Nine days ago the Timberwolves took on the Clippers at the STAPLES Center, the result was a two-point loss. Tonight the Timberwolves took on the Clippers at the Target Center, the result was a four-point loss. The Wolves dug themselves an early hole as the Clippers started the game on a 12-0 run. They quickly got back in the game and were able to stay with the high-octane Clippers offense. The Wolves' transition defense was terrible in those first couple minutes. It was all knotted up at 24 after the first quarter. The Clippers started the second quarter on an 11-0 run. That was when the Wolves had a complete bench unit on the floor: Barea, Shved, Hummel, Williams & Cunningham. Adelman decided to still stick with those guys despite the Clippers run and they got right back in the game. At halftime the it was tied up at 46. Ultimately it was one of Minnesota's worst games this season. Their best player struggled all night long, they played sloppily on both sides of the ball and they let a very simple Clippers late offense pick them apart for the W. It was a back-and-forth affair throughout this one, but Chris Paul exploded in the fourth quarter to propel the Clips to the win. Paul scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. CP3 also finished with 20 points & 11 assists to become the first player in NBA history to begin the season with 12-straight point-assists double-doubles. The simple offense the Clippers ran in the fourth quarter was high screens on Rubio that he couldn't fight through and usually ended in a Chris Paul mid-range jumper. They ran it again and again and it worked every time. The Wolves got 15 fourth quarter points from Kevin Martin and another 7 from Corey Brewer, but it just wasn't enough. This is the first game this season that the Clippers have won without scoring 107 or more points. Tonight is also just the third time this season that the Wolves have scored under 100 points, they're 0-3 in those games. Kevin Martin had his bounce back game and Nikola Peković played REALLY well, but it was the struggle for Kevin Love that doomed the Wolves. With that in mind, let's take a look at tonight's box score... Kevin Love finished with just 10 points and shot 14% from the field, 0% from deep and 60% from the line and turned it over 5 times. He did add 12 rebounds and tied a season-high with 8 assists (6 of those assists came in the fourth quarter), but those were the only bright spots for Love tonight--without a doubt his worst game of the season.
The Wolves shot 80.6% from the line, which is a decent percentage for the team, but they left six points at the line and in a four-point loss...well...I'm sure you can do the math... Minnesota's 34 made field goals ties a season-low and their 37.8% shooting percentage is the second-worst of the year as is their 22.7% from deep. The Clippers' 12 made threes and 50% shooting clip from that distance are both season-highs for a Wolves opponent. Kevin Martin finished with the 9th double-double of his career and his first since 2009! It was definitely a great turnaround game following his dismal outing in Washington last night. Martin tied a season-high in made field goals (11) and assists (4). His 2 offensive boards, 8 defensive boards and 10 total rebounds are all season-highs. The Wolves bench finished with 18 points as L.A.'s Crawford nearly outscored them himself. J.J. Barea had rough outing after seemingly getting himself back on track these past couple weeks. When Adelman turned to the bench in the second quarter, that meant Derrick Williams & Alexey Shved saw some playing time. Derrick Williams was aggressive and got himself to the line, yet he still seemed to settle for a lot of the shots he took. His one offensive rebound is the first of the season for him. Shved didn't score, but he definitely played with energy and made some good plays--sure the Wolves would love to get some scoring from him off the bench, but what he gave them tonight was just as valuable--played more aggressively on D, made the extra pass and played hard. The Clippers have now won seven-straight over the Timberwolves. These two teams won't meet again until three days before Christmas (Dec. 22nd)--back at the STAPLES Center. The Wolves will be back in action on Friday night vs. Kevin Garnett and the Brooklyn Nets at the Target Center, until then thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off a disappointing four-point loss to a floundering Washington Wizards squad last night and tonight they'll be looking for a bounce back win--unfortunately they'll be facing one of the best teams in the Western Conference--the same team they lost to just nine days ago. The Clippers are coming off a four-point loss of their own. They fell to the Grizzlies on Monday night 102-106. Memphis' Mike Conley scored 8 of his 15 points during a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. CP3 finished just one rebound shy of a triple-double, he finished with 18pts, 9reb & 11ast; Griffin added 23pts & 11reb. Chris Paul has begun the season with 11-straight points-assists double-doubles. CP3 is the first player since Magic Johnson to begin the season with 11-straight double-doubles and he'll look to break that record with his 12th-straight tonight. Paul's longest stretch of double-doubles at any point in the season in his NBA career is 12. The Wolves enter tonight 7-5 overall, 5-1 at home and 3-3 vs. the Western Conference. The Clippers are 7-4 on the year, 2-3 on the road and 6-2 vs. the Western Conference. The Clips are seeking their seventh-straight victory over the Wolves. Both of these teams are looking to avoid losing back-to-back games for the second time this season. The name of the game will be "Hold Them to 106 Points!" The Clippers haven't won a game this season in which they've scored fewer than 107 points! L.A. is averaging an NBA-high 109.3 points and their defense is the second-worst in the NBA (29th) allowing 105.7 a game. The Wolves are averaging 107.8 points per game (3rd in the NBA) and allowing 100.5 points a game (19th in the NBA). The Wolves are 5-1 at home this season and are averaging 109.8 point per game on 44.2% from the field. Keeping this Clippers squad under the century mark will be no easy task, especially with the high-scoring duo of Paul & Griffin. Blake has had eight games of 20 or more points & 10 or more rebounds in his last 10 outings. The Wolves need their own high-scoring duo to get back on track. Kevin Martin had his worst shooting night (4-of-17 FG) and his second-lowest scoring output of the season (11pts). Martin will definitely bounce back--we can only hope it's tonight. The Wolves will be without Chase Budinger (knee), Ronny Turiaf & Shabazz Muhammad (ankle). The Clippers will be without their third-string point guard Maalik Wayns as he continues to rehab from his torn meniscus surgery. Swingman Matt Barnes didn't make the trip to the Twin Cities with a bruised left eye. Let's take a look at tonight's starting lineups... Minnesota TimberwolvesLos Angeles ClippersNikola Peković had his best game of the season the last time these two teams met--it definitely caught me off guard considering he was matched up against one of the NBA's better interior defenders. Peković also spent some time defending Blake Griffin, I expect to see that again so that Blake cannot use his strength advantage against Love to back him down in the paint for a quick post move and score.
The obvious is containing Paul & Griffin, but with this Clippers team--if you take away them you still have to be wary of L.A.'s three-point shooters. CP3 can drive the lane and draw in the defense to find Redick or Dudley on the perimeter for a wide-open triple. All these offensive weapons are the reason that L.A. is the offensive juggernaut they are and what will make them so tough to defend. The last thing and the biggest thing is to play a full 48-minute game. If they build a lead they CANNOT get complacent! That's all for now, tipoff is set for 7pmCT from the Target Center, enjoy the game, thanks for reading and GO WOLVES! Shades of 2012-13 reared their ugly heads tonight in Washington. It was the same record spinning as the Wolves blew another double-digit lead and let a lesser team back into the contest. The result tonight was a four-point loss--despite the Wolves leading by as many as 16 in this one! It was a poor shooting night from Kevin Martin, some poor transition defense and some late misses from the free throw line for the team that doomed Minnesota in this one. This is the first time the Wolves have blown a double digit lead and lost this season, however if you watched even a handful of games these past couple years, you know it's really not a new problem, but rather a recurring one for this franchise. Kevin Martin had his second-worst scoring night of the season tonight (the worst being vs. the Thunder in the second game of the year when he finished with just 9 points. Martin had 6 first quarter points, but shot 3-for-9 in the first half. During a stretch in the third quarter when the Wizards were on a furious rally to get back in the game, Kevin Martin went 0-for-4 from the field. K-Mart would add a triple and a couple free throws in the final quarter as the Wolves looked to eek out a win, but it just wasn't enough. There can and will be nights that guys like Martin & Love struggle--that just means someone else has to step up and unfortunately that didn't happen tonight. Martin's three-pointer with 1:10 to play in the fourth quarter put the Wolves up by 1; 98-97. With Minnesota leading, Randy Wittman took a timeout and out of the timeout, the Wizards had incredible ball movement that eventually had John Wall go up for a mid-range jumper, but just as he went to release the ball he saw a wide open and hot handed Martell Webster wide open, he twisted and dished it to Marty who hit the 26-footer to give the Wizards the 98-100 lead. On the ensuing possession, apparently the best look the Wolves could get was a turnaround, fadeaway Kevin Martin 15-footer that couldn't find bottom, Bradley Beal grabbed the board and the Wizards moved the ball up the court quickly, it eventually ended back up in Beal's hands and he was fouled. Unfortunately the Wizards were able to burn 13 seconds off the clock. Back to Martin's shot for a minute, however--I don't understand why the Wolves would go to the player that's having the worst shooting night out there. I guess you play the percentages and hope that he's missed so many that's there's no way he can keep missing, but there are so many other offensive weapons on this team, it's a little puzzling. With 12 seconds to play, Beal stepped to the line and knocked them both down. The Wolves burned a timeout and out of the break in action they went to Kevin Love in the post for a hook shot--he missed it, but Corey Brewer had the offensive board fall right in his lap and he put it back up and in to make it a two-point game once again. With just over 6 seconds to play, the Wizards inbounded it to Nene, who was fouled by Kevin Love. He nailed both of his free throws to seal the W. The Wolves would take one last timeout and draw up a three-pointer for Kevin Love. He missed it, but Brewer snagged another offensive board, dribbled out and fired up a three that missed as time expired and the Wolves lost their fifth game of the season. Four of Minnesota's five losses have come on the road and in those four road losses the Wolves have lost each of them by four points or less! This team could actually be 11-1 if these close games would've tipped in their favor! Unfortunately the Wolves move to 7-5 on the season and will have to rebound quickly as they'll have the Clippers awaiting them at the Target Center for their matchup tomorrow night! Let's take a look at tonight's box score... It was a rough night for Kevin Martin and it was a rough night from the free-throw line. Minnesota's 66.7% from the free-throw line is most definitely a season-worst (the previous worst being 76.3% @New York on 11/3) and Washington's 100% from the line is a season-best for a Wolves opponent!
Minnesota is a team that clearly relies on that production from the line and tonight's poor shooting doomed them in this one. The Wolves were down 92-95 with just over 3:15 to play when Pek stepped to the line for two freebies--he subsequently missed them both. About 30 seconds later Kevin Love stepped to the line with the same score (Wolves down three) and went 1 for 2 from the line. That 1-for-4 effort came from two of Minnesota's better free throw shooters. Had they knocked them down it's a completely different ball game down the stretch! Minnesota didn't take care of the ball in the second half either. The Wolves had just 3 turnovers at halftime (the Wizards scored 4 points off of them). One minute and fifteen seconds into the third quarter the Wolves turned it over three times to double their first half totals! Minnesota would finish with another 7 turnovers the rest of the way. Rubio was out there during that three-turnover minute and fifteen seconds, however when the game was on the line, Rubio was seated on the pine. Ricky played just 19 minutes as Adelman went with J.J. Barea down the stretch. Rick said after the game that Ricky had gotten in some early foul trouble and Barea had hit a couple shots in that fourth quarter. Basically Rick wanted to stick with the hot hands. Though, it was a little puzzling to me on the possession when the Wolves desperately needed a stop Rubio was still sitting (that possession was the one where former Wolf Webster drained that back-breaking triple). I definitely expect these Wolves to come out more aggressive tomorrow night, but unfortunately it's not a game against the Celtics or the Jazz--the Wolves are going against the powerhouse Clippers that handed them a two-point loss just eight days ago! Everyone needs to step it up if the Wolves want a bounce back win. Tomorrow's game will tipoff at 7pmCT and we'll have a full gameday preview of that one up tomorrow afternoon, until then, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves travel to Washington D.C. on Tuesday night to take on the Wizards at the Verizon Center. Both teams last played on Saturday night, but with different results for each squad. The Timberwolves won their last contest by easily defeating the rebuilding Boston Celtics in which the Wolves got great offensive production from the "Big Three" of Kevin Martin, Kevin Love & Nikola Pekovic each of whom scored 20+. The Wizards are coming off an overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in which Kyrie Irving exploded for 41 points (9 of which came in overtime). The Wizards were led by Bradley Beal who finished with 28pts, 4reb, 1ast & 2stls. Washington's best player is undoubtedly John Wall, but he struggled in this most recent game, finishing with just 9pts on 3-for-13 shooting & 0-for-4 from deep. The Timberwolves will be looking to build off this most recent win, while the Wizards are desperate to turn things around. Washington was without John Wall to begin the 2012-13 season as he recovered from knee surgery. The team played horribly to start the year and that big hole they dug themselves was unfortunately too large to dig out of once Wall returned and they began to play better. Now, the Wizards are mostly healthy (Trevor Ariza & Otto Porter are both currently out) and yet with a core of Wall, Beal, Nene & most recently Gortat should have a better record than 2-7. If things continue to go South in D.C. I doubt that Randy Wittman holds down his head coaching job and if things really get bad, the Wizards may look to make some trades. Washington made the trade to send the injured Emeka Okafor and a first-round pick to Phoenix in exchange for Gortat, Kendall Marshall & Shannon Brown (they waived Marshall & Brown shortly after acquiring them). Strangely enough the trade has worked out better for Phoenix. The Suns are off to a decent start considering their personnel and their defense has improved without Gortat. In Washington, they've gotten worse and their defense is actually worse now that Gortat is in the fold. I don't know if it's entirely Gortat's fault--I have yet to watch the Wizards play this season. The Timberwolves enter tonight at 7-4 on the year, 2-3 on the road and 4-1 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Wizards are 2-7 on the season, 1-3 at home, 0-2 vs. the Western Conference and losers of five-straight. The Wolves will be without Chase Budinger (knee) and Ronny Turiaf (elbow). Shabazz Muhammad hasn't suited up the past couple games due to a sprained ankle, but he did participate in practice on Monday and is expected to be in uniform for this one. Updates on Bud & Turiaf can be found in our Injury Report. The Wizards will be without rookie Otto Porter Jr. (knee)--he has yet to make his NBA debut and it's unknown when he'll return to the court. Forwards Chris Singleton (foot), Trevor Ariza (hamstring) and Al Harrington (knee) all sat out Washington's most recent game, too. Let's take a look at the probable starters for this one... Minnesota TimberwolvesWashington WizardsAs always the battle between Gortat & Peković in the paint should be a terrific one. In season's past Pek usually has the upper hand as he's a bit more physical--though Gortat holds the defensive edge. The big key in this one will be containing the Wall-Beal backcourt, they're undoubtedly Washington's best players and they're relied upon for a lot of their offense.
Ricky Rubio has struggled offensively the past couple games. In his past two games he's scored a total of 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting. The Wolves have others to pick up the slack offensively, but Ricky being a scorer in addition to his gritty perimeter defense and playmaking skills--makes the Wolves a much more dangerous squad. Tonight's game is an early 6pmCT start, enjoy the game and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves moved to 7-4 on the year tonight with an easy win over the Boston Celtics. It was early in December before the Wolves were able to secure their seventh win of the season. The Timberwolves were led by 23 points from Kevin Love, 20 apiece from both Nikola Peković & Kevin Martin. Minnesota was able to build a 43-26 lead in the second quarter, but the Celtics ended the first half on a 24-12 run that left the Wolves up 55-50 at halftime. Martin & Pek both scored 10 points apiece in the third quarter and Love added another 8 as the Timberwolves outscored the Celtics 34-20 in the third to take a 19-point lead. Despite a scare in the second quarter that made this a close game, the Wolves were in control for the majority of this one and took advantage of a Celtics squad that is lacking talent. They have some players with potential and others that can do a few good things on the court, but they lack cohesiveness--these players just don't seem to fit together to put a winning basketball team on the court. Rondo's return will help some, but a lot of what has made him great in his NBA career has been playing with very talented players (KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, etc). This Celtics team will win some games this season and take some teams to the edge (ie: beating Miami earlier this week on a Jeff Green buzzer beater), but they are definitely bound for the lottery. One storyline heading into tonight was Derrick Williams. Williams was a DNP-CD (did not play-coach's decision) in Denver last night and tonight he didn't play until the final three minutes of the game, in garbage time, when the game was no longer in doubt. Prior to tonight's game he sent out this tweet...
He's also been vocal earlier in the season stating that he isn't going to be patient this season as he's been patient for his entire NBA career (this was asked after his first DNP-CD). I definitely don't agree with that considering that he was handed the starting power forward job last season and he squandered that opportunity nightly with his inconsistent play. Williams has done nothing to give the coaches in Minnesota any faith in him being able to contribute effectively to this squad on a consistent basis. Hence the reason he's not playing and is buried on the end of the bench. Tonight he was at the very end of the bench seated next to Chase Budinger (in his suit). For those asking why Dante Cunningham is getting more playing time--it's because he's reliable and he plays within himself. Dante knows what he's good at and he sticks to it--he gives 100% on both ends of the court night in and night out. Dante is cut from the same cloth that Corey Brewer, Anthony Tolliver and Ronny Turiaf are--high energy players that leave it all on the floor. Too often Williams looks complacent and disinterested on the court. I apologize for the rant, but it bugs me when fans ask why Derrick isn't playing and when Williams is dumb enough to send out a tweet like that--regardless of whether or not he was referring to the team that's how 90% of the people reading it are going to take it and he's got to know that. I understand he's struggling to find his niche on this team and in the NBA, but he's got to remain professional. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I've lost a bit of respect for Derrick this season. I apologize for the rant...back to the Celtics recap. Let's take a look at tonight's box score... Nikola Peković definitely had his best game of the season. He scored 20 (or more) points for just the second time this season tonight. He also finished with his fourth double-double of the season and a new season-high in offensive rebounds with 8 (one off from tying his career-high) and tied his season-high in total rebounds with 12. Pek also didn't commit a single turnover or foul and after not getting to the line in the past two games, Pek went attempted 5 free throws in tonight's contest.
The bench seems to be coming around. J.J. did score 13 points but took 15 shots to do so. He did contribute a few assists and ultimately finished with a +13. Dante Cunningham had a heck of a game. He tied a season-high in points with 12 (set just last night in Denver) while also adding 4 rebounds, tied a season-high with 3 assists, blocked one shot and set a new career-high with 5 steals! Part of the bench success should also be attributed to Rick playing the Alexey Shved & Derrick Williams less--two players that have struggled mightily this season. Less time for them has given Robbie Hummel more of an opportunity and he's definitely seized it. Robbie knocked down a couple three-pointers while also grabbing a season-high five rebounds and registering his first NBA block. Rubio struggled to find his shot for the second night in a row, but it's clear that the Wolves don't need A LOT of scoring from him to win basketball games. Of course it would be nice if he could find his shot and contribute 7-10 points a night, but his value on defense and playmaking makes him indispensable on this team. Kevin Love seemed to struggle a bit tonight, he looked frustrated more than once out on the court and a lot of that seemed to stem from him not getting foul calls--shades of what we've seen from him in seasons past where he walks up the court as the other team races down on offense as he pleads to the refs for a call. His 7 turnovers are a season-high, but he still finished with a 23 & 12 while hitting 44% of his attempts. All but two of his misses tonight came inside three-point line! The Celtics got 27 points from Avery Bradley, however the Wolves were able to hold Boston's leading scorer (Jeff Green) to just two points. Green's two points came on a pair of free throws in the first half and he finished the night 0-for-6 from the field with 4 turnovers. He came into the game averaging over 18 points a night! The Wolves have the next couple days off, they won't play again until Tuesday night in Washington vs. the Wizards. We'll have a gameday preview of that one up by Monday evening, until then, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Timberwolves are coming off a disappointing & narrow loss to the Denver Nuggets last night and tonight they'll have a chance to bounce back against the struggling Boston Celtics. The Celtics started the year off terribly dropping four-straight games. In their following four games they went undefeated, before dropping their last two contests--the most recent being last night in Portland. The Celtics will be seeking their third-straight road win while looking to avoid a third-straight loss overall. The Celtics held their opponents to 95 points or less in five of their first six games, but in their three of their last four games, they've allowed 105 points or more. That may not change as they travel to the Target Center to take on the NBA's second-best offense, averaging 108.7 a game. The Timberwolves are seeking their fifth win in their last six home games--the only loss coming to the upstart Golden State Warriors. The Wolves have been up-and-down this season and last night was most certainly a down as their defense was the worst we've seen this season. The Wolves will be looking to avoid a third loss in their last four games, but are still averaging 114.6 points and 40.7% from deep. The Timberwolves offense has been lethal this season. Minnesota is the only team in the League with two of the NBA's Top 7 scorers (Love & Martin). Last night the Wolves finally got J.J. Barea & Dante Cunningham on track offensively and everyone in Minnesota is hoping that carries over. Barea's offensive production off the bench is vital for the Wolves this season and it makes them all the more dangerous while not allowing any drop-off when Adelman turns to his reserves. The Timberwolves' last meeting vs. the Celtics in the regular season was on April 1st. That game snapped an 11-game losing streak to Boston as the Wolves won 110-100 thanks to a big night from Nikola Peković (29 points). Kevin Love has been the key to Minnesota's success this season, but in his NBA career, he has never won a game against the Boston Celtics, though he has missed 3 of the last 9 meetings between the Wolves & Celtics. The Wolves also played this Boston squad in the preseason, here's the HOWL gameday recap of that one: TWolves Dazzle in Montreal; Easily Down Celtics 104-89. Let's take a look at tonight's probable starting lineup... Minnesota TimberwolvesBoston CelticsThe Celtics trotted out that starting lineup in their game last night, though they may look to switch it up tonight in Minnesota. There's absolutely no way that rookie big man Kelly Olynyk can deal with Nikola Peković in the paint. The Celtics may have to turn to Jared Sullinger or undrafted rookie Vitor Faverani to start at center and deal with Pek.
The Wolves will be without Chase Budinger (knee) and Ronny Turiaf (elbow). Rookie Shabazz Muhammad didn't dress for last night's game in Denver due to an ankle injury, it's unknown if he'll be able to go tonight--we should find out an hour or so before tipoff--though it doesn't matter because he's not going to see the court unless it's a blowout, anyway. The Celtics are without their star point guard Rajon Rondo as he continues to recover from the ACL injury. According to GM Danny Ainge, it sounds as though Rondo is targeting a December return. I expect a bounce back game tonight and I'm fully anticipating big games from the core players. If the Wolves play defense like they did last night, you can forget all of that and expect another disappointing loss--when you allow any team to drive down the lane all night for easy buckets, you're going to have trouble ending that near-decade long playoff drought. Tipoff is set for 7pmCT, enjoy the game and GO WOLVES! The Timberwolves definitely aren't known for their defensive prowess and tonight was a prime example at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Wolves played terribly on defense up until the last couple minutes of the game. The Wolves were allowing easy lanes to the bucket for uncontested shots. The defense was porous and the troubling part is that (while these guys aren't known for their D) they aren't completely incompetent on that side of the ball. The Wolves turned up the defensive intensity in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, but by then it was too little too late. A recurring theme for the Wolves this season is that they simply have no quit in them--and that's a VERY good thing. Kevin Martin and Kevin Love are a very lethal offensive duo and they both hit some shots down the stretch, but the Wolves couldn't get any breaks on the other side of the ball. They played the 'fouling game' in the final thirty seconds. The Nuggets went 5-for-8 from the line in the final 28 seconds, but it was on the second Wilson Chandler free throw with 15 seconds to play that was the dagger...and it wasn't because he made the shot. Chandler missed the free throw, but guard Andre Miller corralled the rebound. Miller was one of the players standing beyond the three-point line as Chandler took his free throws and Andre ran from behind the line and was able to beat everyone to the basketball for the offensive board. The rule is that the four players beyond that three-point line are not allowed inside that line until the ball leaves the shooters hand. Miller didn't do anything wrong, but Adelman was and has been frustrated for years that this rule hasn't been changed to it "hitting the rim" instead of "leaving the hand" as it gives an unfair advantage because that player is coming from the outside with no one to box him out. I would like to say I agree and IT IS unfortunate that he grabbed the board, but I don't see anything wrong with the rule. Miller is a great veteran player and he made a great veteran play...plain and simple. That clearly changed the game as the Wolves were down just three points after Chandler missed that second free throw. Because Miller grabbed the board, they had to quickly foul him and he went to the line and hit one of the two free throws which put them up four points with 12 seconds to play and sealed the deal for Denver. Let's take a look at tonight's box score... Coming into tonight the Timberwolves were getting to the line an average of 28 times a game, tonight that number was much lower and it's clear that the Timberwolves have relied on that production through the first nine games of the season.
The Nuggets came into the night as the better rebounding team and that was the case tonight as they held a +4 on the boards. With such a close game there really aren't a lot of stats that jump out as "what decided the game". I suppose with Minnesota's poor defensive effort, you can point to the 64 points they gave up as a clear disadvantage. Those 64 points in the paint are a season-high for a Timberwolves opponent this season. The Nuggets also had an incredibly balanced scoring attack in this one--something I certainly didn't expect when I was looking up statistics for their starting lineup for the preview. The Nuggets came into the game with just two players averaging double digits and one of those guys (Wilson Chandler) had only played in one game, so the 12 points he had scored on Wednesday was his scoring average (12.0ppg). Tonight the Nuggets had seven players finish in double figures and three of them came from the starting lineup. The Wolves only played eight players and six of them finished in double digits. Adelman didn't play regulars Alexey Shved or Derrick Williams in addition to A.J. Price & Gorgui Dieng, while Chase Budinger (knee), Ronny Turiaf (elbow) and Shabazz Muhammad (ankle) were all out with injuries. We finally got a breakout game from J.J. Barea, unfortunately it was in a losing effort, but he did all he could to not let that happen. 13 of J.J.'s 21 points came in the fourth quarter as he helped Minnesota narrow the gap down the stretch. Dante Cunningham also had a nice game and for the first time this season the bench didn't look completely inept--not playing Alexey Shved & Derrick Williams definitely helped. The Wolves fall to 6-4 on the season and they'll have to right this ship immediately as they hop on a plane and make the trek back to Minnesota for tomorrow night's game vs. the Celtics at the Target Center. We'll have a full gameday preview of that one up tomorrow afternoon. The Denver Nuggets lost just three games at the Pepsi Center in 2012-13 (one of those losses came against the Minnesota Timberwolves). Through Denver's first seven games, they've played four games at the Pepsi Center and have split those games--Denver already has two losses at home this season. The Nuggets went 57-25 in 2012-13, they finished 2nd in the Northwest and 3rd in the Western Conference. They were one of the NBA's best regular season teams, but the upstart Golden State Warriors eliminated Denver in six games in the first round of the playoffs. That brought about some changes this offseason. The biggest was firing one of the NBA's best coaches: George Karl. Prior to his firing, Karl was the only other active NBA coach (beyond Minnesota's Rick Adelman) that has 1000+ career wins. A year after a 57-win season, the Nuggets fired Karl and lost their GM to the Toronto Raptors. That also caused some of Denver's main contributors to flee Denver this offseason. Most notably: Andre Iguodala, signed a four-year deal with the team that ousted the Nuggets from the playoffs. Corey Brewer obviously returned home to the team that drafted him. Both of those players are having INCREDIBLE seasons thus far, too. Third-string point guard signed with the Raptors and the Nuggets traded their starting center (Kosta Koufos) to the Memphis Grizzlies for Darrell Arthur. Beyond Arthur, the Nuggets also added Nate Robinson, Randy Foye and J.J. Hickson. They also gave Brian Shaw the opportunity he's been searching for, for a number of years. Shaw is the new head coach in Denver. The Timberwolves are seeking their fourth win in their last five games in this one, while Denver is seeking a three-game winning streak. The Timberwolves are 6-3 on the year, 2-2 on the road (losses to the Clippers and Cavaliers), 3-2 vs. the Western Conference and 1-0 vs. the Northwest Division. The Nuggets are 3-4 on the year, 2-2 at home, 2-4 vs. the Western Conference and 1-1 vs. the Northwest Division. Minnesota is averaging 108.2 points per game (2nd in the NBA), 45.6 rebounds (6th in the NBA), 25.6 assists (4th) and are allowing 99.7 points (16th). The Wolves' offense has been lethal this season and their defense hasn't been as bad as I initially thought. What amazes me the most, is that the Wolves are the 2nd-best offense in the NBA and yet they're missing a key offensive weapon in Chase Budinger and they have J.J. Barea, Alexey Shved & Derrick Williams all REALLY struggling. You add a bit more production from those second unit guys and Minnesota's offense just becomes a juggernaut. The Nuggets are averaging 100.4 points per game (13th), 47.6 rebounds (2nd), 20.1 assists (19th) while allowing 100.9 points per game (18th). The least surprising stat is the rebounding--this Nuggets squad has A LOT of very talented big men: Hickson, McGee, Mozgov, Arthur, Chandler & Randolph. The Wolves have struggled a bit on the boards early in the season, so it will be interesting who walks away with the edge on the glass tonight. This will be the first of four meetings between these two teams this season. They'll face each other again on the 27th of this month and then won't play their last two meetings until mid-February and then early-March. Those games late in the season could be very important as we approach the postseason. Most pundits agree that the Nuggets likely won't make the playoffs and barring health issues, the Timberwolves should make their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2004. These two teams have had some very good games over the past couple of seasons and for the first time in a while, the Timberwolves definitely have the better team and a healthy team to boot. The Timberwolves are actually without a couple of their key reserves. Chase Budinger (knee) is returning to the Twin Cities sometime this weekend. He can only do running on the treadmill and set shots, but progress is definitely being made. He's still targeting a mid-December return. Ronny Turiaf (elbow) is also still out. After the injury, we were supposed to hear about his progress a week later. It's been more than a week and we still haven't heard anything--just by that fact, it seems like he could be out for quite a while, yet. The Wolves were without their second-leading scorer (Kevin Martin) in their most recent contest. He missed the game vs. Cleveland with 'flu-like symptoms', but it sounds as though he'll be ready to go tonight. The Nuggets are without two players who would be in their starting lineup: Danilo Gallinari (knee) and JaVale McGee (leg). Danilo Gallinari is still recovering from surgery on his torn ACL, progress is being made, but it sounds as though the earliest he'll return is January/February 2014. McGee recently fractured the tibia in his leg, which led to J.J. Hickson being supplanted into the starting lineup. Wilson Chandler was dealing with a hamstring injury early in the season, but he returned on Wednesday and in his first game of the season he played 21 minutes off the bench, finishing with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Let's take a look at tonight's starting lineup... Minnesota TimberwolvesDenver NuggetsWith no Danilo Gallinari, Hamilton is getting the starts at small forward, but with Wilson Chandler back from his hamstring injury it seems only a matter of time before he returns to the starting lineup. It could be tonight, but I don't know that they'll stick him back with the starters that quickly.
With JaVale McGee out for a month or two, J.J. Hickson is starting at center. He's a capable center, but it certainly gives Denver an undersized frontcourt. I'm a bit surprised those minutes aren't going to 7'1" big man Timofey Mozgov who has been playing very well for the Nuggets this season. There have been some rumors lately that the Knicks offered guard Iman Shumpert to the Nuggets for Kenneth Faried. I can see why the Knicks would do that trade, but it certainly wouldn't benefit the Nuggets...as much. Shumpert would add a bit more defensive intensity to the Nuggets' backcourt and it WOULD give other big men a chance with Faried out of the picture (Randolph & Arthur). I also wouldn't mind Faried moving to the Eastern Conference--only to see him twice a year (and if he went to the Knicks, it would only be one more time this season). The key will be containing Ty Lawson. There's very little doubt that this is Ty's team and Rubio has his work cut out for him--Lawson is certainly one of the NBA's best point guards (Top 10). I expect the Wolves to go at that mismatch in the paint early (Peković vs. Hickson). Pek has the height and physicality advantage and the Wolves will likely look to exploit that in the first couple possessions of this one--important to get Pek going early too considering his up-and-down first couple weeks of the season. The key for Minnesota in this one is simply to stick with what has been working. They've found a lot of success with their gameplans this season which entail fast break buckets for Brewer & plenty of touches for K-Mart & Love. Tipoff is set for 7pmCT, enjoy the game, GO WOLVES! No Kevin Martin, no problem...at least tonight! The Wolves were without their second-leading scorer as he is battling flu-like symptoms. He was reportedly receiving treatment/fluids before 9am this morning. Martin was unable to go, so Adelman moved Corey Brewer to the shooting guard and gave rookie Robbie Hummel the first start of his NBA career. Hummel played 28 minutes (all of which came in the first three quarters) and he finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and he hit two three-pointers in the first quarter--also adding 4 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers! It was good to see Hummel out there and the fact that he played well made it even better. Hummel will should benefit from this start and when Martin does return, Adelman should have more faith in him with that second unit. The Wolves were looking to avenge a loss suffered to this same squad about a week-and-a-half ago when the Wolves had a chance to win on a last second Kevin Love buzzer beater, that couldn't find bottom as time expired and the Wolves lost by one point. Tonight the Wolves sprinted out to an incredibly fast start and never really let it get close throughout. Minnesota were up by 14 after one quarter (38-24) and by halftime the Wolves had scored the most they have this season in one half as they led the Cavaliers 70-47. Ricky Rubio had 10 points & 8 assists after one quarter and by halftime he had his double-double. A big reason for Minnesota's fast start and sustained offensive attack was the play from Corey Brewer. Corey certainly took on a scorers role in this one and he looked quite comfortable out there--granted it isn't something we can expect every night, but he has been consistently good and if he gives these occasional outbursts to boot--obviously, all the better for Minnesota. At halftime the Wolves were shooting 62.5% from the field, 60% from deep and 93.3% from the line. Kevin Love had 19 points at halftime which is two more points than he had in fourth quarters the last time the Wolves played the Cavs. The Wolves also held a 25-12 advantage on the boards, had 15 assists to Cleveland's 7, forced 7 turnovers for a whopping 16 points (averaged more than two points on those turnovers!!), were outscoring the Cavs 22-0 on the fast break and 34-12 in the paint. A couple minutes into the third quarter it was clear that the Cavaliers had given up. Adelman kept parts of his starting lineup out there (Love, Rubio, Brewer) as they tallied another 38 points in the third. All the starters were pulled by the final minute of the third quarter and they didn't see the floor again. The Wolves led 108-76 after three quarters. Both coaches emptied their benches for the fourth quarter. That gave the deep bench guys some run. Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng and A.J. Price all saw extended minutes. Alexey Shved didn't see the court until that final quarter as Adelman made it clear that he had played himself out of playing time--that was made clear by starting Hummel. Let's take a look at tonight's box score... The Timberwolves got more production from their bench, but it wasn't much more considering how much more time the reserves saw. J.J. Barea only played 14 minutes, but he hit all his shots--one mid-range jumper and two layups--while also adding 7 assists. Just a couple nights ago he posted a -12 and tonight he finished with a +16. Derrick Williams also looked good, he hit his second three-pointer of the season and was a bit more aggressive on the boards. All in all, it was good, but the team still needs more from these guys.
The Wolves finished with just 9 turnovers (new season-low) that the Cavs turned into just one basket. The Wolves also set new season-highs in field goals made, field goal percentage, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, defensive rebounds, assists, points in the paint and their 124 points is the most they've scored this season. Corey Brewer had his best night thus far as he finished with a season-high 27 points, which is just two points shy of tying his career-high. When Brewer first joined the team, I looked up some highlights and one of the videos I watched was his career-high game against the Sixers on March 21, 2013. He hit a number of threes, got into the lane for easy buckets and every thing he threw at the rim went down. It felt like I was watching that video tonight with Brewer. He went a perfect 5-of-5 from deep and was instrumental in building that big first half lead. I thought this Cavaliers team was going to be really good this season, but after seeing them twice, I'm not so sure. They could still make the playoffs--considering they're playing in the weaker Eastern Conference, but I don't see Kyrie Irving and a "Shell-Of-His-Former-Self" Andrew Bynum leading the team back to the postseason this year. They're a decent defensive team (they weren't tonight), but they definitely lack a versatile scoring attack. The Timberwolves move to 6-3 on the year and won't play again until Friday night when they'll take on the Nuggets in Denver. That will be a nationally televised game on ESPN, stay tuned for the preview, until then thanks for reading and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves have the same record they did one year ago. Minnesota started 2012-13 with a 5-3 record, but then lost their next five-straight games. I don't expect the 2013-14 Timberwolves to lose their next five games, especially considering who they're facing (Cleveland, Denver, Boston, Washington & the L.A. Clippers). The Cleveland Cavaliers have started the season 0-5 on the road and 3-0 at home. Unfortunately for them, they're traveling to the Target Center this evening. In their five road losses they're averaging just 84.4 points on 38.4% shooting. This 0-5 start is Cleveland's worst road start since they went 0-13 to begin the 2003-04 season. The Timberwolves are 5-3 on the year, 3-1 at home and 2-1 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers are 3-5 on the season, 0-5 on the road and 1-0 vs. the Western Conference. Cleveland's one game (and one win) against a Western Conference foe came last Monday when they defeated the Timberwolves 92-93. The Wolves found themselves down as many as 23 points in that one, but they battled all the way back and Kevin Love had a chance to win the game, but a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds to go that missed the mark, lost Minnesota a very winnable game. The same held true this past Monday when the Timberwolves found themselves down by 11 with just over five minutes to play, but thanks to Kevin Love & Kevin Martin, the Wolves went on a run and with just over 11 seconds to play the Wolves had the ball and were only down by two points. Kevin Martin drove to the elbow and put up a contested 17-footer that missed, Nikola Peković corralled the rebound and got it back up--it just barely rimmed out and then Kevin Love snatched the board and tried to quickly tip it in, it hung on the rim and then rolled off as time expired and the Wolves lost. The Cavaliers are coming off an 81-96 lost to the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The Cavs turned the ball over twenty times that led to twenty-nine Chicago points. Tristan Thompson led the way with 14 points & 13 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 16 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, but shot 5-for-19 from the field and key reserve Jarrett Jack missed all six of the shots he took. The Wolves have gone 2-2 since losing to Cleveland a week-and-a-half ago. The Cavs have gone 1-3 in that same stretch. Andrew Bynum got his first start of the season on Monday vs. the Bulls. He finished with 11 points & 6 rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes. Now, we won't play the next two games...but it's not because of an injury. Bynum has been excused from the team for the next two games to deal with a "personal family matter". Anderson Varejao will start at center for this one. The Cavs will also be without rookie swingman Carrick Felix (mild sports hernia) and there is a chance that fellow rookie & #1 overall pick Anthony Bennett (shoulder) may not play--he sat out Monday in Chicago. The Wolves will be without Chase Budinger (knee) and Ronny Turiaf (elbow). You can find updates about the both of them in the Injury Report. Let's take a look at the probable starters for this one... Minnesota TimberwolvesCleveland CavaliersNikola Peković finally got his season on track this past Monday vs. the Clippers. He scored 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting--while also adding 10 rebounds. He should find similar success a worse interior defender: Varejao (compared to LAC's DeAndre Jordan).
Kevin Love was held to a season-low 17 points on 8-of-20 shooting in the last matchup vs. the Cavs. I wouldn't expect a similar outing from him in this one. That was undoubtedly Love's worst season performance and he's taken it to a number of other more prominent defensive squads. The last time these two teams played it was the play from Kyrie Irving and reserve swingman C.J. Miles. Miles absolutely destroyed the Wolves tallying a lot of easy buckets. That's part of the ongoing bench problem in Minnesota. I've decided to just quit talking about it and stop saying the same: "Hopefully J.J. Barea & Co. can get back on track in this one" in each and every preview...here's hoping they do, though! The Wolves got down early in their loss to Cleveland last week and then had to play catch up over the final 30+ minutes. They can't dig themselves an early hole and expect to go on a big run each game for a chance to win in the final minutes (that clearly hasn't worked so well this season). That's all for now, this one tips at 7pmCT, enjoy the game 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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