Howlin' T-Wolf

Durant and Westbrook got the final laugh after a memorable 2/OT bout

With 19 seconds to go, Kevin Durant received the ball. He tucked it under his arm non-chalontly, scoping out his move to nail the go-ahead three. These moments aren’t new to him therefore they aren’t new to the thousands of  fans watching. His go-to move is so predictable; the right-to-left crossover into a step-back jumper. The anticipation of the move was more captivating than the actual move itself that swished through the net with 3.9 seconds to go; it was just so predictable.

Rick Adelman huddled his team after the shot. Just like OKC’s huddle, everyone in the building knew who the play was being drawn up for. Kevin Love has written his own list of heroic moments this season just like Durant. Love gets criticized because his game has no flash, just straight brawn and brash. That’s what makes his heroic moments just all the more impressive and beguiling because they’re not designed for his type of player to excel in.

Love caught the inbounds after OKC scrambled the original play. He turned and recognized he had the smaller Russell Westbrook defending him and launched an off-balanced, contested three from the left wing. If anyone didn’t know, that’s his money spot. Kobe has the high post, Durant has the straight-on jumper, and Love has elbow three. The shot fluttered through the net with just one second to go, and after the original “He did it! He did it!” feeling, you couldn’t help but notice that one second was a lot of time, probably too much time to give OKC a final shot to win it.

The teams lined up for one more go at the win in regulation, but after the two giants just went blow for blow, OKC failed to get Durant a good look and he heaved up a prayer that wasn’t even close to being answered. The only way to settle this bout was an overtime period.

No, they’re gonna need two overtimes, actually.

The first overtime was just like the fourth quarter. It was Kevin v Kevin; everyone else were just pawns while the real knights went to work. But it was the second overtime that made the difference. Durant needed help and so did Love. The one who stepped up? Westbrook, of course. Westbrook took matters into his own hands in the second overtime’s final minutes, by bruising the combined backcourt’s efforts of Luke Ridnour and JJ Barea. It all started at the beginning of the that overtime when Westbrook drove the lane, lept into the body of Wayne Ellington and banked a wicked gunshot-of-a-layup with the foul. The lead was three, and OKC never looked back.

But it was the pound-for-pound title fight between Love and Durant that turned this game into a national championship boxing bout. The two players respectably lead very young teams into battle against some of the most experienced teams and coaches in the league, but when you have a chance to pair the no-quit, full-throttle competitors against one another, then fireworks are bound for sky high. Love and Durant live for these types of moments that only the NBA can concoct. After Love his the tying three with one second left, Durant sat in his huddle with an ear-to-ear grin on his face thinking “This guy has no quit. Well, me neither.” They welcome the competitive nature of division tilts such as this one, which made the emotions feel so real even through the television.

As mentioned earlier, Love doesn’t have a flashy game, according to critics, but he’s become one of the most clutch fourth quarter players in all the NBA. He’s hitting the big shots when he needs to most by finding his spots on the floor, just as he did last night. It reminds you of  Kobe Bryant, who’s game is all mental toughness and flash. But the way Love pairs his unorthodox style of basketball with a burning competitiveness is so unlike any player we’ve seen before. I vote to end calling his game “not flashy” because, otherwise, he’s just gonna get angry and more teams like the OKC Thunder are going to feel his titanic wrath.

Next up the Wolves come home, finally. They take on Denver on Sunday afternoon at the Target Center. This game ought to give the Wolves a full-head of momentum because the season’s end is nearing and the playoffs continue to fizzle out of our sight.

A win worth celebrating

Last night the Warriors honored Chris Mullin for his glorious tenure playing by the Bay. The Wolves, and in some sense the Golden State fans, completely upended the emotional moment for everyone by playing the best all-around game of this long road trip so far.

Thanks to Kevin Love and somewhat steady point guard play from Luke Ridnour and JJ Barea, the Wolves were able to sneak out of Cali with a nice win against the Warriors on this arduous road trip.

The last time the Wolves played the spoiler card was in Dallas. On the night where the Mavs were receiving their championship rings, the Wolves came into Dallas and rode out victors. Tonight was eerily similar in such a heated situation. Mullin’s jersey retirement ceremony was hounded by boos directed at owner Joe Lacob. Warriors’ fans are known as some of the best in the world — that’s according to Jim Peterson, and as tumultuous as they’ve been the for the last 10 years — but it was classless response to an owner making moves for the future (Although as a Wolves fan, we should all have some empathy for their reaction to an extent, though).

Hidden behind all the hooplah, though, was another huge game from Love. He had 36 points on 23 shots along with 17 rebounds. The stat lines are becoming expected, so no one really understands just how great of a game that really is. Wolves fans expect the double-double on a nightly basis, and there’s no huge difference between 20-10 and 30-15. But Love’s doing things that no one else can do in the league right now.

But how much longer can the Wolves ride Love to these kinds of victories? I understand that supporting roles are being plugged with inexperienced players, even rookies, but they’ll need to step up on a consistent basis the way Kawhi Leonard has for San Antonio. They don’t need to be the first of even second option on the court but as long as they’re playing effective enough to give Love a breather on occasion, then they’ve done their job. It’s not that Love needs or even wants someone else to step up to be the hero but just someone to at least prove effective while Love takes a breather is a huge going forward. Ideally, Derrick Williams would be that guy. Last night he only went 2-9 from the field with six points in 37 minutes of burn, but it was his work on the glass that made his performance impressive. 11 rebounds one night, maybe give Adelman 12 points tomorrow in San Antonio and you’re doing your job by not doing too much but still doing a lot at the same time.

Two players that also stepped up were Ridnour and Barea. Starting with Ridnour, he finished with 11 points and 10 assists. He’s known as a shooter to Minny fans but his assist totals are rising when the Wolves need it the most. Being one of the most experieinced players on the team, it’s his duty to put players in their spots and hit ‘em with the pass, and he’s doing just that. As for Barea, he only went 3-10 from the field but also managed to dish out double-digit assists with 10. With not one, but two point guards finding players within the motion of the offense, the Wolves will only prove to be more effective on a consistent basis. Guys like Love and Michael Beasley need the ball where they’re going to shoot, or at least within that area. These two guys hit them in their spots and it paid dividends with a big win.

Next up the Wolves head to play San Antonio tomorrow night. The Spurs are hot right now, and even hotter are the Oklahoma City Thunder who are the next on the schedule. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves because the Spurs will be as tough at home as any other team in the NBA.

In the short time that was Rubio’s introduction to the NBA, he dazzled thousands and surprised even more. The Hoop Doctors compiled Rubio’s Top 10 Plays of the Year.

Nothing came easy against the scrappy Kings defense tonight

DeMarcus Cousins is a large man who Kevin Love can’t guard alone. Surprisingly enough, he’s never been the issue when playing against the Kings. It always seems to be their guards that are relentlessly hurtful. And this time it wasn’t even Tyreke Evans who did the damage.

It was the combined effort of Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton that led the Kings to a sure victory over the tiresome and emotionless-looking Wolves.

A team with quick, jolting guards like the Kings was the last thing the Wolves wanted to see tonight. The energy is obviously drained as the overdrawn road trip continues to wear down on the Wolves, and it really showed tonight. Luke Ridnour and JJ Barea were both greatly out-hustled by Thomas and Thornton all game long. Thomas, in particular, shined by mucking it up on both sides of the ball. He continually drove the middle of the lane forcing the Wolves defenders to scramble. And even when he didn’t have the drive, he was able to spot up and hit the three when needed. Thornton was the exact same way, only he utilized his strength instead of quickness to get through hand checks in the lane, and with no shot-blocking presence in the paint, was able to nail easy floaters.

The Wolves were coaxed into playing the Kings’ game. Part of it was due to the absence of Nikola Pekovic, who sat with a stubborn, sore ankle. Since the Wolves weren’t able to run their offense and establish their pace of play through Pekovic and the pick ‘n’ roll, the Kings forced the Wolves into poor decisions, which led to 21 turnovers. Then they turned those turnovers into 29 points by getting out into the open court, spacing out the Wolves porous defense and making the play at the other end.

Plain and simple, the Kings played what I thought was a perfect game. The Wolves couldn’t muster up any type of run without it being halted quickly by the Kings’ speed and athleticism.

This and tomorrow night’s games were essentially must-wins. As I noted before, the Wolves are really tired. You can see it on all of their faces, and if Pekovic isn’t able to give it a go tomorrow night and if Beasley’s not able to shake off his sore toe – A toe? Really? — then even tomorrow night will be difficult. Just because the stretch is getting hard is no reason to disappear. Other teams are starting to leapfrog the Wolves in the standings, and the chance at a playoff berth is slowly diminishing thanks to this stint.

Next up comes a tilt against the Warriors of the Bay. Take a breather and try to start fresh. This is a must win for sure.

Poster.

The Lakers not only have the Wolves’ number historically — this loss makes it 18 straight losses to the Lakers, the longest losing streak to one team in the NBA — but they currently have the personnel to pummel them head-to-head on a consistent basis. And it’s nauseously sickening.

It’s not only Kobe Bryant who continually assaults the Wolves but the bruising frontcourt duo of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are just too much to handle. Simply put, they’re big three is so much better than ours on any given night. Nothing Rick Adelman can dial up will change that fact.

Having agreed that the Lakers are unquestionably better than the Wolves, you have to give Kevin Love and the Wolves credit for their effort tonight. The Lakers were just better in all facets but the Wolves never let the game get out of hand. Because of that they only lost by five, which is respectable in Laker-land, if you ask me.

The difference was in the three-point shooting tonight. The Lakers shot 45-percent from deep while the Wolves only hit 18-percent of their attempts. Both teams shot 22 threes but it was the quality of shots which helped the Lakers shoot at a better clip. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the “quality” rather the volume of shots Bryant took when he was feeling it in the third quarter. Bryant fired up at the moment when the Wolves needed to make their move. Bryant’s birage of three straight made threes was just too much for the Wolves to fully overcome in the end.

If only one of these two teams had Michael Beasley on the court tonight. The Wolves could’ve used Beasley’s scoring punch in the second unit, where the Lakers didn’t seem to miss a step against the Wolves’ reserves. And the Wolves could’ve used Beasley on the Lakers making dimwitted plays instead of allowing Bryant to heat up when they needed. All kidding aside, the Wolves’ bench has been a major letdown two games in a row now, and the absence of Beasley has actually hurt more than you’d know. JJ Barea greatly struggled to run the offense, forcing erroneous passes into tight spots and chucking up bricks from outside. Anthony Tolliver needs to ditch shooting from his game altogether, and Derrick Williams hasn’t stepped up at all in the last two games.

If the Wolves expect to make a move for that final playoff spot in the West they’ll need the bench to start stepping up consistently. The starters — and by starters I mean Love, Ridnour and Pekovic ONLY — can’t do it all on their own.

It’s not just the bench that’s letting us down, it’s the wings in general on this roster. For the second straight night, no one has stepped up on the wing. On the other side of the ball, Bryant killed us but even Matt Barnes had a huge game. Yes, Matt Barnes. It’s unfair because our wings are young, athletic and should be studs on paper, but night after night they’re the game’s buzzkill instead of the jolt of energy they’re supposed to provide.

The road trip continues Sunday night in Sacramento. A winnable game to say the least that could give them some momentum to get through this road trip unscathed. Unless the scar has already been etched. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Beasley stays a Wolf for now and maybe beyond

Earlier I mentioned the possibilities of the Timberwolves moving Michael Beasley for a few different pieces. And while there were offers readily available for the taking, the Wolves let the deadline pass without having made any moves.

It’s disappointing, I know. The rumors start swirling and you can’t help but get caught up in the storm. And then once they start getting tagged with “Breaking” or “Sources say,” you start getting anxious, awaiting the news. But then no news comes and the climax you were looking forward to seems awfully empty.

There’s no reason to fret over the Wolves not making a move. Beasley is a restricted free agent this summer with a hefty qualifying tag on him. The Wolves now get to finish the season with Beasley, let him find his place on the squad and help make a push for the playoffs, all while stating his claim for deserving to be signed long-term here in Minnesota. Beasley himself may not be as valuable to other teams than he is here but his contract is one that we can work with. If teams aren’t willing to sacrifice a late first-rounder or a disgruntled veteran to trade for him, then who’s going to shell out big bucks on a long term deal for him this summer? The Wolves may be able to keep Beasley through next year and beyond at a fair price to continue to come off the bench as a scoring punch. Or we let him walk, take the minor hit and move on. Either scenario plays out fine, really. There was no imminent need to move Beasley, so Kahn had no reason to move him at the deadline for nothing.

The Wolves staying pat means something else, though. Rick Adelman has expressed how much he likes this team as is right now. While Minnesota seems content, the rest of the West doesn’t. While the Wolves sat by idly, they watched as other Western Conference teams trying to push for the playoffs began to dismantle. Starting with Portland, they traded away their starting center in Marcus Camby and forward Gerald Wallace. They held onto the mutinied backcourt of Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford but made plays to go younger by reeling in draft picks and expiring deals from the Nets and Rockets. The biggest news out of Portland is the firing of head coach Nate McMillan. As said, the mutinied backcourt of Felton and Crawford had tiffs with the head coach, and since they weren’t moved, the coach was instead. It’s an interesting move; either those two had to go or it was McMillan’s job on the line. With McMillan gone, though, Portland has all but forfeited this season to rebuild a brighter future through young talent and hopefully resigning Nic Batum.

Another team that self-imploded were the Denver Nuggets. Some may argue this one but they sent Neno Hilario packing to receive overly immature center from Washington Javale McGee. They also got Ronny Turiaf in the exchange. Why did Denver surrendered their big man? Well, reports have it that some in the organization had “buyer’s remorse” after giving Nene such a huge contract last year. Nene is in his first year of a five year deal worth $67 million. His health has been of some concern, but is his health troubling enough to sacrifice him for the troubled career of McGee? McGee is out-of-this-world talented but, just like Beasley, has character and attitude issues; he’s just never fully developed his character since being in the NBA. George Karl will have difficulty getting McGee to come into his own. If he can, great, the Nuggets maybe made a good deal (Remember: McGee wants near-max money on his next deal…) But if he can’t, Denver will struggle carrying McGee along for the ride, probably suffocating them out of a playoff spot.

And finally, the Houston Rockets didn’t necessarily implode like Portland but they failed to do what Daryl Morey has wanted for years: to land that All-Star big man. Morey loves to deal but hasn’t figured out a way to hit that blockbuster. Instead they made mini-deals (Got Camby and Derek Fisher) to try and fill holes. What holes, though? A center may be nice to incorporate into their front line, but another point guard? They have Kyle Lowry and a more-than-serviceable backup in Goran Dragic. They gave up young talent in Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet and a second rounder for those players and a late first rounder from LA. So they didn’t give up much but you can’t help but wonder where those pieces now fit in going forward. Houston will still be in the playoff race, don’t get me wrong, but the fact that they failed again to land the big one has to upset the city and its fans.

Minnesota can now sit on their roster, play on with what they have and continue to push for the playoffs, while everyone else will inevitably suffer incorporating new players into their rotations with very little season left to go. The teams that are active at the deadline intrigue everyone but sometimes it’s the team that does nothing that will surprise in the end. The Wolves are just starting to gel, why break up the chemistry?

Welp, it’s here, and although nothing has happened yet, I want to quickly review for you everything that has been going down in the past few weeks up to this very minute. And once the Timberwolves make an actual move, be sure to catch it here at Howlin’ T-Wolf as well as analysis from Tom and I.

The rumor with the most legs to it has been a proposed three-way deal between Minnesota, Portland and LA Lakers. The deal has Michael Beasley going to LA, Steve Blake going to Portland and Jamal Crawford coming here with other pieces — draft picks, salary stuffers — involved where needed. This deal came to fruition last night, and Crawford’s DNP-CD against New York last night had everyone thinking it may be a go as early as this morning.

But for some reason the deal came to a hault. Whether the teams are working out details or still laying down the groundwork, nothing has been declared official. Because nothing has become official yet, rumors have it that the trade’s groundwork is still being structured. Instead of Steve Blake leaving the Lakers for Portland, reports have it that Luke Ridnour may be the PG on the move in the deal. That would mean the Wolves give up two players for one and the Lakers giving up essentially no one at the moment for Beasley.

This can’t be right, right? Before Ricky Rubio’s injury, Ridnour may have been expendable, but now Ridnour is one of two full-time ball-handlers at the PG position — Malcolm Lee ain’t ready just yet. If this indeed is the newest rendition of the deal, I’d be surprised if the Wolves didn’t get more, say one of LA’s two first round picks in the upcoming draft. And that’s at the bare minimum they should receive back in addition to Crawford. There’s no reason to hand cool-hand Luke over for nothing. Beasley and Crawford have similar trade value, in my opinion, so shipping Ridnour out too just sweetens the deal for Portland.

It is entirely possible that the Wolves could receive a PG in return if they include Ridnour. Perhaps the Wolves take on Raymond Felton, or another fourth team jumps in to send a PG here just to shed a contract. If that’s the case, it may make more sense.

Regardless, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the idea of trading Ridnour after he’s done so much for this team in almost two seasons. He has a role on this team and just shipping him out for another PG doesn’t seem logical in any way unless he’s simply not happy playing here.

If the Wolves fail to get this three-way deal completed, they could look elsewhere to bolster the 2-guard spot. Reports two days ago said the Wolves and Magic talked about a Jason Richardson-Michael Beasley swap. The deal looks good for both teams, giving the Wolves a true shooting guard and the Magic just pure talent to entice Dwight Howard to stay.

I’m a bit indifferent to this move. I enjoy watching J-Rich play, and he fits the bill of need for a shooting guard who can, well, shoot but also use his athleticism to get to the hoop — He’d be fun watching play alongside Rubio. But the posing issue is J-Rich’s contract. He’s signed through 2015 at just over $6 mil a year. That’s not expensive by any means, especially given his current production this season but by 2015, J-Rich will be 34 years old. That’s just too old, even for a team looking to acquire veteran players.

That’s about it for now. With two trades swirling in the rumors and no deal done yet, the Wolves are likely to make a move. Stay tuned and follow me on Twitter for all the updates. Once a deal is — or isn’t — finalized, I’ll add a post analyzing just exactly what went down. Until then…

Kevin Love is establishing himself as, not only the league's best power forward but the league's best big man. Period.

Kevin Love is simply a monster. It’s been fun watching Ricky Rubio set others up with dazzling passes but it’s been more enjoyable to watch Love just dominate opposing bigs in the paint, then step outside and knock down a three without a blip.

Because of Love’s valiant efforts, the Wolves were able to clip the Suns in a very close game, 127-124.

This was an important game because it’s the first of a seven game road streak. The easy-ish ones are must-haves. The Suns didn’t make this one easy by any means and Love responded to the challenge by filling the net up for 30 points. With that performance, Love broke a franchise record with 15 games of 30+ scoring games … And there’s still 23 games left in a shortened season.

No one figured Love to be the explosive scorer he’s become now; he’s fourth in the league in scoring ahead of guys like Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade and even former NBA MVP Derrick Rose. The scoring boost has helped other Timberwolves slide right into their place, though. Last night, if it weren’t for Love’s surge, odds are Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley would’ve continued to chuck up shots, which sometimes works and sometimes it really doesn’t. More often than not, it’s the latter. Nikola Pekovic hopped aboard the scorer’s express but did it in his own way, netting 24 points and also grabbing eight boards.

Pekovic and Love are forming one of the toughest frontcourts in the NBA. They’re two burly white guys with beards that seem more out-of-place than me at Manny’s Steakhouse. But the incentive to their awkward, white ways is the conducive relationship on the court. The two play beautifully off of eachother. Pekovic is owning the paint and offensive boards, which gives Love a rest in the regard and also allows him to work outside on pick ‘n’ rolls or spot-up threes.

Last night the Suns had no chance of shutting either of those two down. They scored on 22 of their combined 40 shots, and only turned the ball over three times. When the Wolves limit their turnovers, they make better use of their possessions, and have the firepower to score 120+ points on almost any given night. The limited turnovers also forced the Suns to play at the Wolves’ tempo, which sometimes seemed to get tear up Nash’s feel for the game.

The way I’m writing makes it sound like this game was a cake-walk. Not even. The Wolves let go of a small lead in the final two minutes. It actually came down to two missed floaters from Nash that helped the Wolves lock this one up. Then they hit they’re free throws in the clutch — Even Wes Johnson did — and it was enough to lock this thing up and start the road trip off right.

Next up the Wolves head to Utah to face the Jazz. The Jazz’s impressive and deep frontcourt will give Love and Pek a run for their money. But that game comes after the trade deadline! Both rosters could look pretty different by tipoff.

Be sure to visit Howlin’ T-Wolf over the next few days to catch up on all of the trade rumor fun. Tom and I will be covering everything that goes down, whether it’s the Timberwolves directly, a Western Conference rival or the Dwight sweepstakes. We’ll be here with the facts and, of course, pristine analysis.

Chris Kaman had it rolling tonight

Life without Ricky before he ever came was brutal. Tonight wasn’t that, but it could’ve been damn close.

Despite Kevin Love making his return from back spasms, the Wolves couldn’t get over turning the ball over consistently, while the New Orleans Hornets took advantage of those opportunities to knock off the Wolves.

Rubio’s presence was greatly missed tonight. Luke Ridnour never had control of the offense at any point in the game. He frantically dribbles around too much and only when the shot clock is running down does he make a play or take a blatantly contested shot himself. It’s not Ridnour’s own fault that the Wolves committed 17 turnovers but the ones he did make (3) turned in to easy transition buckets for the Hornets.

Because Ridnour couldn’t command the offense, the Wolves seemed scatter-brained and hoisted up 23 three-pointers, converting on just five. Even though Nikola Pekovic had it rolling in the paint for the second consecutive night, the Wolves neglected to go into the post and settled for lousy jumpers instead.

Even Love, who had 31 and 16 tonight, was a culprit of poor shot selection. He went just 2-8 from outside including an ugly attempt late in the game down by just four when they had time to go inside and go for two instead. When Rubio’s not there to pick Love’s spots for him, he tends to panic, resulting in poor runners or contested jumpers. He’ll figure it out, he’s an All-Star after all, because it’s all part of the new learning curve that everyone is a part of without Rubio.

Life without Rubio is going to be difficult. The margin of error has decreased significantly, and the need for the bench guys to step up just increased astronomically. Rick Adelman will just have to find a solid rotation and begin to dumb-down the offense so Ridnour can get a grip on things. It’s going to take a little time but hopefully not too much because they have to still make the playoffs. CRAP!

Next up is the Wolves embark on a west coast journey starting on Monday in Phoenix to take on the Suns. The road trip consists of seven games in 11 days. Okay, I’m starting to lose hope. Here’s to a speedy recovery, Ricky.

Ricky Rubio is out for the season with a torn ACL

Ricky Rubio tore is ACL on this play right here. The intense Target Center crowd gasped together, and then consequently booed the culprit, Kobe Bryant. In the moment, I couldn’t help but think of the worst. Minnesota sports this season have been plagued by ACL injuries from Trevor Mbakwe to Adrian Peterson; what would make Rubio’s case any different? I knew it was bad, and that nightmare nagged everyone watching.

Rubio played what was his best game in weeks. The big, bad Lakers were in town — Which I will not recap anymore for obvious reasons; the Wolves had them on the ropes; all they needed was a defensive stop. It didn’t happen and the Wolves left the arena with more than just a loss.

It’s not all bad, though. The Timberwolves are one of the hottest teams in the league, and, according to the Wolves’ franchise, “everyone’s talking about the Wolves.” Last night’s game against the Lakers was a kind of “heat check” and, in my opinion, they passed that test. They had great momentum all game long, securing a big lead in the first half and keeping it close in the second when the Lakers made their move. And that was all without Kevin Love.

Although it’s painful to admit but Love is the reason this team is playing so good this year, not Rubio. Rubio has helped; he puts guys in place on offense and runs the pick and roll to a T. But Love’s scoring outbursts and endless hustle on the boards is why the Wolves are playing these Western Conference teams so tough. If Love is able to return from his back spasms without a hiccup, I can’t imagine the production would decline too steeply just because Rubio’s presence isn’t there.

Where the Wolves will dearly miss Rubio is on defense. Rubio’s third in the NBA steals and that’s because of his untiring will to to pester. His long, dangly arms help clog passing lanes and poke out balls with precision. With Rubio out, Ridnour takes over the bulk of defending teams’ point guards, where he’s been exposed before — I actually think he’s played better guarding 2-guards. JJ Barea will be no better defending the point, once he gets healthy.

That leaves Malcolm Lee, rookie out of UCLA, who has yet to play this season after suffering an injury early on. Lee is a multi-dimensional guard who can play both positions on the floor. Better yet, he’s known for his physical defensive presence that helps guard both spots. Lee could step in and gain some minutes in the next few games, starting tonight against New Orleans. Although it could be limited, because Wayne Ellington will see some time too, the Wolves will need someone to handle the ball other than Ridnour and Lee may just be the best choice. It’s a great opportunity for the rookie to get some burn and for the fans to be exposed to what he can do in regular season games — Lee made strides in the two preseason games against Milwaukee, scoring nine points and dishing out five assists in the preseason finale.

The Wolves could look to another option to fill Rubio’s void too. They could use the trade deadline to obtain another ball-handler, combo guard player. They cannot, and I stress “cannot,” trade Ridnour anymore because they’ll need him badly, but if David Kahn can ship out Michael Beasley to get some guard — Jamal Crawford? — it would help ease the transition to life without Rubio. I think this is premature. The team has depth, albeit not great, but there is depth on the bench. If Lee and Ellington can come off the bench, dust off the cobwebs and play meaningful minutes, the need to go out and get someone, likely spending too much to get him, isn’t as pressing of a need as it sounds.

My opinion: I think this all comes down to staying firm and working with what you got. Ridnour is playing really well  right now, so you stick with him. Start playing Martell Webster and Ellington more until Barea comes back from his injury, which should be soon. Then you use Lee to provide that spark off the bench, as he fights to show what he can do in the NBA.

Life without Rubio was no good before and it might not be much better now. The differences between last year’s roster and this year’s isn’t much different without Rubio, but it shouldn’t matter because the difference maker has been Rick Adelman all season long. He’s going to be the key player in Rubio’s injury. It’s ultimately up to Adelman to make due with what he has and continue to win basketball games. It’ll be much tougher than before, but there’s still a good chance the Wolves can persevere and keep the train rolling into the playoffs.

There’s no denying this is a huge blow to the Wolves and fans everywhere; Rubio’s charisma brings almost more to the table than his actual game. But it’s not all bad right now. There are ways to get around this, and it will surely be a process. But with Adelman at the helm and Love bulking most of the haul, there is a chance to get through this.