Howlin' T-Wolf A Fresh Perspective and Completely Biased Blog About Everything Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves: 12-38

Grizzlies: 26-23

The Wolves showed up to play last night in Dallas and came out with another win under our belts. Tonight, the Wolves are heading back home for a match-up with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Last time we played the Grizzlies, they were white-hot shooting an astounding 58% putting up 135 on the board. The Wolves’ defense has greatly improved since then and Rudy Gay has slowed his production. The new starting lineup of the Wolves will be a better fit against this Grizzlies team. Our team is taller and will match their strong frontcourt nicely. Despite the Grizzlies strong frontcourt, the key tonight will be stopping Rudy Gay and to not allow him to heat up at any point in the game. As I said, he’s had some bad scoring games lately (9, 10 and 11 in three of the past five games) so it can be done. The Wolves’ offense has looked great as of late, so that won’t be a problem tonight. The Grizzlies are athletic on defense but aren’t the best in the league in that category either. Our deep bench will be another key tonight. Even with Kevin Love aside, they put up 25 points last night and look like they are starting to gel quite nicely with each other. Having a solid rotation has given this team a foundation to rely on and ultimately get wins out of the deal as well.

Match-ups:

Point Guard:

Jonny Flynn vs. Mike Conley

Conley blew up in the last meeting putting up 18 points and 8 assists. I can safely say that won’t happen again. Flynn’s defense is more stifling as of late, so Conley will have trouble putting up that kind of line again. Flynn’s lines have been solid and consistent — he only had one turnover last night.

Advantage: Minnesota

Shooting Guard:

Corey Brewer vs. O.J. Mayo

Brewer is on fire right now. He is arguably the Wolves’ best player on the floor and will be a handful for Mayo. He’s hitting open shots and showing that his game is full of raw potential. He’s finally starting to prove to this team and its fans that he’s something special.

Advantage: Minnesota

Small Forward:

Ryan Gomes vs. Rudy Gay

Gay lit the Wolves up last game but his production has slowed down as of late. Gomes has been a solid player lately scoring in double digits for five straight games. Still, you can’t deny the talent and ability of Gay, as he has the chance to take over any game at any given time.

Advantage: Memphis

Power Forward:

Al Jefferson vs. Zach Randolph

Jefferson still hasn’t returned to that dominant play we’ve been used to seeing but it has improved since his lackluster play a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, Randolph is an All-Star and is arguably having his best season of his career. Love off the bench, once again, will pose as an issue for the Grizzlies but I think Randolph will be too much to handle.

Advantage: Memphis

Center:

Ryan Hollins vs. Marc Gasol

Gasol hasn’t been talked about too much lately but Hollins is quite the opposite. Hollins has posted great lines and is averaging over 16 points a game since entering the starting lineup and has really boosted this team’s morale giving them three wins in the process.

Advantage: Minnesota

Timberwolves: 11-38

Mavericks: 31-18

The Wolves are coming off a loooong week of practice and I’m guessing that they will be eager to get back into game mode. Will their anxious feelings lead to sloppy play and inefficiency? I sure hope not. The Wolves are on a two game win streak, the second streak this year, but are going up against a strong Mavericks squad. The Mavs are third in the western conference and are very efficient on both ends of the floor. Andre Miller of the Portland Trailblazers dropped 52 on them last Saturday and Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game has been haunted ever since, writing about Miller’s heroic effort as well as the Mav’s poor effort that day. They even gave up 46 to Monta Ellis in their win against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The Wolves clearly don’t have someone that will put up 50 in a game but I don’t think we will need it either. Defense has been the focal point of practice this week, so we’ll see if that extra work transfers into the game. We will need to play stifling defense in order to win tonight and compensate for not having that 50-a-game guy. Get in the Mavs’ faces and get them angry and off balanced. It will be our best chance at coming out with a three-game win streak under our belts. The offense has looked good the past few games anyways and Kevin Love’s production off the bench is a major boost. I’m assuming Hollins will start tonight and his play will be crucial as well. Lets attack the basket as Erick Dampier may not be able to play, so the lane will be open.

Match-ups:

Point Guard:

Jonny Flynn vs. Jason Kidd

Kidd is a one of the true pass first points guards with a great shot left in this league. Flynn’s play looked considerably better before the break, so I’m intrigued by this match-up. Kidd’s production is down this year, probably due to his age, but you can’t sleep on him. He is a true competitor and if Flynn’s not careful, he will make Flynn look absolutely silly.

Advantage: Dallas

Shooting Guard:

Corey Brewer vs. Jason Terry

This is a fun match-up. Terry, a.k.a. The Jet, is a streaky shooter who has a tendency to heat up in key situations. Again, his age has gotten in the way this season but he can light up the scoreboard on any given basis. Brewer is finding is shot, finally. But it has truly boosted the Wolves play as a team to have a scorer to somewhat rely on. We could really use another 20 points from him tonight and is defensive ability will pose as an issue to The Jet’s game.

Advantage: Minnesota

Small Forward:

Ryan Gomes vs. Shawn Marion

I’m assuming Gomes will start again tonight and it’s safe to say he will have his hands full with Shawn Marion and Josh Howard. Both can score at will and enjoy slashing to the hoop. Gomes isn’t that quick going side-to-side, so these guys could very well pass by Gomes with ease. I would like to see Gomes keep up his production on the offensive end and continue his double-digits scoring streak to five games. But otherwise, I’m not sure if Gomes will match them both on offense and slow them down on defense.

Advantage: Dallas

Power Forward:

Al Jefferson vs. Eduardo Najera

The frontcourt match-ups might not be exactly on because anything can change. With this lineup, Jefferson is back at his natural position while Hollins will be playing as a true center. Now, if this really is the match-up for tonight, I give it to Jefferson, easily. Also, I don’t like you Najera. He just has something about his game that I don’t like to watch. Quickly, I would like to add that I’m excited to see the difference that Kevin Love makes in this one off the bench. His career high 25 points on Sunday was no fluke, therefore he and Al could pose as serious threats to the Mavs’ winning chances tonight.

Advantage: Minnesota

Center:

Ryan Hollins vs. Dirk Nowitzki

Again, the frontcourt match-ups may be screwy but stick with me here. Dirk will have Hollins pleading for less playing time when Dirk is on the court. Dirk will shoot from everywhere on the court and is what makes this offense run. Hollins’ play has improved yes, but does anyone truly think he can hang with Dirk’s 25.1 points per game? Didn’t think so.

Advantage: Dallas