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!