Archives For 2012-13 Season

Timberwolves 101, Thunder 93: Become One Anything, One Time

Steve McPherson —  March 30, 2013 — 3 Comments
It's a boy.

It’s a boy.

Something you hear a lot of commentators say is that the NBA is a “make or miss” league. I don’t get this. Or rather, I understand that the game is decided by who scores more points, and thus that the team that wins has—by design—made more shots than the other team. But is that all there is to this cliché? If anyone has some deeper insight to it, I’d appreciate it.

But another thing that makes a lot more sense to me that people often say is that the NBA is all about matchups. Consider this: This season, the Timberwolves have a winning percentage of .366, while the Thunder have a winning percentage of .726. And yet the season series between the two teams is even at 2-2. And last season—even though the Wolves were 0-3 against the Thunder—the games were hard fought. Minnesota lost their season opener to OKC 104-100 in 2011-12, and that was before anyone really knew what Rubio could do on a basketball court. And then, of course, there was that magnificent double overtime game in Oklahoma City that saw Barea and Durant notch triple doubles and Love score 51 while pulling down 14 rebounds. Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season , , , ,
permalink

Lakers 120, Timberwolves 117: it takes courage

Zach Harper —  March 28, 2013 — 9 Comments

That’s the only thing we’re going to remember from this game and probably rightfully so.

The Lakers gave the Wolves a lot of opportunities to stay in this game. They played horrendous defense throughout much of the second half and the Wolves fought back to make it a game, thanks to Smite-a-Dwight in the 10th minute of the fourth quarter, a rare missed free throw from Steve Nash, and a rare missed free throw from Kobe Bryant. After Bryant’s missed free throw, Rubio grabbed the board and avoided Kobe as he hauled tail up the court. He released a low percentage runner that never really got a chance to go in because Kobe contested the shot.

In the process of contesting the shot, Bryant hacked Rubio across the forearm. It isn’t the most egregious non-call in NBA history, but it’s certainly a foul that should have been called because it potentially influenced the outcome of the game. Was it more important than the moments in the game that led to 120 points by the Lakers? Absolutely not. But it’s still a chance at a player tying the game and sending it to overtime that was taken away because of a foul that wasn’t called.  Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Game Analysis
permalink

Timberwolves 105, Pistons 82: Jigsaw Falling Into Place

Steve McPherson —  March 27, 2013 — 1 Comment

You can see pretty easily where things started to work for the Timberwolves in this game by looking at this handy game flow chart, courtesy of ESPN.com.

gameflow

First, the bad news: Obviously, neither teamed scored 140 points. Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season ,
permalink

Bulls 104, Timberwolves 97: a broken clock is wrong almost always

Zach Harper —  March 25, 2013 — 6 Comments

WolfBull

“A broken clock is right twice a day.”

This is one of those sayings that is supposed to be clever and profound, but all it does is make me irate when people use it as a crutch for a terrible argument. Sure, a broken clock is correct twice a day, unless you’re in the military — then it’s correct only once a day. And the rest of the 1,439 minutes, you’re left looking at a time holder that is incorrect and you start wondering how you can get this clock fixed. Or maybe you’re wondering if you need to get a new clock altogether.

The point is a broken clock needs to be fixed. Depending on the type of clock, it could just need new batteries or it could need to be wound up. Or maybe there is a gear that’s completely disconnected. Regardless, if you want that same clock to work then you need to figure out what’s wrong with it and how to get it back to keeping the intended time.  Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Game Analysis , , , , , , ,
permalink

Timberwolves 117, Suns 86: Golden Cloud

Benjamin Polk —  March 23, 2013 — 4 Comments

Although in our hearts we always suspected it to be true, we couldn’t help feeling a little distressed over Rick Adelman’s admission yesterday that he is considering walking away from the Wolves this coming summer. (Though you certainly can’t blame the guy for wanting to actually live with his ailing wife, especially after a pair of seasons as cosmically aggravating as these past two.) We can talk all we want about Derrick Williams’ development or Nikola Pekovic’s contract, but the truth is that the middle-term future of this franchise rests entirely upon the relationship between Rick Adelman, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. Take out one vertex of that triangle and, one suspects, the entire spindly structure might collapse.

Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Game Analysis , , , ,
permalink

Kings 101, Timberwolves 98: The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone

Steve McPherson —  March 22, 2013 — 1 Comment

761085

Today we’re going to talk about the philosophical concept of microcosm. Don’t run away! This stuff is cool, I promise. Or, at least as cool as looking at how a season’s worth of frustration can be contained and reflected in a minute and a half of basketball.

Here we go: Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season ,
permalink

Grizzlies 92, Timberwolves 77: Hand dryers are the worst

Zach Harper —  March 20, 2013 — 6 Comments

HandDryers

I generally hate using hand dryers.

Whenever you hit the button or you turn it on using some Jedi-type stuff, if you’re not seeing ripples in your skin then the blow dryer isn’t going to be good enough to dry your hands in a reasonable amount of time. A hand dryer like the one you see above is terrible at doing its job. The air is lukewarm at best and it’s definitely not going to give enough force to move beads of water away from your skin. Push the button; it’s going to last for about four seconds. There is just nothing efficient or effective about a hand dryer like this.  Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Game Analysis , , , , , , ,
permalink

Timberwolves 97, Hornets 95: A Tender History in Rust

Steve McPherson —  March 18, 2013 — 3 Comments

With the Timberwolves welcoming back Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko to the starting lineup after nearly three weeks on the shelf, last night’s win over the New Orleans Hornets was a case study in shaking off the rust.

So let’s start by looking at some of Pek’s play on the defensive end in the first quarter. Here are several defensive possessions by the Wolves that leave a lot to be desired, particularly from Pek:

There’s an airballed hookshot, poor defensive rotations, apathetic rebounding effort, and lead-footed pick-and-roll defense.

But wait: suspend your judgment for a moment because there’s more at work here than just a lack of effort. First of all, neither Pekovic nor Kirilenko actually got to practice with the team before coming back. Normally, there are a set of steps that a player goes through to work back from an injury that involve gradual steps from conditioning to shooting to contact and eventually to full 5-on-5 work. But with the Wolves only dressing nine players for the last several weeks and a jam-packed schedule full of back-to-backs that isn’t allowing for many practices, they didn’t have much choice. Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season , ,
permalink

Rockets 108, Timberwolves 100: Keeping pace

Zach Harper —  March 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

ROCKETWOLVES

I apologize for not getting a quicker game recap up. I forgot it was my turn to writer the gamer until this afternoon. But even though the game against the Hornets is about start, I figured I’d offer up a few thoughts on the Wolves and what it means to be a running team in the league.

The Houston Rockets have up-tempo DNA. Remember that term? That was supposed to be the Timberwolves last season and beyond. That was the brand of basketball that was going to usher in the new era of the Wolves. I don’t say that in a condescending way — at least I don’t mean to. Up-tempo basketball is fun. Up-tempo basketball is exciting. Up-tempo basketball can be something that grabs national attention and put butts in the seats.

It’s also one of the most telling strategies of just how you view your team as a coach, GM, and organization. There are two reasons teams play with a fast pace (and sometimes they coincide with each other):  Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Game Analysis
permalink

Injury roundup with good and sad news

Zach Harper —  March 16, 2013 — 3 Comments

Love Plunge

Let’s go with the sad news first, that way I can tear us down before I build us back up! Strategy!

Kevin Love told Jerry Zgoda that he knows missing the rest of the season is a real possibility. He’s able to admit that to himself, knowing that while he definitely wants to get back onto the court for the team, he still has to listen to the doctor and wait for clearance with the clock on the season ticking away.  Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Injuries , , , ,
permalink