Howlin' T-Wolf

Kevin Love went down tonight, who knows for how long

You know how the song goes. It epitomizes the Wolves’ recent stretch.

You can easily make an argument that tonight was a different story, but was it really? They were down by 24 points at one point. They were playing like their usual selves, which meant complete and utter disappointment. The guiding star, Kevin Love, started off a paltry 0-5 and didn’t look like he was going to turn it around at any point after receiving a blow to the dome from Javale McGee and never returned. (Don’t worry, it should only be a concussion, maybe a couple games off unless they decide to shut him down for the season.)

Those reasons above justify that this was still a bad game for the Wolves. Forget the final score and any argument for why this one is different than the past six. It’s about the game as a whole, from beginning to end; an F in the first half paired with an A in the second averages out to a C. A C is not a passing grade in basketball.

But I will tell you who deserves a solid B+ to A- for their performances tonight: Anthony Randolph and Derrick Williams. The two young guns found more playing time after Love went down and Nikola Pekovic took the bench. And, boy, did they not disappoint. They combined for 55 points. Yeah, 55. We all knew what they were both capable of on the offensive end of the court. The problem is that they both need shots to put up the numbers and it has to be “their night,” if you know what I mean. On any given night, everyone understands that the minutes and the shots and the spotlight belongs to Love. But without him, who gets the chance to step up? Better yet, who wants to step up? We found out tonight that Randolph and Williams aren’t afraid to stand tall and claim that role.

Both JJ Barea and, surprisingly, Wes Johnson had solid nights as well. Barea dished out a season-high 15 assists, and Johnson was sneakily efficient going 5-8 from the field (The key is taking 2’s, Wes!) But they still had their flaws, especially Barea. Barea dribbled too much, and at the final shot to make a difference and tie the game in the final minute, took a poor fadeaway shot over the taller Kenneth Faried and barely caught a piece of the rim.

As much as I want to for the entertainment of reading this piece, the Wolves’ play just isn’t worth it. I enjoyed seeing them face adversity in the second half as well as watching Randolph and Williams catch fire, but a loss is still a loss. Their bad streak of games continues, and, in the midst of losing Love for a few games or more, only complicates matters even more than they are now.

The Wolves continue to preach the importance of finishing on a high note. I hope we can see it because the season’s coming to a close and the latest history tells us the trend won’t change to quickly.

Next up comes the LA Clippers tomorrow night. Love’s status is unknown for tomorrow night which harms the chances of turning this ship around before season’s end. We’ll see what they can do.

Denver Nuggets (31-26) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (25-33)

Last game: Minnesota: L, 114-90 vs Phoenix, Denver: W, 123-84 vs Golden State

The Timberwolves visit Denver tonight in a game that would have meant quite a lot a month ago.

Minnesota completely failed to show up for a nationally televised home game against the Suns on Monday. Everything about Minnesota’s box score fit the mold of every other Minnesota box score this season.

The Nuggets crushed the Warriors on Monday in Denver. Kenneth Faried had one of his best games of the season, scoring 27 points on 12-18 shooting and grabbing 17 rebounds. I’m not much of a fan of +/- statistics, but Faried was a rather ridiculous +33 for the game.

Denver continues to cling to the 8th and final playoff spot, leading Phoenix by a game and Utah by a game and a half. The Nuggets are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

The Key Questions

#1. Should we be worried about Kevin Love?

Love doesn’t seem to have quit on this season yet. He continues to put up big scoring games, though his field goal percentage continues to fall as his body absorbs the abuse of this absurd season.

One would like to believe that Love, like Minnesota’s fans, sees this lost season as an anomaly that will be corrected with a real season, real practice and real rest time, one in which Minnesota’s point guard prodigy doesn’t go down with a season ending knee injury.

But of course, we can’t be certain. In the meantime, look for Love to put up 25+ points on 20+ shots tonight.

#2. Can the Wolves top 100?

The Wolves are 1-7 in their last eight games, and in six of those games, they have failed to break the century mark. In the two games they DID break 100, they still lost, because the defense has been absolutely awful. Still. Getting past 100 should at least give them a fighting chance.

The Outlook

I apologize for the shortened preview, but considering the effort Minnesota has been putting forth lately, perhaps it’s appropriate. The Wolves have looked tired and lethargic in all of their last six games. There’s little reason to believe tonight will be different.

Game starts at 8 pm on League Pass

Rubio is the perpetual mechanism that kept this team playing at such an elevated level

It’s official: Marc Stein released his weekly Power Rankings and the Wolves have bottomed out in the 21st spot for two weeks in a row, thanks to their unappealing brand of basketball as of late.

But how? How could a team with Kevin Love and others be playing so bad?

Kevin Love had a month-to-remember in March, sinking 491 points and 222 rebounds, numbers that only Hakeem Olaujawan and Shaquille O’Neal have put up before. Oh, and he didn’t even win Western Conference Player of the Month. What a sham? More importantly, he showed up in clutch spots with big buckets in the dwindling seconds of games, and established himself as a potent closer. (The defining moment was when he traded blows toe-to-toe with, maybe the best finisher behind Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant in the closing seconds of regulation in a heavyweight bout.)

Literally, he’s playing like a mad man, destined to prove the league that speed and athleticism doesn’t make you good at basketball, it’s only appealing to fans across the nation; rather pure hustle, calculated three attempts and a hard nose for the glass is all it takes to become great. (That’s a shot at Blake Griffin, if you couldn’t get the clue). But what I’ve noticed is that Love’s abilities that have catapulted him into MVP discussion have seen a drop, especially the pure hustle part. Dispair has creeped into his mind on the court and his demeanor and faith has greatly suffered because of that.

Love hasn’t been the team’s only bright spot either. The center once known for his inability to avoid contact and field whistles from refs, possession after possession, has transformed into one of the most efficient players in the league. Irony doesn’t even begin to describe this phenomenon from last year to this. Boasting a 21.32 PER and the league’s 12th ranked true shooting percentage at 61.8-percent, Nikola Pekovic is vying for serious MIP honors. But because there is a stronger, more captivating story out there in New York, Pek will likely head back to Montenegro trophy-less this summer.

Even more disappointing, Pek hasn’t been able to help the team out as consistently as he did from January to February. Pek has battled multiple leg and foot injuries for the last few weeks, and missed eight games because of it. Since coming back from injury, he’s been doing all he can to supplement Love like he did in the old days but there’s still a spark from his game that’s not there; he’s not in as good of position in the paint anymore and his field goal percentage has suffered because of it.

The two cornerstones of this franchise, Love and Pekovic, have one thing in common: Ricky Rubio makes them better.

And it’s clear they greatly miss him right now.

For Love, Rubio was all about setting him up in his spots on the court. Love and Rubio formed one of the deadliest pick ‘n’ roll combos in the league because of Love’s versatile array of shots and Rubio’s ability to survey the defense. Rubio could go left or right very comfortably around Love’s screens, but it was the options that were at Rubio’s disposal that made it impossible to guard the set. Rubio was so good at reading defenders that he and Love could sniff out the defenders’ reaction to the screen, and if the big man decided to go on Rubio, he was quick enough to flee past and swiftly toss a precise pass to the rolling Love, Pek, who likely had good position underneath already or even kick it out to a prowling wing, primed to launch a three. Or if Rubio’s defender decided to go under the screen, he could drop off a discrete bounce pass to Love, setting him up for a jumper from outside. Rubio knew Love’s hotspots and gave him a shot in those areas. Lately, Love has had to create for himself so often that his game is becoming one-dimensional, and, ultimately, defendable.

As for Pekovic, he thrived with Rubio at the point for two major reasons: his positioning in the post and, just like Love, the pick and roll. Mostly in transition, Pek thrived getting in front and establishing position directly under the hoop, sealing off his defender from any chance at a block. And while Pek was gaining his ground, Rubio was already out and running with a full head of steam. He would identify once Pek had his position and fire a bounce pass right into his gut. All Pek had to ever do with Rubio running the show was catch ball, turn, shoot layup. That was it. Same thing goes for the Pek ‘n’ roll, I’d call it, with just a little variation. It went pick, roll, catch bounce pass, sprint, leap, dunk, smile.

But perhaps the biggest effect Rubio had was that he made the entire team better on defense. Before Rubio went down, the Wolves averaged a defensive efficiency rate in the mid-90’s. It’s currently at 103, which is two above the league average. Team defense starts with defending the point guard position; everyone’s offense commences through the point guard. Rubio locked down some of the league’s elite athletes on the court. Without him, not only have the turnovers forced, mainly steals, seen a sharp decline but the other aspects that constitutes a team defense — closing on perimeter players, contesting shots and even rebounding — have been transparent since the injury. With no pesky defenders left on the court to catalyst the intensity in the same way Rubio did, the Wolves’ recent problems start, and can be explained, with their inefficiency on the defensive end.

Rubio’s reign was obviously a happier, more enjoyable time. He made everyone around him better on both offense and defense, which in turn raised everyone’s confidence to cosmic levels. There’s no reason to say that they shouldn’t be playing better than they currently are, but the loss of Rubio most definitely was going to chink the armor built off straight hype and cooped up momentum in the first half of the season.

For the first time of the year I’ve realized the effect that Rubio had on this team when on the court. I’ll conclude with this: You only realize what you have once its gone. Lucky for us, he’ll be back sooner than we know it and we can start all over again.

Before we get started discussing the monstrosity that occurred in the Target Center tonight, here’s a video from a couple of months ago. You may have already seen it, but don’t try to act like it doesn’t make you smile.

Feeling better? At least a little bit? Alright, here we go.

Have you ever played in one of those pickup games where everyone is a little tired and the play starts to get sloppy? The games mean a little bit less. One team will miss a layup, and the player who missed will hang out on one end of the floor, hoping his teammates pick up his slack, because dammit, he just doesn’t have the energy to get back up the floor and play defense again.

The Wolves are that guy right now. They just don’t have the energy anymore. They don’t have a shot at the playoffs, they don’t get a draft pick, and the rest of the season just doesn’t feel meaningful. And it is blatantly obvious.

I’m not sure where Minnesota lost the spark. The obvious answer is that the spark faded when Rubio went down. But at that point, they were still in the thick of the playoff hunt. It would be tempting to point to the Oklahoma City game, where a Herculean effort by Kevin Love wasn’t enough to get a signature win, but two nights later Minnesota stomped all over the Nuggets, likely a playoff bound team. Perhaps when the Celtics reminded Minnesota that Garnett is still in a better place now? But Minnesota had just won against the Bobcats (Ok, now I’m stretching for positivity. I’ll stop).

It’s difficult to watch this team, these zombie Timberwolves. They may look like the same players, but they aren’t alive and inspired the way they were as recently as early March. They aren’t playing with any kind of flair, with any passion. They are just existing, a momentarily purposeless team, with no reason to win, but no reason to lose. Just a date on the schedule of eight more teams before fading into the background as the playoffs begin.

But. I’m supposed to be writing about the game. The defense has gotten atrocious. Offensively, the Wolves have several players who can still create for themselves. Love can score. Barea can score. Beasley can score. Pekovic can make himself readily available to score. So even though the beautiful team play has essentially evaporated, Minnesota can still put some points on the board.

But the defense has fallen to pieces. In their last 17 games, the Wolves have given up an average of 106.6 points, a mark that, if sustained for the entire season, would place them better than just the New Jersey Nets and the Charlotte Bobcats. Yikes.

A few bullet points…I’ll try to keep some positivity.

• Malcolm Lee can ball. He is a fun defender to watch. His feet move very quickly, and he always seems to be one step ahead of the defender. And his confidence seems to be growing as he drives to the hoop. Lee was just 1-4 from the field (he attempted one notable three that barely grazed the front iron), but he went to the free throw line four times, meaning he was decently aggressive.
• Lee was certainly more aggressive, for example, than Wes Johnson. Wes hasn’t attempted a free throw since March 19 against the Warriors (he was 1-2). Since February 29 (keep in mind, when you are reading this, that it is now mid-April), Johnson has attempted just six free throws. How is that even possible?
• The Suns shot a healthy 57.3% from the floor, while the Timberwolves were a meager 38.6%. Not many games will be won with numbers like that. Feet, meet limb.
• Kevin Love is shooting just 42% from the floor in his last seven games. Clearly the man is getting tired, and he is probably developing a rather severe case of scoliosis from carrying this team on his back. But, real question: why is he even playing road games at this point? Minnesota’s season is over. Why risk Love’s health at this point?
• Ok, you’re right. That last bullet was entirely too negative. Um. How about Derrick Williams knocking down a couple jumpers? Eh?!

The most discouraging thing about this homestand is the fact that the next winnable game (Detroit) is nine days and five fairly unwinnable games (Denver, OKC, LAC, Indiana, and Memphis) away. Because MAN it would be nice to see the Wolves get another win this season.

The Hornets obliterated the Wolves on the boards tonight

How eerily similar did the Wolves-of-new look like the Wolves-of-old against the Hornets tonight? If you didn’t watch, just read along.

Last season it was the Kevin Love-Michael Beasley show nearly every game. The two formed a special scoring punch but were so putrid on defense together, teams had easy dribble-drive opportunities and owned the paint for that reason; Beasley never tried to contest the perimeter all that well, while Love’s help defense was more of a detriment than anything.

With no one else to amp up the defensive efforts or contribute enough of a scoring barrage to make a true difference, the formula resulted in loss after loss along with agonizing headaches on a nightly basis.

Tonight’s game against the Hornets carried the same trend of the 2010-2011 regular season. Beasley indeed made his return after missing five games with that stubborn sprained toe of his. Beaz got 30 minutes of burn and made due with his time out there, hitting 7-11 from the floor — 3-4 from three-point land — and bagged 20 points off the bench. As for Love, he netted 29 at a 49-percent clip. He also had no turnovers and five offensive rebounds.

The offensive end was no issue for the Wolves; they shot a combined 10 three-pointers and controlled the ball better than they have in the past few games with only 11. It came down to the Hornets out-hustling the Wolves in the paint, as well as the Hornets’ guards finding holes to drive in the defense.

The Hornets’ Jason Smith and Chris Kaman both tallied double-doubles; Smith went for 26-10, and Kaman tallied 21-10. They completely destroyed the Wolves on the glass and in the paint. Those two combined for a smooth 21-26. The inside buckets were just too easy to get because Nikola Pekovic and Love were scattered to help on defense while the Hornets’ guards, especially Grevis Vazquez, relentlessly drove the hoop. Disorganized as they were, they were left out of position underneath, giving Smith and Kaman room to grab the offensive rebounds for easy deuces.

As mentioned earlier, the Wolves-of-old was the Love and Beaz show, and no one else could do enough. JJ Barea did his best Luke Ridnour-of-past impression by going 4-12 from the field. He had just three turnovers, which trumps his colossally bad seven against Golden State last Wednesday. But it’s clear to me that Barea can’t handle running the offense with the starters. The group never seems to gel nicely. Whether it’s because he dribbles too much or just can’t command the likes of Love and Pek, something is at a serious dysfunction on offense.

Nevertheless, the main problem remains to be the porous defense. Wesley Johnson, our so-called defensive stopper, had no blocks or steals. Pekovic is not defensive-minded enough to pose any sort of a threat in the paint. And our guards, starting with but not singling out Barea fail to move their feet and stay in front of the penetrator. It leaves the entire defense scrambling to stop the drive and it ends in rebounding efforts and numbers that the Hornets posted tonight.

The downfall continues with a game at home against the Phoenix Suns next. They, unlike the Wolves, are competing for a playoff spot now, so the difference in tenacity and care will be drastically different. But hopefully the return of Beasley will help give everyone some sort of jolt. Ahh, the hell with it. This season’s over. Go, Utah.

New Orleans Hornets (14-41) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (25-31)

Last game: Minnesota: L, 97-94 vs Golden State, New Orleans: L, 128-103 vs San Antonio

Eric Gordon's return to action could be bad news for Minnesota.

On Wednesday, the Wolves managed to drop a game to a team that is actively trying to lose for a better draft pick. Wayne Ellington scored 17 on 7-11 shooting off the bench, but four Warrior starters scored in double figures as Golden State rallied from a big first half deficit to get the win.

The Hornets were convincingly beaten by the Spurs on Friday night despite Eric Gordon’s 31 points. It was Gordon’s third game back from a knee injury that has forced him to miss all but four of New Orleans’ games this season.

The Key Questions

#1. What will Michael Beasley be able to contribute?

Beasley, along with Pek and Barea, should be in uniform tonight. Beasley’s toe, according to a Jerry Zgoda report, is feeling somewhat better, but he will still have to wear a shoe one size too big. Hopefully Beas isn’t rushing to come back from this injury.

#2. Can the Timberwolves capitalize on the extended rest?

Minnesota had two consecutive nights off. New Orleans faced the red-hot Spurs last night. If rest has anything to do with this game, the Wolves should be able to get a win tonight.

#3. I know this is cheating, but should you read Sebastian Pruiti’s breakdown of Kevin Love’s offensive game?

Yes. Yes you should. Fascinating stuff, with a nice little note at the bottom that should be very encouraging for T-Wolves fans.

The Key Matchups

The return of Eric Gordon should be a frightening prospect for Timberwolves fans. The Hornets managed to grind out a win against the Wolves last time these teams met, and Minnesota was less banged up then. Admittedly, the Wolves were reeling from the news that their sensational rookie point guard was done for the year, but Eric Gordon’s return spells trouble the Minnesota. Wes Johnson will more than likely get the assignment. Gordon has picked up right where he left off last year in his return, averaging 22.7 points in three games.

Chris Kaman inexplicably survived the trade deadline in New Orleans. His field goal percentage is as low as it has ever been, but his points per 36 minutes is the third highest in his career, and his rebounds have stayed steady at 9.8. Fortunately for Minnesota, Pekovic is in the lineup and reportedly feeling much better, coming back from a sickness as well as his ankle injury.

The Outlook

It’s difficult to predict how the Wolves will perform from game to game. Tonight is no exception. On the road, against a team that they should be able to beat, don’t be entirely surprised if the Wolves suffer a frustrating let-down. The Hornets will have a little extra motivation to beat the Wolves as well, since New Orleans owns Minnesota’s 2012 draft pick. Sigh.

Game starts at 7 PM on League Pass.

David Lee was better than Kevin Love tonight

The frustration is creeping beyond the injury bug. The Wolves have dropped now four in a row. They’re officially 4-12 since losing Rubio to the knee injury. It’s visibly obvious by the somber faces that tread head down off the court that the season has officially taken a turn for the worse.

Forget the playoffs, it’s time for players to tryout for next season.

Tonight’s game was just the nail in the coffin, in my opinion. The season isn’t over yet — we can still tickle our fancies by finding subtleties to grin at like Brad Miller dropping three three-pointers in Sac-town, or even the development of Malcolm Lee, who looks ready to take on a bulk of minutes with fresh legs and a head of steam. But in terms of reaching the playoffs and shocking the basketball world, that dream disintegrated right before our eyes.

The dream that was to reach the playoffs and maybe even surprise millions by backing a top-seed against the ropes is so far-fetched at this point, and even the players know it. All that’s left to do is play hard and hopefully end the season with an ounce of momentum heading into the offseason. It looked like that could’ve been the case in tonight’s first half. The Wolves actually commanded the game in all facets in the first half. Nikola Pekovic brutalized the Warriors’ bigs down low, and the defense — for the first time in weeks — played with some gravitas and had some life; they’re hands were active and they closed out on shooters.

The Wolves donned a 20-point lead at one point. With a win in sight, there was nothing left to do but coast, right? The Wolves gave up a small run early in the third. That small run soon turned into a big run, and the Warriors ended up outscoring the Wolves 38-20 in the third. Completely discombobulated, the Wolves mustered up all they had left to stay in it in the fourth. Wayne Ellington must be thanked for that. At one point, Ellington went on a 7-0 run. . . By himself. Ellington’s jumper off the screen continued to fall but so did David Lee’s Kevin-Love-like act. Lee was an unstoppable force, sinking a season-high 31 points. (Think the Wolves could use an inside defender?)

In the end, Lee defeated Love and the Wolves at their own game with 44 points in the paint, while the Wolves failed to limit their turnovers.

At this point it’s hard to even spill out any game analysis without spewing any frustrating criticism. It’s tough to swallow the fact that such a captivating and rejuvenating season has come to such a painful and disappointing end. But it doesn’t stop there. No, this spiraling downfall has no end in sight, with the bottomless pit swooping straight through the NBA draft with likely no draft pick to cradle the free fall. Sure, the injury bug will soon shoo away but that just means more waiting, more patience, and more raw frustration that this team still can’t reach mediocrity.

Anyways, next up the Wolves head to New Orleans to face the Hornets on Saturday night. The two-day break will be relieving, I’m sure, but until they put their game faces on and prove they can win even snakebitten with injuries, this season is officially at a loss.

Golden State Warriors (20-32) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (25-30)

Last game: Minnesota: L, 116-108 vs Sacramento, Golden State: L, 98-94 vs Memphis

Kevin Love and David Lee square off tonight in Minnesota.

The Wolves struggled through the end of their road trip, falling to the Kings on Monday. Kevin Love led Minnesota with 23 points, but Tyreke Evans went for 24 points and seven assists. Worse for the Wolves: Luke Ridnour badly sprained his ankle in the 3rd quarter, leaving the desperately understaffed point guard position to rookie Malcolm Lee for the foreseeable future.

I’m not suspicious that the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies. After all, it’s not like another team has their protected pick, and if the Warriors get the seventh pick or higher, Golden State won’t have a first round selection in this loaded draft. And it’s not like the Warriors led for most of the game while Memphis played like crap, then somehow managed to outcrap the Grizz in the final quarter.

Wait, that is what happened? Hmm. Something smells fishy.

The Key Questions

#1. Will the Warriors actively try to lose this game?

I mean. They won’t be jacking up shots from half-court and allowing the Wolves to turn the game into a layup line. Well, they might do the latter: Golden State’s defense is shoddy, 5th worst in defensive efficiency.

But the Warriors have clearly given up on this season, and since Utah owns their draft pick unless it’s in the top seven, the Wolves have a real opportunity to be handed a game tonight.

#2. How will Malcolm Lee perform with real minutes?

Hardwood Paroxysm posted a nice piece (complete with video) about Malcolm Lee’s opportunity to show his worth. In the videos are a couple of nice examples of the on ball defense Lee brings to the table. He moves his feet very well, and has shown a good feel for the point guard position on offense.

Obviously, Timberwolves fans wish that Ridnour and Rubio were both around to take Lee’s minutes away from him, but this will be an excellent opportunity to see what he can do, especially defensively.

#3. How many minutes can Pek handle?

Pekovic was apparently champing at the bit to come back from his injury, but Adelman was reluctant to allow him minutes until the Wolves could establish that game time couldn’t hurt him. Apparently, it can’t.

Of course, that really depends on how you define “hurt.” Did Pekovic worsen his injury? No. Bone spurs in your ankles do not, by all reports, get worse when tread on. But Pekovic was clearly still hurting against Sacramento, unless he was grimacing because the Wolves were losing to Sacramento. That would be utterly understandable.

The Key Matchups

We already covered Malcolm Lee’s opportunity to start, but he will be opposite another rookie tonight in Charles Jenkins. While the game itself may not be representative of either team’s potential (Minnesota because of injuries, Golden State because of this), the matchup might well be competitive as two young players get an opportunity to show their abilities.

Kevin Love will be defending David Lee, who is averaging his second highest points per 36 minutes of his career, but also the lowest effective field goal percentage. Love also will probably spend some time defending Jeremy Tyler (haha) who started (HAHA) and played 30 minutes against the Grizzlies (HAHAHA).

Richard Jefferson has been coming off the bench for the Warriors, and has averaged 15 points on 55% shooting this season. He may cause some problems for the Wolves.

The Outlook

If Minnesota loses tonight, we will know the injuries are really getting to them. The Wolves were a better team than the Warriors before Golden State began intentionally losing a lot of games, and Minnesota should continue to be so thanks to Kevin Love.

The Wolves won’t make the playoffs this year, but at least a soft schedule here at the end might allow them to end the season on a good note.

Game starts at 7 on Fox Sports North

More minutes for Malcolm Lee...

This isn’t fun anymore. Not for the Wolves. Not for the fans. There’s no other way to say it.

I honestly spent last night’s game trying to stay positive. See, look. Here’s the evidence. I didn’t expect the Wolves to win on the second night of a back to back. I didn’t expect them to make the playoffs since that damn game against the Lakers in March. So last night, I started making a list of little things that made me smile, like Brad Miller’s 11 point first quarter. I planned to write this recap based off of those little things.

But that was before Luke Ridnour went down and yet another key member of the Timberwolves’ lineup spent the night in pain, unable to play. Ridnour has been a rock for the Wolves. When Rubio went down, Minnesota’s playoff hopes went from imminently possible to negligible, but not because Ridnour was taking over at point guard. He’s been fantastic. He has never (publicly, at least) complained about the horribly hard match-ups (Kobe Bryant, James Harden, etc.) that Rick Adelman has asked him to play. He just consistently worked his ass off, defensively and offensively

I don’t know what’s happening this season, but it’s weird, unfortunate and utter crap. Pekovic was back last night, playing nearly 20 minutes off the bench in his return. And though he told Adelman his only problem was fatigue, Pek was noticeably grimacing as he moved on an ankle with bone spurs. Beasley is still unable to play, as is Barea. We all know Rubio is done for the year. That leaves Kevin Love and a group of players best suited for 15 minutes a game off the bench. Yes, it’s wonderful to have arguably (though if you argue with me, I will destroy you statistically) the best power forward in the game, but it would be nice to have a team around him.

Earlier this season, I would have made the argument that this season was awesome, and whatever happened to Minnesota should just be gravy at this point. After all, the Wolves had improved drastically, and the mere fact that they were contending for a playoff spot should be cause for celebration.

But it just isn’t fun watching any player get injured, and it REALLY isn’t fun watching your favorite players go down one by one. Seeing Pek hop one footed off the floor isn’t fun. Seeing Beasley hobbling around on a sprained big toe isn’t fun. Seeing Luke Ridnour writhing on the ground in pain isn’t fun. This season isn’t fun anymore, and the Wolves deserve a break from whatever voodoo crap continuously beats the living tar out of them.

Anyway. Rant over. Here are some stats and some words.

• Tyreke Evans broke the Wolves down several times last night off pick and rolls. For whatever reason, Minnesota’s bigs kept switching onto him. Evans is not a player teams wants their bigs defending, and he punished Minnesota. On one play in particular, he treated Brad Miller like a chair set up at the elbow, crossing him over smoothly, driving to the rim and putting in a beautiful reverse layup. Evans finished with 24 points on 8-14 shooting.
• The crazy thing about last night’s game is that offensively, Minnesota should have won the game. They shot 48% from the field, 52% from 3-point range. The Kings shot slightly better from the field (50%), but considerably worse from 3-point range (30%). Both teams tied in turnovers with 11. The Wolves out-assisted the Kings 23-22. The big difference? Easy baskets. The Kings beat the Wolves 21-8 on fast break points and 60-42 in points in the paint for a combined 71-50. Sigh.
• Here’s a weird Wes Johnson stat for you: according to the NBA Statscube, Wes is shooting 22% from threes above the break (or: not-corner threes) in the first quarter this season. In the third quarter, he has taken 12 more above the break threes, and he has made 36% of them. I don’t know what accounts for this 14% difference, but I notice it every game. It seems like there’s a 2 minute stretch in every 3rd quarter where Wes hits 2-3 shots, and generally looks like a world-beater. Then the world rights itself and kicks Wes in the groin again.
• I’ve been a fan of DeMarcus Cousins since he entered the league mainly because I bragged to all of my friends that he was going to be a star and I want to be proved right. But when he is playing the Wolves, I get so annoyed with his constant flopping. He has gotten really good at making officials think he was fouled. Not a positive thing.
• One moment of levity in an otherwise dark night: with Brad Miller starting the game, the Wolves didn’t have anybody who could jump for the opening tip. Miller didn’t want to, and was laughing with Kevin Love about it. I truly wish I could have heard that conversation. Anyway, after much debate, Martell Webster lined up against Sacramento’s Jason Thompson…and Webster won the tip. You can’t make this stuff up.

Final thoughts: honestly, the last two losses sealed Minnesota’s fate. Numerically, they are not technically eliminated, but the Wolves will not break their playoff drought this year. The best thing we can do is hunker down and pray nothing bad happens to anyone else.

Maybe, if we’re lucky in these last 11 games, we’ll stumble on something to be positive about.

Sacramento Kings (18-34) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (25-29)

Last game: Minnesota: L, 119-106 vs Portland, Sacramento: L. 111-99 vs New Jersey

One of the many players Minnesota will miss in tonight's matchup with the Kings.

The Timberwolves are sliding quickly. Despite Kevin Love’s 26 points and nine rebounds against the Blazers yesterday, Minnesota was a step behind the Blazers for most of the game and lost their eighth in 11 tries.

Sacramento lost to New Jersey, putting forth a lackluster effort on Saturday, the second night of a back to back. Tyreke Evans had one of his best shooting nights of the season, putting up 23 points on a tidy 9-15 from the field, but Deron Williams eviscerated the Kings, scoring 19 points and dishing out 15 assists.

The Key Questions

#1. So, will anyone actually be watching this game?

Besides me, that is. Follow me on Twitter (@xtomchaptersx) and talk to me if you are watching, or if you just feel like talking about the Wolves while you watch the NCAA Finals and wish Minnesota still had their own pick. Sigh.

#2. Let’s talk about Isaiah Thomas for a second.

Not a question, but I didn’t know how else to awkwardly transition into this. Not only has Isaiah Thomas been surprisingly productive, he has done it quite efficiently. Thomas’ true shooting percent is currently at 57%, and his turnover percentage is 15.3%. Both marks are significantly better than Houston’s star of efficiency Kyle Lowry. Note: I’m not saying Isaiah Thomas is better than Lowry. I’m just pointing out this fact: Mr. Irrelevant is really good.

#3. Any update on the injury front?

Nope. Beas, Pek and Barea will all be sitting out again tonight. Pekovic apparently has been working out with the team and hopes to return soon, but if the Wolves lose anymore games, letting him sit out the season might be prudent: lower leg injuries shouldn’t be missed with. Just ask Steph Curry.

The Key Matchups

DeMarcus Cousins will likely be stuck with Kevin Love tonight. Love is understandably exhausted, and has been playing like a hero for weeks. But if he can muster up the energy, Cousins can’t defend his range.

Luke Ridnour will have to try and contain the aforementioned Thomas. Ridnour has quietly been continuing his excellent play: he had 21 against the Blazers yesterday.

The Outlook

The second night of a back to back is tough for every team, and the Kings are above .500 at home. Tonight will be a challenge for the Wolves.

Game starts at 9 on Fox Sports North