April 6, 2012

Guest Post from Jimmy: the NCAA Tournament Genius


The following is a guest post from Jimmy, who destroyed the rest of us the the Wolves Rubes NCAA Tournament Challenge.  Congratulations Jimmy!  Check out his Vikings blog HERE.  You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter @submissioncp3.

Greetings WolvesRubes readers. I'd like to thank WolvesRubes for the opportunity to express a bit of my views on the current turmoil that is our Minnesota Timberwolves. Now we have ten games left. Three of which are against current sub-.500 teams, 4 games against bubble teams, with OKC, LAC and Indiana rounding out the top. So what does this all mean? That we need to beat those four bubble teams so that Utah can eek their way into the playoffs.

Let's hope this year's draft finds better results!
'What am I talking about?' you may be asking yourselves. The wolves are five games out with ten to play. The odds of making the playoffs the way we've been playing is abysmal. So what about the Jazz? You're a Wolves fan, why should you care if the Jazz make the playoffs? Well I'm here to inform that we are currently without a first round pick for the upcoming draft. A draft that was very appealing at the start of the season with so many kids staying for another year of college (Barnes, Sullinger, T-Jones) and now isn't as appealing as it was speculating all the guys staying and the one and dones this year. The point being that we don't have a 1st round pick as it was traded back in 2005 when we got Sam Cassell from the Clippers, but we could have one.

When we traded Al Jefferson to the Jazz we got Kosta Koufos and a first round draft pick. It was top-16 protected last year and this year is Top-14 protected. So as long as the Jazz make the playoffs we get their first round. Got it? 

Also this tid-bit of information came across my desk last night. The Wolves haven't won a game in April since April 8th, 2009 when we defeated the Golden State Warriors 105-97. We have a few more opportunities with the shortened season going deeper into April.

Speaking of the shortened season and one last thought. I have enjoyed immensely the turn around the Wolves have made. The playoffs would have been nice but winning more games than we had last season with 16 less games is awesome.

If you're a Vikings fan you can check out my Vikings blog mybloodrunspurple.blogspot.com. Again I'd like to thank WolvesRubes for the time and the plug and you kind readers for milling over my thoughts. I'm sure you'll find yourself cheering for Al Jefferson once again (at least for a short time.)

Follow Wolves Rubes on Twitter @wolvesrubes.

March 22, 2012

I Miss Ricky

Since that Friday night against the Lakers, nearly 2 weeks ago now, the Wolves have lost 5 out of their last 7 games.  I tried to talk myself into thinking that we would be ok with the chemistry that has been built here, Barea on his way back from injury, and Ridnour actually playing fairly well at the time.  In what seems like an instant, Minnesota has gone from having sole possession of the #8 spot in the West, to 2.5 back and 3 teams in their way to get back to that point - in less than two weeks.  In fact, their only 2 wins during the post-Rubio era have been against a team that is tanking this season to preserve their 1st round draft pick (Warriors), and a hot Suns team which we just outscored shooting 14-22 from 3 point range.

 

As expected, the lack of overall energy on both ends of the floor has been the most noticeable difference from then and now.  What I think has been a little surprising has been the Wolves complete inability to defend effectively without Ricky around any more.  I expected moving Ridnour back from the 2 to the 1, sliding Webster into the lineup would actually improve the defense.  These last 7 games, the Wolves have given up 107.2 points per game.  In the 41 games previous, the Wolves gave up an average of 96.5 points per game.  Before Rubio got hurt, only 5 times did the T'Wolves even give up more than 107 points in 41 games.

The part about Rubio's game that I love the most probably cannot be tallied by any statistic.  He brings effort, competitiveness, leadership, emotion, and this feeling that the team has a chance every night when he is on the floor.  Sure, he's effectively flashy, but who knew how much of a defensive impact he has.  Maybe this even stems from the confidence that he instills in the team on both ends of the floor, I don't know.  Ricky Rubio may never shoot like Chris Paul, explode to the rim like Derrick Rose, or shut down an opposing point guard like Russell Westbrook.  The truth is, however, that this team is completely different without Ricky Rubio.  Offensively, he keeps everything in motion; defensively, his impact is beginning to show now that he's not around anymore.

I miss Ricky.  Only 8 of the last 18 games are against teams not currently in a playoff spot.  We have 9 at home, 9 on the road.  I wish I could say that there is a comeback ready to protrude from this team, but it's looking pretty meek at this time without our favorite point guard.  I never want to throw in the towel too early, but I really miss Ricky.

Follow Wolves Rubes on Twitter @wolvesrubes.

March 14, 2012

More Trade Rumors

UPDATE: As I finished writing, now Beasley/Crawford/Lakers buzz is flying...I can't keep up anymore.

Over at Canis Hoopus, they referenced a couple more recent trade rumors that are being talked about this afternoon.  One would involve a Michael Beasley/Jason Richardson swap with Orlando, and the other involving CJ Miles from Utah.  One of the options involving CJ Miles is a three team deal where the Wolves would give up Ellington and possible draft picks, and receive Miles and Jamaal Tinsley in return.



March 13, 2012

Future Timberwolves: Eric Gordon?

As we draw nearer to the NBA trade deadline 2 days from now, more and more rumors are flying around involving Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Jamal Crawford, Michael Beasley, Pau Gasol, and just about every other player in the league it seems like.  At this point I get the feeling more and more that Minnesota is going to stand pat this week with the roster they have.  Unless they are overwhelmed by an offer for Beasley or Williams, I just don't see Kahn parting with either one of those guys with the team in this position in the Western Conference standings.  The return from a trade by the Wolves would probably be in the form of draft picks, and I would be surprised if the chemistry on this team is disrupted this week - even with the loss of Ricky Rubio.  Looking further ahead beyond this season and into the off-season, however, my eyes are set on one player: Eric Gordon.

 

March 12, 2012

Reason for Optimism

As it stands this very moment, the Minnesota Timberwolves are still only 1 game behind Houston for the #8 spot in the West, a game and a half behind Dallas at #7, and only 2 games back from Denver at #6.  On the flip side, Portland, Phoenix, and Utah are all within a game of Minnesota, with Golden State only 2 behind.  In a shortened season, literally every single game is going to make a significant difference in the chase for that playoff spot which seemed to slip a little from the grasp of the Wolves on Friday night with 16 seconds left.  Only 4 games now separate #6 through #14 in the West with a little over 1/3 of the season to go.  Without Ricky Rubio's presence these final few weeks, I wondered if it's even worth it to consider a playoff run at this point, especially after the performance on Saturday night against the Hornets.


March Madness Challenge

What a rough weekend for the Timberwolves.  Rubio's done, we're back in 9th place, and we just lost to the New Orleans Hornets.  Luckily, the brackets were set last night for the NCAA Tournament.  Here at Wolves Rubes we want to have a little contest.  We've created a group through Yahoo Fantasy Sports where you can fill out a bracket for this year's tourney.  If you get the most picks correct out of 63 possible (play-in games aren't included), you get to write a guest post on this blog.  Or, if you want a better prize than the fame and fortune of writing for us, please leave your ideas in the comment section and they will be considered!


March 9, 2012

Wolves/Lakers - Beat the Streak

This past Tuesday, March 6th, marked my fifth anniversary.  Nope, not my wedding anniversary - that's not for a few more weeks.  Tuesday was the 5 year anniversary of the last time I saw my favorite basketball team beat the LA Lakers.  That night at Target Center, Ricky Davis was 2 assists shy of a triple-double (33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists), KG poured in 26 and 17, Rashad McCants played 22 minutes off the bench, and Marko Jaric and Mark Blount started at the 2 and 5 respectively.  Kobe had his usual performance against the Wolves, scoring 40 points, 13 boards, and 8 assists.  Even Smush Parker scored 24 that night, but it wasn't enough as the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers 12-2 in the 2nd overtime to win 117-107.  It's been 17 straight Laker victories since that night.

This is what Kobe thought of Smush Parker.

March 8, 2012

Barea Out, Welcome Malcolm

Per Star Tribune Timberwolves writer Jerry Zgoda, JJ Barea will have some time off here this weekend to allow his left ankle to heal.  Pekovic will be back, thankfully, to help with the twin towers from LAL.  Also, Malcolm Lee will be on the bench on Friday night in case of foul trouble at either guard spot.  I've really been looking forward to Lee making his NBA debut, if nothing else, because he's something different that's already paid for.  I really don't know much about him, though, aside from his UCLA background.  So, who is Malcolm Lee?



Sit Back and Relax Mr. Kahn

As one of our most esteemed followers noted after last night's victory, I too am hoping I am not just reacting to one night's performance when I say this.  At this point, unless the Wolves are acquiring a 1st or 2nd scoring option before the trade deadline, I really hope no significant deals are done to disturb what's going on with this team right now.  Are the T'Wolves on a path toward the NBA Finals?  I think that is probably quite a stretch.  However, the type of player it would take to get to that level would take a trade piece with the names "Rubio" or "Love" on the back of the jersey to make that happen.


March 7, 2012

Jamal Crawford... No thanks

I heard today that the Timberwolves are making a run at acquiring Portland guard Jamal Crawford - probasketballtalk.com has more here. Oh and what do you know? We get a firsthand look at Crawford tonight. Although with all due respect to Crawford, a pro basketball player who hits jump shots at clutch times in front of thousands of opposing fans, he's not playing very well tonight.


March 6, 2012

Breaking Down the Wolves Ownage of the Clippers

Well, our favorite NBA team continued their success last night against the NBA's version of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see last night's 3rd of 4 meetings in what I would call a budding rivalry between K-Love and the Wolves and Blake Griffin and the Clippers.  There was a lot of talk about how Love's game winner about 6 weeks ago was lucky and the Clips were without Chris Paul, but that jabber has slowed with the completion of the Lob City Sweep last night.  Here are just a few observations from this 3-game set so far with LAC.

February 29, 2012

Darko 2, Blake 0.

Leading up to last night's tilt with the Clippers, hope was at an all-time high and I couldn't wait for the 2nd half of the season to see what my favorite basketball team could do as they push for the playoffs.  More specifically, I really wanted to see the match-up between our best power forward, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin.  Just to throw this out there right off the bat, I am not a big fan of Blake Griffin.  I never have been and never will be.  My opinion of Blake Griffin before last night was that he was really good at dunking a basketball, and not much else.  So, last night I was really hoping Love would dominate Griffin all-around to validate my opinion.

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February 28, 2012

Future Timberwolves: Anthony Morrow?

According to Darren Wolfson of KSTP, the latest rumor out there involves the Timberwolves interest in New Jersey Nets guard Anthony Morrow.  In the same tweet Wolfson commented that the Nets did indeed plan on keeping him, but this rumor sure is intriguing.  After all, Morrow made 8 3-pointers and scored 42 points when the Wolves beat the Nets about a month ago.  That kind of shooter is right up the alley of the Wolves current needs.  Let's break down the numbers on Anthony Morrow.


February 27, 2012

Welcome Back Wolves! From: the NBA

Well that was fun! It was nice to have an NBA All-Star weekend that you felt good about. Yes, we have made ourselves know throughout the past few years in the Rookie/Sophomore game - thanks to our 6 picks in the top 7 over the past 5 years. Yow! And once again the Wolves made their presence known in the first Shaq vs. Chuck game with some spectacular highlights from Ricky of the Year. But even before Rubio shined in the Rookie challenge along with Derrick Williams, or D-Will hopped over Crunch's bike in the dunk contest, or K-Love stood toe-to-toe with the world's best 3-point shooters and won, or K-Love having an impressive showing on Sunday night with some big 3's, (Wow, 'Sota was legitimately represented at All-Star weekend!) the Wolves were having one of their most exciting 1st halves of the season in team history. Momentum is on the side of the Timberwolves right now.

Future Timberwolves: Lakers 1st Rounder?

Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press noted on Saturday that the Timberwolves are serious about the possibility of trading Michael Beasley for a 1st round pick from the LA Lakers.  On the surface, that sounds like a great idea, knowing that Beasley was acquired from the Miami Heat for a 2nd round pick.  Good job, Kahn!  Right?

The Lakers currently own their own 1st rounders every year moving forward, and they also own Dallas' 2012 pick - top 20 protected.  If the season ended today, the Lakers pick would be #21, and Dallas would own #22 (which means the Lakers would get it this year).  So, the question becomes, is a #21 or #22 draft pick worth acquiring in this upcoming draft for Michael Beasley?


February 24, 2012

Breaking Down the Remaining Schedule

Living in a state where my favorite baseball team won 38.8% of their games, and my favorite football team won 18.7% of their games; I have to say it feels pretty good to say that my favorite basketball team is .500 at the All-Star break and within 1 game of a potential playoff spot.  As you would expect in a 66-game condensed schedule that almost feels like an MLB regular season, the first half absolutely flew by.  Knowing that sometimes a 5 day break can do weird things to a team, let's take a look at the remaining schedule and try to figure out what to expect from these last 32 games.  Will the Wolves continue to compete like they did in the last week winning 4 out of their last 5?  Or will they run out of gas in the end and miss the playoffs for the 8th straight year?

Can Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio lead the Wolves to the Playoffs?

February 23, 2012

The JJ Barea Show


The first 42 minutes of the Wolves/Jazz game last night felt like that commercial from about ten years ago where a tall guy has his hand on top of the head of the short guy holding him at arm’s length.  The short guy says “Don’t make me…sweep the leg.”  Of course he can’t reach him because his legs are too short.  Maybe it was a movie – I don’t remember.  The last 6 minutes however, were the JJ Barea show.

February 22, 2012

Future Timberwolves: Monta Ellis?

There are an awful lot of rumors starting to fly around regarding the Timberwolves these days, as we are about 3 weeks away from the trade deadline.  This morning I heard about the Wolves putting in a call about Monta Ellis.  In my opinion (and I would assume many of yours), the Wolves are in desperate need of a scoring wing; so whether this rumor is true or not, let's take a look at the possibilities here.

February 21, 2012

Linsanity Ruins the Day for the Wolves


The Timberwolves have now dropped 11 of their last 13 games at the Pepsi Center in Denver, dating back to the 2005-06 season.  What a frustrating loss it was last night.  The Wolves were 6-27 (22.2%) from deep, shot 36.4% overall on the night, missed a bunny in the end, and watched Martell Webster go in for a dunk down 3 with time running out.  It’s hard not to be a little depressed this morning knowing that a win last night, combined with Portland’s loss to the Lakers, would have put the Wolves in a nice little tie for the #8 spot in the Western Conference with Denver and Portland.  As it stands, once again the Wolves are held at arm’s length 2 games back from Memphis and Denver, currently in the #7 and #8 spots in the West.

February 20, 2012

Electronic Mail and that Twitter Thing

If you haven't already, we would encourage you to follow Wolves Rubes on Twitter or follow via E-Mail by clicking on the links on the right side of the page.  We are @wolvesrubes on Twitter.  If you don't have a Twitter account, you should get one.  It's really cool.  If you still don't want to have a Twitter account, we'll email you every time we post something on here if you type in your email address under "Follow by Email" to the right.  If you don't even have an electronic mail account, tweet us your mailing address and we'll send you a hard copy of every blog entry.

Future Timberwolves: Pau Gasol?

With the NBA trade deadline less than a month away (March 15th this year), rumors are beginning to fly like Derrick Williams in the dunk contest.  Kobe Bryant stirred the pot yesterday with his comments about Lakers management, saying, “It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow,” Bryant said. “So I’d rather them not trade him at all. If they were going to do something, I wish they would just … do it. If they’re not going to do it, come out and say you’re not going to do it.”  There was a rumor of a trade offer of Pau Gasol for Kevin Love right after the CP3 deal fell through, and there have been musings since of Pau finding his way to Minnesota.  The only problem is that Love has now signed his extension, which means there is virtually no chance he will get traded any time soon.

February 19, 2012

Reason #6,355 We Love Ricky Rubio! (he's not like anyone else)


We've seen young players that have huge impacts on teams right away in their career. Ricky Rubio is not unique in that sense. But watching him play I realized something: Ricky Rubio plays like he has been with his teammates since they started their traveling team in 3rd grade. His understanding of where each player is on the court, and his understanding of the individual strengths of his teammates - Wes Johnson included - is one of the aspects that makes his game so unique.

Former T'Wolves in the News: Gugli-outta here!

February 17, 2012

Who Loves the Timberwolves?

We love the Timberwolves.  That's why we will be taking our blogging skills to the internet.

Wolves Rubes is coming to you from the same people that brought you Twins Rubes.  We're brothers and we've actually been alive long enough to see the very beginning of the franchise (unlike the Twins).  This morning we decided it would be fun to expand our blogging into the NBA world.  We don't do it for the glory, the cash, or the nice cars.  We do it because we love the Minnesota Timberwolves - and it gives us a medium to vent about the no-call when Lebron wins the game against us.

You can "follow" us on Twitter @wolvesrubes, and you can also subscribe via email on the right hand side of this page.  I would encourage you to tell your friends, enemies, family members, and pets about us; we really want this to be as interactive and fan-based as possible.  Our hope is that Wolves Rubes can be a place you can turn to when times our good, and a place where you can climb out of the hole after a 4 game losing streak and be encouraged by some positivity.

Enjoy!