Tagged: Kevin Love

#52; Wolves blowout Pacers 101-75

Kevin Love #42 Of The Minnesota Timberwolves Greets
Congrats, Kevin.

As you all surely know by now, Kevin Love accomplished a marvelous milestone tonight in a blowout win against the Indiana Pacers. Sadly I’m running behind on some last-minute studying, so take in what you can from this recap.

The Wolves and Pacers came out firing on all cylinders. Only problem is the Wolves were the only team actually making their shots. In both the third and fourth quarters, I feared for the Pacers in their quest to score a minimal 10 points in the quarter! Granted the Wolves were playing solid defense, more so than usual, but it really was a matter of the Pacers never finding a fluid rhythm on offense. Both Paul George and Roy Hibbert got into early foul trouble and Danny Granger couldn’t toss pebble into the ocean if he tried. A team will never win a game shooting under 30-percent (Don’t mark my words on that, though.)

Our offense, however, looked good all night; good, not great. Some guys, namely Michael Beasley and Wayne Ellington, forced a ton of shots and never got into a true flow throughout the game. You can tell Beasley has been struggling with the mental side of the game. His passes aren’t crisp and he forces shots all over the court. I heard someone rumble around me that he’s shooting 17-percent in the past 15 games, or something like that. Whatever the actual number, it’s clearly obvious his stroke isn’t on and neither is his mind.

But on the other hand, Anthony Randolph, Luke Ridnour and Love all had good games on the offensive end. Toss in 12 points from Anthony Tolliver and you have a solid set of reserves that helped contribute to a good win.

Enough of the game though — we all understand it was a blowout — let’s put this phenomenal streak into perspective. We’ve been tracking Kevin Love’s double doubles since November 22nd. The last game that Love failed to obtain a double double was against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 19th, which could very well have been his worst game of his career. But since the start of his double double streak, Love has managed to score 1,109 points, has grabbed 852 rebounds and logged a total of 2,011 minutes. Average all that out and you get 21.3 ppg, 16.4 rpg in 38.7 mpg. That’s extraordinary for player in today’s day and age and style of basketball.

Next up is the Utah Jazz, Friday night. Big Al returns to the Target Center, should be a good time.

Until then, ciao!

Joey Crawford: The legend? ; Wolves lose 108-105

There’s nothing better than a smash-mouth style, Western Conference battle. That is if the refs called the game equally for both sides.

Now I’m not usually the writer to bash the refs for a bad game or even go so far as to blame them directly for a loss, but tonight was ludicrous. Not to pick on Joey Crawford individually, but he headed up one of the worst referring jobs I’ve witnessed this year.

Ticky-tack fouls here, no whistle there, all of this from an officiating crew bearing the infamous Crawford, one of the NBA’s most renowned officials. The game lacked a consistent fluidity of calls and no-calls that utterly ruined the game for myself and, I’m sure, most of you. For instance, Michael Beasley was missing shots. You could see the frustration on his face that shots were falling in his favor. Eventually he started attacking the rim, not getting any calls and had a few words to say about it. For the rest of the game there on out, Crawford and his crew seemingly refused to make the call and ate their whistles instead.

Sometimes that’s understandable; referees aren’t there to make everyone happy. If a player acts up whining or bitching, they have the right to turn their heads at the opportune moment just to establish seniority. But when it happens every trip up the floor, we have a problem.

There’s also a problem when the game lacks a fair amount of calls on both sides. There was one play where Dirk Nowitzki was handling the ball on the arc, took one dribble forward and Kevin Love lowered his shoulder into him a bit and guess who was there hawking the whole situation? Crawford himself. Nowitzki goes to the line, an automatic two points with him there, and the Wolves’ deficit lengthens yet again.

Again, I’m not the guy who needs to find something to blame for every single loss, especially with a team as bad as the Wolves, but tonight’s officiating had to be addressed.

Outside of shoddy officiating, I thought the Wolves played yet another cohesive game tonight. Love led the charge against a surging Mavs team and continued his hot play as of late. It was rewarded big time in the third quarter, too. Love already ripped his 11th rebound of the night down and was just two points shy of tying the NBA record held by Moses Malone of 51 consecutive games with a double-double. The crowd was anxiously waiting to see him tie the record because we all knew it would happen. He got his bucket, and so the “MVP” chants commenced. If you take the entire streak into perspective, what Kevin Love has done this season goes beyond expectations. We knew he could rebound, we knew he could shoot. But did anyone see him tying one of the All-time greats for a historic record? Give this man a trophy and a raise.

Ultimately, the Wolves were close but could use more consistent wing-play and levelheaded referees to win. Next up are the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. I highly suggest you grasp onto a pair of tickets for this one. History WILL be made…

Wolf Track: Kevin Love talks recruitment

Kevin Love, during his time in L.A. for the All-Star break, says there was a lot of “recruiting” talk going on.

“A lot of it was (about) OKC,” Love said. “A lot of it was a few other teams that just need that one more guy. And a lot of it was circulating around the Lakers, ’cause we were out there as well. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of questions were circulating, and I almost felt like, ‘Damn, I have to take a step back and, not assess the situation, but kind of look at things from a broad horizon.’

“As far as right now, I love the city of Minneapolis. I like Minnesota as a state. I love the people here. Our team is very young. We have a lot of stuff going for us when you look past the win column. I think I just have to look at that come contract time.”

So although the dilemma of players recruiting friends has clouded the game in a big way and its free agency, Love doesn’t seem to be fazed by al the talk. He enjoys Minnesota, and he enjoys the team — We hope. Once it comes time to offer him a max deal, given all the circumstances remain the same, there should be no reason to turn it down. Right?

partybingo.com

A complete 180; Wolves win 116-105

Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Randolph (15) Is
Just for tonight, Randolph fulfilled his potential

The 180 I’m referring to doesn’t just relate to the result. Tonight’s tilt offered a number of different aspects that the Wolves were unable to pull off last night against the Lakers.

Let’s start with Kevin Love. Against the Lakers’ heavy-hitting frontline, Love had a tough time getting anything going inside. Sure the refs ate their whistles a lot of the time, but they did indeed match his intensity and hustle — he couldn’t make shots either — which is required to do against such a beastly presence inside. It’s pretty adamant that the Pistons lack the depth inside to contain such a large mass of manliness and tonight only proved that. Chalk up yet another 20-20 for Senor Amor, as he was the driving force to tonight’s victory.

Another reason for tonight’s complete 180 comes from the point guard play. Last night, neither Luke Ridnour or Jonny Flynn came to play; they looked flat and just out there in the emotion of the game. Tonight, they made plays, simply put. Ridnour was firing the ball at a perfect clip, going 5-of-5 from the field for 15 points. He only dished out one assist, but that’s where Flynn comes in. If I told you that Flynn had 14 assists and only two turnovers, would you believe me? If I would’ve told you this 1-2 months ago, would you have tried to hunt me down with a vengeance? Flynn played one of the best games I’ve ever seen in his young career. And although some may think he still looks like a blind squirrel out there, he looks more comfortable in the offense and understands that his role isn’t to score; it’s to set teammates up and make the best decision possible. He did that tonight.

Along with Flynn’s exquisite play, the reserves made a complete turnaround. Anthony Randolph, Lazar Hayward and Anthony Tolliver stepped into their roles and commanded this game. In the second quarter, Randolph took matters into his own hands, charging the lane and drawing all sorts of contact. His defense is still suspect but when you nearly put up a 20-10 line off the bench, who cares? Especially in the flow of this type of game. What I particularly love about Randolph’s game is his aggressiveness. He attacks loose balls and then puts that thing on the floor and flies down court like some quick-handling guard. If his jumper starts to develop and he doesn’t look so bewildered on defense, we could’ve pulled off the trade of the century.

With Flynn and Randolph anchoring the reserve squad, Tolliver and Hayward both fit in well. They both played to the flow of the game and never showed any real weakness, or ever tried to force anything to happen. They sat back, let Flynn and Randolph work their games and were there if all else broke down.

Nearly everything was different about this game. Nearly. It’s obvious that our very own Michael Beasley is seriously struggling. He’s reminding me an awful lot of a black hole; whenever the ball swings his way, no one should count on getting it back. Usually the remedy to a cold shooting touch would be putting yourself in better positions to make high-percentage shots. Instead, Beasley’s been fixing to settle for off-balanced jumpers from beyond the arc. Even when he attacks the hoop it hasn’t looked nearly as smooth as it was earlier this year. There’s no doubt that the man has some maturing to do but there’s also no doubt that he needs to produce at a more efficient rate if he indeed is the scoring threat we thought he was.

This was a big win. Road wins are damn-near impossible to come by, so this was a real treat. (Quick side note: The Detroit Pistons are nearly a more forsaken team than the Wolves. Outside of Greg Monroe and possible Rodney Stuckey, this team has no real core to ride into a new era. A disgruntled Rip Hamilton, an injury-riddled Tayshaun Prince and a severely overweight Charlie Villanueva are no where close to an answer in D-Town. It’s truly a shame that the city, and it’s sports teams, are crumbling before our eyes.)

Next up is

Kevin Love's big night; Wolves win 126-123

Kevin Love is an All-Star. Even though he didn’t look the part when he was shining under the L.A. lights, but underneath the Northern Lights, he’s a different animal.

First came the unimaginable 31-31 game in the comeback win over the New York Knicks. And tonight he did the unthinkable putting up 37 points on just 13 shots from the field.

This is a truly amazing feat. Toss in that he grabbed 23 rebounds as well and Love made a serious statement tonight. He loudly pronounced that he is the leader of this team and refuses to give up that right.

If only I could’ve actually seen this game — I was driving back from a weekend in Chicago — I was very disappointed I missed such a good game. Here’s the box score and here are some quick thoughts:

  • There was a special cohesive effort from out starting five tonight. Led behind Love’s immaculate effort, Michael Beasley dropped 25 points and Wes Johnson and Luke Ridnour combined for 30. This may be the best effort from all starting five players in a very long time. That’s considerable improvement.
  • Stephen Curry dropped 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jonny Flynn? A putrid two points and nine assists. Can you guess on who would’ve been the better draft pick.
  • Our front court depth was impressive tonight. Aside from newcomer Anthony Randolph, Anthony Tolliver and Nikola Pekovic stepped in and were very productive.
  • 13 mins for Darko? Really?
  • The Wolves rebounded 61 tonight. That’s insane.

As pathetic as this recap is, back off! No, I’m kidding. Next up is the Lakers on Tuesday night. Should be a great game if the starters play the way they did tonight.

The singular move… Literally

David Kahn, the laughing stock he’s been of the NBA during his reign as GM here in Minny, has a plan — or is it had a plan? When he arrived about two years ago, so beautifully gracing our presence, he announced that the Wolves would no longer dwell in the NBA’s basement for much longer. He vowed that in 24 months this team would be turned around, well on its way to the Playoffs.

It’s safe to say that no one’s perfect. Neither is Kahn’s plan. Let’s be honest with ourselves: nothing ever goes according to plan.

But what I’ve taken away from the latest trade deadline to come and go without so much of a single “Ah ha!”move, it’s that Kahn’s plan has taken a turn for the worse. Or else he really does have something cooking and no one’s allowed to see magic happen behind the steam.

Kahn’s been preaching the “singular move” for quite some time now. Last season the Wolves teased with the idea of picking up a much-needed superstar to man one of the wing positions. Andre Iguodala was a relevant trend at the time and arguably a great fit here in Minny. This season, rumors flew about of the Wolves finally achieving some sort of stability at the point guard position. Whether that meant moving Jonny Flynn and simplifying matters for the future or making that risky move and reach for a big name such as Steve Nash, we figured something would’ve happened on one of the most exciting days of the year for a guy like me.

So what happened?

The past two trade deadlines have something eerily in common: They were both busts. Plain and simple. Kahn failed to nail down that singular move to turn the franchise around as promised before. Whether he just refused to work the phones like some desperate telemarketer working for pennies on the dollar or teams just really weren’t interested in our young assets — I highly doubt that — the deadline came and passed without the slightest ounce of progress towards the future — No offense, Anthony Randolph.

Some might view the Brewer-Randolph/Curry trade as a complete bust. We gave up a fan favorite for two demoralizing human beings that have never been happy in the NBA. Curry has been nothing but an obliterate slob who refuses to lose weight and Randolph still has not found a place to call home where he can hone in on his outstanding skills and make something of his NBA career. But you could also spin the trade with “a glass half full” approach. Randolph has the talents to become a Lamar Odom-like player, who could prove to be vital on a title run as we’ve seen in recent years with the Lakers’ success. Sure, we gave up a lovable character in Corey Brewer, but let’s face it: he was never going to learn how to shoot or dribble effectively, and even his strength of being a defensive wizard never panned out — he was a tremendous on-ball defender but took way too many gambles going for steals and loose balls.

No matter which side you decide to take, we can all agree this wasn’t Kahn intended on being that singular move, you know, the one we were looking for. But why didn’t it happen to us? We saw the deadline turn the OKC Thunder into legit NBA title contenders instead of the Lakers’ punching bag. We saw the Portland Trail Blazers turn their unfortunate injury-riddled situation into one of the most physical defenses the Western Conference will ever see in the Playoffs — if they get there, of course. Even the Eastern Conference was awarded with two of the West’s ultimate superstars, who are likely to go on and lead their respective squads into Championship contenders.

Other teams left the deadline basking in the fact that they found a new hope or a fresh start. The Wolves left the deadline literally at the same place they began.

Fans should be angry. Fans should be disappointed. Not angry or disappointed in the fact that the big, singular wasn’t made but that no singular move was made to make our team better immediately. Randolph is good, don’t get me wrong, but like I said, he’s a project — a big one at that. I’m talking well beyond the one trade made over two days ago. From the buzz of things that I gauged on today’s Twitter feed and the flurry of ESPN reports, the Wolves had opportunities to make a move, something, anything. Nothing happened and so that’s why fans should be bummed out and deflated of all hope. Kahn had the opportunity to make one simple thing happen and elevate this desperate fanbase’s morale but it just didn’t happen. We were all let down for the second time under his command and there may not be any reason to forgive him for that.

What’s left to hope for?

Kahn’s plan isn’t worth jumping ship quite yet though. Even after bashing the man for his questionable calls and dormant manner at today’s deadline, he still has a chance to redeem himself. Only one chance that is.

With a new CBA in the works and tons of assets to handle, including a sure lottery pick — potentially top 3 — this team has some leverage. But as we’ve seen before, it’s a matter of being able to utilize that leverage and create a better situation on the court in 2011-2012.

The best reasoning I could muster up on why the Wolves didn’t make their move today is because they’re the team lurking in the shadows just waiting for the moment to pounce. The new CBA could crack down on the higher payroll teams more than we think, and who will be ready to welcome that “overpaid” All-Star from their team? The Wolves.

Hope also comes in the form of this magical being from Spain. The name’s Ricky Rubio. The game could very well stabilize a position the Wolves have never had properly filled for more than three years tops at a time. If indeed the magician from Barcelona makes his way to the frozen tundra, it’d be a whole new ball game. Whether or not he can be relied upon as the savior of this God-forsaken franchise remains to be unseen, but he’s easily our brightest glimmer of hope of having any success in the next year or two.

All hope is just a game of cat and mouse for now. The talk of the new CBA is just speculation at this point — A lockout is looming, for God’s sake. Perhaps it’s arranged in such a way it gives larger markets even more power than they have now, which leaves the Wolves in an even darker place. And the actual coming of Rubio is completely out of anyone and everyone’s hands except his own.

The only solid hope fan’s can insert their faith into is Kevin Love and potentially Michael Beasley. Without these two, this season, no, this franchise would be nowhere. We wouldn’t have to root for a double-double every night so Love can break some record. We wouldn’t have Beasley’s antics to sit back and enjoy as well as his raw potential of becoming one of the league’s most lethal scorers. Things would truly be in disarray without these two. They’re easily the building blocks for the future no matter what Kahn makes happen this summer and beyond.

All we can hope for is stability from those two. Everything else is as good a guess as yours. I advise not placing any wagers on the future of the Minnesota Timberwolves, especially with what could go down this summer.

Wolf Track: Kevin Love's story

Grabbing national headlines hasn’t been difficult for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the past. Short tenured coaches, bozo-headed GM’s that make clownish moves and of course the bottomless pit that has been our losing record. All are easy targets to cynical analysts who need someone to pick on.

But not this time. Anna Katherine Clemons is reviewing the amazing life story that is our NBA superstar in Kevin Love. This is a must read, so check it out.

Webster and Flynn's return gets spoiled; Wolves lose to Warriors 108-99

Golden State Warriors' Monta Ellis, left drives past Minnesota Timberwolves' Corey Brewer during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo)
Monta Ellis doesn't need Stephen Curry

Those Warriors are pesky. Just when you think the Wolves had them backed into a corner with no escape route, they hop aboard the Monta Ellis-express and sail their way to a smooth victory.

What should’ve been the story of the night — Martell Webster and Jonny Flynn shine in their game back from injuries and lead the Wolves to a victory — was toiled thanks to magnificent play from Ellis and terrific three-point shooting from the Warriors.

The Wolves came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, which seems to be the case in recent games. Lately they just find a groove in the first quarter that doesn’t seem comparable, making them run away with the score. Darko Milicic was hot and Mike Beasley was firing on all cylinders, especially from mid-range. This continued all the way into the second quarter, where the Wolves actually took hold of a commanding 12-point lead. It seemed unsurmountable at the time, but you never count out a team that has Ellis, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and let’s his game do all the talking for him.

Ellis took charge and led the Warriors back into the game igniting a 12-2 run late in the second. And he didn’t stop there. With the scored tied at 51, Ellis hesitated at the perimeter with the ball in his hands and unleashed a 26-foot bomb with no doubt in his mind — as well as mine — that it would go in. Swoosh, and the Wolves lose their lead going into halftime.

From there, things didn’t get much better. Ellis continued his valiant effort and even got his teammates involved, most notably Reggie Williams. They started firing, and hitting, the three-pointer at will and the Wolves’ defense grew tired and porous as a result. Once the defense was spread out enough, Ellis started beating them off the dribble, slicing through the defense like a knife through butter and attacking the hoop with animosity like he had been all game long.

Ellis was essentially unstoppable tonight. He really is one of my favorite players in the league and probably my favorite to watch play live because of how creative he is and the energy he devotes to a game. The combination of his superior strength and freakishly athletic abilities was too much too handle, especially when he had poor Luke Ridnour guarding him all night. Ridnour was out-matched all night long and paid the price for it. He became frustrated on the offensive end throwing up unneeded shots and only made one out of nine of them. His assist total — 11 for the night — was impressive but it doesn’t make up for what he lost shooting the ball wildly and inefficiently. He honestly just looked like a lost puppy out there looking for someone to pick his ass up and cuddle him.

Kevin Love had a subpar performance, one of the firsts in a very long time. He still got his double-double recording 13-14 but got his 13 points off of a dismal 33 percent FG%. His now infamous three-point shot was contested nicely by the Warriors D as he failed to knock one down, and couldn’t get anything going inside thanks to some tough love on the inside on the part of the Warriors front line and the refereeing crew.

All in all this just wasn’t our night. I was, however, impressed with Jonny Flynn and Martell Webster in their return back to game action. Flynn didn’t do a whole lot, but you couldn’t help but cheer for the guy when he was on the court. After he hit his first three-pointer, he simply jogged back down the court with that smile from ear-to-ear that so many fans have fallen infatuated with. As for Webster, he couldn’t have done anything wrong tonight, in my eyes. He plays like that well-seasoned veteran we need because it seems as if he does everything right, or at least he did tonight. Like I said earlier today, if he keeps these kinds of performances up, we might see Wes Johnson fall into a reserve role as Webster moves into the starting lineup. It could ultimately benefit the team as a whole in the future.

The Wolves continue their road trip tomorrow night with a game at Phoenix, and the tumultuous road trip doesn’t end there: The T-Pups will then head to Portland, Denver and L.A. shortly after that. For a team that’s only won one game so far on the road this season, you can consider this stretch a real test of patience, will and determination.