Howlin' T-Wolf

Michael Beasley came to the Wolves for next-to nothing. Therefore his role doesn't need to portray his actual value.

Michael Beasley is far from a reserved guy. He’s spontaneously goofy off the court and oftentimes psychotic on. For a bulk of his life he’s always been the center of attention due to his freakishly long body and insanely outstanding skills on the court — especially possessing the skill set he has at the size he is.

After injuring his foot early on in the season, Beasley was forced to sit for 11 games. He made his return last Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs, prompting some to wish he had never come back in the first place after an ugly return — Just seven points on 3-11 shooting.

Wolves fans, and I’m sure Heat fans when he was with Miami from 2008-2010, have been and still are a little hard on Beaz. There’s no reason to think he doesn’t deserve it, though. He was the second overall pick in 2008 behind the reigning MVP in Derrick Rose; he had extremely high expectations going into the draft with some even believing he should’ve gone first.

Nearly four years later and brand new, lucrative extensions, we’re close to seeing exactly who has panned out already and who is still piecing together an NBA career from that draft class. We’re close enough to pegging those guys that, if the draft were to happen all over again, it would’ve drastically changed; Rose would stay at the top but then Love would likely make the jump to second overall. Beasley? Well, he’d probably drop to fifth, maybe even sixth overall.

It’s not the talent that’s in question, by any means, rather the drive and the determination to be the best he can be. We’ve seen how Beasley can get disconnected from the game when he misses a few of his patented jumpers. We’ve seen how he refuses to pass the ball until he works out the kinks in his own game. We’ve seen him glare down rims after missing free throws as if it was its fault.

Like I said, he’s had a lot to live up to as an NBA player and the second overall pick in 2008, and, whether it’s the pressure or something else, it hasn’t quite panned out. Nor has it been atrocious, though; there are still glimpses of greatness we see from time-to-time. Last night was one of those nights. Beasley, still semi-recovering from his sprained foot, came off the bench for the third straight game since returning. Contrary to Friday night’s pitiful game against the Spurs, Beasley caught fire last night and lit the Rockets up for 34 points in just 32 minutes.

The most frustrating thing about Beasley’s game is his inconsistency and selfishness within the offense; think Carmelo Anthony but even more inconsistent (Yikes!) But last night we saw Beasley take advantage of his decreased role on the court by upping the efficiency and taking cleaner, crisper shots. It got me thinking: What if Beasley was meant to come off the bench his whole career?

Obviously you don’t take a player second overall to have him come in off the bench his entire career but there are players that have made a living by being the sixth man. Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford and Lamar Odom, just to name a few, have made their careers by coming off the bench and jumpstarting offenses when the starters fail to get off to their expected starts.

In the 2008-2009 season, Beasley spent the majority of the season on Erik Spoelstra’s bench in Miami. He sat watching and learning until it was his name called to be that go-to player. He was never called to that duty all season long leading to a rather impressive rookie season. Beaz finished with nearly 14 points a game in only 24 minutes. That was also his best season shooting from the field at 47% as well as his lowest TO rate, just over 10%. Despite receiving less minutes, Beaz didn’t let that get the best of him. He still played his game when he finally saw the court and posted a respectable usage rate of 27.7%.

Last season was arguably Beasley’s first attempt at becoming a solidified starter in the NBA with the Wolves. He had a good year, posting career highs in points and assists per game (19.2, 2.2). Those numbers, especially the points per game, are awfully deceiving, though. In his rookie season, he only needed just under 12 shots a game to average nearly 14 a game. But last season, Beasley needed over five more shots a game to score just five points more on average than his rookie season. Statistically speaking, that shouldn’t be happening.

The inconsistency may be a constant debate over Beasley’s NBA career but the biggest difference between those two season were his role in the offense: Reserve vs. Go-to Starter. Adelman might have this figured out without even looking at the numbers. By decreasing how many minutes Beasley can play as well as throwing out the pressure of starting off the game on a good foot, Beasley is forced to take more efficient shots, thus taking advantage of the smaller role. But it all comes down to whether his ego is too big to settle into a supporting role for this team rather than that go-to starting scorer. If he can, he might be able to revitalize his career and, ultimately, help this team win throughout the season and even secure himself a new contract to play alongside Rubio and Love for seasons to come.

Super Beaz in action

Holy moly, Batman! You mean to tell me that the slow-starting, sometimes sluggish offense of the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped 120 points on the road against the Houston Rockets?! And Michael Beasley caught fire, scorching the net for 34 points?!? It’s almost as if they should’ve been firing on all cylinders like this all season long!

Sparked by a 42-point third quarter, the Wolves secured their tenth victory of the season and move that much closer to a .500 record for the season.

The story of this one wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to discover. The Wolves opened a full-onslaught of offensive power against the Rockets and never looked back. The buckets were raining down and the points kept going up, ’nuff said.

But it really felt good to watch. It just feels like Finally!, you know? The Wolves have struggled from the field for the last few weeks. Actually, the Wolves have only shot 50% just once this season against the San Antonio Spurs — They also nailed 12 threes in that one but still only scored 106 points compared to the 120 tonight; that oughta tell you something about how efficient Beaz and co. was tonight at the offensive end.

Speaking of Beaz, he was doing his thing tonight, lofting contested jumpers from anywhere and everywhere, prompting fans to yell the usual, “Cut it out, dude! Pass the ball!” The only difference to tonight was that those shots found their way through the net also prompting each and every Beaz critic, as well as Rocket fans, to shut their faces. Coming off the bench yet again, Beasley played a whole 32 minutes, scored 34 points on 10-14 shooting. To make things even sweeter, Beaz was able to shoot 12 from the charity stripe; he nailed all 12. It’s an improbable performance likely to never be repeated again but it was special. So special that it reminded me of why he was drafted only behind Derrick Rose in the 2009 NBA Draft. Keep playing like this and he’ll exceed his current value tenfold but that’s been his problem all career long. No consistency, diminishing potential and you’ve got the Beaz. Still, here’s to hoping things can turn around … for good.

Though Beaz’s ridiculous contributions were the deciding factor in this one, don’t look past what Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are continuing to do on a nightly basis. Love and Rubio combined for 47 points on 16-25 shooting. They were also a combined +42 on the floor, in large part to that incomparable third quarter.

Throw in great production from Martell Webster, Nikola Pekovic and Anthony Randolph and the Wolves put together one of the most complete games I’ve seen this season.

After losing to the Rockets just last week at home, this sorta felt like a must-win. They didn’t just deliver a win but they made a statement that they’re not to be messed with. Furthermore, they showed that an emotional loss to the Lakers won’t get the best of them on back-to-backs, even when on the road.

Not much more than that tonight … Just a fun game all-around. Next up comes the Indiana Pacers into town. That will be Wednesday night, as said, at the Target Center.

Houston Rockets (12-8) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (9-11)

Last game: Minnesota: L, 106-101 vs Los Angeles Lakers, Houston: W, 97-84 vs New York

Stopping Kevin Martin will be essential for the Wolves tonight.

I’d say Minnesota started off cold against the Lakers yesterday, but that would be severely underselling the point. LA ran out to an 18 point lead in the third quarter before Rubio’s heroics brought the game back from the brink of a blowout. The Wolves managed to tie it halfway through the fourth, but Pau Gasol’s size and Kobe Bryant’s clutch shooting doomed Minnesota.

The Rockets continued to roll on Saturday, dropping the free-falling Knicks 97-84. Houston’s bench scored an astounding 61 points, while holding New York to just 5-26 shooting from behind the arc. The Rockets are 9-1 in their last 10 games.

The Key Questions

#1. STOP WITH THE COLD STARTS!

Not really a question so much as a requirement to win basketball games. Look, I love a good comeback story. My favorite NBA game of all time was Game 4 of the 2008 Finals when Boston came back from being down 20+ in the third quarter to beat the Lakers in LA (suck on that, Minnesota Kobe fans). But Minnesota CANNOT continue to dig themselves out of their own graves. Teams just don’t win that way. Teams win by playing the way Minnesota did against San Antonio. Allowing a team as hot as Houston to get on a roll early could turn into a blowout quickly.

#2. Will the Wolves have enough energy for this game?

Minnesota got done playing the Lakers, hopped on a plane, flew to Houston, and now faces one of the only other teams in the league with a bench as deep as their own. Merely throwing more and more bodies out on the court won’t be enough against the Rockets. Real rotation players are starting to work their way back into the lineup for Minnesota (Webster, Beasley) and apparently Barea might be back tonight (he traveled with the team, but is doubtful to play). Here’s hoping they make a difference.

#3. Why can’t the Wolves get back to .500?!

Four times this season, Minnesota has been one game away from .500 and lost, once to Milwaukee (which barely counts, the Wolves were 0-1 at the time…but still), once to Memphis, once to Utah, and now to the Lakers. Beating the Rockets would mean that the Wolves could go for .500 against yet another excellent team (the Pacers) on Wednesday. Sigh.

The Key Matchups

Boy, you can really tell Kevin Love hates his new contract. 31-10, 18-16, and 33-13 over the past three games? Dude is clearly hurting. Four games ago against the Rockets, Love put up 39 points. A repeat would be fun.

Even though Rubio tallied 12 assists last week, Kyle Lowry won the matchup. Not only did Lowry score 16 points and dish out 10 assists, but Rubio turned the ball over several times at truly inopportune moments. Last night, the Wolves took excellent care of the ball. They will need to do that again tonight to beat Houston.

Kevin Martin’s long range shooting obliterated the Wolves in their last matchup. Wes Johnson will probably be able to make a difference guarding him. One would hope, anyway.

Derrick Williams has been shooting very efficiently lately, but you can always tell which of his shots are going to go in and which are going to clank badly off the side of the rim. If he has enough time to visibly think “I wonder if I should shoot this” (seriously, you can see it go through his head), the shot is going to be a uglier than sin. If he catches and shoots immediately, he will drain it.

The Outlook

Minnesota’s record on the second night of a back to back this season, as previously mentioned on this very blog, has been ugly, just 1-5. Also, this is a tough road game against a hot team that got some rest last night. Tonight could be rough.

Game starts at 7 on Fox Sports North

We're taking the good with the bad when it comes to Rubio

Just one week ago, head coach Rick Adelman was just pleading for bodies, any at all, to pitch in their weight to create serviceable rotations. Tonight, Adelman pleaded for big bodies, just anything, to combat the brute force of the Lakers’ frontcourt.

Let’s just say he never really figured it out. Throw in 35 points from the greatest scorer in the league in Kobe Bryant and the Wolves didn’t have much of a prayer in this one.

But somehow they did. And somehow they made this game way closer than what it should’ve been, especially considering how atrocious they played in the first half.

In front of hundreds of Wolves fans and thousands of Kobe Bryant fans, the Wolves got off to their typical slow start. The defense never found a rhythm and Pau Gasol caught on. Gasol ended the quarter with 14 points, pressing all of the Wolves’ options; they tried Love and Pekovic on him to no avail.

The second quarter only got worse, as the Wolves’ shots continuously failed to hit net. The shots taken were all open, nearly all good shots but they just wouldn’t fall. But somehow the Wolves did just enough to stay competitive and keep it far from a blowout. The biggest reason they stayed in it all was ball control. Granted their shots weren’t falling, at least they were able to shoot them. We’ve seen high turnover rates in the last two games, mostly due to Ricky Rubio, which always ends up with the Wolves stepping all over their own feet. The Wolves finished with only four turnovers tonight and, as a result, were awarded for their controlled fast pace with 104 looks at the hoop. Also, one of the most beautiful plays I’ve seen run all season long helped keep things close late in the quarter. A Pek ‘n’ Roll, coined by Zach Harper via Twitter, freed up Rubio to drive on Bynum into the paint. Rubio’s gravitational pull drew him away from the hoop allowed Kevin Love to cut baseline to the hoop where Rubio promptly delivered the rock. Love threw in the layup and even drew the foul from Bynum, sending him to the line for an And-1. And with that, the Wolves went into half partially alive and only down eight. (Believe me, it could’ve been a lot worse.)

The Lakers’ shooting in the first half was painfully efficient but I knew in the back of my head it couldn’t last. Into the second half we go, sure enough, it does. Kobe came out firing, hitting three contested three-pointers in the grill of Wes Johnson, prompting the talk, smirks and, of course, all of the “Ooohs” and “Aahhs” all around the Target Center. As the Kobe-lover just three rows above me put it, “Black Mamba gets his!”

A change was needed at this point. The game was slipping away, things were growing uglier with every second ticking by. The crowd was non-existent with the exception to those bandwagon-ers. Adelman replied, after a fourth personal foul on Pekovic, with a change to the rotation. Clearly, going small wasn’t working with Luke Ridnour who was a glaring liability on defense and failed to hit his shot all night long. Adelman inserted Martell Webster for Ridnour and Anthony Randolph for Pekovic. Randolph hadn’t played in a few games and I feared for his efforts against the physical ogre that is Andrew Bynum tearing him apart in the post. But that’s when Adelman made the biggest change of all: the zone.

As anyone who bleeds NBA basketball, a 2-3 zone is only a temporary fix; a stretch of the imagination really, just hoping that the offense gets confused and starts taking bad shots and turning the ball over. And you’d think that a veteran-spotted team like the Lakers would take a defending zone and slice it to pieces. But that wasn’t the case tonight. The zone gave just enough pressure and the Lakers responded with poor shots from the perimeter and multiple turnovers. It worked!

This gave the Wolves just enough space to breath and gave the offense a deadly jolt, a jolt that helped ignite a 19-6 run at the end of the third. That quicker, hard-pressing lineup stayed in to start the fourth and the strategy continued to pay off as the Wolves eventually took a slight lead.

But it just wasn’t enough. The magic lost its luster and Kobe morphed back into the Mamba, nailing two huge floaters in the lane to put the game out of reach.

It truly was a valiant effort on behalf of the Wolves. The scrappiness will never get tiring and the will to win will never burn out. Some how, even up against all odds including a troublesome frontcourt, bothersome superstar-loving referees and thee Black Mamba, these Wolves find it within themselves to always fight back. And this is a big thanks to Rick Adelman. Never would you see this kind of effort last season under Kurt Rambis’ authority; they would’ve been happy to roll over and die than fight back with all they have. It’s a complete 180 compared to last season’s efforts in mighty close games like these against mighty opponents. Adelman is giving this team the best opportunity to win night in and night out. It all comes down to execution and tonight it just wasn’t enough.

If I don’t bore the hell out of you already with that exaggerated narrative, here are some bullet points to sum it all up:

• 104. That’s how many shots the Wolves took tonight. Not all were great, not too many were that bad. In large part to Rubio, everyone is getting their fair share of open shots but it comes down to hitting them and hitting them earlier on, so they’re not spending the rest of the game scaling out of the hole they created. That’s what happened tonight before the Lakers stepped on their fingers, sending them back into the abysmal, metaphorical hole I mentioned.
• I talk about how the Wolves simply need to start nailing open shots set up by Rubio. Well, how about Rubio start hitting the shots he sets up for himself? He gets wide open looks constantly but can’t hit them. He only went 2-13 from the floor tonight, telling me that the last game was a fluke and that the struggles shooting continue. All I can say is I hope he keeps shooting and we can only pray that a couple more each game start to fall.
• The Wolves desperately missed Darko Milicic tonight. Now read that again. Darko’s sheer size would’ve helped tonight. Although Randolph was impressive as was Pekovic, the minutes that Brad Miller played tonight, which was his season debut, should’ve been dominated by Darko because he would’ve helped much more on defense. Everyone was getting thrown around by Bynum underneath and Darko would’ve been able to combat that a lot more than what Miller did.
• Michael Beasley was good tonight, not great. He made open shots and his rebounding was outstanding (13). But he’s still struggling with his career-long issue of getting better shots. Just because he gets closer to the rim doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better shot. Many of his shots inside are contested or even blocked. If only he can start to squeeze those up and in more often, his post game may actually become relevant.
• Wes Johnson posted a pitiful +/- tonight at -15, but don’t take that for granted. His defense on Kobe was exceptional (Beaz actually played fantastic defense on Mamba as well) as he forced him into a lot of bad shots. Only problem was that Kobe is Kobe and bad shots for him are still likely to go in. All I’m saying is don’t write his defensive performance off.
• Pekovic had seven offensive rebounds. What a tank?

That’s all for now. Next up is the Rockets again tomorrow night, this time in Houston. Until then, cheers.

Los Angeles Lakers (11-9) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (9-10)

Last game: Minnesota: W, 87-79 vs San Antonio, Los Angeles: L, 100-89 vs Milwaukee

The Timberwolves beat the Spurs on Friday at the Target Center, winning against Dallas and San Antonio in consecutive games for the second time this season. Minnesota’s balanced scoring attack kept the venerable Spurs at bay. Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Rubio chipped in 18 points and 10 assists.

The Lakers have been struggling lately, dropping another bad loss yesterday to the Bucks. Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, but needed 21 shots to do it. Pau Gasol struggled as well, shooting 6-18 from the field and failing to get to the free throw line. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers would miss them.

The Key Questions

#1. Will the Lakers struggle on the road against Minnesota?

Los Angeles is 1-7 on the road so far this year. Plus, this is the second night of a back to back, and the Lakers lost a demoralizing game to the Bucks last night. Kobe played 42 minutes, Pau played 39, and Andrew Bynum played 36. The Wolves should attempt to push the pace against a Lakers team that is likely to be gassed.

#2. Are the healthy Wolves a dangerous team?

It sure seems that way. As more and more players come back from injuries, the Wolves seem to get more and more dangerous, especially on offense. Martell Webster’s return should add some needed three point shooting. Beasley’s shot creation is now back (as is his inattention on defense, but I’m trying to stay positive). Add that to Pek’s productive minutes (probably not something we can count on every night) and Wes Johnson’s newfound aggression on offense (probably not something we can count on every night, either) and the Wolves…well. The Wolves might be considered a legitimately good team.

#3. When was the last time the Timberwolves were favored over the Lakers?

No, seriously. Look for yourself.

The Key Matchups

Kevin Love and Pau Gasol have battled each other well in the past. But Lamar Odom was the Laker who used to give Love the biggest fits, and he’s gone this year. In his place, the Lakers have a trade exception. The trade exception has been playing well so far (0 ppg in 0 minutes), but there’s little doubt the Lakers miss Odom’s production.

Kobe will get his points, even if he takes 30 shots to do it. It will probably be up to Wes Johnson to make sure that he does. Ruh roh.

Andrew Bynum scares me. He’s huge, he’s volatile (someone hide Barea…), and he’s talented. He’s probably going to give Darko fits, although Darko is the one Timberwolf with enough length to bother the enormous Lakers.

Minnesota’s biggest advantage should be from the bench. The Lakers have several players who can contribute baskets every once in a while (Jason Kapono, Josh McRoberts, etc.) but none aside from the big three who can score regularly. This is a bad offensive team. The Wolves, however, can bring offense off the bench at any time, especially considering the open looks Rubio can create. The Minnesota bench will need to badly outscore the Lakers tonight.

The Outlook

I hate to be a jinx, so start knocking on wood immediately, but I really like Minnesota in this game. The Wolves youth and athleticism should go a long way agains the road-weary Lakers. And for the first time in several years, Los Angeles is having trouble scoring. Their defense has been good (7th in the league in opponents ppg), but teams need to score to win. As long as Kobe doesn’t score 80, I could very well see Minnesota winning this one.

Beat LA.

Game starts at 6 pm on Fox Sports North.

Beasley-Darko for Kaman. Any takers?

Reports released last night entail that the Hornets are actively shopping Chris Kaman, who they got as part of the Chris Paul deal. They working so “actively” that they’re even benching Kaman until a deal is done. Talk about prudence.

The good news is that the Hornets and Kaman have mutually agreed that this is the best decision for both parties. Even better news is that the Wolves may be in the market for a new, shiny center.

The Wolves do indeed have some money locked up at the center position with Darko Milicic (signed through 2014 after inking the erroneous 4 year, $20 mil deal), Nikola Pekovic (signed through next season at 3 years, $13 mil), and Anthony Randolph, who is more of an afterthought at this point.

By removing a heavy contract at center — Darko — and maybe something pretty enticing for a young rebuilding team like the Hornets — Michael Beasley — well, you got yourself a pretty fair trade for both teams involved, if you ask me, sending Kaman to Minnesota.

There’s no denying that Darko and Pek have played big minutes all season long — Just last night, Pek worked Tim Duncan in the post like he wasn’t even there, and Darko recorded a season-high seven blocks against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. But neither are true long-term options. Kaman would clean Kahn’s slate of awful contracts given to centers, and be plugged in alongside Love to form a fearful duo; Love with the sheer rebounding and shooting and Kaman with the defense and refined post game.

Currently, Kaman is set to become a free agent at the end of this season, meaning any trade would also mean committing to a long-term deal with the Michigan product. But the Wolves are in luck. After resigning Kevin Love on Wednesday to an awfully flexible deal, the Wolves have money to play with over the next three years, as they continue to piece the puzzle together. Of course the key would be to get Kaman at a premium, which is entirely possible due to his age and drop in production, I’d put it around, oh, 3 years, $20 mil.

A steady center like Kaman alongside Love at that kind of price could be what this team is looking for. And the trade also pays the Wolves a huge favor by ridding them of Beasley’s drama.

Do the deal. Make it happen.

“We weren’t playing to win the game (last year). This year, we are playing to win the game. We are confident. Real confident.” -Kevin Love

PEK SMASH!

Hey, remember what watching the Wolves was like last year? I…me neither. I have vague recollections, but trying to pinpoint the exact feeling is like trying to remember a nightmare from two nights ago. The general theme is still around, but the details keep slipping through the cracks in your mind, and it’s tough to remember why you were so scared in the first place.

It has become redundant to point out, but with every game it becomes more abundantly clear: the Timberwolves have a totally new mentality. There is no way, absolutely NO WAY, Minnesota would have won that game last year. They wouldn’t have closed out. They would have lost by seven or eight, and we would be talking today about how well they performed for most of the game. Then we would have said something about how “we can’t wait until they learn how to close out games.”

With 3:27 left in the fourth quarter, Gary Neal buried a three on the Wolves, giving San Antonio a two point lead for the first time in quite a while. At that point I was having ‘Nam-like flashbacks, and I thought Minnesota was cooked. Apparently, every lesson the Wolves have taught me about their resiliency has been lost so far. But that shot would have been curtains for last year’s team.

Not this year.

The Wolves came storming back, scoring the last 10 points of the game. Up four, and looking for a dagger with 37.3 seconds left, Love barreled through the lane with very little time left on the shot clock and buried a floating baby hook (perhaps double dribbling on the way? Tough to tell), and it was time to party in Minnesota.

Now, this isn’t Minnesota’s first big win of the season. It isn’t the first time they’ve been a game away from .500. Heck, it isn’t even the first time they’ve beaten the Spurs at the Target Center, and the first time, they won by more. So why am I so excited about this win? Why do I feel like it was so monumental?

Because Minnesota didn’t play exceptionally well. Beasley was inefficient, Ridnour was ineffective, Darko was inactive (actually, that may have helped), Love didn’t make a three, and Ellington was 1-4 in 18 minutes of action. The Wolves didn’t blow San Antonio away by playing at an unsustainable level, like last game. The Wolves shot just 43% from the floor, and the Spurs stayed close throughout.

No, Minnesota won because, last night, they were the better team. They continued to grind and they continued to defend, holding the sixth most offensively efficient team in the NBA to 19 points below their season average, and they made some very clutch shots to come up with a gritty win.

That’s what good, confident basketball teams do, and now Minnesota has done it in consecutive games against playoff-caliber Western Conference opponents. This is something new. It’s something we haven’t seen from the Timberwolves since…well…since KG was traded. Despite his many, many well publicized blunders, David Kahn has built a real basketball team here in Minneapolis, capable of winning real basketball games.

Pinch me, someone. I want to make sure I’m not dreaming.

Bullet points!

• For my money, this Rubio-Love alley-oop is the best Timberwolves alley-oop of the year so far, narrowly edging the Rubio-Derrick Williams reverse alley-oop from the last Spurs game. Just gorgeous.
• Ever since this minor fiasco a few weeks ago, Anthony Randolph has been comically careful to make sure he passes to his point guard before running down the court. At one point in the first half, he grabbed a rebound and started to dribble before the cogs visibly turned in his brain and he stopped short looking for Luke Ridnour. At least he’s learning!
• Martell Webster looked really good in his short return to action. He only made one shot (a three pointer) and missed a dunk that would have blown the lid off the Target Center, but his defense on Richard Jefferson bothered two of Jefferson’s shots badly, and may have helped to prevent him from continuing to torch the Wolves the way he did in the first half.
• FSN needs to stop advertising these jerseys because I’m absolutely going to end up buying one. In fact…dammit. I totally am. HOW FREAKING COOL ARE THEY?!
• Wes was unmistakably more aggressive tonight. All six of his points came nine feet from the basket and closer, including two very nice dunks. But the best play of Wes’ game came in the fourth, as he was rewarded with some crunch time minutes. Tim Duncan was working on Nikolai Pekovic in the post, and the Wolves were up one. As Duncan put up a shot, Wes came flying out of nowhere, swatted the shot, and came down with the ball himself. Smart, heads up defense from Wes in a big-time moment.
• Speaking of Pek, I had several jokes ready to go when I saw him in the starting lineup…but why use them? Pek was (I’m really excited that I get to use this totally appropriate noun to describe him…) a beast. He scored 14 points on efficient 7-13 shooting (!!) and for a four-ish minute window in the third quarter, he was the best player on the floor. Lengthy players like Duncan and Tiago Splitter still give the Wolves fits, but Pek gave Minnesota some really quality minutes.
• Hey, good defense Tony.
• Take a look at this shot chart and notice the corner threes. Last year, and even earlier this year, Minnesota would have had trouble defending the corner. But last night, they were getting to the spot and contesting really well. A very encouraging sign.
• Beasley’s back! Which means overly long bullet points in every one of my recaps analyzing him are back too (I really love me some Beas). So here goes: Beasley was inefficient tonight, which is unsurprising. Again, his best basketball happened when he was working out of the post, which has been a recurring theme. He was out-played by Derrick Williams, who had 12 points on 6-10 shooting. Two things I noticed specifically while watching: first (and really, probably not that important), as the camera panned to the Timberwolves huddle in a timeout, I watched Beasley, who wasn’t going to be in on the next play. I expected to see him staring off into space, singing the words to whatever song was playing on the speakers while Adelman discussed the next play with the team. Nope. Beas was focused, watching what Adelman was drawing up, despite the fact that he wasn’t going to be in. I don’t know what it means (probably nothing), but I liked seeing it anyway. Second: Minnesota’s announcers spent two entire possessions discussing how Beasley is too much of a ball-stopper and how he needs to “pass more on a team with Rubio.” But why? Why would Minnesota want their worst passer passing the ball? Unselfish Beasley turns it over way too much, and we spent the past 11 games pining for Beasley’s return because we missed him as a shot-creator.
• Not really a new bullet point, but the last one was getting too long. Beas DID have a really nice give and go pass to Derrick Williams. So that happened too.
• I feel like Minnesota’s TV announcers are actually pretty good about being unbiased, and that they occasionally manage to actually teach me something. Can any non-Timberwolves fans confirm/deny this statement?
• Last thought: after losing to Houston, I was really discouraged about Minnesota’s prospects of getting back to .500 any time soon, considering that their next three opponents were the Mavericks, Spurs, and Lakers. Two down, one to go…

Kevin Love and the other 'bigs' were just too much for the Mavs to handle

The first victory? Sure, it may have been as flukey as they get. I mean, a team as bad as the Wolves were last year upsetting the World Champs never comes with favorable odds.

But tonight was a statement.

Undermanned even worse than last game, the Wolves came into Dallas and found their rhythm at the end of the second quarter and into the second half to defeat the Mavericks, 105-90.

By no means do I truly believe that the Mavs are chumps but they were beaten badly by a badly beaten up Wolves lineup. Thanks to the our array of ‘bigs’ (Nikola Pekovic contributed 13 points, Derrick Williams added 10 and Darko Milicic had a block party, posting seven) the Wolves were able play physical underneath despite injuries all over the place. Remember back on Monday when the Wolves played the Rockets with only nine players? Well the same happened tonight, only worse. Although Wes Johnson made his return from illness — rumor has it that he was still struggling even — but the Wolves were without Luke Ridnour, meaning the bulk of backcourt duty had to come from Ricky Rubio and Wayne Ellington alone.

But, boy, did they respond well. I made the excuse on Monday that too many minutes for these young players is going against all pros of having a youthful squad — fresh legs, hyperactivity, hustle — but they proved me wrong tonight. Rubio responded his woeful night against the Rockets with a great outing last night against the comparable counterpart Jason Kidd. The poor shooting performances are starting to catch up with him and it shows in the box score but his playmaking isn’t tarnished. Rubio dished out 12 assists in 46 minutes of play last night. Furthermore, half of those assists set up the Wolves for big three-pointers, where they shot 9-21 (Kevin Love hit four of those six dimes from deep).

It was Ellington, though, who really came through in the clutch to push this game out of reach. Having to handle a bulk of the minutes at two, Ellington wasn’t phased by moving to the point while Rubio got his short-lived rest in the third quarter. Ellington was attacking the paint and, although they weren’t all falling, he continued to shoot knowing it was his only option. Eventually he hit a dead-away three that helped pushed the threshold even further.

As terrific as the backcourt adapted to the injuries, though, it was Love’s night. Such a fairy tale pressed for a beautiful ending, right? After signing his new, shiny contract, Love trotted out onto the court and led the Wolves with his sixth 30+ point – 10+ rebound performance of the year (In case you were wondering, the next closest player has only one game with those kinds of numbers). Love continues to work in such an efficient manner, going 9-16 from the field — 4-6 from three-point land — and 9-10 from the free throw line. To much dismay over Twitter yesterday, Love’s new deal wasn’t exactly what everyone was hoping for. After all, he’s playing like a max player but wasn’t given the deal to match. I’ll try my best to explain why it was a good deal for everyone involved later on today.

Overall, last night’s victory meant a lot to this team. It was another big road win — the last coming against the Clippers in L.A. — despite Dirk Nowitzki not being in the lineup. Dallas got rings, but the Wolves got the win, and an impressive one at that.

Next up is is the San Antonio Spurs at home on Friday at 7 pm. A little birdie says Martell Webster may suit up and even play. Just have to wait and see. Until then, get some rest, Ricky, you reeeaaaallly need it.

Dallas Mavericks (11-7) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (7-10)

This is still a Picture of the Year candidate to me.

Last game: Minnesota: L, 107-92 vs Houston, Dallas: 97-83 vs Phoenix

Minnesota rallied in the third quarter to tie the game against Houston on Monday, but then hit a brick wall with an injury depleted roster, as Houston put the Wolves away with a flurry of fast breaks and three pointers. Kevin Love was completely dominant, scoring 39 points on supremely efficient 13-19 shooting from the field to go with 12 rebounds, but Ricky Rubio had the type of game that reminds the viewer that he is still adjusting to the NBA game, as he turned the ball over five times, all at very inopportune moments.

Dallas, without Dirk, edged the Suns on Monday, as Shawn Marion (!!!) caught fire from deep, hitting four 3-pointers, and scoring 29 points for the Mavericks, who have won 4 in a row, two in a row without Dirk.

The Key Questions

#1. What difference will injuries make in this game?

Rick Adelman, after Monday’s loss:

I have three guards and no small forward. We tried to adjust, but you’re putting people out of position…We just didn’t have enough answers.

Not exactly a boost of confidence. JJ Barea and Michael Beasley will both miss tonight’s game as well, and I can’t find confirmation anywhere that Wes will return, although one hopes he’d be feeling a bit better today.

The good news for Minnesota, of course, is that they still have their best player, the newly extended Kevin Love (much more on that coming from Jonah later today). The same can’t be said for Dallas, who will be missing Dirk Nowitzki for the fourth consecutive game.

#2. What should we make of Minnesota’s first win against Dallas?

Literally nothing. The Wolves beat a Dallas team that wasn’t mentally ready for the season to start yet. They did it in Minnesota in front of a jazzed crowd, with Beasley and Barea both contributing significantly. And, on the other hand, Dallas had Dirk.

Tonight’s game could go either way, but don’t expect Minnesota to win just because they beat Dallas earlier this season, and don’t expect Dallas to lose just because Dirk is out. Dallas has been excellent at home this season (7-2), and they have been hot lately. This team is more than just Dirk.

#3. How worried should we be about Rubio’s 5 turnover performance against Houston?

For my money? Not worried at all. We have been spoiled watching Rubio play like a point guard well beyond his years so far this season. He has made smart decisions, especially (oddly) shooting the ball, and he has led Minnesota to seven wins so far.

But we can’t expect a point guard experiencing his first year of NBA basketball to be perfect. Rubio is going to make mistakes, he’s going to have bad games, and we are going to have to suffer through them with him. That’s the trade off of getting a flashy player like Rubio. On his off nights, just remember this. It will help with the pain.

The Key Matchups

We saw a preview of Jason Kidd vs Ricky Rubio earlier this year, but now Rubio is in the starting lineup. Of course, he was essentially playing starter’s minutes before, but now he’s playing EXTRA starter’s minutes. So. There’s that.

Elsewhere, Shawn Marion has been playing very well in Dirk’s absence. On Wes Johnson’s DraftExpress profile, it lists his best case scenario as a Shawn Marion-type player. They will probably get some minutes tonight guarding each other, if Wes is back in the lineup. If not, Derrick Williams played a serviceable, if not amazing, game in his first start against Houston, and he’s certainly strong enough to fight Marion off in the post. Whether or not he can get out and defend the three point line against Marion may remain to be seen.

Remember when we were all crowing about how deep Minnesota’s bench ran? That was nice. Now we see Minnesota’s bench going just nine deep. Against Houston, every starter played over 30 minutes save Darko, and Love played over 40, while Wayne Ellington played 34 off the bench. No wonder Wayne needed a cryogenic bath.

The Outlook

I’m hesitant to be too optimistic, since the Wolves are exhausted and undermanned, but it’s tough to be too down about playing the Mavericks when Dirk Nowitzki will spend the evening suited up like Barney Stinson. But it’s a road game against the defending champs. Don’t expect anything easy.

Game starts at 7:30 on Fox Sports North.