Howlin' T-Wolf

Los Angeles Lakers (20-14) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (18-17)

Nobody in the NBA makes funnier faces than Pau Gasol.

Last game: Minnesota: W, 109-97 vs Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers: L, 100-85 vs Oklahoma City

Yesterday was the prototypical Timberwolves’ game for three quarters. Time and again, when the Clippers threatened to pull away, the Wolves reeled them back. Then the fourth quarter happened and Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams both scored 13 points in the quarter and ended up with 27 while the bench scored 72 points for the game and the starters got to rest for the entire fourth quarter and seriously can someone explain to me WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!!!

The Lakers lost to the Thunder before the All-Star break. Kevin Durant dropped 33 points on Los Angeles, who struggled to contain Oklahoma City’s athleticism. But none of this matters nearly as much as what happened during the All-Star game. Kobe was fouled hard by Dwyane Wade, which broke his nose and gave him a mild concussion.

The Key Questions

#1 (Of course…) Will Kobe be cleared to play tonight?

At the moment, Kobe’s presence seems surprisingly likely. Despite all the new rules about concussions, Bryant has apparently cleared tests, and plans to play 2 on 2 this afternoon to determine if he is available. Of course, knowing Kobe Bryant, if he hasn’t lost a limb, he will probably keep playing.

This, of course, raises another interesting question: will Bryant be wearing a mask? Some players love the masks and get used to them (Richard Hamilton, for example). Others (like University of Connecticut center Andre Drummond) never get used to it and play considerably better without. A limited Bryant might actually be worse for Los Angeles than no Bryant. Limited, he is more likely to shoot them out of a game. Which brings me to…

#2. Is it possible the Lakers would be better without Kobe against the Wolves?

Heresy? Perhaps. But Kobe has a tendency to eat up Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum’s field goal attempts. And against Minnesota, Gasol and Bynum have a big advantage (literally). Gasol towers over Kevin Love, who has trouble contesting him. Bynum is much longer than Pekovic. It might be good for the Lakers to force the ball inside early and often, and with Kobe in the game, that is less likely to happen.

Unfortunately, Kobe could also come out and score 45 on Wes Johnson. Really, it’s kind of a toss-up.

#3. How did we get this far without asking something about Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley?

The best part about last night’s game against the Clippers? Clearly, the Wolves won. But the SECOND best part of last night’s game was the rest the bench bought the starters. Minnesota is in the middle of a painful back-to-back-to-back. Having a rested squad against a tough Lakers team will be huge.

The Key Matchups

We already discussed Kevin Love vs Pau Gasol. One of the more underrated subplots of tonight’s game will be what adjustments Adelman will make to contain Gasol. After Kevin Martin torched the Wolves, Adelman took a calculated risk and had Wes guard him the next time Minnesota faced Houston, leaving the smaller Ridnour on Chandler Parsons. It worked well. What Adelman does to adjust to LA’s height could determine whether the Wolves can stretch their winning streak.

Minnesota’s bench is much more talented than the LA’s. If it comes down to a battle of depth, that will bode well for the Wolves.

The Outlook

Despite all the positivity from last night, the Wolves could actually be in for their second consecutive trap game against the Lakers, as weird as that sounds. When the Lakers visited the Wolves earlier this season, Minnesota was caught complacent. It will be very important for Minnesota to come out of the gate swinging tonight, because climbing back against veterans like the Lakers will be much more difficult than against the young Clippers.

Game starts at 9:30 on Fox Sports North

No thanks to Love, the Wolves' other Golden Coast native lit the lamp with the help of B-Eazy, as the Wolves found a way to win another against the Clips on the road

Who’da thunk that it’d be Derrick Williams leading the Wolves to a win in L.A. tonight and not the former UCLA Bruin, Kevin Love?

And with the help of his sidekick Michael Beasley, the Wolves’ bench thrashed the Clippers in the fourth quarter tonight, cruising to yet another big win in L.A.

Just basing this off of the body language at Staples Center tonight, these two teams are certainly rivals to be, if not already. Sure, Blake Griffin and Love share a close friendship but the on-court action doesn’t minimize their competitive nature. Griffin had the upper-hand over Love all night long, starting early and attacking him often. Griffin had his post game, albeit ugly and scrappy as can be, working against both Nikola Pekovic and Love throughout the first half. The dunks weren’t there — Griffin missed converting two early alley-oops — but he was finding his way to the rim and getting the ball to fall.

Despite Griffin’s big first half, the Wolves somehow stuck in it, staying within 10 the entire half and into the third. The third quarter is where they started to make their move behind Derrick Williams’ scoring punch. Love’s putrid night was Williams’ treasure. Williams started hitting big shots in all sorts of spots on the floor, and in all sorts of different ways; top of key spot-up jumpers, dribble drives down the center of the lane, drawing fouls on the lower block; it was Griffin who couldn’t be stopped in the first half but it was Williams, when it mattered most in the clutch, who the Clippers failed to cease.

It wasn’t all Williams, though. You can’t take credit away from Beasley, who again showed us the player he could be. After Williams took over the game as well as the lead in the fourth, Beasley cleaned everything up and swept the Clippers right on home. Beasley was fearless tonight, taking all sorts of different shots just as Williams did. He and Williams combined for 54 points on 20-25 shooting, including 7-7 from deep. I mean, just, wow. And because of these two, the Wolves’ bench outscored the Clippers’ 72-11, with the majority of that coming in the fourth quarter against the Clippers’ starters. They literally had no answers on either end of the court, and there’s your ballgame.

But it wasn’t all Beasley and Williams. They were hitting the shots but give JJ Barea credit for finding them in their spots and letting them take the reigns from there. Because of that, the Wolves had 27 assists to their nine turnovers. The assist/TO ratio has been the Wolves’ achilles heel all year long but tonight, with it in their favor, they were able to make the plays and, most importantly, hit their shots.

These performances become desperate when both Ricky Rubio and Love are all but incompetent. The scoring punch needs to come from Williams and Beasley to give Love and Pek some time on the bench, but everyone pitches in with their contribution. Barea needs to direct traffic and stay within the flow of the offense instead of forcing drives and contested outside shots. Webster needs to step up his defense on the perimeter and convert the shots he’s given. It’s all a team effort and that’s the biggest takeaway from tonight. The Wolves don’t need Love and Rubio to win every game; the bench is certainly deep enough to extend the game at the very least. Obviously, when on, those two only improve our chances, but when the Wolves can locate another scoring threat — Or in tonight’s case, two scoring threats, — especially off the bench, well, you know the result it can produce.

Next up the Wolves bunker down in L.A. for one more night as they face-off with the L.A. Lakers tomorrow night. The Lakers may be without Kobe Bryant, who suffered a broken nose and concussion in the All-Star game, no thanks to Dwyane Wade. Without Kobe, the Wolves have an enormous advantage with their starting backcourt, if Rubio regains his form, that is. With Kobe in, Luke Ridnour will struggle to guard the Matt Barnes/Metta World Peace combo the Lakers will throw at him. Let’s just hope for the former and that the momentum collected from tonight’s win transfers over to tomorrow, while Love and Rubio look to harness their true talent and produce accordingly.

Minnesota Timberwolves (17-17) at Los Angeles Clippers (20-11)

Last game: Minnesota: W, 100-98 vs Utah; Los Angeles: W, 103-95 vs Denver

Love's ready to prove that he's the best power forward in the NBA, not Blake Griffin

Legs are rested, minds refreshed, it’s time to start the second half of the season. The Wolves finished the first half on a high note by completing a comeback, buzzer-beating winner against division rival Utah Jazz. But the All-Star break couldn’t have come sooner because everyone needed those few days of rest.

The Wolves move into the second half with momentum but also with question marks all over. Will Kevin Love start hitting more threes? Will we see better ball control from the point guard trio? Will Michael Beasley find his way back into the starting lineup ahead of Wes Johnson? How will Nikola Pekovic perform after the weekend break?

Despite the uncertainty, one thing is for certain: The Wolves are back and in the playoff picture.

Tonight the Wolves are in L.A. for back-to-backs against the Clippers tonight and Lakers tomorrow. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin represented the West in the All-Star game along with Kevin Love, so the three should know each other pretty well by now. Only this time they’ll be competing against each other.

The Key Questions:

1) How does Kevin Love play after failing to rest during All-Star weekend?

Most players were given the chance to rest their legs and just relax over the weekend. Not Love. No, the power forward was too busy winning the three-point contest and scoring 17 points in the All-Star game. He is a young athlete and he may not need to rest as much as some of the older players but it’s still a fair question.

Last time the Wolves played the Clippers Love nailed the buzzer-beating three pointer for the win. Does he have the physical and mental stability to do the same if the situation calls his name? We can only hope so.

2)  The second half is full of away games; will the Wolves rise to the occasion?

In the first half of the season, the Wolves played well on the road, 7-7. The common assumption for young teams is they can’t play on the road; the crowds are too loud, the confidence isn’t there; it all plays a part. But this season it’s almost as if the Wolves don’t see road games as much of a challenge. As stated before, this is the first game of back-to-backs at the Staples Center against L.A.’s two teams. This one may be the easier one to win than tomorrow — The Wolves suck against the Lakers, always — making it all the more special to steal another one in Clipper town yet again.

3) Who plays small forward?

Odds are Johnson continues to start at the 3, but at what point does Adelman insert Beaz back into the starting lineup? It has to be soon, right? Beasley’s numbers are far and wide above what Johnson has posted so far this season, and Beasley’s defense has improved this season too. I do believe that Beasley’s spot as sixth man is working well for both parties but it might be worth it to take a look at making the switch at some point.

The Key Matchups:

Chris Paul is averaging 8.6 assists a game this season with Ricky Rubio just shy of that mark at 8.4. Rookies don’t hang with veterans too often but we’ve quickly learned in 34 games just what Rubio is capable of. On the defensive end, these guards are two of the best thieves in the NBA. So, although Paul has advantages in shooting and perhaps sheer playmaking, the two are leading some of the NBA’s notoriously bad teams into potential playoff candidates. That’s definitely the matchup to watch.

The other matchup to watch is obviously Blake Griffin vs Love. The two are very close to each other but won’t let friendship get in the way of tonight’s tilt. The debate will continue over who’s the better power forward, and the more and more these two face off, the more clarity will shine in as the debate continues.

The Outlook:

The Wolves could start the season on a high note with a win and another step above the .500 mark. Or they could get blown out in this one and start the slide down a slippery slope with tons of road games on the upcoming schedule. In order to get off on that right foot, the Wolves are going to need more out of their role players — Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour, Wes Johnson, just to name a few — to get some wins on the road. The first half was clearly led by Love and Rubio but they can only do so much. I expect moves to be made before the trade deadline but hopefully the Wolves can get off to the right start with what they have and make adjustments later when needed.

Game starts at 9:30 pm on FS North

Adelman was too busy coaching, so we figured we'd hand out grades for him.

The Wolves have exceeded every expectation so far as a team. Here are my grade for every player. Agree/disagree? Let me know in the comments or get at me on Twitter.

Rick Adelman: A

We start with the man himself. I have a couple quibbles with his rotations, but Minnesota has tied last year’s win total by the All-Star break under his direction. Plus, his habit of playing the players who are playing well is refreshing after last year. Tough to penalize him for anything, really.

Kevin Love: A-

Love is having a borderline MVP season, which we will discuss at length later this week. So why does he get a minus? By getting suspended, Love cost Minnesota a chance to win against Memphis. In a Western Conference race this tight, one game might make the difference. He also misses defensive assignments regularly complaining to the officials about a no-call on offense, a horribly frustrating habit.

Still, Love has been the leader of this team, and with some help from his friends, he has the Wolves back to a respectable place. He is the franchise player, and he plays like it regularly, which makes complaining about him seem like splitting hairs.

Ricky Rubio: A

Rubio isn’t a purely A point guard yet, but the culture of selflessness that he has brought to Minnesota has been infectious, and the crowds he has brought to T-Wolves games this year have been enthusiastically behind him. One could argue that Rubio is the player most responsible for the way the Wolves have turned themselves around.

Nikola Pekovic: A

Pekovic is that kid you thought was going to get a C or a D at the beginning of the year, but surprised you so much with his performance that you gave him an A. Yeah, he still picks his nose and wipes it under the desk (or in Pek’s case, can’t defend against longer players), but he also gets 9-10 math problems correct (or shoots 9-10 from the field). You love his work ethic, his attitude and the incredibly high unintentional comedy scale he brings to the table every day. So you bend a little and give him an A.

Oh, and his Player Efficiency Rating is 22.4. 22.4! Nikola Pekovic! He is getting an A no matter what.

Wes  Johnson: D-

Basically, Wes is the polar opposite of Pek. He has every tool imaginable, but he just can’t seem to harness any of them. He doesn’t get an F because he played great defense on Kevin Martin. Instead, I’m giving him a D- not to punish him, but as a teacher, to motivate him. You are better than this, Wes.

Michael Beasley: Incomplete

Beasley never strikes me as a D range player or below. His PER isn’t amazing (13.0, good for 200th in the league) but he is leading the Timberwolves in 3-point percentage (by quite a lot, actually…), he’s averaging 17.1 points per 36 minutes, and he seems to be doing pretty well coming off the bench. Give this to Beas: he may be a little crazy, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of player who would be a locker room malcontent over minutes. He has some incredible games and some mediocre ones. But the Timberwolves seem to need him, warts and all.

So where do we grade him? I have no idea. Thus the incomplete. His grade after the season should be a little more clear.

Luke Ridnour: A-

Ridnour has quietly been everything Minnesota could ask for. Need Wes Johnson to shut down Kevin Martin? No problem. Ridnour will battle with Chandler Parsons, who is nine (!!!) inches taller than him. Rubio needs a break? Ridnour can fill in for as long as you need. His assist to turnover ratio is good. He plays hard, always gives a crap and can be relied on to take big shots. Plus he has a game-winner on his first half resume. He gets penalized (along with just about every other T-Wolf) for a relatively low 3-point percentage, but otherwise it’s been a very solid season for Ridnour.

JJ Barea: C+

Barea gets his grade docked for attendance (he has missed a lot of games due to injury), but all will be forgiven in the second half if he continues to play the way he did against Utah. In the last game before the All-Star break, Barea played like the spark plug Minnesota needs him to be. We’d love to see more of that from JJ.

Darko Milicic: D

For every two field goals Milicic makes, he turns the ball over once. Darko lost his starting job to Pekovic, and deservedly so. I’d be more willing to cut Darko some slack if he didn’t occasionally have quarters in which he is the most dominant player on the floor. These quarters feel like an indictment on his effort for the rest of the quarters.

Derrick Williams: C-

In a strange twist, Williams is in the middle of the NBA in PER, and fifth on the Wolves in field goal percentage. He has struggled with his three point shot, but many players do coming out of college. Plus he has been on the receiving end of some of the best Rubio passes of the season. An interesting note: Williams played most of the crunch time minutes against Utah as the Wolves were attempting to come back, and he made a couple of huge plays.

Much like Wes, this grade is unreasonably harsh, and mostly supposed to be used as a motivator. We’d like to see more consistent play from D-Will.

Martell Webster: Incomplete

Another incomplete, this one because we are waiting to see how Webster performs as he gets more comfortable coming back from his injuries. And even though I’m sorely tempted to penalize him for his brain fart against Denver…I won’t.

Wayne Ellington: B-

Ellington seems to have lost his spot in the rotation, which baffles me a little bit. His numbers are a little low, but he’s also one of three players on the Wolves who can create a shot and he knocks down open threes, which is more than you can say for Wes who…starts. Whatevs.

Anthony Tolliver: C+

It pains me to see Tolliver on the bench this much. Tolliver works his ass off, always cares, always hustles. He just doesn’t always score.

Brad Miller: C

Thanks for coming to class, Brad.

Anthony Randolph: C-

See Brad Miller, except Randolph’s performance is more disappointing, simply based on his athleticism.

Kevin Love: Your 3-Point contest not-loser

I spent all day Saturday talking with friends and people on Twitter about how badly Kevin Love was going to get crushed in the Three Point Contest. I’d love to say I intentionally reverse-jinxed him, but seeing shooters like Ryan Anderson, Anthony Morrow and Kevin Durant paired against him, I honestly didn’t think he had a chance.

Then Anthony Morrow’s Drazen Petrovic jersey wasn’t magic, James Jones’ streakiness caught up to him and Mario Chalmers couldn’t find the range in a tie-breaking round.

Kevins Love and Durant were tied after the final round and Love entered his second tie-break of the competition. Love went first and scored a fairly low 17. All seemed to be lost, especially when Durant heated up on the first few racks. Then Durant missed six of his last eight, couldn’t make the final two moneyballs, and it was all over.  Suddenly Kevin Love was the…well, he wasn’t really the winner as much as he was the not-loser.

To be clear, I don’t REALLY believe in the anti-jinx. Still. If Love wants to send me a thank you in the form of two courtside tickets to tonight’s All-Star game, well, I wouldn’t say no.

In other T-Wolves news from Saturday, Derrick Williams got last in the dunk contest, even though he had one of only two truly impressive dunks performed on the night (The other was Jeremy Evans’ alley-oop with two basketballs). He had Rubio assist him, throwing the ball off the side of the backboard while Williams spun in the air, caught it, and flushed hard with two hands. Derrick told ESPN Truehoop’s Henry Abbot later that Rubio had never tried that pass before. (Also, in the video, he appears to be wearing braces. Did anyone else not know about this?)

Unfortunately, Williams lost the contest because he couldn’t make his final dunk, a self-assisted alley-oop off the backboard and between his legs. After several fruitless attempts, Williams tossed himself a normal alley-oop and bowed out.

The dunk contest was an absolute mess, with scripted skits, entirely too many props (seriously, Paul George, a glow in the dark suit?), and too little impressive dunking, but honestly, it was a fun night of pseudo-basketball. There, I said it. Call me un-hip if you must.

Tonight, we got to see what would happen if Ricky Rubio participated in a loosely defended exhibition game, surrounded by some of the most athletic young players in the game. Actually, his play didn’t look that different from normal games, which speaks to how much fun he is as a player. Here are some highlights anyway.

Sorry about the video quality. I try this move all the time when I’m playing basketball. Of course, I only ever do it when I’m playing by myself and I’m PRETENDING there is a defender guarding me, but still.

I’m including this video for two reasons: first, because a Timberwolf is officially in the record book, even if it’s for something silly and pointless (Sorry, Kevin Love, but Wilt’s double-double streak will probably last forever). Second: Ricky Rubio’s mom is a total soccer mom (his parents are at 0:17).

Great pass from Rubio, decently powerful dunk by Markieff Morris, but Morris managed to take four steps going up. He made the whole beautiful play look a little less smooth. WAY TO MESS IT UP, MARKIEFF. MORE LIKE MARKIEFF MOR-STEPS, AMIRITE?

Also, I disagree with Kenny Smith. Derrick Williams isn’t really a three.

This is pretty crazy, and it will probably be the most popular Rubio-related play of the night. Not only did Ricky split two defenders effortlessly, not only did he throw the ball through DeMarcus Cousin’s legs, not only did he toss a perfect alley-oop, but he threw it to Blake Griffin, who slammed it home. And as impressive as it was, this still feels like the kind of play Rubio would pull during a game.

My favorite Rubio highlight of the night. Does he think of this kind of thing before he starts his drive? Like, as the ball is coming to him, does he consciously say to himself “Ok, my pump fake should throw off Evan Turner, and I already have half a step on Kyrie Irving…this should be an easy layup.”

Of course not, that’s stupid. He thinks, “Ok, mi falsa bomba debe deshacerse de Evan Turner, y ya tengo la mitad de un paso en Kyrie Irving … esto debería ser una bandeja fácil.” At least, that’s what Google Translate tells me.

Did I forget your favorite? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

Love will participate in the All-Star game on Sunday

We have reached the All-Star break, and I think I speak for many NBA fans when I say “huh.” All-Star weekend isn’t the WORST thing on TV (I mean, this was a real thing at one point), and after the lockout doom and gloom, it’s certainly wonderful that we even have an All-Star weekend. But it isn’t real basketball.

In the absence of real basketball, here’s a preview anyway.

BBVA Rising Stars Challenge: Friday on TNT

Don’t get me wrong, I love Twitter, but why does EVERYTHING need to be hashtagged now? Can you think of a single good reason why the words “Team Shaq” need to be scrunched together and prefaced with a number sign? Ugh.

Anyway, here are the lineups.

#TeamShaq

• Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Blake Griffin, LA Clippers
• Jeremy Lin, NY Knicks
• Markieff Morris, Phoenix Suns
• Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats
• Landry Fields, NY Knicks
• Norris Cole, Miami Heat
• Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons
• Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons

#TeamChuck

• Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
• DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
• Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Paul George, Indiana Pacers
• MarShon Brooks, NJ Nets
• John Wall, Washington Wizards
• Tiago Splitter, San Antonio Spurs (out with injury)
• Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers
• Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz
• Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
• Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz

I honestly the the Rising Stars challenge could be the second most entertaining event of the weekend. Not only are there a lot of young players represented who are really fun to watch, but the fact that it was selected like a playoff pickup game could mean that players take it personally that they were drafted lower or higher. Maybe there will be some actual competition? Actually, who am I kidding. Best case scenario: this happens again.

NBA D-League All-Star game: Saturday on NBA TV

You want real 5 on 5 competition over the ASW? This is probably your only chance. You know, as long as “knowing who the player are” isn’t on your list of requirements.

Haier Shooting Stars Competition: Saturday on TNT

Hey wait a sec, this is kind of cool. Four teams, one from Orlando, one from Atlanta, one from New York, and one from Texas. An NBA player, a WNBA player and an ex-NBA player team up and square off with each other. This is a 3 on 3 tournament, right?

No? It’s just a shooting tournament? Ugh. Wake me when the dunk contest starts.

Taco Bell Skills Challenge: Saturday on TNT

The roster:

• Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
• John Wall, Washington Wizards
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
• Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets

In a contest that values flashy point guard skills, Rondo HAS to be the favorite, right? I’m picking Rondo first, then Kyrie Irving as my dark horse candidiate.

Foot Locker Three Point Contest: Saturday on TNT

The roster:

• James Johnson, Miami Heat
• Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Ryan Anderson, Orlando Magic
• Anthony Morrow, New Jersey Nets
• Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat

Can’t say I really like Love’s chances here. The only player I’d pick him over is Chalmers. Anthony Morrow seems to be Twitter’s choice to win this event. Personally, I’d go with Anderson.

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest: Saturday on TNT

Because let’s be honest, this is the only event we REALLY care about…and this year the Wolves are represented!

• Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz
• Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Chase Budinger, Houston Rockets
• Paul George, Indiana Pacers

As much as I appreciate the way D-Will can catch and finish Rubioops, Evans and George have to be the favorites. Both have demonstrated some excellent in-game dunking ability. Unfortunately, this contest feels pretty uninspired compared to last year. Screw Blake Griffin, bring back JaVale McGee!

There’s a new format this year as well. One round, three dunks per dunker, and (gulp) fan voting instead of judges. Because, you know, fan voting worked so well for the ASG starters. Ah well.

The All Star Game: Sunday on TNT

Funny how little most people care about this game. Dunks will be dunked. Long threes will be shot. Points will be scored in bulk. Kevin Love will come off the bench (though he deserved to start, statistically) for the Western Conference.

Enjoy the, um, festivities everyone!

Last night, I was planning on watching Fox Sports North’s midnight replay of the game. I had too much going on to watch the live game, so I told myself not to check Twitter or ESPN’s mobile site for a score, because watching the game without knowing what is going to happen can be fun.

Then Jonah texted me. “Have fun with this one.” Uh oh. What was I supposed to do? I checked the score.

Minnesota's guard play ended up being the difference.

83-67 Utah in the fourth. Ugh. What happened? I put my phone away, wondering how snarky I could be to try to keep myself entertained watching this stinker. I, of course, had no way of knowing that Minnesota had been threatening to get back into this game throughout the previous three quarters. I had no way of knowing I had managed to catch the apex of Utah’s run.

Then, 15 minutes later from Jonah again: “The NBA…wow.”

WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I checked again. 91-90, Utah with a little over two minutes remaining.

I figured that at least the game would be entertaining. I had no way of knowing that Derrick Williams would make the second biggest play of the game shortly after this, grabbing a huge offensive rebounding and getting an and-one opportunity to tie the game. I had no way of knowing that Al Jefferson would hit a tough, tough shot to tie the game with seconds left to play. I had no way of knowing that hours later, watching the game on replay, I would feel a powerful Clippers game deja vu. I had no way of knowing that Luke Ridnour completely demolish Gordon Hayward off the dribble, drive into the lane, put up what appeared to be a wild floater, and swish it through as the buzzer sounded.

I had no way of knowing. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t.

There is something galvanizing about come-from-behind wins. I don’t necessarily mean for the team, more for fans. It’s impossible for some fans to completely give up on a game, thanks mostly to Tracy McGrady’s 13 point explosion in the final 35 seconds of a Houston game several years ago. We can’t ever stop thinking “What if something impossible happens?”

So when it DOES happen, when we are vindicated in our hopes and beliefs, well. The feeling is a little extra special. It should go without saying (but it won’t thanks to me) that last night was a little extra special.

Some bullet points:

• Wes Johnson had one of his teaser games tonight. A three pointer led to a beautiful drive to the hoop led to an athletic dunk led to a mid-range jumper. His athleticism is so far off the charts, the doctor is writing on the table, which makes it all the more frustrating when he goes 0-3 with no points in other games. Sigh.
• At 0:38 in the video above, FSN shows a heartbroken Utah fan, standing with his arms crossed. Ordinarily when I attend a game I (being an undeniable ass) love seeing opposing teams fans get heartbroken. But this guy…he’s a Utah fan, for crying out loud. Clearly he’s not a bandwagon jumper because see the previous sentence. He gets to see his favorite team once a year when they come to Minneapolis…and they do this to him? Ouch. (Great game analysis, Tom. I’ll stop.)
• You’ve probably seen this already, but if you haven’t, go watch the funniest NBA celebration of the year thus far, brought to you by Ricky Rubio.
• Man, it’s weird to think of Minnesota as a fourth quarter team, but they are the Cardiac Boys at this point. Tonight they capped off the game with a 30-13 run to put things away.
• Hey, good preview Tom. You were only wrong about, well, everything. That Josh Howard guy you said you weren’t worried about? Yeah. He killed Minnesota, especially in the first half. Oh, and needing to beat Utah’s bigs to win the game? Well. Utah’s starting bigs out-scored Minnesota’s 42-25, and out-shot Minnesota 48%-24%. Minnesota’s guards won them this game, especially Barea. This kind of game at least makes a stab at justifying his contract over the summer: championship experience is difficult to overrate.

One final point that feels a little too big to be a bullet: with the win, Minnesota moved into 4th place in the division by themselves at .500. They enter the All-Star break just a game out of the playoff race, and presumably they have tightened together as a team over the first half. In a shortened season, they have matched last year’s win total for the entire season by the All-Star break. You don’t need to be an expert to see that the Wolves have drastically improved, but sometimes the numbers can feel pretty good. Or bad, if your name rhymes with Shmurt Kambus.

Utah Jazz (15-16) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (16-17)

Derrick Williams! Jeremy Evans! It's your 2012 NBA Slam Dunk Contest!

Last game: Minnesota: L, 103-101 vs Denver in OT, Utah: L, 106-102 vs San Antonio

Minnesota lost a heartbreaker to the Nuggets in Denver on Monday to fall back under .500 again. The Wolves had a chance to tie in overtime after a key steal by Martell Webster. But with Minnesota trailing by three, Webster flew all the way to the basket for the dunk with less than a second on the clock. I just…I don’t…ugh.

Utah dropped a close game to a banged up Spurs team on Monday. Despite missing Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter, the Spurs were able to beat the Jazz in Utah thanks in part to Matt Bonner’s hot three point shooting (5 3-pt field goals). Al Jefferson had 20 points in the loss, and Utah has dropped seven of their last nine.

The Key Questions

#1. Why have the Jazz been struggling so much recently?

Utah’s recent struggles can be partially attributed to the quality of competition. Over the past 12 games (of which Utah has won three), the Jazz have faced Oklahoma City twice, San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, Indiana, New York, and both Los Angeles teams. Just a brutal stretch.

That being said, a true playoff team would hope to win more than three of those games. Utah posted quality wins over Memphis and the Lakers, but their other win during that stretch was against Washington, and they dropped games to the Warriors (ouch) and the Hornets (really really ouch). Not fun times in Salt Lake City.

#2. Record-wise, how significant is this game?

Surprisingly significant. The winner of this game goes into the All-Star break with a .500 record, and the loser hits the bottom of the division. Admittedly, in a tightly packed Western Conference race, divisional standings mean next to nothing, but for a perennial bottom feeder like Minnesota, it would be a big psychological boost to move out of the cellar halfway through the season.

In a totally meaningless bit of interesting information, tonight is a matchup of Dunk Contest rivals in Jeremy Evans and Derrick Williams. Evans absolutely deserved to be in the contest ahead of New York’s Iman Shumpert (if you don’t believe me, search YouTube for some of Evans’ best work), so his addition is a welcome change. Also: someone please agree with me that the NBA making the Dunk Contest completely in the hands of the fans is an utter travesty?

#3. Will Pekovic be available to play?

Pek is questionable tonight after spraining his ankle against the Nuggets on Monday. According to the Pioneer Press:

Pekovic, injured in the second quarter of Monday’s 103-101 overtime loss at Denver Monday night, will go through a treatment session first with team trainer Gregg Farnam.

“Gregg told me he wants to see how I’m feeling this afternoon,” Pekovic said after today’s shootaround practice. “I feel OK. I just have a little pain. I should be fine. If I play, I should be close to 100 percent.”

His presence will be an important factor tonight. The Timberwolves, lacking talent so severely at the wing positions, will need to out-do Utah’s post production. The last time these two teams met, Paul Millsap beat Kevin Love handily. It would be nice to see that change tonight.

The Key Matchups

The center position will be one of the more interesting chess matches of the game. Al Jefferson struggled against Darko’s length in January (6-14 from the field), but Pekovic is considerably more productive, and strong enough to keep Jefferson out of his comfort zone. Pek, however, won’t be able to bother Jefferson with length. The plot thickens.

Despite Minnesota’s lack of talent at the wing, I refuse to be concerned by Gordon Hayward and Josh Howard. I just…I’m sorry. I can’t do it.

Utah’s bench, however, concerns me some. There are some talented players coming in with the second unit, including promising rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks, as well as Derrick Favors backing up Paul Millsap. That’s a decent amount of good young players.

The Outlook

Last time these two teams met, Utah was a playoff team, 10-5, and playing confident basketball, especially at home. Tonight, the Timberwolves have developed their own chemistry, they have won three of their last four, and they will be playing at the Target Center. By no means is a victory certain, but the Wolves have to be feeling good about their chances.

Game starts at 7 pm on Fox Sports North

The Lakers are swarming in controversy right now, and perhaps growing desperate. Thanks to superstar Kobe Bryant’s open comments about the trade rumors revolving around teammate Pau Gasol, the Lakers’ front office has never been in a more awkward position.

And while the Lakers continue to sort through the internal issues, the controversy actually hurts the Wolves. ESPN is reporting that the Lakers have inquired about the Timberwolves’ Michael Beasley. A trade, if done, wouldn’t be worth much in return for the Timberwolves except mostly likely a big fat salary dump and maybe a draft pick — something the Wolves certainly don’t need, believe it or not.

Although we recieved Beasley for two loaves of Wonder white bread, he still holds some value to the young Wolves. After suffering a foot injury that sidelined him for 11 straight games, Beasley has nestled himself into the sixth man role for the Wolves. An unfamilar spot, Beasley is still taking his time getting used to the reduced role and reduced minutes. But Beasley’s rotation swap has forced him to be more efficient in his limited time on the court.

Known as a volume scorer a lot like Kobe Bryant, Beasley, in the past, needed the ball in his hands to be successful. But lately Beasley has been spotted doing all sorts of things for the Wolves including higher rebounding numbers and stiffer defense, once an afterthought in Beasley’s capabilities. These different aspects of his game have actually improved his offense a bit too as well as his confidence. He’s looking to post up more often, where I believe he does his best work, and is hitting his open shots, especially from three-point land (43-percent, a team high).

Beasley still has lightyears to go in terms of attitude and overall game i.q., but he’s proving himself worthy of being a potent scorer off the bench, much like Jason Terry has done for the defending champion Mavericks. It’s a brilliant move by Adelman to move Beasley to the bench because; 1) It has forced Beasley to amp his game up and make his minutes more efficient; and 2) Limits Beasley from blowing up on the court when things start going awry, which happens often on the offensive end.

He’s a headcase and somewhat of a black hole on the offensive end. I’m not so sure how any of Beasley’s qualities fit the Lakers’ needs — they’re small forward position is weak — but using Beasley outside of his current sixth man role would do them no good; he’d likely fall back into his comfort zone of demanding the ball and taking lots of shots. That’s not a good combo to put alongside Pau Gasol and, of course, Kobe.

The Wolves don’t need to dump Beasley quite yet. David Kahn needs to let the season run its course and see who could fill the small forward/sixth man position in the future — Michael Beasley or Derrick Williams, if he loses weight, that is. Once that gets sorted out, then the Wolves could afford to make a move using either forward to seek the ultimate prize, a starting 2-guard. Having said that, the Wolves would be smart to hold on to Beasley for the rest of the season before jumping the gun for minimal assets.