +1 but the Wolves had the edge! Thanks to Pek they also edged Sacramento in points in the paint: 44-36. The turnovers were up and the points that the Kings scored off them was also WAY to high! The TWolves were able to force the Kings into 19 themselves however! That's all for now. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Timberwolves will be facing an up-hill battle the next two games as they'll be without their superstar--Kevin Love. Love was suspended for two games (this one & Wed. vs. MEM) for driving his foot into the upper body and face of Rockets forward Luis Scola. We'll get to the effects of that in a bit though.
Let's go through the rundown of keys and notes of this one... 1.) This will be the second meeting of these two teams. The first was a 99-86 win for the Wolves. In that one Love & Ridnour combined for 58 points (Love: 33, Ridnour: 25). They started the game slow, but in the final quarter were able to close the game out behind 11pts from Love & 8pts from Wayne Ellington. 2.) In that last meeting the Wolves were without J.J. Barea and Michael Beasley. They also hadn't got Martell Webster or Brad Miller back. Tomorrow night they'll have those four players, but they'll of course be without Kevin Love. I haven't heard anything on Darko Milicic yet, either way--we may be seeing Nikola Pekovic as the team's starting big man. 3.) In the last game, the Kings were without Chuck Hayes who had a dislocated left shoulder, he's since returned. He played 12 minutes in the Kings' last game vs. the Warriors. The Kings play the Hornets tonight (2/6) so we'll provide an update on the injuries, final score and keys of that one. 4.) The Kings have started a different lineup than they did when we first played them. In that last meeting the Kings started Evans, Thornton, Salmons, Hickson & Cousins. In the Kings' last game vs. the Warriors they started Evans, Thornton, Salmons, Thompson & Cousins. We may also see Hayes in the starting lineup as he was the Kings' starting forward before he went down with that injury. Something we'll definitely keep an eye on as the Kings face the Hornets tonight. 5.) With Kevin Love out, I'd expect either Michael Beasley or Derrick Williams to start at power forward. Also you can expect Anthony Tolliver & Anthony Randolph to see a bump in minutes (two guys who haven't been playing much recently). 6.) The Kings do play tonight (vs. Hornets). But they currently sit at 8-15 on the year. With the Timberwolves' win over the Rockets on Saturday they are at .500 on the season 12-12 and are tied at 10th in the Western Conference with the Memphis Grizzlies! Before this Hornets game the Kings are 2-11 on the road (the game vs. NOH is on the road so that record will change). For the TWolves who will be playing at home vs. the Kings on Tuesday are 6-8 at home this season and unlike MOST teams the Wolves have actually played better on the road then on their home court! 7.) There's a lot of things Love does for this team that we're going to finally realize. We won't have our force in the paint pulling down rebounds. The ability to attack from both the inside & out. The Wolves have players like Michael Beasley & Derrick Williams that are capable of all of those things. they're capable--but will they be able to perform? Big difference between being able and executing! 8.) The Wolves will have a battle in the post with two BIG bruisers: Pekovic & Cousins--a battle between two of the toughest and most physical big men in the NBA will be beyond fun to watch! Hopefully the Wolves' Pek will be the answer to DMC. But, the Wolves will have to come up with stops against the three guards the Kings start: Evans, Thornton & Salmons. It's obvious that the Kings aren't a basketball team that has a lot of players that like to share the basketball! The Kings rank 30th (last) in the NBA in assists a game. A big reason for that? Starting those three guards! That's all for now. Stay tuned for an update to this post on the Kings' game tonight vs. the New Orleans Hornets. Until then, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Timberwolves have finally gotten over that pesky .500 mark. It's taken five attempts this season, but they've finally hit that mark. It came in a nine-point win over the Houston Rockets who they've now faced three times in under two weeks; moving to 2-1 this season vs. HOU. It's the first time since October 29, 2010 that the Wolves are a .500 basketball team. That was just the Wolves' second game of the season and they beat Milwaukee in that one to move to 1-1 on the year. The last time the Wolves were at .500 after the New Year? Jan. 22, 2007. How about the last time the Timberwolves were above .500? That was Oct. 29, 2008, after beating the Kings in the season opener. Let's get a rundown of some keys and notes from tonight's game...
Biggest things to take away from tonight's game? The Wolves may be without Kevin Love for a few games following what happened with Scola. If he's out the Wolves would likely start Beasley or Williams at power forward. Beyond that--Pek may have secured a place in the starting lineup after his continued impressive performances and Darko's inconsistent play and staying healthy. And lastly--the Wolves moved to .500 on the year! That's all for now. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **You can follow us on Twitter @HOWL_MnTWolves for all the updates**
After tonight's game the Timberwolves will have played the Rockets three times in under two weeks! The Wolves are 1-1 this season against Houston--the win coming at Houston and the loss at the Target Center. Tonight, the Wolves are back at the Target Center--hoping to get their home 'woes' dealt with. Since last facing the Rockets on Mon. Jan. 30th, the TWolves have played two games and gone 1-1 in that time. On Wednesday they lost by 10 points to the Indiana Pacers, whose size just bullied the Timberwolves all night. The other game came last night vs. the Nets. It was a narrow victory over the Nets, who got 42 points from Anthony Morrow, the Wolves countered with Pek, for 27! Since last facing the TWolves, the Rockets have also played two games. They were on the same days the Wolves played too. On Wednesday the Rockets lost to the Spurs; 91-99. Last night Houston played the Phoenix Suns (a team the Wolves have yet to play) and had an easy-win; 99-81! Let's take a look at some 'keys' and some 'notes' for tonight's game...
Tipoff is set for 7pmCT tonight and a full-gameday recap can be found on this site following the final horn. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **Follow us on Twitter for all the updates @HOWL_MnTWolves**
The Timberwolves snuck out of New Jersey this evening with a narrow 3-point loss. It was finally a game the Wolves were able to close out--heading into the final minutes with the outcome, still in doubt. The Timberwolves move to 11-12 on the season and handed the Nets their 16th loss of the season. Tonight featured big performances from some unlikely candidates from both teams. The TWolves got a HUGE performance from Nikola Pekovic and the Nets got a huge night from Anthony Morrow who was returning to the active lineup after missing a game with an ankle injury (he did go down awkwardly on the very first play, but it didn't seem to effect him...at all!). Let's give you the rundown of tonight's game...
That's all I've got for now. Tomorrow morning we'll have a preview of the Rockets game tomorrow night. Have a good night, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! After losing to the Pacers on Wednesday, the Wolves will take this one-game road trip to New Jersey to face the Nets on Friday night--before returning home Saturday for a game vs. the Houston Rockets. The Wolves are coming off a 10-point loss to the Pacers on Wednesday. They were just bullied by the Pacers' size, toughness & physicality. For the Nets, they also had a game on Wednesday vs. the Detroit Pistons. The Nets won that one by just 3 points; 99-96. The Pistons had a chance to send it to overtime, but a missed three with 1.8 seconds to go by Detroit, gave the Nets the win. Deron Williams had 26pts & Kris Humphries added 18. So, let's take a look at this matchup... 1.) The Nets & TWolves have both had their problems with injuries and depth. In that last game versus the Pistons, the Nets had just 8 healthy guys! The Wolves are getting healthier and will likely have 14 healthy players (and will have to have one inactive player--Anthony Randolph sat vs. Indiana). 2.) The Nets were without Johan Petro (sat out Wed. with a stomach virus), DeShawn Stevenson (has a right knee injury--out until at least Feb. 14th), Anthony Morrow (out Wed. vs. DET with an ankle injury), MarShon Brooks (out with a broken pinkie toe on his right foot), Damion James (out for the season after having to have a screw replaced in his foot), Mehmet Okur (has a back injury and underwent a procedure that'll keep him out until Sat.), and of course Brook Lopez (he hasn't played at all this season with that broken foot and head coach Avery Johnson doesn't expect him back 'anytime soon'). Morrow & Petro may be able to play--but we won't be seeing Lopez, Stevenson or Okur. 3.) With the injuries to all their centers, it begs the question--who'll be starting at the five for New Jersey? I'd expect to see either Shelden Williams (who started at the five vs. DET) or Johan Petro (if he's feeling better). And of course--who'll be starting at shooting guard for New Jersey? In that last game vs. Detroit Jordan Farmar started in the backcourt with Deron Williams. The Wolves signed free agent Keith Bogans to help with all the losses at the guards and forwards. Just days after signing Bogans he played 17 minutes vs. the Pistons and had 2pts and a rebound. 4.) Then, of course, the question is who is starting for Minnesota? I know that Minnesota will keep the backcourt of Rubio & Ridnour. A great combo--that Adelman has no reason to change! Kevin Love is the superstar of this team and the only way he's not starting--is if he's injured. That leaves--who starts at small forward and who starts at center? I wrote a quick post about this exact subject yesterday, follow the link for that---->http://mnwolves.weebly.com/1/post/2012/02/a-change-could-do-you-good.html 5.) The Wolves went into Wednesday's game vs. Indiana with a fourth chance to move to .500 this year--but as with the other three chances, they were unsuccessful--a win tonight vs. the Nets will allow them a fifth chance on Saturday vs. the Rockets---but let's not get ahead of ourselves!! 6.) The Wolves seem more comfortable on the road as they're 5-4 this season away from the Target Center. Compared to 5-8 at home! Hopefully they can move to 6-4 tonight! You want an even more intense statistic? In the Wolves' last two seasons under the direction of Kurt Rambis--the Wolves have gone 10-72! I guarantee they'll exceed 10 wins on the road this season. That's pretty sad considering it's just a 66-game season. They'll have double digit road wins in 33 games compared to 82 these past two seasons! 7.) In these two teams last meeting, it saw the Nets winning 105-107. It was a game at the Target Center on April 5, 2011. Deron Williams had a career-high 21 assists in that game. Though, the Wolves were without Kevin Love with that strained groin that made him miss the last few weeks of last season. 8.) Ricky Rubio gets to test his skill against another elite point guard--in Deron Williams. D-Will is definitely one of the tougher point guards in the League--and I mean that--like, 180lb. Rubio may have a tough time guarding such a big physical guard! If the Nets start a small backcourt (Williams & Farmar) that plays right into the hands of the Wolves that do the same--with 6-5 Rubio & 6-2 Ridnour. I'd expect to see Pekovic at center tonight matched up against either Petro or Shelden Williams. Kevin Love & Kris Humphries will also be going head-to-head--both players are solid rebounders, but we'll see if Humph can stop a much more offensively-gifted Love. 9.) Tipoff is set for 6:30pmCT--a change from the regular 7pm tips, so don't miss the start of the game! Though that's usually when the Wolves are playing their worst basketball. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Follow HOWL on Twitter for all your Timberwolves updates @HOWL_MnTWolves
Plan to keep this short tonight. The Wolves stuck with Indiana for the majority of the game. Trailing by just six points after three quarters (70-76). However a 9-1 run to begin the fourth quarter by Indiana buried the Wolves as they took a 15-point lead. The entire starting five for Indiana scored in double-digits, headlined by 36 points from Danny Granger and 20 from Darren Collison. Hibbert had 15, West with 12 & George rounded them out with 10. Beyond that starting five they don't have a lot of scorers coming off the bench. Kevin Love led Minnesota with 21pts & 17rebs. Ridnour added 16 and Pek came off the bench--and in 30 minutes had 13pts & 12rebs for his third career double-double. Just a few more notes from this one... 1.) Kevin Love & Danny Granger got into a shoving match with just under thirty seconds left in the third quarter. Love and Granger went up for a rebound, but Granger was on Love's foot and Kevin ended up shoving Granger. It got a little chippy and Granger got in Love's face, but Michael Beasley & Martell Webster quickly stepped in as Kevin Love backed WAY off. Let's be honest. A Timberwolves team that has Pekovic, Darko, Miller & Beasley on it--is not the kind of team you want to toy with, when it comes to picking fights! The picture is above is of the foul in-progress. 2.) Granger--simply--couldn't be stopped tonight. Of his 36pts--29 of them came in the second half as he exploded in the third quarter with 17! He shot 13-of-15 at the line, 9-19 from the field and 5-of-8 from deep! 3.) The Wolves finished with just 16 assists on the night. Their leader in that stat: Ricky Rubio--finished with just 6 assists (compared to his nearly 9apg average). Ridnour had 4 & Barea added 3 off the bench. 4.) The Wolves shot a putrid 18% from deep hitting 3-of-17! While Indiana hit 7-of-15 (5 makes came from Granger alone). For a team that relies on those shots to go down at least 30% of the time--shooting half that, hurts (to say the least). 5.) Minnesota went 28-37 as a team from the free throw line--leaving 9 points at the stripe! Clearly--those nine points are a difference-maker in a game you lost by just 10 points! They still made 76% of the shots--but you make even 5 more free throws, it's a whole different ball game! 6.) The Timberwolves bench outscored the Pacers' 44-16. HOWEVER, the Pacers starters outscored Minnesota 55-93! 7.) This was just the second time this season, the Pacers have topped over 100 points! 8.) Tonight saw the return of J.J. Barea and Darko Milicic. The Wolves therefore had 14 healthy players, but you can only dress 13 players on the bench--so tonight Rick Adelman sat Anthony Randolph--who was inactive for the game. Brad Miller & Anthony Tolliver did not play (coach's decision). J.J. played 14 minutes and had 7 points off the bench. Darko played 18 minutes and had 4pts & 3rebs as the starting center. 9.) Size did seem to matter tonight...The Timberwolves started 6-5 Rubio & 6-2 Ridnour in the backcourt--followed by 6-7 Wes, 6-9 Love & 7-0 Darko on the frontline. That was up against a lineup of 6-0 Collison, 6-10 George, 6-9 Granger, 6-9 West & 7-2 Hibbert! The Wolves just got bullied. There were numerous times Ridnour & Rubio hit the floor on picks set by Hibbert, Jones, Hansbrough & West! 10.) This was Minnesota's fourth chance this season to move to .500 on the year--unsuccessfully. If they beat the Nets on Friday, they'll have another chance this Saturday vs. the Houston Rockets. That's all for now. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves will have a fourth chance to move to .500 this season in tonight's game vs. the Indiana Pacers. The Timberwolves got back-on-track with a big win over the Houston Rockets on Monday. Now, they'll have the first chance to move to .500 since Dwane Casey was at the helm for Minnesota.
Both teams will be sporting some throwback jerseys (I'm going to add some pics to our 'Pictures' section of both teams' jerseys). Minnesota will be sporting those old-time ABA Muskies jerseys. The Wolves had Tuesday off to rest--with no games or practice, however the Pacers will be playing a back-to-back after a win over the New Jersey Nets yesterday. Paul George scorched the Nets for a new career-high 24 points. Granger added 21pts and Roy Hibbert dominated the paint with 18pts & 14rebs for his 9th double-double of the season. The Timberwolves are currently 10-11, while the Pacers have started the season strong at 14-6. The good news? Of those six losses, five of them came on the road and just one home loss to the Magic. The Pacers added a starting power forward and traded for another big man a month ago. The Pacers signed former All-Star David West to a 2-year $20million contract. Hansbrough was moved to the bench as a sort of sixth man, while Indiana has a new frontcourt of 7-2 big man Hibbert and 6-9 West. David may be getting on in years and is coming off a knee injury, but he's no slouch and Love will definitely have his hands full. The other big man they traded for was former Warrior: Louis Amundson (they traded swingman Brandon Rush to get him). He'll be the backup center tonight with Jeff Foster out. Taking a look at other injuries. Foster is out with a back injury. Roy Hibbert will play, though he's recovering from an ankle injury he suffered last week as well as a broken nose that got set before last night's game after breaking it in a win over the Boston Celtics. Reserve Guard George Hill is out indefinitely after coming down hard on his foot last night. According to the injury report--Hill has a small-chip fracture on his left ankle. With those injuries it leaves the Pacers a little short at the five and at the guard. With Hill out A.J. Price, Lance Stephenson & Dahntay Jones will likely see more time and of course--with Foster out--expect to see more of Louis Amundson, Tyler Hansbrough & Jeff Pendergraph. The Pacers are currently ranked 17th overall with just under 94 points a game while allowing opponents to score just over 90 points a game (7th overall). The Timberwolves have had their high scoring nights and their offensively stagnant nights--which currently puts them at 12th overall in the NBA scoring just under 97 points a game and allowing opponents 94.8 a game--which puts them at 15th in the League. The Wolves are therefore better on both ends--however their records are quite different! I'm interested to see if the Pacers will out-rebound a Kevin Love team--the Pacers are currently 2nd in the NBA at 44.8 a game. The Wolves sit at 7th in the NBA at 43.4--not far off but we'll see if Love, Beasley & Darko (or Pekovic) & Rubio can out-rebound George, Granger, West & Hibbert. There's no reports on whether the Wolves will be getting Darko Milicic and J.J. Barea back--but I will provide an update before gametime (at the top of this post). If both return the Wolves will be have 14 healthy players (meaning they'll have to choose players to be inactive). I'd expect to see Darko tonight--if he's able to go I could really see Darko back in the starting lineup for his defense against Roy Hibbert in the post. J.J. is definitely much more questionable...stay tuned! The key tonight will be the continued high-level play of Love, Beasley & Rubio. And really not just them--so long as the Wolves get points from players beyond Love, they have a VERY GOOD chance of being successful tonight and every game out. That's all for now. Stay tuned for an updated injury report prior to gametime. Also, I'll have some pictures of both teams throwback jerseys very soon in the 'Pictures' section on this site. Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! |
Cody D. AndersonA Wolves fan bringing you Gameday Recaps all season long! 2014-15 Game ArchivesGameday Archives
December 2015
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