Two Positives:

Jonah: Jim Peterson and Dave Benz, who have truly been great this season, mentioned the better scoring jobs as of late from Ricky Rubio. And when they said it, he had just six points. Well, Rubio finished with 23, a game-high actually. The root of his improved scoring has been his ability to get to the free throw line and convert. He was constantly getting tied up with Mike Conley and reaped the benefits of 12 attempts from the charity stripe (He nailed 10 of them).

Derek: Greg Stiemsma actually played pretty well last night. He played smart for forty minutes without getting into foul trouble or committing too many turnovers. Against this Grizzlies frontline, that’s no easy task, and he managed to convert the scoring opportunities he was given pretty well, too. He didn’t make us forget about Nikola Pekovic, but he did as good of a job in relief as we could have hoped for. That’s a compliment, right?

Two Negatives:

Jonah: Seriously, how did they let this one go? The Wolves led the game through the first three quarters but allowed the Grizzlies to keep in it the whole time. And for that, they got shunned in the fourth as the Grizzlies put up 34 that quarter. Obviously, they’re not used to winning but they ended up getting blown out of a game they led most of the way. It might’ve been one thing if it ended in a 3-point game but it didn’t. Things just turned embarrassing. It’s as simple as that.

Derek: You will not beat the Memphis Grizzlies by turning the ball over nearly twice as much as they did (16-9). If the Grizzlies are forcing turnovers then you better be, too.

Two Observations:

Jonah: Sooo, Chris Johnson got up to go in midway through the first quarter. It would’ve been his first time getting early game minutes in a very long time. But soon after, he retreated right to the bench, never to enter the game until late. How disappointing!

Derek: I don’t know where to put this, so I’ll just throw it here. Aside from the Grizzlies’ frontcourt I absolutely hate seeing the Grizzlies on the schedule because of their tenacity on defense. They do little things like get their hands active in passing lanes and body up players before they can get set in their spot. Really, while you may have possession of the ball, you’re playing Grizzlies basketball. If you’re a basketball fan, you love it, but if you’re a Timberwolves fan, you hate it.

We saw it in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies put the clamps down on the Timberwolves, and essentially smothered their hopes and dreams. With no Pekovic in the paint, the Timberwolves had no big body that could hold his own against Gasol or Randolph, and the pair managed to push the bigs out of their desired position. Also, without Pek, the Timberwolves were unable to have an effective screen setter, and this enabled the Grizzlies to disrupt the Timberwolves offense by d-ing up their point guards well above the break. Doing so forced the Wolves into having Greg Stiemsma and Dante Cunningham (who had an off-night) into consecutive midrange jumpers.

Next up: The Wolves take on the KG-less Celtics on Monday night at the Target Center, 7 pm.

Three Positives:

Jonah: Overall, this is a really fun win for the Wolves. It’s not often we get to watch them beat anyone let alone the top team in the West. They couldn’t contain Kevin Durant but certainly kept Russell Westbrook in check. And on the offensive end, they were efficient and played the best ball they could, running through Nikola Pekovic and his dominating post presence. But unfortunately, in a lost season, this entertaining bout becomes something of a sweet nothing. There’s nothing wrong with that; I’m simply stating the obvious.

Tom: I’ll give a nod to the Wolves in general for showing their ability to close a game out. Finishing against better teams in the fourth quarter is tough for any team, but the Wolves have struggled especially this year. But when Oklahoma City made a final push with about four minutes left, Minnesota buckled down and got stops against the explosive Thunder. More importantly, they got the necessary baskets to pull out the win.

As Jonah said above, the game itself didn’t matter in the long run, but it was definitely fun to beat the team the Wolves would like to become.

Derek: The Timberwolves may not be the league’s most potent offense, but it seems like they may have figured one thing out against the Thunder: Make enough shots to win, try to keep one of Durant and Westbrook in check, and try to win the turnover battle. This is the second time this season they have out-shot the Thunder, albeit slightly, and kept Westbrook from going off and basically dared the Thunder to beat them with more than just Durant. Dangerous? Sure, but the Thunder are a dangerous team anyway that you don’t stand a chance against if you have both getting whatever they want.

We’ve seen before how Durant and Westbrook have combined for 60, 70 and even 80 points of their offense, and that makes it difficult to win. Plus they played smart, getting easy shots in the paint, limiting and forcing turnovers, and doing little things like rebounding and moving the ball. You can beat a lot of teams that way.

Three Negatives:

Jonah: As stated in my positive, the Wolves couldn’t stop Kevin Durant. No problem. No one really can. But Durant seems to love playing in the Target Center. As a pro, Durant has averaged over 27 ppg, and has netted more than 30 in nine straight while on visit to the Twin Cities. So, come on, guys. Someone’s gotta guard the man!

Tom: *debates the merits of discussing the 5-15 3-point shooting* *debates the merits of discussing the 44% shooting from the field* *debates discussing the mere seven fast break points*

Nahhhhhh. Good win, guys.

Derek: I really don’t want to make too much of Derrick Williams 2-8 shooting performance in 26 minutes, but he still got involved in other ways and finished with two fouls and zero turnovers. So what’s really my gripe here? Would I even bother mentioning this if he hit even one or two more shots? It looked like an off-night for Williams, but this is my negatives section and I had to pick something! Anyway, it’s hard to be too negative about beating the Thunder.

Three Observations:

Jonah: At Pek’s size, I’ve always expected him to be a Kevin Love-like rebounder, but he just hasn’t for whatever reason. But tonight he grabbed 15 as well as 16 on Wednesday night against the Lakers. Without Love in the lineup, rebounding truly becomes a team stat and Pek’s contributions on the glass have been incredibly helpful.

Tom: I wasn’t at the game tonight, but from what those in attendance said, Rubio was in a foul mood during the game, kicking empty chairs and slamming the ball on the ground. Presumably, this can be tied back to the no-call against the Lakers that cost Minnesota the game. But oddly enough, I find it refreshing to hear he was angry. He deserved to be.

Derek: Chase Budinger really appears to just what the Timberwolves have needed, which we kind of knew, but his line of 13 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 2-3 from distance really confirmed that. Are the Timberwolves still in the lower-third in the NBA as far as shooting? Probably, but they might not be last at least. At any rate, we got a good look at how this team can do with a shooter on the floor.

Next up: Wolves are back at it tomorrow night hosting the Grizzlies at 7 pm.

Three Positives: 

Jonah: I’m sure even the Timberwolves didn’t see this coming but their 14 connections from deep are a season-high and come at just the oddest time, in a nothing game against the Pistons. Whatever, though. What tonight did solidify for me was that, given some dead-eye shooters and a brute presence in the paint, the Wolves are a really good team. It’s this kind of game that I picture a fully healthy Wolves squad to play like at the offensive end. That’s really exciting to envision.

Tom: Things we learned about Alexey Shved’s passing tonight: If the Wolves knock down shots, he can be a very good drive-and-kick player. Shved dished out seven assists, and six of the seven were driving passes that turned into jumpers. Sure, it helps for the Wolves to be hot like blue flames, but Shved’s passing was definitely a positive this evening.

Derek: I’m not a huge plus/minus guy, but this is interesting to note in such a blowout win. Timberwolves starters plus/minus’: 18-23-28-16-26. Clearly the Timberwolves need to do one of three things in the future: 1) Shoot 50% from 3; 2) Play lockdown defense; 3) Play the Pistons every night.

Three Negatives:

Jonah: Derrick Williams of old sorta showed up again tonight. He finished with six in just 17 minutes, mostly because of some boneheaded D-Will plays. Like one when he dribbled down court himself, took it to the rack and got called for the charge. Just so blatantly too. The ensuing visual? A Rick Adelman facepalm. After that I couldn’t see the screen because I emulated the same move.

Tom: Aside from Williams’ somewhat mediocre performance, it’s hard to pick nits with tonight’s game. Chase Budinger continues to look a little bit uncomfortable, but his free pass to look uncomfortable doesn’t run out for a while. What’s more, we saw a few drives and cuts from Budinger, and even though few of them translated into points, it’s good to see him testing things out and re-acquainting himself with the court.

Derek: Timberwolves starters-not-named-Nikola-Pekovic 3 point shooting: 7-10. Nikola Pekovic from 3 tonight: 0-0. Oh, someone didn’t feel like doing their part…

…I’m kidding of course. You could point out a few small things here and there, as far as negatives that that haven’t been mentioned, but you would really picking nits.

Three Observations:

Jonah: He’s 6-foot-9 and ultra lanky, so when Andrei Kirilenko goes up for a slam, it looks sorta awkward. But in full stride and with some oomph, AK’s literally one of my favorite dunkers. Just so simple yet but fun to watch.

Tom: In a little under half of Ricky Rubio’s games, we express surprise at how well he shot and wish he could shoot that well consistently. Tonight, he shot 6-9 with two made 3-pointers. If Zach Lowe is correct (he usually is) and shooting is perhaps the easiest thing for NBA coaches to teach their players, Rubio’s potential is so unbelievably high.

Also of note: That pass where he throws his arm way out and whips a pocket pass into the middle of the defense is one of my favorite plays in basketball.

Derek: This isn’t really a positive or a negative, so it’s going here. Know how I know you shot 53% from three on 26 shots? Well, you only took eight free throws in the entire game. Furthermore, here is a list of players who didn’t go to the line even once: Luke Ridnour, JJ Barea, Alexey Shved, and Derrick Williams. There were more who didn’t get to the line, but these are the ones that stand out considering their styles of play, but when you’re shooting threes like that I’m not going to complain about not drawing a bunch of fouls and just observe it.

Next up: Wolves come back home to take on the hated Los Angeles Lakers, 7 pm.

Two Positives:

Jonah: The game after his odd benching in Phoenix, Derrick Williams picked up where he left off by tying his career-high in points (28). And he was fairly efficient too; 11-18 from the field including three deep bombs. Williams’ improved play is going to leave the Wolves with a big decision to make on his future moving forward. My take? Ya keep him and milk his production as long as it takes.

Tom: After Williams’ excellent performance (and I concur with Jonah’s assessment of the situation), the next logical player to highlight is Ricky Rubio, who had a very solid game with 15 points on 4-8 shooting. Two very notable things about Ricky’s performance that are inextricably tied together: Rubio was 7-10 from the free throw line, and he dished out eight assists. Both statistics were a direct result of his offensive aggression, which has been much, much better as of late. Many of his assists were pick-and-roll dishes, including one gorgeous between-two-defenders bounce pass to Nikola Pekovic for the slam. Pekovic’s efficiency can often be predicted simply by looking at Rubio’s stat-line, and sure enough: Pek finished 6-9 from the field for 15 points.

Two Negatives:

Jonah: This game is hard to analyze. Just looking at the numbers, the Wolves shot 50% from the field and make just two less field goals than the Bulls. They hit 50% from three-point land as well while dropping in one more free throw and one less turnover than the Bulls as well. The difference? Rebounds. The Wolves got their ass’ handed to them in the paint and completely wiped on the glass. For being known as workhorse rebounding team, getting beat by 20 is unacceptable, even if you’re missing your top rebounder. Rebounding is a team stat that requires everyone’s attention and aggressiveness.

Tom: I quote: ”‘They could complain about how many guys they’ve got hurt and they don’t do that,’ Rubio said. ‘They just play aggressive. We have to learn from that. If they can do it, we can do it, too.’”

I admire Rubio’s sentiment, and I appreciate the amount of heart and hustle we see from him on a nightly basis, even in ugly losing efforts. I just don’t think that Chicago’s injury problems, though certainly severe, can be compared to Minnesota’s. You can play aggressive, but when Lou Amundson got significant minutes for much of the year, aggressive just isn’t going to cut it.

Two Observations:

Jonah: Moving forward, I’m starting more and more to question Alexey Shved’s role on this team. He can’t seem to coincide with Rubio all that well — although he hasn’t gotten much of a chance quite yet. But he seems to only be effective when the ball’s in his own hands. He’ll never be a spot up shooter, nor do I believe that’s what Adelman wants from him. It’s cliche but this rookie wall is bearing down hard. It’s time to shoulder through it and build confidence moving into the offseason.

Tom: Three jumpers for Budinger tonight, who seems to be picking his spots and getting comfortable as he returns. He looks understandably hesitant still, but the good news is that he is a good enough shooter to contribute while he works his way back to full health.

The downside: Seeing Budinger knocking down jumpers and driving to the basket is a gigantic tease knowing how much he would have helped this season back when it wasn’t a lost cause.

Next up: The Wolves meet in Detroit to take on the Pistons on Tuesday night, 7 pm.

One Positives:

Jonah: The Suns are a pretty awful team. Awful enough to probably predict that the front office was more invested in the NCAA Tournament today than this game. But it still has to feel nice to win handily, against anyone, for the Wolves. After last night’s loss in Sacramento, I surveyed some photos from the game and came across a depressing picture of Rick Adelman and Ricky Rubio embracing each other with arms around one another as they walked back to the locker room. That’s the mentality surrounding the locker room on a nightly basis, and the only way to turn it around would be to gain some wins. That’s why this one is important at least for the Wolves.

One Negatives:

Jonah: This isn’t so much a negative on the team rather Adelman’s questionable decision to sit Derrick Williams for the majority of the night. He finished with just four points, all from the line, in just 14 minutes. There’s speculation as to whether he was injured or not feeling well but no one has a firm grasp on what happened. Anyways, given the advancements in his game we’ve witnessed the past few months, it’s hard to justify sitting him in a game he could get some easy reps. I’m not all that happy about that.

One Observations:

Jonah: In yesterday’s recap I wrote about Greg Stiemsma’s ever-improving offensive efficiency. Tonight, Stiemer went 6-10 from the field for 14 points in 34 minutes of work. Boom.

Next up: Wolves come home to play the Bulls on Sunday evening, 6 pm.

Two Positives:

Jonah: I’m a big Bud fan, if you didn’t already know, so seeing Chase sprint the court, albeit for just 18 minutes, was certainly reassuring. I wasn’t — and won’t be moving forward — expecting too much while he returns from a torn meniscus but he also doesn’t need to do much to set up shop in a corner and rain down threes, something the Wolves need so desperately.

Derek: I really like efficient Nikola Pekovic– 18 and 12 on 6-12 shooting, and 6-8 from the line on top of that. Nice game for Pek.

Two Negatives:

Jonah: Budinger returns and hits a three. How does the rest of the team respond to his shooting? They go 0-18 from three-point land for the rest of the game. Just so awful. You’d think that just seeing a deep ball slide through the net would give someone else some confidence but it doesn’t. That’s just how historically bad this team is at shooting.

Derek: On the possession prior to the final possession, the Timberwolves subbed in Andrei Kirilenko and Dante Cunningham for defensive reasons, which is a fine strategy unless you’re not going to call a timeout to sub in more offensive players. Instead, Rubio kicked it to Ridnour, who passed it to Cunningham who was forced to take a three that he missed at the last second. Even though they would’ve had to inbound from the backcourt if they had taken a timeout, making for a tougher shot, I would’ve preferred to see Ridnour take that shot if they didn’t take the timeout.

Two Observations:

Jonah: Ever since Nikola Pekovic went down to minor injuries, Greg Stiemsma’s role has increased substantially  seeing that he’s the only other center on the roster with the ability and strength to play every opponent. Sorry, Chris Johnson. And I have to admit, he’s certainly been getting better and better each time he goes out there. He still makes some knuckle-headed decisions but I’m very impressed with Stiemer’s advanced offensive ability. In the last five games, he’s averaging just over eight points a game and shooting 53% from the field.

Derek: You all know I love the Timberwolves, but I’ve also been a huge fan of the Kings’ Isaiah Thomas since his Washington days, and  who was also the 60th pick in the draft a couple of years ago. Despite concerns over his size he’s risen to being a starter in the NBA and put up 24-3-6 last night. I know, I know…#trader!

Next up: Wolves stay out west to take on Phoenix tonight at 9 pm.