Howlin' T-Wolf

Timberwolves: 13-39

Bobcats: 25-25

The Wolves return home tonight with no five game win streak to speak of but rather a familiar streak we’ve grown accustomed to this year, a losing one. On the contrary, the Bobcats are coming to Minneapolis having snapped a three game skid they fell into until defeating the Wizards last night 94-92. The Bobcats play a gamestyle that is completely opposite that of the Wolves — they run a slow paced offense with good efficiency and have one of the league’s top defenses. The Bobcats rank 5th in the league in defensive efficiency and that doesn’t bode well for the Wolves. Seeing that these two teams play a game of basketball completely different, the Wolves will need to tempt the Bobcats into playing an up-tempo style. We should make them run with us by forcing turnovers and using pressure to not allow them to set up a half-court offense. I’d rather see us running the entire game as opposed to trying to beat them with our own half-court sets, which probably won’t work. I’d like to see Ellington get some good time tonight — maybe a Flynn-Ellington-Brewer back court at times? Ellington is producing right now and getting him good experience against a good team will only better his already improving game. Throw him onto Stephen Jackson and let’s see what he can do!

Match-ups:

Point Guard:

Jonny Flynn vs. Raymond Felton

Felton has developed into a solid PG for the Bobcats. He plays hard defensively and will slowly sneak points out from underneath your nose if you’re not careful. Flynn had five turnovers yesterday and only shot 4-10 from the field. He will need to improve his performance if he plans on out-playing Felton tonight. Right now, I’m not so convinced he will, but we’ll see.

Advantage: Charlotte

Shooting Guard:

Corey Brewer vs. Stephen Jackson

Jackson has scored 20+ points in four straight games and is averaging 20.7 on the season. The guy was an absolute steal for the Bobcats and they should be lucky to have him. Brewer matches up well against Jackson but Jackson does have the ability to post up if needed and his advantage in strength over Brewer helps his chances. Brewer has played great for the past month, so I don’t think he will do poorly tonight but Jackson may be a little too much to handle on defense.

Advantage: Charlotte

Small Forward:

Ryan Gomes vs. Boris Diaw

Diaw had a great game last night against Washington. Gomes had an okay game last night against Philadelphia. This is a very even match-up in my opinion but given that Diaw is more involved in the Bobcat’s offense and plays way more minutes, he owns a very slight edge over Gomes.

Advantage: Charlotte

Power Forward:

Al Jefferson vs. Gerald Wallace

A terrific match-up if they actually guard each other, Wallace will be stealing rebounds from Jefferson and Love all game long. All three of these players are atop the league in rebounding and know how to play under the hoop. Wallace has the advantage over Jefferson because he can stretch his range beyond the three point line but Love can do the same with Wallace. This match-up is back and forth so let’s consider them on defense. Ok, maybe we shouldn’t, especially after seeing Elton Brand go for 21 last night against our porous post-defense. Not to mention, Wallace is one of 11 players this season averaging a double-double (19.1/10.9).

Advantage: Charlotte

Center:

Ryan Hollins vs. Nazr Mohammed

I’m not sure what happened to Hollins’ play but in two games it sort of disappeared. Magic? Perhaps, but an aura of inconsistency seems to be lingering. Sure, having him in the lineup may give up an advantage down low with Jefferson but when facing a team with a solid front court at both positions, it doesn’t do much. Mohammed is a solid true center in the NBA only averaging 8.3 points a game with 5 boards but he plays good defense and does what he can on the offensive side. We’ll see which “Hollins” comes out to play but until I see it, Mohammed gets the nod.

Advantage: Charlotte

Sad, a clean sweep. Should I re-do this or just become a Bobcats fan? Geez! Sorry Wolves.