The Atlanta Hawks are without two of their best players and a couple of role players, but they didn't get any sympathy from the Minnesota Timberwolves who had little struggle completely dismantling this reeling Hawks squad. Tonight's win snapped a 3-game losing streak, but in one way this win is slightly bittersweet. The Wolves just infantilized the Hawks tonight as a lot of their opponents as of late have been doing. The Hawks came into tonight's contest losers of 17 of their last 23 outings. Despite that rough stretch, they're still the Eastern Conference's 8th seed. Eight games under .500 at 31-39 and the Hawks are still most likely playoff-bound?! Even more baffling? The Western Conference has three teams (Phoenix, Minnesota & Denver) all with better records than the Hawks. All three of those teams currently sit out of the playoff picture. Forget trying to fix tanking, sleeved jerseys or expansion--new NBA commissioner Adam Silver has to do something about the way the playoffs are constructed. Grantland had a short little article a couple days ago that showed what the current standings would look like in a Sweet 16 bracket... No more divisions, no more conferences. The best 16 teams make the playoffs. Period. What's even more frustrating is that teams like the Bobcats & Hawks that are under .500 and on their way to the playoffs are playing more games against these terrible Eastern Conference teams--they face teams like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Orlando & Boston three or four times a year, instead of the two meetings Western Conference teams get. Sure, they face Miami & Indiana more...but outside of those two powerhouses, the rest of the East is slightly above average, at best.
I doesn't matter much right now. The Wolves will miss the playoffs for the tenth-consecutive season and the Atlanta Hawks will get swept by either Indiana or Miami in the first round. Tonight's win was powered by stellar performances from Corey Brewer & Kevin Martin, each of whom finished with a game-high 18 points; rookie Gorgui Dieng who notched another double-double with 15 & 15 (his 5th in 6-straight starts); and Ricky Rubio who despite shooting just 1-for-6 from the field, dished out 10 assists & 6 steals and was ultra aggressive throughout. Kevin Love finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds & 4 assists in 29 minutes of action. It was certainly not the Love we're accustomed to, but with so many others playing well, he seemed more than happy to delegate a bit to his teammates. The results speak for themselves. I'm not saying Love should delegate to his teammates more, I'm simply saying that, that was what tonight's game called for and he had no problem playing that role. There have been/will be plenty of other nights in which they've relied on him to put the team on his back and he's responded in a lot of those situations as well. The Hawks were playing without their starting center Al Horford who is out for the season with a shoulder injury and their sharpshooting swingman Kyle Korver who sat with back spasms. Also out for the year, role players Gustavo Ayon (shoulder) & John Jenkins (back). Without Korver, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer turned to a starting unit that featured four forwards (DeMarre Carroll, Mike Scott, Paul Millsap & Pero Antic) & point guard Jeff Teague. It created some mismatches with Brewer guarding Scott & Martin guarding Carroll, but it also created some mismatches with Scott guarding Brewer & Carroll guarding Martin. With 18 apiece for both Martin & Brewer, we know that those mismatches certainly worked in Minnesota's favor, most of the night. Tonight was the first time the Wolves have held an opponent under 100 points since March 1st vs. Sacramento (97) and under 85 for the first time since January 29 vs. New Orleans (77). Tonight's game was also just the fifth time all season they've held a team under 85 points. It's also the first time they've held an opponent under 45% shooting since their March 7th win over the Pistons (40.4%) and under 40% for the first time since their February 12 win over the Nuggets (39.3%). With tonight's win the Wolves move back to .500 on the year. They've hovered around that mark for the majority of the season and it remains likely that the Wolves will likely finish with 40-41 wins and a record of 40-42 or 41-41. Wouldn't it be nice to see them take their final twelve games this season? Yes, but with the inconsistency this squad has shown all year long, it's assonine to think they could suddenly pull it together for a final push--finishing the year on a 13-game winning streak (especially considering they still have to play the Clippers, Nets, Rockets, Spurs, Heat, Grizzlies, Bulls & Warriors). The Wolves will be back in action on Friday night, when they host the Los Angeles Lakers at the Target Center. Tipoff is set for 7pmCST, enjoy the game!
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The Minnesota Timberwolves turned in yet another stinker, as such, they're now on a three-game losing streak.
During this three-game losing streak the Wolves have yet to hold an opponent under 50% shooting from the field. Tonight, the Grizzlies shot 52.7% from the field which is actually the lowest during the three-game losing streak! Add to that, the fact that the Wolves haven't held an opponent under 100 points since March 1st, as Minnesota's last 11 opponents have scored 101 or more. It's clear that the Wolves are playing their worst basketball at the most inopportune time. The Wolves will finish out of the playoff picture for a tenth consecutive season (the longest such stretch for any NBA team). The race for the bottom two seeds in the West is down to three teams: Phoenix, Memphis & Dallas. If the Wolves can remain in 10th place in the West, they'll keep their lottery pick in the upcoming draft. If they finish 9th in the West, they'll be the best team that doesn't make the playoffs and finish with the 14th pick, which means the pick would go to the Suns. As per usual, another season winds down with Wolves Nation looking forward to the draft and not the postseason. The one thing that sticks out to me these last few weeks is the Timberwolves' complete disregard for playing any kind of scheme resembling an effective NBA defense. When you allow opponents to shoot over 50% from the field and score in the 100s every night out, you're not going to win games. After Minnesota's loss to the Suns on Sunday afternoon, Adelman came out and said the Wolves problem in the second half of that game was that "We didn't score". He's certainly correct, but if the Wolves had made any kind of effort on defense, perhaps they wouldn't have allowed Phoenix to score 127 points and shoot 57.5% from the field. This team's problem isn't scoring, it's preventing the other team from doing so. Tonight was more the same and unlike in most games, the Wolves were flat from the start. Minnesota is the NBA's best first quarter scoring team and the NBA's worst shooting fourth quarter team. They held true to that putrid shooting mark, but they scored just 15 points in the first quarter while they average more than double that mark. It was all bad from the get go and the Wolves are now one game below .500--truly one step forward (two games over .500) and ten steps back. Kevin Love had one of his worst outings of the year. He finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds & 4 assists in 34 minutes, but finished with a -32 in +/-. I don't think I've ever seen him finish with a worse +/-. He was the worst on the team, followed by a -26 from Rubio & a -20 from Martin. When you're Top 3 (healthy) players struggle like they did tonight, the Wolves (with one of the NBA's worst bench) don't really stand a chance. Gorgui Dieng finished with his fourth career double-double in his 5-straight start. He finished with 11 points & 17 rebounds along with 1 assist & 1 steal. Needless to say, I'm glad I picked him up for the fantasy playoffs! His future in the NBA and with the Wolves definitely incites some excitement in yet another disappointing season. Mike Conley led the charge for the Grizzlies with his 23 points, Zach Randolph added 17 and without Nikola Pekovic to counter Memphis' bruising big man, Marc Gasol finished with 14 points & 12 rebounds. The Wolves will continue their march to the NBA Draft Lottery on Wednesday night vs. the Atlanta Hawks at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Tipoff is set for 7pmCST. The Wolves have squandered more double digit leads this season than I even care to think about. Tonight, the Wolves led by as many as 22 points, but the end result is a 7-point loss to the Phoenix Suns. While the Wolves won't technically be eliminated from the postseason for another couple weeks, this game is most certainly a backbreaker for those that were still holding out.
The saddest thing about this game is that anyone who was watching it and saw the Wolves score 41 points in the first quarter and 73 points total in the first half (a season-high) knew that their offensive onslaught wouldn't last. As per usual, they'd get complacent and just seemingly stop trying, allowing the opponent to get back in the game in seal the deal late in the fourth. It's a blueprint that the Wolves have followed an inordinate amount of times this season. The Wolves were led by another near triple-double effort from Kevin Love. For the third time this season he finished just one assist shy of a triple-double: 36 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists & 2 steals. Ricky Rubio continued his aggressive play. He may be playing the best and most efficient basketball of his NBA career these past couple weeks. Ricky finished with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists & 3 steals. The Wolves just looked sloppy down the stretch and it almost seemed as if they expected things to come to them. A trait they've consistently shown all year long. The biggest difference between these two clubs is that while the Wolves have the more talented roster, the Suns play hard 48 minutes a night and each one of their players is put into a position to succeed and contribute. Needless to say, the same can't be said about the Timberwolves. It's obvious that a quartet of Love, Rubio, Pek & Martin should trump Dragic, Bledsoe, Green & Markieff. It should, but it hasn't. Perhaps it's an entitled attitude and an assumption that you're far superior to your opponent that you can give less than 100% and expect to win. Unfortunately that's just one of many flaws for this Wolves team this season. The Suns got down early in this game, but they maintained their composure and took it one play at a time. That strategy allowed them to cut a once 22-point lead to 11 points at halftime and for the remaining two quarters they continued to chip away at the deficit. Ultimately, they were able to get over the hump in the final minutes and the Wolves' poor execution in those final minutes would be their ultimate demise. The Suns went on to win by 7 and also win the season series 2-1. Back to .500! With this loss the Wolves fall 6 games out of the 8th seed, while the Phoenix Suns are now 0.5 games behind the Grizzlies for 8th. Minnesota will travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies tomorrow night at the Fed Ex Forum. Tipoff: 7pmCST. Dieng has gotten better with each game he's started and tonight his production reached an impressive pinnacle. Gorgui scored 22 points & grabbed 21 rebounds and became the first Wolves rookie to finish with a 20-20 game (and just the 5th player overall). Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Wolves were dismantled by a Rockets team playing without their center (the best in the game) Dwight Howard. In his place, stepped Omer Asik, who would be an NBA starter on quite a few teams (which makes Dieng's stat line a bit more impressive). Led by James Harden and Chandler Parsons the Rockets were able to overcome a typical hot start by the Timberwolves. It was Minnesota's typical 30+ point first quarter, followed by three ensuing quarters of shoddy basketball on both ends. If the Wolves could play a fraction as well as they do in the first quarters, they'd be a playoff basketball team. Ultimately, with tonight's loss, the Wolves can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. Now through 67 games, the Wolves have just 15 games to go and they now sit six full games behind Dallas/Memphis for a final seed in the Western Conference playoffs. To make the postseason, the Wolves would need to play near perfect basketball and hope for an epic collapse from one of the above teams. Unlikely and improbable, but not impossible. Just to be clear, I don't think it is at all possible; at least not for this group of Wolves that just seem afraid to succeed. The Timberwolves led early in this one thanks to a great first quarter and as per usual, Adelman put the second unit into the game and they squandered the lead. By doing so, they got the Rockets going and even when Adelman turned back to his starting unit, it proved to little to late. The Rockets led by 16 points after three quarters and Adelman decided the game was too far out of reach and the only starter to see any fourth quarter minutes was Gorgui Dieng (mainly because he usually is a reserve and he's currently the only true [healthy] center on the roster). Tonight's box score... Gorgui's 22 points, 22 rebounds & 4 assists in 38 minutes are all new career-highs. It'll be interesting to see if/when Pekovic and/or Ronny Turiaf return how Dieng's role changes...the bigger question should become: should it?
What I Liked About Tonight's Game...
What I Disliked About Tonight's Game...
Rant over...I feel much better. The Wolves are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they'll take on the Suns back in Minneapolis at the Target Center. Tipoff is an early 2:30pmCST. Ricky Rubio put on quite a display on Wednesday night in Dallas as his Timberwolves outlasted Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks for their 34th win of the season. The Wolves got going very early in this game. They forced the Mavericks into a lot of early turnovers that led to a lot of easy transition buckets. Corey Brewer scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter and the majority of them were run-outs on the break. Even when the Wolves weren't getting transition baskets, they were running very simple offensive sets that ended in wide open layups at the rim. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was livid in the first half of the game. He burned through 4 of his timeouts in the first thirteen-and-a-half minutes of the game. Apparently, whatever he said in that fourth timeout, his Mavericks took it to heart. The Mavericks committed to playing at least a little defense and outscored the Wolves 20-35 in the final ten and a half minutes of the first half, capped by a Vince Carter buzzer beater three just prior to halftime. Things didn't come as easy for the Wolves through the remainder of the game (at least not like they did in the first quarter). They shot over 65% in the first quarter and finished the night shooting just under 48%. The Mavericks struggled on offense and that was slightly hampered by Monta Ellis. Ellis got into early foul trouble and it plagued him for the majority of the game. Vince Carter also struggled with foul trouble and he picked up his sixth with 2:16 remaining in overtime. When you couple that with Dirk Nowitzki's 11-for-27 shooting (including 0-for-7 from deep) and it's hard to combat a hungry Wolves team. The Wolves held a 22-point advantage early in the second quarter, but the Mavericks were able to battle back before halftime and keep this one close for the remainder. The Mavericks actually took a brief lead late in the fourth quarter thanks to Monta Ellis, who scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth. He had an and-one and scored three-consecutive triples to give his team a 111-113 lead with 1:25 to play. Rubio's two free throws with 50.1 seconds to play made it 113-all. The two teams exchanged a couple misses to finish regulation and send the game into overtime. The Mavericks scored the first five points of overtime, but the Wolves fought back with buckets from Brewer & Rubio. Shortly thereafter Vince Carter picked up his sixth foul by fouling Kevin Love attempting a three-pointer. Love made all three free throws and finished with 6 of Minnesota's 10 overtime points including what ended up being the game winner (with four Mavericks defenders surrounding him). Dirk Nowitzki's shot just before the buzzer clanged off the back rim and was rebounded by Brewer, who hit the floor as time expired. Tonight's box score... Things I Liked About Tonight's Game...
Things I Didn't Like...
I'm sure there were a few more, but that's all I've got for now. The Wolves will be right back in action tomorrow night in Houston vs. the Howard-less Rockets. Tipoff is set for 7pmCST, enjoy! Nikola Pekovic and DeMarcus Cousins were both unavailable for tonight's game with lower body injuries. As such, each team turned to their reserve center and in Minnesota's case that meant third-string center rookie Gorgui Dieng. In his first career start, Dieng finished with his first career double-double. He set new season-highs in points (12), rebounds (11) and blocks (5) in a season-high 37 minutes. Dieng provided the rim protector the Wolves have been missing since losing Ronny Turiaf to that knee injury. Dieng blocked 5 shots and altered another half dozen. If Pek is going to miss extended time, Adelman may decide to stick with Dieng at center (instead of Dante Cunningham who he has started before when both Pek & Turiaf are out of the lineup). The Wolves got great production from their stand-in center and just as the last time these two teams met, Kevin Martin had little trouble scoring at will against rookie Ben McLemore. Martin finished with a game-high 31 points which included a number of clutch free throws down the stretch that helped seal the two-point victory, hitting a perfect 14 for 14. Sacramento's Isaiah Thomas got hot late and brought his Kings all the way back. The Kings couldn't get the stops down the stretch. The Kings are the only team in the NBA with three 20+ point per game scorers: Isaiah Thomas, Rudy Gay & DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins sat this out this one with knee tendinitis and Gay played just 26 minutes and finished with 14 points on 40% shooting. Thomas was the only one to hit that 20+ with 27. Thomas scored 9 of those points in the fourth quarter, with all 9 coming in the final two minutes and 7 of those 9 coming in the final 17 seconds. This Kings team obviously employs former Wolves forward Derrick Williams. He was sent to Sacramento in November for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. His play in Sacramento mirrors what he did in Minnesota--the occasional awe-inspiring game combined with a lot of inconsistent play in the majority of his outings. Williams says he gets 'turned up' going against his former squad. Unfortunately he can't seem to exert that kind of energy and effort in every contest. He finished with a double-double: 26 & 11 in 28 minutes off the bench. Box score... The Wolves were out-rebounded once again, finishing with 35 rebounds for the second-straight outing. They also allowed their opponents to shoot a high percentage from the field, but made up for that disparity by attempting 19 more free throws and hitting 16 more. They also limited their turnovers, while forcing Sacramento into 17 of their own.
As promised, Adelman shortened his rotations and that meant limited minutes for guys like Mbah a Moute (6) and Budinger (4). It also meant that after playing 14-straight games and giving the Wolves some production, Shabazz Muhammad received a DNP-CD. Instead, Adelman turned to Robbie Hummel and it proved to be beneficial. Robbie came in and in his first 60 seconds on the floor he scored 4 quick points and drew a charge on Derrick Williams. As the season winds down, it'll be interesting to see how Adelman handles his rotations especially if/when Pek & Turiaf return (and if guys like Muhammad, Hummel & Dieng continue to provide production off the bench). The Wolves move to 33-32 on the year and head into a critical three-game stretch this week, with a back-to-back Texas Two Step: Wednesday in Dallas & Thursday in Houston, followed up by a Sunday matinee in Phoenix. All Western Conference teams vying for a playoff spot (though Houston has a spot practically wrapped up). Tipoff on Wednesday night is set for 7:30pmCST from Dallas. Former Timberwolf Al Jefferson and newly-acquired Gary Neal had little trouble taking down a Timberwolves squad that seemed intent on giving a lackluster effort for the second-straight outing. The Wolves went through the motions on Tuesday night, but were able to pull out a victory thanks to some late execution vs. the Bucks. Tonight, the Wolves allowed Charlotte to get any and every shot they wanted and as expected, the result was an easy win for the playoff-bound Cats. The Wolves have had their defensive deficiencies this season and tonight was another key highlight as they didn't even try to stop the Bobcats from getting easy buckets. Charlotte found that out early and they just never let up, relentlessly attacking the rim against a listless Wolves squad. The last time these two teams met, Al Jefferson scored 8 points in the first quarter and then was held scoreless for the remaining 36 minutes. Tonight he avenged that off-night with a 25 & 16 outing. Those are Love-like numbers, unfortunately Love didn't deliver anything close to what he's capable. Love finished with just 18 points & 6 rebounds in 36 minutes, despite matching up with mediocre defenders Josh McRoberts & rookie Cody Zeller the majority of the night. Love scored 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter and my thought was that he was well on his way to a huge night. Instead he added another 4 points in the second quarter and then was held scoreless for the entire second half. The Bobcats averaged just over 96 points per game which is bad enough for a bottom-five offense in the NBA. They make up for that with good defense allowing just over 97 points a night--good enough for a Top-five defense. The Wolves allowed the Bobcats to shoot 48% from the field and hit 8 three-pointers. They also were out-rebounded 35-54, edged in points in the paint 38-46 and on the break 10-17. Just like on Tuesday night, the Wolves came in expecting to win. The difference between tonight's game and Tuesdays is that on Tuesday they were facing the worst team in the NBA and tonight they were going up against a playoff-bound Charlotte squad that has hung their hat on tough D this season. Granted, if the Bobcats were a Western Conference team they'd be behind the Wolves in the standings and (before tonight's win) 7.5 games out of a playoff spot. Instead, they're the 7th seed out East. You also have to take into account that as an Eastern Conference team you see the NBA's worst teams 3-4 times (Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia, etc). If they played in the West they'd face those teams just twice and play 1-2 more games against the much more competitive West. With all that information, all that you can take away is that the Wolves lost to yet another inferior squad and if you thought the playoffs were still a possibility, tonight's loss and the Wolves' effort has to have you thinking differently. Tonight's box score... The last time these two teams met, Nikola Pekovic led the team with 26 points and got the better of Big Al in the paint. Tonight, Pek played just 17 minutes and finished with 8 points & 4 rebounds. He played sparingly because of soreness in his ankle (the same one with bursitis). Whether he landed wrong on it or Adelman pushed him to hard playing him major minutes despite the trainers minute-restriction is unknown, but a playoff push becomes near impossible if the Wolves don't have Pekovic and Turiaf. Losing to three inferior Eastern Conference squads (New York, Toronto & Charlotte) the past week and a half doesn't help either.
The Wolves couldn't do anything to stop Jefferson. With Pek sidelined for the second half, they had to turn to Gorgui Dieng for some minutes matched up against Big Al. As expected, Jefferson took the rookie to school and had little trouble maneuvering for easy buckets in the paint. Nikola Pekovic is not only my favorite Wolf, but my favorite player in the NBA. With that being said, I can't help but to think what a Love--Jefferson frontcourt would look like had Kahn not traded Big Al (for Kosta Kofous and two second-rounders). Gary Neal scored 11 of his 19 points in the second quarter. That second quarter was where the Bobcats really took control of the game. They built a sizable lead and never let the Wolves get too close again. That was thanks in large part to Neal and the rest of the Bobcat bench; Douglas-Roberts added 5 points, Ridnour had 4 and both Zeller & Biyombo contributed 2 in Charlotte's 32-point second quarter. The Wolves are back to .500 on the season and at this pace they'll be lucky if they win 40 games this season. The Wolves will take on the Sacramento Kings at the Target Center on Sunday night, tipoff will again be at 6pmCST. The 2013-14 Minnesota Timberwolves are the winningest Wolves squad in the non-KG era. At 32-31 the Wolves sit one game above .500 with 18 games to go.
The Wolves still have playoff hopes, but they dwindle significantly with each loss. The two losses to the Knicks and then the Raptors were real backbreakers at the crucial part of the season. Minnesota has hovered around .500 all year long and it seems highly likely that they'll finish with a 40-win season (for the first time since the 04-05 season), but ultimately out of the Western Conference playoffs. As of Friday morning, the Wolves are 5.5 games behind the 7th & 8th seed Mavericks & Grizzlies and 3.5 games behind the 9th place Phoenix Suns. The Wolves will have to rattle off a lengthy winning streak and hope for mediocre play from two of those three teams. Unlikely and improbable, but not impossible. The Wolves will take it one game at a time and that continues Friday night in Charlotte vs. Big Al and the Bobcats. Jefferson signed a big deal with the Cats this past summer and he has quickly become the foundation and centerpiece of a franchise that's had a lot more valleys than peaks in its decade-long existence. Big Al is averaging 21.4 points & 10.3 rebounds in 34 minutes a night. Coupled with the play of Kemba Walker and under the direction of new head coach Steve Clifford, the Bobcats are likely on their way to the postseason for just the second time since they joined the league as an expansion franchise in 2004. Charlotte currently sits at 31-34 on the year and in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. They're 2 games ahead of the 8th seed Hawks and 5.5 games ahead of the 9th place New York Knicks (who may actually make the playoffs, if the Hawks continue to plummet). This Bobcats team features three former Minnesota 'Timberwolfs'. Obviously, Al Jefferson who was with Minnesota from 2007-10; Anthony Tolliver who was a Wolf from 2010-12; and Luke Ridnour who was with Minnesota from 2010-13. The Wolves traded Luke this past summer to the Bucks in order to free up cap space to sign Kevin Martin. Ridnour played 38 games with the Bucks before heading to the Bobcats on the Trade Deadline day (along withe Gary Neal) for another former Wolf (and Buck): Ramon Sessions. This is the second of two meetings between these teams this season. The Wolves took the first meeting at the Target Center 119-92 on January 10th. Big Al got going early in that one with 8 first quarter points, but that was all he'd score vs. his former team. Nikola Pekovic on the other hand, went off for 26 and boosted the Wolves over a Bobcats team that (at the time) had lost 7 of 8. You can check out the full recap here: Pek's 26 Boosts TWolves to Blowout Win over Bobcats. The Bobcats are playing better now, having won their last two outings, 4 of their last 5 and 7-straight at home. The Wolves come in having won 8 of their last 11, but only 1 of their last 3 meetings with Eastern Conference foes (all sporting inferior winning percentages--just like Charlotte). The Wolves are seeking their first four-game road winning streak since the 2008-09 season. The Bobcats are going for their 8th-straight home victory, the last time they won 8-straight at home was during the 2009-10 season (which was the lone time the Bobcats made the playoffs). The Wolves will be without Ronny Turiaf (knee) who is doing a few basketball related activities and is hoping to ramp that up a bit more in the following week to get back on the court and help the Wolves down the final stretch of the season. A.J. Price is still listed as 'out' with an appendectomy, it's uncertain if he'll be available to play, though because he doesn't actually ever play, I suppose it doesn't matter much. The Bobcats will be without big man Brendan Haywood who may miss the entire season with a fractured foot and swingman Jeffrey Taylor who is out for the season with a ruptured achilles. Gary Neal missed the Bobcats' last game for because of a 'team issue', though he's expected to play on Friday. Neal is averaging nearly 12 points in 7 games since joining the Bobcats. Tipoff is set for 6pmCST from the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, enjoy the game! The Timberwolves definitely took their opponent for granted and simply ran through the motions on both ends through the majority of tonight's contest. Kevin Martin turned in a terrific third quarter and Love bounced back from a mediocre first half to propel the Wolves to a must-win against the NBA's worst team. The Bucks are now 13-51 and 2-23 vs. the Western Conference and well on their way to a Top 3 pick in this summer's draft. The Wolves on the other hand are battling against the odds to try and make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Tonight's win was their 32nd of the season and the most wins in a year since the KG-era. At 32-31 the Wolves sit 5 games behind the 8th seed Memphis Grizzlies and 4 games behind the 9th place Phoenix Suns. The Wolves allowed the Bucks to get off to the best start the NBA has seen this season. Milwaukee went 12-for-12 from the field which is the most consecutive makes to start a game this season (previously 11-for-11 by Philadelphia). Following the 12-for-12 start, the Bucks finished the remainder of the game 27-for-62 (43.5%). Minnesota certainly realized they were going up against an inferior squad lacking of high-level NBA talent and as such they definitely didn't play 100% for 48 minutes. With that being said, the Bucks are a young team that's going to have a high draft pick in the upcoming draft in addition to a number of solid young players with a lot of potential: (MN native) Nate Wolters, Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton, John Henson & Giannis Antetokounmpo. It may take a couple of years, but the Bucks have a decent foundation to build this squad. At halftime the Bucks led 61-55. Milwaukee shot 59% from the field in the first half and had just 5 turnovers. That didn't last however, the Bucks turned the ball over 10 times over the final two quarters and in all, those 15 turnovers led to 30 TWolves points. The Wolves got the win over the Bucks back on December 28th by forcing Milwaukee to turn the ball over leading to easy opportunities on offense, such was the case in the second half of tonight's contest. Tonight's box score... Kevin Love had just 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist & 1 block in the first half, but got things going in the second half. He scored 8 of his 27 points in the third quarter and added another 10 in the fourth to finish with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and a season-high-tying 3 blocks in 42 minutes.
After playing 33 minutes against the Raptors on Sunday and sitting out Monday's practice (simply as a precaution after playing a lot of minutes despite being on that 20-minute limit). Pek played 23 minutes and finished with 14 points & 8 rebounds. With no Ersan Ilyasova (ankle) for the Bucks tonight, they moved John Henson to power forward and started Zaza Pachulia at center to combat Pek in the paint, it did little good as Pek got any shot he wanted. Kevin Martin was a big part of Minnesota's 31-point quarter where he scored 12 of his 26 points. He scored 26 points on 50% shooting in 31 minutes. He's been a bit up-and-down since his return from the thumb injury, but he's now strung together a couple of solid offensive outings. For every good J.J. Barea game we get about 5-6 bad J.J. Barea games. His inconsistency is maddening and his demeanor both on and off the court make him intolerable by the strong Minnesota fanbase. He had a "Good J.J." game scoring 19 points on 70% shooting along with 4 assists in 28 minutes off the bench. I watched the Bucks broadcast tonight and I heard Sidney Moncrief praise J.J. about six different times and even say, "I really like J.J. Barea's game". My only thought was, "We'll give him to you for absolutely NOTHING!" Despite allowing the Bucks to shoot 52.7% from the field and thus grabbing a season-low 34 rebounds, the Timberwolves rode 20-point outings from "the Kevins" for the 11-point victory over Milwaukee. The Wolves will be back in action vs. the Bobcats in Charlotte on Friday night, tipoff at 6pmCST. The 31-31 Minnesota Timberwolves will play host to the 13-50 Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at the Target Center. This is the second of two meetings this season.
The Wolves took the first meeting 117-95 in Milwaukee. They entered that night (12/28) fresh off a win the night before vs. the Washington Wizards. Their win in Milwaukee got them back at .500 on the season at 15-15. At that time, the Bucks were suffering through a number of different injuries to key players and the Wolves certainly took advantage of that (just as many teams did to the Wolves a year ago). The Bruise Brothers both finished with double-doubles; Love led the team with 33 points, 15 rebounds & 6 assists, while Pek added 18 points & 11 rebounds. Martin also had a nice game finishing with 20 points and 4 three-pointers. Minnesota earned that win in Milwaukee with their three-point shooting (11-24) and forcing turnovers 20 for 25 MIN points. Here's the full recap of that game if you're interested: TWolves Back to .500 w/117-95 Win over Bucks. The Wolves aren't technically eliminated from the playoffs, however with the way they've been playing, coupled with the recent surges from the Mavericks and the Grizzlies, it seems as though they're going to have a tough time ending this decade-long playoff drought. That being said, the playoff hopes are still alive in the Wolves' players and in reality if they can rattle off a lengthy winning streak, they could find themselves in the thick of the race come early April. Some Gameday notes on tonight's matchup....
The Wolves will be without Ronny Turiaf (knee) and A.J. Price (appendectomy). The Bucks will be without Carlos Delfino who is out for the season with a foot injury. Larry Sanders is out with an eye injury, but is targeting a late-March return. Ekpe Udoh will be a gametime decision with an ankle injury. Tipoff is set for 7pmCST from the Target Center, enjoy! |
Cody D. AndersonA Wolves fan bringing you Gameday Recaps all season long! 2014-15 Game ArchivesGameday Archives
December 2015
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