SB Nation - Minnesota Timberwolves

Celtics respond to tough loss with win over Wolves

Jimmy Toscano — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:22:00 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

Tony Allen helped the Celtics take care of Al Jefferson and the Wolves Sunday night.

The Boston Celtics responded to an embarrassing home loss against the Philadelphia 76ers exactly how they should have- with a convincing win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Celtics took a 15 point first quarter lead and turned it into a 25 point halftime lead. Although the Timberwolves made a rally in the fourth quarter, bringing the deficit to 12 points, the Celtics pulled away once again, scoring a season high 122 points in the 122-104 win.

Paul Pierce led all scorers with 29 points on 8/14 shooting including 6/6 from three point territory- tying Danny Ainge and Walter McCarty for the most three pointers in one game. He also added seven rebounds and four assists.

"We talked yesterday and I just told him he needs to get back to playing with his instincts," coach Doc Rivers said of his discussion with Pierce. "I thought he was trying to get everybody involved which you want him to do too but I think our three really instinctive players are Kevin [Garnett], [Rajon] Rondo, and Paul [Pierce] and I think all three of them, they have the curse of a high basketball IQ. And at times I think they start wanting to ‘think' the game, and try to get this guy off; instead of just playing. Their instincts will take over and their IQ will play into it

Rajon Rondo recorded a double-double once again with 13 points and 15 assists. Ray Allen, playing with a hyper-extended ring finger, ended up with 20 points.

The play of the night and maybe season, however, goes to Eddie House and Tony Allen. Early in the second quarter House tipped the ball away from Ramon Session, sending the ball towards the sidelines. House got to the ball just as it was to fall out of bounds and threw a behind the back pass to the streaking Allen. Allen caught the ball cleanly on his way to the hoop and threw down a thunderous slam over Corey Brewer for the points and the foul, sending the crowd and Allen's teammates to their feet.

"Well, first I didn't think (House) was athletic enough to get to the ball," said Rivers. "So the fact that he got to the ball, I was shocked. And then he made a play once he got to the ball- it was pretty spectacular. It was great. I was happy because it was a great defensive play."

Allen finished the night with 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists, but more importantly zero turnovers. The Celtics needed Allen to fill the void left by Marquis Daniels who is out roughly until the All-Star break, and so far since coming back from his injury he has done just that.

"He's been huge man," Pierce said of Allen, "just his energy and what he's been able to bring especially with Marquis [Daniels] out because he's a guy who can come in and slash, score, and also what he's best known for is his defense. He comes in right away and he gets a steal and a fast break layup to start the game off when he gets in the game.

Kendrick Perkins was matched up with his old friend Al Jefferson tonight. Perkins finished the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Jefferson recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds.

"Perk [Kendrick Perkins] is getting better and better every game," said the Timberwolves' Al Jefferson. "If he keeps playing the way he's playing, he's going to get a big contract. He's a great defensive player, always has been... Plus his offensive game is getting better."

If the opponent can see the improvements Perkins has made, you can bet his teammates notice them on a daily basis. Perkins has really come into his own and embraced his role on this team. He has worked on his low-post moves and takes way more high-percentage shots than he has in previous seasons.

"He's improved," Kevin Garnett said of Perkins. "The one thing Doc expressed here is knowing your role, he tried to go out and do that every day, every night, even in practice. But the thing that stands out about him, because I get to see him every day, is that he works on his game every single day and that's what you want from a young guy."

"I know I had a tough matchup," Perkins said of his bout with Jefferson. "I just try to make things hard on him. You're not going to stop Al [Jefferson], you just try to make things tough on him. He will still hit you with some things you won't expect."

Game Wrap Open Thread

Stop-n-Pop — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:46:16 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

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What do you say about a team that played like dogs against a squad that appeared to shut it down somewhere in the 2nd quarter? I've got nothing. I was tempted to turn the channel to a football game right around the time the camera pulled away to show KG joking around with Pierce on the bench with about 10 minutes to go in the 2nd. It was over at that point. The Wolves clawed their way back into the teens against the Boston scrubs, but the only reason this tilt wasn't a 50-point blowout was because Boston took their foot off the pedal...early.

I would like to point out two things. First, at no point during this game was Jonny Flynn ever in danger of setting up a teammate for an easy shot. Never before have I seen someone with more than 20 points get taken apart like he got taken apart by Rajon Rondo. Flynn spent the game about 10 feet off of Rondo begging him to shoot. Rondo did not take the bait and he still found ways to torch Flynn for 13 points (on .500 shooting), 15 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Second, I'd like to point out this fanpost from Rumblebee:

David Kahn about a month ago implied he may not make any significant moves (beyond the draft) to improve the team before next season (such as using cap space). I just saw another comment that gives me the same impression:

Sam Amick: Wolves content to wait for Rubio in the Sacramento Bee.

In the article about Rubio, Kahn mentioned he thinks the Wolves are three or four years away and will then explode as a contender (I'm paraphrasing). This is not the kind of comment someone would make if he were planning on using cap space to bring in a dynamic player this summer, or at the deadline in February. I am sure Kahn would pull the trigger if offered a ridiculous deal, but otherwise it appears the cap space will not be leveraged for at least another year.

That's my read on it too. I know the team will not turn up its nose at a target of opportunity, but this fan base isn't going to wait 2-3 more years with this type of product. It's not. There's not that many of us left. I'd like to think that they have the time to be patient but they don't. On a night where the Wolves played the team that turned itself around faster than any other team in the league, I think most fans are hoping for a Boston-esque approach rather than the Portland plan.

Oh well. It was a bad game and the late game "effort" was only brought about by playing a team that didn't give a rat's you-know-what and passed on beating them down by 30+.

What did you notice about the game?

Kings Lose Game of the Century, If the Century is the 1300s

Ziller — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:27:28 -0000

More photos » by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

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You see, because in the 1300s, things basically sucked, what with the Black Death and all, so I figure there wasn't much time for basketball, so the games were bottled disaster, much like Friday's loss in Minnesota. At least with most Kings losses this season there has been entertainment value -- like the final Lord of the Rings film, you can be aggravated at the ending (a Hobbit tickle fight?! what the Frodo!) but still have enjoyed those three hours of your life. Not this game. This game was like paying $6 to see Phantom Menace in the theater: it blew, you're never getting that time back, and it actually helped ruin that which came before it (the Washington win, in our example; the New Hope trilogy in the malformed analogy). I'll never look at you the same way, George Lucas!

Just a brutal, brutal affair. In some losses, the Kings have had multiple runs at the lead -- like a half dozen, in the case of the second Spurs defeat. The Kings had negative two runs Friday night. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Tyreke Evans had his worst game in ages (despite eight assists, would have been more if the team had shot better than 43 percent from the field), Donte Greene didn't score a point in 18 minutes, Kenny Thomas didn't score a point in 20 minutes, Spencer Hawes had zero defensive rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, the team shot 4-27 from three against a dreadful defensive club, and the team gave up 112 points in 106 possessions to the league's third worst offensive oufit. BRUTAL.

You want a bright side, beyond Omri Casspi (another brilliant scoring effort)? As this Sam Amick video attests to, Kevin Martin is shooting again ... and he's even dribbling with his left hand.

Holy talent infusion, Batman!

In praise of the Big Piranha

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:07:40 -0000

Dear Wolves Marketing:

Please start selling Kevin Love. Please see the attached video for a suggestion about how local sports franchises actually feature their players in TV ads. The ad practically writes itself: Nick Punto and Michael Cuddyer are sitting in a ice shanty on a lake watching video of Kevin Love grabbing rebound after rebound after rebound. Cuddy looks over to Punto and says something along the line of "Winter piranhas, who knew?" Fade to black and a sign that says "Come see the Big Piranha." Show the ticket hot line and cut!

Thank you,

Stop-n-Pop

Moving on, last night's post game show contained something of a big moment for the FSN crew. During the game wrap, analyst (and fellow former Bloomington Kennedy Eagle) Mike McCallow said something that we here at Hoopus have been saying since the latter part of last season: Kevin Love is the best player on this team. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, and more yes.

I know we're in danger of getting repetitive on this point, but the reason why Kevin Love is the best player on the Wolves is simple: He does the most stuff. Last night he was 9-14 from the floor with 16 boards (5 offensive) and 20 points. He controlled the defensive glass, he started fast breaks, he sealed off defenders for easy angles to the bucket for the team's guards, and he even ran a successful 1-on-1 fast break against Tyreke Evans. Al Jefferson can be the best post scorer in the league but that's probably all he could ever be. Love's impact on the game won't be as deep in a single area, but it will be much, much, much wider. When this team gets good (and it will), Kevin Love is going to be its MVP. He will be a much larger-scaled version of what Ozzie Guillen talked about here:

"That's special stuff over there," Guillen said of the Twins club. "All those guys, they don't have big money or big stars, but the way they go about their business is awesome. That's why I call them the little piranhas, because they beat you to death. I would rather someone hit a home run with the bases loaded in the ninth rather then get murdered little by little. Those guys bite you little by little and, all of a sudden, you wake up and you are dead."

Instead of extra bases and hard slides, Love will bite the other teams with hard screens, impossible tips to teammates, and outlet passes. Each one won't seem like much all by itself, but at the end of the day, someone is going to wake up dead. And yes, that's one of the best sports quotes of the decade. Thank you Ozzie.

A few notes from the game:

Why on earth did the Kings not roll with their large front court lineup of Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson? Did the Kings' coaching staff not see what they did to Love and Jefferson last weekend?
Tyreke Evans is a dominant physical presence but he's going to have to figure out what to do on nights when his shot isn't falling.
Sasha Pavlovic is not an NBA player right now. His worst play last night was when Kevin Love screened off a wide-open angle to the lane for Pavs and instead of going right up with the layup he went under the rim and was forced to pass it off. It's almost like he's forgotten the basic language of basketball...if that makes sense.
Another win, another solid wing performance. How much more evidence do we need that the Wolves need a solid (and consistent) wing player more than anything else?

That does it for tonight. Bottom line: Kevin Love + competent wing and point play = W.

Gotta run.

Preview: Kings at Wolves

Ziller — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:00:26 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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THE OPPONENT

Remember the Timberwolves, who last Saturday fell in defeat at the boots of the Kings at ARCO. The Wolves have four victories, including one this week against Utah. Minnesota's four wins (in 26 games, whoo) have come against the Nets, the Nuggets and the Jazz twice. The Wolves have the worst point differential in the league, have the third worst shooting clip in the league, the second worst offense overall and the 24th ranked defense. The Wolves suck.

THE KEY BATTLE

Al Jefferson and Kevin Love vs. Jason Thompson and ... Andres Nocioni? No word as of press time on whether Spencer Hawes will get his starting position back. Facing a Scantron and No. 2 pencil, I would scribble the 'B' bubble, assuming 'B' is associated with 'no.' Hawes had a solid spell in relief on Wednesday, but Spencer's bad outing against Minnesota on Saturday was surely part of the eventual post-Blazers benching.

(And please do not believe Paul Westphal's spin regarding the Wizards match-up. It's been discussed insightfully by others here on StR, but seriously. He got benched. He got benched.)

There are pros and cons, to me, in benching Hawes against teams like the Wolves. First of all, one of the few strengths of Minnesota is its offensive rebounding, between Jefferson and Love. We saw Jefferson own the offensive glass early in Saturday's game. He ended up with five offensive caroms, and Love had four. Benching Hawes, no matter how disappointing he has been on the boards this season, doesn't help when Omri Casspi is the replacement. Omri is a great rebounder at his position ... which is not power forward or center. We saw Nocioni play power forward in Hawes's stead Wednesday; if Hawes sits for Omri, that'd be the case again, with Thompson marking Jefferson (and risking foul trouble) and Noc handling Love. But Noc isn't a PF-level defensive rebounder, either. You open yourself up for exploitation on the offensive glass, something we saw executed perfectly early on by Washington.

Of course, adding Omri to the Evans-Greene-Nocioni-Thompson group makes the offense wail. Casspi is a perfect match for Evans and Thompson, just perfect. So what do you do? If it were my choice, I'd either start Hawes and keep all five Kings back to help rebound (you can score on Minnesota in the halfcourt) or I'd start Kenny Thomas and Omri (the latter in place of Noc), match K-9 up against Jefferson, let Thompson take Love ... and sub in Hawes the second Jefferson sits (or as soon as Thompson picks up his second foul, whichever happens first). Ryan Hollins is a good offensive rebounder, but less of a threat to do anything with the ball and an absolute sieve on the other end.

I have a feeling we'll get Omri in the starting five with Nocioni, which means we'll get a shoot-out, which is probably best for all viewers.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Reggie Theus will arrange for Sam Amick to be forced to sit next to Minnesota's most slovenly, smelly man.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Kings by 6.

DETAILS

5 PM tip-off. Comcast SportsNet and KHTK 1140 AM. Just one game thread tonight, plus the post-gamer (7:45) and the recap (eventually).

KG: Klutch Guy

Bent — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:48:50 -0000

We've discussed Kevin Garnett and whether or not he is fully recovered from his knee injury repeatedly and at length on this blog. In fact, I think Jeff put a moratorium on discussing it at one point (or was that KG himself?) [Editor's note: yeah, that was KG, not me. Knock yourselves out.] Without delving too deeply back into that subject, the numbers tell us that, while he will probably never go back to being the player he was when he won an MVP award in his late-twenties, he has been putting up similar numbers to last year and in recent weeks, has even been approaching the numbers he put up in his first season in Boston.

However, I wanted to talk about a strange apparent side effect from the off-season surgery that nobody seems to be talking about. When did KG become so clutch?

Remember the 2008 playoffs? The Celtics couldn't win a close game and Garnett came under fire for "disappearing" down the stretch (offensively, at least). He came up big with a couple of late jumpers and the game winning lay-up with 21.4 seconds remaining in Game One against the Cavs and got the roll on a short turnaround late in Game Four's comeback win in the finals, but other than that, he more often than not did not produce down the stretch in close games and those two games were highlighted as the exceptions that proved the rule.

Garnett was so intense, so 100-miles-per-hour-at-all-times, that it seemed like when they reached the last few minutes of a tight game, either he was spent, or he didn't have another level to take it to, unlike everybody else. Maybe he was even affected by nerves as the Celtics drew closer and closer to the title.

In the end, it didn't matter. The Celtics had plenty of other go-to options down the stretch and Garnett's play was pivotal in getting the Celtics to that position, almost like a starting pitcher going seven strong innings and then getting his bullpen to finish the job. However, you couldn't help but wonder if the potential of this team could be even greater if he was more of an offensive threat down the stretch.

Fast forward to this season and, in particular, the Knicks games at MSG on November 22nd. With the game in the balance in the fourth quarter, exactly the time where Garnett's reputation would have us believe that he would be a shrinking violet, Garnett was 1-for-10 and, at that stage, was shooting 47.6% on the season. Suddenly, with the pressure on and the Celtics trailing by six, he knocked down a jumper to cut the lead to four. A couple of minutes later, he knocked down a pair of free throws to put Boston up by one. With the scores tied and 1:07 to go, he made another jumper to give Boston the lead. Finally, in overtime, his buzzer beater from the top of the key gave the Celtics a 107-105 win.

But that's just one game, right? Not necessarily. Since that game a pattern is starting to form:

November 25th - Celtics lead the Sixers by six with 3:03 to go. Garnett's lay-up is good to make it an eight point game and they hold on to win 113-110.

November 29th - Celtics lead by one with 2:12 to go. Garnett's jumper is good to push the lead out to three. Later, up by four, he ices the game with another jumper with 38.3 seconds to go.

December 3rd - San Antonio has just pulled within six with under five and a half minutes to go. With the shot clock winding down, Garnett's running hook shot makes the lead eight again and proves to be the crucial bucket as a low scoring finish sees the Celtics only hit one more shot en route to a 90-83 win.

December 8th - With the Bucks within five, Garnett hits a short jumper with 2:12 to go. He later ices the game with a jumper with 38 seconds remaining and the Celtics go on to win 98-89.

December 10th - With the Celtics up by one and 4:01 to go, Garnett nails a jumper to keep Boston up by three. They go on to win 104-102.

December 14th - With the Celtics clinging to a two point lead, Garnett's jumper with 1:20 to go is good and they hang on to win 110-105.

Sure, none of these were game winners, but all of them were clutch shots, late in ballgames that the Celtics could have lost if he had missed. This hasn't happened with such regularity since he arrived in Boston.

Of course, Garnett has been on fire generally, not just in the clutch, ever since that fourth quarter at MSG, shooting an incredible 72% since then and averaging 18.1 points per game, but has the clutch play actually been there all season? Is it possible that when he went in to get his wheel fixed, that they actually replaced his clutch too, without telling us?

Prior to that Knicks game, there were only five games this season that were not decided by a double-digit margin, so let's look at those.

They won two: On opening night, with the Celtics up six against the Cavs, Garnett's jumper with 2:43 to go was good, pushing the Celtics to a six point win. Against the Timberwolves, the Celtics won by two and Garnett had the crucial play on defense, tying up Corey Brewer to preserve the win, although he didn't score in the fourth quarter. (You may recall he had a similar clutch defensive play against Sebastian Telfair, when the teams met in Boston two years ago.)

Even in two of the three close losses that they had (to the Suns and the Magic), Garnett had a couple of hoops in the fourth quarter of each game as the Celtics kept it close, so the Celtics do seem to be getting a pattern of clutch offensive play from their talismanic defensive leader.

I wondered if maybe the fact that they've been careful with him has meant that he played fewer minutes and therefore had more reserves in the tank, but he's been playing more or less the same number of minutes as he has since he arrived in Boston. He did average 38 minutes in the 2008 playoffs though, so fatigue could be one reason for some of his struggles down the stretch at that time (which is where this reputation was partly founded). Could it just be that he is playing with more freedom emotionally, now that he has a title to his name? Or maybe that knee operation has improved his overall level of play and this is paying dividends in crunch time.

Perhaps even more feasibly, maybe the reputation he has earned was never true in the first place. The myth that Garnett isn't clutch was debunked here before the season (and Garnett's repeated examples of clutch play) even began.

The reputation persists though. Garnett's has apparently not yet earned (back?) the reputation as a clutch player. Liam Martin's article for NESN.com stated that

Boston has three [options in clutch time]: Pierce from the elbow, Ray from 3 or Rondo on the drive.

Maybe we can make that four. (Maybe even five when we can finally say "Baby Got Back").

Whatever the reason, Garnett is delivering timely baskets for this team that have been crucial, as they have won seven of the eleven games in this winning streak by fewer than ten points and he has come up big in every single one of them.

Not bad for a fourth option.

Preposterous Statements

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:45:35 -0000

For those of you who are fans of the noon to three program on KFAN you are probably aware of the (in)famous preposterous statement contest where the host and the interim producer gather the silliest and most over-the-top statements from the world of sports and then run them off against each other in a winner-take-all tourney for preposterous statement champion of the world.

During yesterday's pro'grum they added the following statement (from a caller): "If [the Wolves] add a good shooting guard and a center, they'd be a .500 team."

There are two angles to this statement. On one hand, the idea the Wolves are two competent players away from being a .500 team isn't all that far out of an idea. In fact, we here at Hoopus have said over and over that the Wolves need to add a wing player like Rudy Gay and an athletic big like Joakim Noah or Jason Thompson in order to take the next step before hoping that the Sessions/Rubio/Flynn/(Wall?) battle can play itself out at the point.

On the other hand, the idea that the few remaining Wolves fans are in a position to talk excitedly about the addition of 2 more competent players in order to make it to an even split in their record is...well, that's kind of preposterous. It's really preposterous.

What is also preposterous is trying to draw any conclusions about this team from any single game of action. After performing like up-tempo gangbusters against the talented Utah Jazz, the Wolves came out an laid a preposterous egg against the Clips. This team is a whole lot of hit and (mostly) miss right now and if I had to pick one or two angles that would determine whether or not they will win, it would be the play of Jonny Flynn and the nondescript wings. Against Utah, Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn went off and the team was able to compete. Against the Clips, not so much.

OK, that in mind, and with clear understanding that there are no grand themes you can take away from any of these games other than that Minny is out manned by a mile, let's get around to last night's tilt. It was notable for three reasons:

Effort. Last night the Wolves played like dogs. With OKC/Dallas and Sacramento/Washington on ESPN, there were plenty of other entertaining NBA viewing options last night and yours truly took full advantage of the remote in order to see them. Again, I don't think this effort is indicative of a larger trend (i.e. a team that quits); rather, it was simply a bad night in terms of effort and focus. Who should be blamed for this? Ultimately, the coaching staff but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that I found it pretty damn easy to flip the channel to watch the Thunder and Kings, two teams that were worse than the 2008/09 Wolves and who are now both hugely watchable, entertaining, and competitive. I think the Wolves are filled to the brim with a bunch of fine outstanding citizens who I really want to see succeed (for example: Brewer and Gomes) but ultimately there is a line that I'm not going to cross in terms of watching a bad product. Last night's game was a bad product. Too many blank stares and possessions with no ball movement. The Wolves had a chance to cut the lead below 10 with a few minutes to go in the 3rd. Instead of moving the ball around and attacking the paint like they were in the first quarter and a half of play, they ended the possession with two soul-sucking Al Jefferson 15 foot jump shots that book-ended an offensive rebound to keep the play alive. Each time he got the ball during this stretch, Big Al grinded the possession to a halt, faced his defender, and moseyed around a bit before jacking up a mid range jumper on a night where he wasn't shooting well. During the first quarter and a half, the ball was moving, players were driving and kicking, and the Wolves were scoring in transition. At somewhere during the middle of the 2nd quarter, it seemed like a switch went off and ball movement went out the window.
Shooting. A byproduct of bad ball movement and poor effort was a mountain of long and mid range jumpers from a squad that doesn't have any good shooters. The Wolves ended the game with an eFG of 39%. If you throw out Kevin Love's 7-12 effort, they only posted a 35% eFG while going 0-9 from beyond the arc. It's not just that the Wolves were taking long and mid range jumpers, it's that they were taking contested long and mid range jumpers without making attempts to turn their bad look into something better for a teammate. Again, effort contributed to the poor shooting and it led to many a click over to the Dallas/OKC game where I was almost blinded by the awful orange shoes of the Thunder.
Weak side defense. Ouch. I can't remember how many times during the game where I watched a Clipper player (usually Baron Davis) dribble to the corner, get doubled, and then kick the ball across the court for an open shot and/or drive. It wasn't just that the Wolves were doubling a guy they should have been begging to shoot, it was that the other three puppies on the court seemed hell-bent on drifting towards the double-team, further opening up the weak side of the court. I'm not the only person to notice this:

Minnesota has no orientation whatsoever to their defense. Like a lot of young units, the Wolves’ off-ball defenders overplay the strong side. There are moments when Baron is trapped in the right corner with two other defenders cheating that way (2nd, 3:50). Smart teams beg Baron to shoot from that distance, but for some reason the Wolves think they can beat the Clips by pressuring Davis. This dynamic is one reason Rasual Butler is able to find as many clean looks as he does against Wayne Ellington and Corey Brewer in the second quarter, and why the Clips are able to reverse the ball for easy shots at will.

It was also noticed by the coaching staff:

"Our weakside defense was awful. It was absolutely awful. We were unattentive, we didn't anticipate, we didn't read. Very poor," Rambis said. "We didn't root guys off the post, didn't try to deny post opportunities, and our double teams were sporadic. Getting to cutters, rotating to shooters, the whole thing collapsed. That was a disappointment."

It was atrocious. Aggressive double teaming is one thing, having the other guys on the floor getting locked in on the double team and drifting towards it is another. Again, this is another example of poor effort and a lack of concentration. The Wolves really blew it last night. They had a chance to put together their first winning streak of the season against a below average Clipper squad at home. Instead of taking advantage of an opportunity to (relatively) raise the roof and give their hometown fans something to be excited about, they laid an egg and made them turn the channel. Now that's preposterous.

GameFlow can be found here. Four Factors if you care:

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
LA Clippers	98.0	122.4	57.8%	17.8	31.0	10.2
Minnesota		96.9	39.0%	26.4	28.6	12.2

You may notice that today's post was led off with a picture of a Sacramento Monarch. That woman's name is Rebekkah Brunson. She is the 6'3" former All Star forward taken by the Lynx with the 2nd pick in the WNBA dispersal draft. She has a career 18.5 reb% and last year she put up a PER of 19.1. While the Wolves are busy putting up dud efforts on nights where they should be giving their equivalent of a playoff effort, the Lynx are busy putting together one of the best young rosters in all of professional basketball. Is it too late to put Roger Griffith in charge of the Wolves? if you are a fan of great basketball, the best basketball in town for the next few years will indeed be played in the Target Center...by the Lynx. They are putting together a championship caliber squad. Here's hoping David Kahn can follow suit with the guys in the men's locker room.

Randy Livingston Memorial "On The Edge" Call-Up Rankings

Scott Schroeder — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:21 -0000

Dontell Jefferson, the 6'5" point guard, can dunk, as learned here by Reno's Marcus Hubbard. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE)

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As you can see, we've collaborated with the top D-League blogger's in the universe (read: all that would answer my e-mail's) to come up with the top 10 players that are deserving of an NBA call-up. While 10-day contract's aren't able to be handed out until January 5th, there's typically two or three call-up's before that date, which is why we've put our heads together to bring you this list. As you'll remember last season, we alternated this type of post with a more specific list like this one. More than likely, I'll put one of those together as well, just because it serves a different sort of purpose.

Anyway, continue on to see the list and a breakdown of each of the top 10 players, an early holiday gift to all of our loyal readers from the D-League blogging contingent!

Livingston Memorial "On The Edge" Call-Up Rankings
Player w/ link to season stats	Jon L (RU)	Matt Moore (Hardwood Paroxysm)	Scott Schroeder (RU)	Steve Weinman (D-League Digest)	Composite Rankings

Dontell Jefferson	3	3	1	2	1
Anthony Tolliver	1	8	2	1	2
Morris Almond	4	2	3	3	2
Rod Benson	2	1	5	5	4
Desmon Farmer	8	4	4	4	5
Carlos Powell	5	5	7	6	6
Mike Harris	6	10	6	10	7
Sundiata Gaines	7	9	8	8	8
Alonzo Gee	10	6	NR	7	9
Dwayne Jones	NR	7	10	NR	10
Reggie Williams	9	NR	NR	9	NR
Cedric Simmons	NR	NR	9	NR	NR

(If I were to round out a top 15, I'd include Cartier Martin, Ron Howard and Romel Beck)

1. Dontell Jefferson, Utah Flash (20.5 ppg, 6 apg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 spg, 47% FG) - Jefferson should be the poster child for the NBA Development League because I don't think there's been a player that's gotten consistently better like Jefferson has. Consider his D-League draft bio as a rookie back in 2006: to go from averaging 3.2 points and 4.4 assists in college to an call-up to the Bobcats last season is amazing. Having watched a couple of Flash games this year, he may have even gotten better. While his calling card will always be his defense and decision making, the 6'5" point guard is showing some impressive scoring ability this year as well. (Scott Schroeder)

2a. Anthony Tolliver, Idaho Stampede (20.7 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 47% FG, 43% 3pt) - I can't find a word more descriptive of Tolliver's performance than "everywhere." At 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, Tolliver is a large man, even by basketball standards. But the threes he takes aren't typical of the 21st century pseudo-bigs who hang around the perimeter waiting for kickouts. To borrow the type of term Walt Frazier enjoys using, I can remember few other occasions when a player seems as omnipresent as AT - sprinting to the sideline to snare long rebounds from unsuspecting guards and fighting his way to loose balls amidst the pack inside as well. Defensively, more of the same. One second, Tolliver's jumping out to double a guard on a high screen-and-roll; the next, waiting at the rim to provide help on penetration or swat a shot out of vicinity of the basket. (Steve Weinman, D-League Digest)

2b. Morris Almond, Springfield Armor (33 ppg, 6 rpg, 49% FG) - Morris Almond is mostly known for his scoring, and it's true that putting the ball in the basket remains his best skill. He also does so fairly efficiently, getting to the free-throw line at a decent rate. Almond greatly improved his rebounding while in the NBA, though, jumping from just under two boards per-36 minutes as a rookie to around five last season. Almond wasn't able to crack Utah's
rotation but got some offseason looks from the Knicks (Summer League) and Magic (training camp). The one thing that might hold him back is, well, his back. He had some problems with it last year and teams might worry that they'll return, I suppose. He's not as athletic as some of his peers, but he has a very nice midrange game and so far in career has kept working to improve. What sounds bad about that? (Jon L)

4. Rod Benson, Reno Bighorns (16.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 2.2 spg, 53% FG) - Benson's almost a volume rebounder, if there is such a thing. His DRR if he were to ever get a stinkin' flyer would be insane. All you're looking for is quality minutes and you know he'll give you that. He's added frame as he's gotten older and it's not like he's lost in terms of positioning. He's got a high basketball IQ. What's the downside here? The only thing I can figure at this point is that he peed on Adam Silver's rug at some point. And it tied the room together. (Matt Moore, Hardwood Paroxysm)

5. Desmon Farmer, Reno Bighorns (25 ppg, 6.7 apg, 5.5 rpg, 5.17 TO/g (doh!)) - Look, I get the push against guys from the D-League that aren't great at defense. I do. I appreciate that. And I certainly understand the turnover concern. But Farmer has been on summer league teams. He's been in camps. He's done his time. And he fills up the sheet when he's on the floor. He's had cups of coffee with San Antonio and the Pacers and the Sonics. But the Spurs never have room for anyone, and the rest were before the league had experienced success at the NBA-level. He's got potential to be a solid end-of-the-bench contributor with the possibility of a great fill-in in case of injury. (Matt Moore)

6. Carlos Powell, Albuquerque Thunderbirds (21.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4 apg, 50% FG) - Carlos Powell, like Farmer, is he what he is - a big, polished wing that can put his head down and get to the hoop with ease. Powell has an affinity for scoring right around 25 points per game to go along with a handful of assists and rebounds a piece every where he plays. While he's obviously not going to put those numbers up in the NBA, he's a veteran scorer that has what it takes to succeed in the big leagues. (Scott Schroeder)

7. Mike Harris, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (26 ppg, 7 rpg, 59% FG, 45% 3pt) - Harris is currently third in the league in per-game scoring, amidst guys who are more likely to come to mind like Mo Almond, Reggie Williams, Desmon Farmer and Sundiata Gaines. He's making 45 percent of his three-pointers and averaging 10 rebounds per 48 minutes. So basically, he's good. The Rockets obviously like him, having retained him off of their Summer League team, but any other teams jealous of Houston's glut of 6'6" combo forward action too can get in on it by calling Harris up. He's been playing mostly inside next to Joey Dorsey, which helps, but he's also pretty athletic and has worked on his shot enough where he can play some small forward as well. (Jon L)

8. Sundiata Gaines, Idaho Stampede (25.4 ppg, 7.7 apg, 5.3 rpg, 56% FG, 2 spg - has started 1 of 7 games) - That's right, a (mostly) D-League reserve made our call-up rankings. Gaines is that good (and also Bob MacKinnon's bench usually plays a lot). A combo guard in college, Gaines has been playing more point in Idaho, and he's been one of the best in the league so far. He's second in the league in assists, both per-game and per-48 minutes, fourth in the league in scoring, and perhaps most impressive is the fact that he's averaging just three turnovers in that fast-paced MacKinnon offense. Gaines isn't the biggest point guard around, but he's really, really, talented, and his game should speak enough for itself for him to get some consideration. (Jon L)

9. Alonzo Gee, Austin Toros (20.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 55% FG) - You can't really take Gee in the Virtual Scout Game. I mean, he's a rookie, playing in a power system that rewards players of his ilk. And he's not really MVP worthy, despite being second in Pts+Reb+As, since he plays alongside the double-double machine Dwayne Jones and Curtis Jerrells. But if you're looking for top-level production that you could sign and immediately send back down? Gee would be a fantastic option for farming. You know, if anyone had managed to do that effectively. Thanks for ruining that dream, Ian Mahinmi. (Matt Moore)

10. Dwayne Jones, Austin Toros (18 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 66% FG) - Jones has clearly been working on his post moves in the offseason, and while they're still not great, he looks a lot more fluid executing them. In addition to the spin move he "had" last year he's added one where he goes underneath the basket and lays it in from the other side, which was pretty effective. And, just so we're clear, his numbers have been helped tremendously by being matched up with Kevin Pittsnogle in five of his ten games. (Jon L)

Recap - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:43:27 -0000

More photos » by Melissa Majchrzak - NBAE/Getty Images

Hello, my name is Jonny Flynn, I'll be driving by you this evening.

Browse more photos »

And that, is why the Jazz are not a top tier team yet. There's no way one of the top teams in the league come off a week beating teams like SA, LA, and Orlando and then give up 110 points to one of the worst teams in the league. Matchups, smatchups. Cannot happen.

Despite how poorly the Jazz played, they came alive with 4 minutes to go in the game. Millsap had three of the biggest blocks I've seen this season in addition to the one he had against the Lakers. The team got a couple of steals late. They finally tied it up with about 16 seconds to go after Memo missed a three, followed by Millsap getting the offensive rebound, kicking it back out to Deron, who ninja-whipped it into AK for the game-tying dunk. Unfortunately, that gave Minnesota a last possession.

Jonny Flynn had little resistance as the clock wound down and he drove into the lane for the layup. The Jazz then got the ball back with three seconds left but a Deron Williams three was off.

I joked in the game thread that as long as we had a fifth quarter that we would be fine. We almost got one but it never should have come to that. There were a bunch of reasons for the loss, let's look at a few,

Free Throws. 21/37 isn't going to cut it in church ball let alone the NBA. Even with as bad as the Jazz played on D, if they made their season average of 75%, they win this game.
Not bringing the same focus as they did against the Lakers

Seems to be a classic Jazz trap. Play well against the big teams and take the little teams for granted. By the time they finally got things going late in the fourth, it was too late.
Too little Booze? He got 15 shots, but like above, he didn't get things until the fourth quarter and didn't really impact the game like he has over the past few weeks.
Defensive rebounding on both ends. The Jazz gave up 14 offensive boards while getting only 7 for themselves. They got a couple of stops down the stretch but couldn't get a defensive board. Jazz got worked on the boards overall 48-36
Jonny Flynn got any shot that he wanted and nailed them. He started out 4-4 from three and drove at will. Part of that was getting by DWill and the other part is that there was nobody inside to stop him. He got most of his in the first half which kept the momentum going for the TWolves. He finished with 28 & 5 including that game-winner.
As mentioned in the game thread, the rotation probably had something to do with it. Korver and AK both saw action tonight. For Korver it was the first of the year and AK had been out for a while. Both never got in the flow of things. They needed to be worked back in at some point of course but they definitely impacted the rotation that the Jazz had going on.

Also CJ wasn't on the bench for a lot of the game as he was apparently sick. Kobe had the last laugh so it seems.
I said matchups, smatchups. And that is still true. But for whatever reason, the Jazz haven't matched up well with Minnesota. Probably the biggest reason being rebounds. Jefferson and Love are some of the best in the league and the Jazz just don't see that often.

And still this is a game that the Jazz needed to win (you know as opposed to the others that they're okay to lose :)). This loss is a huge stomach punch as they head out on the road with their first stop in NJ. And now your worst fears are that they're going to lose back to back games to the two worst teams in the league.

What sucks most of all is that all of the great things that we saw in this game were for naught.

Deron Williams continued his amazing run by putting up 38 & 13 with just one turnover. 19 of those points came in the second quarter but the Jazz were only up 4 at the half. Pathetic waste.

It's a waste that I wasn't able to say how Millsap's monster blocks were a turning point in the game.

We're so close right now and I don't see how we can take the next step. We have problems with quick, penetrating guards because we're not slowing them on the perimeter when there is a pick and roll or some other type of screen. Once they're past that first line of defense it's a jailbreak.

One thing that I was going to mention about the Laker game, which I kind of did in the game thread, was that their bigs were killing us. Gasol and Bynum had their way inside and if Kobe had become a passer instead of a shooter in that game, they could have won that.

Because we're so close, the Jazz need to pull the trigger on something to get some interior D. Amazingly, I think we have the shooters right now in Brewer (mid-range J has been good) and Wesley Matthews. With CJ returning there's now the odd man out with Korver. I don't know who he can be packaged with or for whom. But we'd need a Gasol-like steal trade-wise to become a true contender.

As for now we have a team that will give us 7-3 but 1 or 2 of those losses are against the bottom teams in the league and come playoff time the interior "defense" will be exposed. We need some help. Great quote from clarkpojo on the subject,

Mostly our defense is so bad. But mostly our defensive execution. We fail to run special defenses to gameplan against other teams. It’s frustrating.

Hand it to the TWolves though. They exploited the Jazz again on offense and for the most part got the shots that they wanted and knocked them down. They've seemed to have figured out that if you can get to the Jazz early, they're not going to be able to slow you down easily.

On a lighter note, we now how Harprisms. I used to keep track of Boonerisms but I got used to them and tuned them out. Every once in a while he will still say something that sticks out. But don't worry, we have Matt Harpring to the rescue. He gives some insight on some things, but others are just, well, Matty. Here's just a few namely because I couldn't keep up with him,

He asked why nobody whacked Kobe's hand in the Laker game when they knew that he had a broken finger. Not really a Harpism, but he was confirming something that I thought players might do, but never really knew for sure or not.
"There should be a stat for playing hard."
On the TWolves, "They're playing to win." As opposed to other nights when they're trying to create a vortex of suck.
What were some that I missed? Too bad he won't be around after tonight.

Other blogs,

Congratulations Utah!!!

Stop-n-Pop — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:46:03 -0000

You are now responsible for 1/2 of the Wolves' victories. Well done. A zombie dance for you.

Game wrap in a bit.

UPDATE: Game wrap below the fold.

The Jazz are an interesting team. On one hand, they have some thoroughly non-enjoyable/unlikable talent. Carlos Boozer is a Dookie in preparation for leaving a 2nd team in his wake, Kyle Korver is a silly Iowegan, and Jerry Sloan will continue to coach as if the league were still in the midst of a coked-out pre-80s haze. On the other hand, they have the player I consider to be the best and most entertaining point guard in the game: Deron Williams. As much as I cannot stand to watch a backstabbing Dookie, Coach Cleaver, and the most annoying fellow Creighton Jayhawk in the world, there is no player I enjoy watching more when he is "on" than the former Illini point.

A couple of games ago the Wolves' TV crew ran a poll about who they thought was the best point guard in the game. I can't remember who they ended up picking, but for my money's worth, if I'm putting together a squad to win it all, here are my top 3 picks at the point: Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Tony Parker. Williams, to me, is the greatest surgeon in the game. He's not as flashy as Chris Paul or Steve Nash but he's physically dominant for his position with a balanced game that picks apart his opponent with precision and consistency. From the line, from mid-range, from beyond the arc, in transition, in 1/2 court...the guy does it all. He was playing out of the post of several key possessions in the 4th quarter and it baffles me that Sloan didn't ride that horse hard. Plus, when the game is on the line and time is running off the clock in a must-win playoff game, he can get his shot off in traffic, which is an amazingly important trait that some possess while others do not. Sorry CP3, I want D-Will for that possession.

Anywho, the first thing that should be pointed out about last night's tilt was that Williams was the best player on the court and it wasn't even close. He shot the lights out from the floor, got to the line a ton, dished out 13 assists, and...well, (robot voice on) Jerry Sloan is a fantastic coach and he knows exactly how to use Mr. Williams (robot voice off).

OK, now that we've talked about Utah's point guard, let's take a few minutes to gab about Jonny Flynn. Flynn undoubtedly shows flashes of brilliance. His quickness is world class and while he still needs to learn a thing or two about running a pro offense, his court vision is top shelf. His outside shot is surprisingly serviceable and should he ever develop an ability to dish off of the drive, he'll be damn near unguardable. That being said, the flashes of brilliance are accompanied by stretches of outright boobery. The CP3 inbounds boner in the NOLA game stands out over anything else but he is also guilty of overdribbling, going too much to his right, and inexcusably holding the ball when it is rotated his way on a nightly basis. Adding to our T-Wolves dictionary (first addition: Brewsist) is the Jonny Stop: The way in which a freely moving ball is stopped by an ultra-quick lead guard who uses the opportunity to survey the court and negate his greatest strength, his speed.

Watching Flynn play the point you can practically see his High School/AAU/Syracuse coaching play out in a motion picture thought bubble above his head. This kid has been the dominant lead guard for so long, and he has played for so long against such relatively inferior competition, that his first instinct in close games and/or highly leveraged situations is to do what he has always done: Be the be-all/end-all of ball movement and end the damn possession for his team. At Niagra Falls High, NY AAU, and Syracuse, his speed alone was enough to get the job done. No need for setting up teammates. No need for creating angles. No need for worrying about the shot clock. When the heat was on, it was Jonny, the ball, and his defender. This kind of nonsense will not fly in the NBA for a player like Flynn. He's not that quick. Maybe it will have its time and place in a few years when he gets the benefit of the whistle and learns how to better incorporate his teammates, but not now. While Flynn ended the contest with a career high in points while shooting the lights out from beyond the arc, he stunted several key possessions with the Jonny Stop. Also, while I'm very, very happy that he made the game winning shot, I think I suffered a Randy Foye flashback with the kamikaze drive down the right side of the lane. At least he didn't try and bank it off the shot clock.

Let's wrap this up with some bullet points.

Should the Wolves have lost, Kevin Love and Damien Wilkins would have been my choices for goats of the game. There is no dumber shot in all of basketballdom than the foot-on-the-line 3. There is no excuse for it. It has all the risk of a 3 pointer with none of the reward. Dumb, dumb, dumb, and more dumb. Love and Wilkins both made toe-on-the-line 2 pointers.
While Flynn took some heat earlier this season for an ill-conceived behind-the-back pass attempt, he and Love ran the behind-the-back pick-and-roll twice in the last two minutes of the game and it netted them two wide open three point attempts. It's really not a flashy play and it has the potential to be a nice addition to the offense. I want to see a lot more of the middle pick and roll with Love and Flynn.
The star of the game has to go to Corey Brewer. There were a few points in the game where Brewer reverted to the holy-crap-he's-everywhere kind of player that we got kind of excited about a few weeks ago. He was dunking, sticking shots, rebounding, and holding people up on defense all night long. It really is amazing how different this team looks with competent wing play. Imagine if they had some outside shooting to go along with the competent wing play. Paging Rudy Gay.
If the flash went to Flynn and the star went to Brewer, the workhorse award goes to Big Al Jefferson. The guy is really starting to return to form and he played the role of the bruising running back, grinding out short yardage situation after short yardage situation in order to keep drives alive and his team in the game. This site has been home to a long standing debate over the relative worth of Jefferson and Kevin Love for about 2 years now and my current thoughts on the duo are this: The problem with the Wolves is not Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Neither has the advantage of playing with a consistently competent wing player or an outside shooter worth his salt. Neither has the advantage of playing with a group of properly-sized perimeter players. There is nothing wrong with having 1 or 2 undersized players in your rotation provided that you surround them with athleticism and length. Al and Love have complimentary skills and they are obscenely skilled on the offensive end of the court. My take on the pairing is that they are still in need of a Joakim Noah/Jason Thompson 3rd wheel and a pair of athletic slashers on the wing. I have been saying this since before Love came aboard. In the front court I want the aforementioned Noah/Thompson type and on the wing I have opined for, in order, Josh Smith, Trevor Ariza, and Rudy Gay. This team can put it together with some competent wing play and for either Flynn or Ricky Rubio to work out at the point...or for John Wall to land at the doorstep of 600 First Avenue. Wings, an athletic backup big, and hashing out the point guard situation, these are the things that need to be worried about before talking about whether or not Love and Jefferson can play together. Rudy Gay, Rudy Gay, Rudy Gay. Please, get 'r done. It has been obvious for over 2 years.

OK, that does it for tonight's wrap. We'll have a very cool announcement on the site tomorrow and then I'll follow that up with a post on the Lynx's choice in the supplemental draft, Rebekkah Brunson.

PS: If you really want to know why the Wolves won, it was because they collected a very large number of their misses:

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Minnesota	98.0	112.2	52.4%	27.7	32.6	15.3
Utah		110.2	53.7%	25.9	17.1	12.2

When you have an eFG of over 50% and you are collecting a 1/3 of your misses, life is good. This is another reason why you don't want to monkey with the Love/Jefferson duo. If you surround them with competent perimeter players, they will destroy the boards. BTW: We need to come up with a Wolves Dictionary term for when Love grabs an offensive rebound in between 3-4 defenders.