Timberwolves Vs. Wizards Preview: Meet Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love And DAR-KO
by Mike Prada on Jan 8, 2012 10:22 AM EST
in Game previews
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PrintThe Minnesota Timberwolves, led by McDreamy, Kevin Love and Serbian Gangster, come into town looking for their first win in Washington D.C. since December of 2003. Let's meet them.
Are they good in general?: Despite all the good feeling up there, no. They're 2-4, and that includes home losses to an injury-depleted Memphis team and the Cavaliers.
Are they good against the Wizards? This version of the Timberwolves has not played the Wizards yet.
Are they fast or slow? The Wizards are finally playing a true fast-paced team! The Timberwolves are fourth in the league in pace under new coach Rick Adelman, and that's actually a step down from where they were the last couple years (first last year, third in 2009/10). Before, they ran like crazy without any rhyme or reason. Under Adelman, they're running a lot more efficiently.
Are they especially good at anything? Minnesota is an outstanding rebounding team, ranking in the top six in both offensive rebounding rate and defensive rebounding rate. Kevin Love is the primary man to thank for this, as he's off to another fantastic start on the glass, but there are others. As a team, they really do a nice job.
Are they especially bad at anything? The Timberwolves are a young team, and this shows up in two major areas. First, they are the worst team in the league at taking care of the ball. While Ricky Rubio has been fantastic thus far, he also has an obscenely-high 28 percent turnover ratio (meaning, 28 percent of Minnesota's possessions end with a Rubio turnover when he's on the floor). Second, their fourth-quarter execution leaves a lot to be desired. The Timberwolves have been in every game they've lost, but haven't been able to finish the job because they aren't able to properly run their sets late. If the Wizards are able to keep this game close, we might see a lot of ugly possessions from both teams down the stretch.
Are there any people involved with the organization that Mike really likes? Kevin Love, Kevin Love and more Kevin Love. If there's still anyone who objects to Love being one of the NBA's best young stars, it's based off typecasting his game in such a way that really isn't true anymore. I'm really, really, really scared at the prospect of Andray Blatche trying to prevent his open looks from three-point range and keeping him off the glass.
Are there any people involved with the organization that Mike really doesn't like? I get the idea of Wesley Johnson, but he just never shows me anything. He's just a guy, kind of like Marvin Williams. There's nothing I hate more in a player than someone who doesn't have an elite skill they can bring to the table.
Are there any players poised for a breakout? Derrick Williams will start at small forward for the injured Michael Beasley, which will give him a chance to showcase his game. From watching him, you can see the effort and tenacity is there. He's just struggled a bit to finish because I don't think he's in good enough shape quite yet. You see this a lot: a rookie comes in thinking he can maintain his condition in college, only to find the NBA is a different game. Most of these players get that and transform their body. I think Williams will too in time.
Are there any players the Wizards especially need to worry about? The Wizards need to stick with Love when he pops out for open threes. It sounds easy, but it's not. Let Rubio and Luke Ridnour beat you with 19-footers. Just don't give Love an inch. Also, this needs to be a gang rebounding game. Both Blatche and JaVale McGee need to play well above themselves on the inside.
Is their mascot cool? It's a wolf named Crunch, and it's apparently a carnivore.
AP Photo/Jim Mone
Any other random quirks? Ruuuuuuuuuuuuubio.
Game thread at 12:30, recap right after. GO WIZARDS!
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A moral victory
Will Not do it today.
Win or Mutiny!
by g zeller on Jan 8, 2012 10:28 AM EST via mobile reply actions 2 recs
A moral victory
Will Not do it today.
Win or Mutiny!
by g zeller on Jan 8, 2012 10:28 AM EST via mobile reply actions 2 recs
I completely agree
last game, I was fine with the moral victory but this is a must win and a close loss won’t cut it because the TWolves aren’t a playoff team.
Follow me on Twitter: @adamvolo
Flip needs to start Booker to defend Love and Singleton on Williams
Blatche against love …love may have 50 on us and I am being serious
What are the chances of this happening?
Secondly, why is Flip so loathe to change (particularly with a team that is 0-7)?
he did say he hasnt been holding players accountable enough and will now sit them for mistakes.
unfortunately he was talking about the young players
"I told those guys maybe I let them off the hook a little bit, because they are younger and I said, ‘We’re not going to do that anymore,’ " Saunders said. "Everyone talks about us being young, and maybe we’re doing you a disservice. We have to coach you like a playoff team, like every game is a playoff game and if you’re not playing hard and you continue to make mental mistakes, you’re going to sit down. We’ll give somebody else an opportunity and you’ll go back in. Sometimes, when you have young players, you say, ‘We’re going to let them play through their mistakes.’ But there has to be some consequence for that."
pretty amazing Rashard has a game like Friday’s and Flip’s next comments are about him being too easy on the young players
I think he was referring to the team
as a team of young players. I doubt he was suggesting he’s going to hold the younger players, but not the older players, accountable.
Flip’s far from the most articulate coach out there and his comments are easy to misinterpret.
true, i am generally too hard on Flip
but I really hope he applies this philososphy tp Rahsrad and dray too
If Rubio
Is anywhere near succesful this year, Ernie needs to be retroactively fired. As happy as I am with Wall (for now) I am still utterly disgusted with that trade, and I worry that watching Rubio over the years could continue to salt the wound.
Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
I'm sorry but we've talked about this already
(Insert standard Abe Pollin wanted one last crack at the title, Ernie did as he was told response)
I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but this still gets talked about a lot even though we know the reasons.
by BballBrit on Jan 8, 2012 10:51 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
That's ok
I haven’t “talked about it” since Miller and Foye walked. And yes, I realize Pollin wanted “one last shot”, but Ernie shod have known better, and talked some sense into him. Abe didn’t make the call and negotiate the deal, Ernie did. And I highly doubt Abe would’ve been on board with setting this team back years.
But, regardless, my point was that this is the first time we get to see Rubio live. At least the NBA version of him. I have a hard time believing nobody is the least bit curious, or even pondering “what if?”
Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
Sure,
But hindsight is 20-20. I remember before that season got underway the sheer levels of optimism that were pouring in from everyone about the Wiz. Top 4 in the East was regularly being thrown around by everyone from ESPN to the NBA analysts and back again. Then Mike Miller didn’t work out, Gilbert didn’t work out, and it all ended with a whimper. Plus if your boss tells you to do something and won’t be swayed, you gotta make it happen or your walking.
That said, I agree Rubio is looking good to start the season. He is starting at 0 though, so expectations are low, he’s going to outperform them. I personally think Wall is going to do him over in this game, no way can Rubio keep up with him.
Also Rubio wasn’t supposed to be drafted 5th at the time of the trade. Him slipping to 5 was a big surprise.
ernie knew he would be there imo
before the draft the Kings got to work Rubio out and a source inside the org described him as “underwhelming”
Rubio is not an EG type player which doesnt mean he’s not good, but he’s doesnt fit the mold of what EG looks for I think
An EG type of player
Is 6’11, 225, with tremendous upside from Yugoslavia who can’t shoot, rebound or defend.
good thing he did not draft anyone from that contry
Vesely is Czech.
you canadians are funny .-)
Sure, hindsight is 20/20
But I, for one, was completely against the trade from the start. I’ll admit, I didn’t think Rubio would drop that far either, but I still hated the trade. Then even more after the draft.
And I know I wasn’t the only one who hated the trade.
As for Pollin, again, it was up to Ernie to tell him what a mistake it was. And Pollin wasn’t the one on the phones. Abe woulda had no idea who was “available” in a trade. Trading a lottery pick for a shooter and a guy without a position, both on expiring contracts, is not good General management.
Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
That's the bogus thing about blaming Abe
It supposes old Abe was out there evaluating Foye and Miller, deciding that Curry wasnt worth the 5th pick, and having Ernie tell the press “there was no one available who could help our team”….come on
by DCrez on Jan 8, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Gotta use quotes
when you describe Mike Miller as a “shooter”. He’s a shooter who avoids shooting. Beware all you folks who criticize Nick Young as 1-dimensional. He could take the criticism to heart like Miller and end up as a stat padding non-scorer like Miller became. Six rebounds per game, 4 of which were uncontested ones stolen from teammates.
Sorry...but Wall over Rubio long term...
easy decision…
by DavidDunn on Jan 8, 2012 11:18 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Probably, yeah
But that’s not even my point. It was an awful trade from the start. Even if Ernie was hell bent on trading the pick, a good GM waits ’till draft day, when the value is highest.
Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
I'm with CJ on this
Watching Rubio today will be like going to a party and bumping into an old girlfriend you were crazy about. That trade was, is, and will always be indefensible. I clearly remember how despondent everyone on this blog was that draft night.
Even if Pollin’s directive was to get a player who could help immediately, using the pick rather than trading it for Miller and Foye would have accomplished that result, PLUS set up the future of the franchise. The third, fourth and fifth picks that year were Harden, Tyreke Evans and Rubio. Each was better in their rookie year than Miller and Foye were in the year they were with the Wizards. It was Ernie’s job to know that.
Want to argue that Ernie didn’t know that Rubio would fall to #5? First, it’s Ernie’s job to know who is picking where, so shame on him if he didn’t. Second, it doesn’t matter because, again, Harden, Evans or Rubio would have been better.
As for the, “I would rather have Wall than Rubio” crowd, why is it an either or situation? If the Wizards had both, then all those trade scenarios you guys dream up suddenly would be made a whole lot easier. Don’t you think a Dwight Howard trade would be much easier to accomplish if the Wizards had either Wall or Rubio to add to the package?
Sorry for the rant — I said at the outset I feel like spurned/burned lover.
by disgrunted on Jan 8, 2012 12:20 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Foye/Miller, 3 point shooting
Not to mention the fact the Stephen Curry hit more 3 pointers (at a 43% clip) that year than Miller and Foye combined.
Agree with the notion that Abe said “I’d like to compete for the championship this year” not “I want you to trade the 5th pick for a couple of journeyman veterans”.
by hotplate on Jan 8, 2012 12:31 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Oh, yeah
I forgot about Curry, someone the Warriors claim is now untouchable in a Chris Paul trade. Makes it even worse.
missing curry imo is the worst of it
i feel like EG had him in here 5x and still passed on him, he was better as a rookie than miller or foye. Rubio refused to workout for most teams, generally i do not think a GM should ever draft players who do that
Anything that would have happened differently before the 2010 draft
like drafting Rubio or Harden instead of trading the pick, would have altered our future and we would have never landed the #1 pick. So it’s always an either/or scenario with Rubio and Wall. We could have never had both.
"Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely" - Jan Vesely
by PhenomenalSwag on Jan 8, 2012 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
That makes no sense
Ernie traded the pick because he looked into his crystal ball and determined that if he traded it, the Wizards would suck and get Wall?
Fine, let’s accept your premise. The Wizards wouldn’t have gotten the #1 that year, but at 3, 5 and 7 that year, the Wizards could have gotten Favors, Cousins, and Monroe. Is Wall > Rubio + Favors, Cousins or Monroe?
perhaps we should slow our roll on Rubio a bit
8 games into Wall’s career he was averaging 18pts/10assts/3stls….seems like there is a lot of (not meaning from you) ‘if only we had rubio instead of wall’ sentiment floating around prematurely
I'm not saying that Ernie knew Wall was coming.
I’m just saying if we drafted Rubio, we would have never gotten Wall. And I think Wall is the better long term player over their careers.
"Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely" - Jan Vesely
by PhenomenalSwag on Jan 8, 2012 12:47 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I know you weren't saying that
I’m saying that that sort of analysis doesn’t make any sense. You may be correct that if the Wizards kept the pick that year, they wouldn’t have gotten the #1 pick to pick Wall. But then you would have to factor in who the Wizards would get that year, and then could also say that then the Wizards wouldn’t have gotten the #6 pick this past season, but instead a higher pick (Williams, Kanter, etc.). It all becomes a silly guessing game, which makes discussion impossible.
Forget about Rubio
Playing here. There were a number of better things we could’ve done with that pick. Yeah, Curry was one. But I was never, and still am not, convinced that that was a “now or never” deal for Ernie. Nor do I think that was the best deal he could’ve gotten. Most GM’s holding a lottery pick look at it as a valuable asset. Ernie treated it like he was selling a new car with flood damage.
At the least, at the VERY least, he should’ve stipulated the guys coming in sign extensions. The fact that he didn’t tells me he was never completely confident in them helping the team.
Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
You'll get the chance to make up for that trade next year
with another top 5 pick in a very talented draft. At least you have your pick next year. We gave ours up to the Clippers in the Marco Jaric for Sam Cassell trade, who traded it to the Hornets.
"I don't think I've ever seen a group that is as good at turning the ball over as this one." Rick Adelman
Should be Fun
This should be a great game! An early home game for a bunch of young kids will make this feel like a college game.
This one’s important as they MUST either win or take it to the wire, anything else is unacceptable.
If I was going to the game I would cheer K. Love every time he touches the ball! This is his one game in DC before the summer and he needs to know that we (the fans and organization) want him here next year!
boo
how can you cheer for an opposing player??
Well, gee, am I the only one
who cheers lustily for good plays made by players of both the home and opposing teams?
Guess you won’t want to sit next to me at a game . . .
no, i wont. There are enough opposing team fans at VC without Wizards fans also cheering for the opponent.
Not that I am telling anyone how to behave, I’ve just never heard of home team fans “cheering lustily” for good plays by the opposition
Dream on
KLove isn’t going anywhere. If Minnesota doesn’t sign him, he becomes a restricted free agent, meaning we can match any offer. And we will. He is a bonafide superstar.
"I don't think I've ever seen a group that is as good at turning the ball over as this one." Rick Adelman
Just to throw this out there...I know it is early ...but it will give us something
to discuss pregame…
There was a lot of discussion in June on this site about who we should be willing to give up to trade for Derrick Williams.
The biggest discussion was whether we should give up Javale McGee in return for Derrick Williams.
With 7 games under our belt, and about as many for Minny…is there anyone who has changed their mind in either direction?
Discuss.
(I was a no because I thought 7 footers with talent are too valuable, and I haven’t changed, but I am interested in others thoughts)
Not with the way JaVale has upped his game this year
Big fellas coming through for us. I’ve yet to see Williams give a great enough game to change my mind.
need to see more of Williams as a starter first
by Mike Prada on Jan 8, 2012 11:21 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
yeah....it is a bit of an unfair question
Williams is playing relatively well…but seeing him with starter minutes is important…with Beasley hurt, we will start to have more of a feel I think.
It is still interesting. Williams could be a superstar. But is a lower tier superstar worth more than a legit NBA Center.
I am not even sure this was an option, so it is all conjecture, but it should be fun to follow over the year, and more interestingly, 2 or 3 years from now.
They are linked in my mind at this point as a Wizards fan.
This is a team we've had success against
and Love is a player Dray has taken to school on the offensive end….no reason Wizards shouldnt win this game!
Last Wiz game on the free NBA League Pass.
Hopefully I can end on a high note. Please show me effort, Wiz. Please.
Wall, Young, Singleton, Booker, McGee is the lineup I want to see the most. Love will abuse Blatche if that’s the primary matchup. I like our chances in the other matchups though. If Lewis doesn’t see extended bench time after his “performance” against the Knicks, something is wrong with Flip, but then again, we already knew something was wrong Flip.
"Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely" - Jan Vesely
Booker had that awesome put back dunk over Love last season
Love will destroy Dray, let’s get Book and even singleton on the case
Damn League Pass...
Blacked out – will only be able to listen – can’t watch…
I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.
a couple things
Kevin Love is one of the most overrated players in the league. Man is one of the worst defesive bigs in the league bad on ball and worse weakside. All he does is hang out on the 3pt line and jack shots and follow up all the missed layups he shoots. Great rebounder great hustle but way overrated as a player. he should at least put his body on the line and be one of the best charge takers in the league but NO he won’t do that. He’s also a bigtime black hole. There’ a reason he’s a consistent loser.
Man has won 24,17,15 games and isn’t looking any better this season.
Rubio I like him always sorta thought he would be a good pass 1st pg. Thats something you have or you don’t all the hand wrging about can he play was sorta silly. Thats an instinct thing. His defense is bad as well but his shooting should improve he plays with good pace great feel. Wall will be speeding by him all game long though.
Wizards need to win this game, they need to go into Mcgee , and into Blatche and wall needs to push the ball early and often.
alittle less Young gunning today would be okay with me.
Quit spreading false info you obviously know absolutely nothing about
Love doesn’t hang out at the 3 point line. You don’t average 15 boards a game hanging out at the three point line. He put up historic numbers last year, and is following that up with even more historic numbers this year, starting the season with 8 straight games of 20-12, something not seen in 36 years. Like his 30-30 game last year, also something not seen in 30 years. If it were easy to do, more people would do it. But they don’t. KLove is a once in a generation type of player, and may be the best power forward in the game right now, presenting matchup nightmares for opposing 4’s, who have to come out to the 3 pt line to challenge him, opening up the lanes for our other players. Love is unselfish to a fault, often passing up the 3 to pass to a more open teammate. He gets most of his 3 point baskets on the fly, in transition. How many power forwards can even dream about shooting 42% from behind the arc. How many players, period? KLove is a beast everywhere on the floor, and any team would salivate at the thought of having him. He is a max player waiting to happen, and if he’s not a starter in this years all star game, something is seriously wrong, just like your uninformed opinion of KLove. Before you spout off again, you might actually try watching him play.
"I don't think I've ever seen a group that is as good at turning the ball over as this one." Rick Adelman
Watching the Clippers with Envy
Billups, Paul, Griffen, Butler. Sheesh! The short sample indicates that Blake really has to make his own offense and be a rebounder and defender more than the focus of the offense, but damn.
Agree that Love isn't yet a good defender, though he's improved
Rubio’s defense, on the other hand, hasn’t been nearly as bad as was advertised before he started playing in the NBA.
Both Love and Rubio lack the athleticism that many on this board (and Grunfeld!) seem to value above all, but both are intelligent players with decent footwork, so they’ll probably continue to improve on the defensive end.
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