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What was your favorite Lou moment? The 1:9 good play to bad play ratio? I really thought he would have been a nice pickup for the Wolves, but he proved entirely useless. Instead, his spot at the end of  the bench will be replaced by Chris Johnson, who was signed for the remainder of the season after showing really nice flashes during The Porter Incident. Adelman has since benched him as the 3rd center for no discernible reason. Probably because he is black.

Gelebale was also signed for the rest of the year. Good for him. He is about as plain of a player as you can find but he can actually hit shots from time to time. And his name is pronounced "McHale." Everyone wins!

Tonight the Knicks come to town. The Wolves are likely to continue their epic collapse, basically ending all hope for the season to yield any dividends aside from the lottery, where Kahn will pick a 65-year old tax accountant from northern France. Something, something injuries. Something, something, Love HATES Minnesota, something, something fire Kahn death hate world ending universe exploding all going to die in pain blah blah something.

Photo credit

Sweet redemption. The last time the Lakers made an appearance at Target Center, Ricky Rubio blew out a knee. Of note during that game: Kevin Love was out. Of note during that game: The Lakers were at full health and the Wolves were one non-knee blow out away from sneaking away with the win. It came down to the final minute. Let that be the mindset for how this team SHOULD be playing with Kevin Love still out with injury.

11 months later, the Lakers are back, in the midst of a franchise collapse only rivaled by the Wolves this season. 

We have reached a point in the season....the halfway point in fact....where it just seems to me that the Wolves should start winning some games if this team is worth it's weight in salary. The Wolves started 5-2 without Love. Good teams have guys who step up. Rubio is starting to somewhat regain his form, the options available throughout the rest of the roster remain immeasurably better than last season. And here we are with, in all reality, only Love and Chase out (well, Roy and Lee too, but let them be forgotten). There comes a point here where if we go on another 1-9 stretch for the next 10 games, that we face another "what the hell?" crisis. I would start to argue that, despite the injuries, the replacement players should be good enough to squeeze out wins and keep this team somewhat in the hunt until Love and Chase return. If not? We don't need them around any more. 

I still think the team's biggest need remains a deadly 3 point shooter. Sometimes small additions make a world of difference in how the defense reacts. Anthony Morrow, Kyle Korver, JJ Redick, Jared Dudley, MarShon Brooks, Steve Novak. A guy in that realm. While the Gelebale story has been fun to watch, it remains baffling to me that nothing has been done to remedy this situation. It is even more baffling that the team continues to shoot 3's like they have more than a .00005% chance of going in. Or that winning games at the free throw line apparently isn't in the strategy, anymore. Nevermind, they can't shoot free throws, either. But, the issue affecting the Wolves right now is most of the guys (before Pek and Shved came back) are what I call "incidental scorers." Guys who typically only get a basket off of a wide open look (and even then it is inconsistent/poor shooting), a rebound/putback, or on a breakaway fast break. Guys who, when the defense is at it's best, can't do anything to score the ball. Getting Shved (good off the dribble), and Pek (excellent in the post), immediately bring the team some semblance of dependable offense, and adding a 3 point shooter teams would actually have to cover would help everyone. It could be the least exciting player imaginable, but his only job is to hit 3's and spread the floor. Find him. Add him. Let's end this tangent.

Tonight against LAL, Dwight is out. This means Pau will start at Center and I actually think Pau is a worse matchup for Pekovic as he can extend the floor a bit. Pek is great physically against Dwight and has the ability to get him in foul trouble quickly. Pau is smarter than Dwight and may prove to be a tougher cover. Gasol also will be playing with a huge chip on his shoulder tonight. Something to prove. Kahn will be watching, waiting, assembling trade pieces. Pau remains on the radar. Whether that is for his ability or his chronic knee problems (an attractive attribute for Wolves transactions) remains to be seen. It is a shame how much money Pau makes, which basically means Minnesota will have to give up at least 3 players to get him, should the talks resume as we approach the deadline. Kobe is Kobe. He will get his 30-35 points. Just cover everyone else tightly and don't waste fouls on him.

Tonight is a very winnable game. The injury excuse is going to start to waver here over the next five games assuming no one suffers any setbacks. This team can and should start to win more games with some continuity in the rotation. There is no reason Rubio, AK47, Pek and crew can't play competitive basketball against teams in the range of our record. Consider how little Love has to do with our win total right now. So, this homestand really should set the tone for how we view Pek's role in the team's future, among other things. Making a major trade should not be ruled out.

Also, Troy Hudson has retired from basketball.

Adelman returns. Google "Jack Sparrow entrance" and think of Adelman returning. When a coach returns or is fired, sometimes generates temporary attribute boost like in NBA 2k Association. Wolves could win. Probably won't. Pek maybe returns. Same with Night of the Living Shved. Roy out. Love out. Everyone out. Johnson in. Gerbil Belly in. Trade deadline? Should be open to all options. George Bush in first term last time Wolves in playoffs. Clippers? Top team in league. Along with what seems like everyone else. Everyone good. Clippers added Jamal Crawford. Many Wolves fans didn't want. Good thing we signed Roy instead. Adelman vs. Del Negro. Funny joke: Del Negro may win COY. Lou Amundson likely gone soon. Hopefully traded for pick. So Kahn can take white guy from midwest with knees of glass. Perfect fit. Worthless article? Take the wheel. Originality after losing 2 straight to worst teams = impossible. Have fun. Surely the crickets will enjoy pontification. They always do.

In typical fashion, the Wolves can end a milestone tonight....for the other team. That being a 16-game home losing streak for the Bobcats. Same deflated lineups against an even more deflated team. Quintuple team Kemba Walker and we should win it, for the rest of the Bobcats roster less Henderson and Kidd-Gilchrist to some degree, are more offensively inept than the Wolves at this point in time and that says something. The strategy is simple....swarm their scorers and on the other end STOP taking threes, and try to get to the line to score points.

At this point, given the horrific upcoming schedule, I really want to see:

-Derrick Williams given 35 minutes a night or more until Kevin Love comes back (If he does this year). Unconditional. It is time for him to develop. This is far and away a win-win thing to do for everyone. It allows Derrick to show the league he has gotten better (which he definitely has), it ups his trade value leading into the deadline, or it actually gives us a dependable, Jeff Green-like combo forward to have on our own team. Quit sprinting after marginal wins on the eve of a riduclous schedule stretch. Let him fall on his face, stand up, and make a mark in the league. Everyone will benefit.

-Ditto Rubio. Allow him to fight through this, get his shooting back up to at least bad NBA standards and start riding some momentum into next season. there is no reason to "limit" him to 28 MPG vs. 32-34. Micromanagement = bad.

-Trade Amundson and keep Chris Johnson.

-Dare I say it....but maximize some lottery position.

-Adelman's wife turn a corner. Whether Rick comes back this season is secondary to that.

-Roy's contract traded for something actually useful. 

This all sounds a bit premature, but unless a trade is made or Love/Chase get back a month ahead of schedule while the rest of the roster remains healthy, this season is over before it is even halfway done. There is no knight on a white horse for this team other than Pek returning from injury, and he alone can't lift this team out of the cellar unless Rubio improves along with the lineup returning to full health.

Ugh. I guess the lesson remains to always expect the worst from the Wolves.

Yesterday in our forums, a brief conversation started about decreasing the number of games in the schedule. While this is obviously biased coming from a Wolves fan due to the health of the team, you have to imagine the quality of play would improve dramatically. Valued forum member Tod Murphy wrote a lengthy assessment of the schedule and how he might fix the problem. Here are his thoughts:

College Wolf: They should play the teams in their division 4 times, and should play the other 26 teams in the league twice each (one home and one away.) That's a nice total of 68 games. Looks pretty perfect to me.

Tod Murphy: I agree, that would be a great 70 Game Schedule!

What do the other dozen games do anyway?
-Spread out throughout the year, they put more wear and tear and injuries on the players before the playoffs. Don't you want the best playoffs possible with your teams as ready to go as you can make it?
-May shift the seeding a little, but with 70 games it is a big enough sample to get teams in the right slots.
-May make a difference in who is the #8 (possibly #7) seeds. But that rarely makes a difference on who the champion is going to be.

-With 82 games, it makes more money for the owners...which means a higher salary cap for the players. Wah...they all could survive. (Actually, I think that games are going to be more important, and your average game attendance would be higher. I know there is a lot more to revenue than that.)

If the last 2 points are that big of a deal to the league, they could do something like Bill Simmons' "Play for 8" Tourney idea between the regular season and playoffs.*

-Top 7 teams in each conference get a few days off.
-The bottom 8 conf. teams are seeded according to their records.
-One-loss elimination, three-round tourney.
-Last team standing in each conference gets the #8 seed in the playoffs.
-C'mon. How fun would this be? Nothing better than stealing a little of the magic that March Madness has! Turn a pretty meaningless #8 seed into something more valuable.
-For the greedy, this = more money!

I would also deal with the draft lottery/tanking issue at the same time as Simmons suggested in this mini-tournament.

-The 8 teams from both conferences that lose the first round get the 9-16 picks in the draft.
-Still do a lottery for the order. I would give them each one ping pong ball with their logo. Hold it on live TV. First ball out gets #9 and so on until the last ball comes out as #16.
-Yes, you could weight those teams as they do now and keep it behind closed doors and just reveal the order later. Personally, I would do it live with one ball each for 2 reasons. Eliminate (or at least decrease!) the stupid conspiracy theories. And stop rewarding ineptitude and tanking.
-This adds definite incentive to win and not lose in the "Play for 8" tourney.
-The 4 teams from both conferences that lose in the 2nd round get the #5-8 draft slots. In the Live Lottery, after the 9-16 picks are chosen, move over to this drum of balls to get this order.
-The 2 teams who lose in the final round not only miss the playoffs, but they get their lottery drum of balls for the #3 and 4 picks.
-The "Play for 8" tourney winners get into the playoffs AND get 1 of the 2 balls in the final drum for the #1 pick.

-Could you imagine how intense each of those games would be in the tourney?!
-Also, all regular season games would be much better because everyone would be fighting to win games so that they wouldn't get the lower, on-the-road seeds for this tourney.

-The only tanking I could see is if a #7 seed would want to roll the dice, lose some end of the season games to go into the "Play for 8" tourney to try to get a top draft pick. But at least if they did this, they would have something to lose by gambling their playoff spot. So it is not tanking (like now where there really aren't consequences for throwing games at the end of the season), but gambling. And who wouldn't want to see a team take this gamble?! That would be a great story line and provide great fan debates! And even if they got one of the top 2 draft picks + the #8 seed in the playoffs, it would also mean that they have to play the #1 instead of the #2 team in the first round of the playoffs. Sometimes that is not a big deal, but other years you would want to avoid the #1 seed if you are serious about the playoffs.

-I love anything with competition and incentive. It makes the quality that much better. In this case, the regular season and playoffs would be better. And it would be one more thing to force organizations to run themselves better. Papa Glen would have to say, "If we don't figure out how to be a better organization and team, we are not only missing the playoffs year after year, but also stuck in the #9-16 portion of the draft." I would love it if the Wolves had more pressure on them like that. See how long Kahn's ineptitude lasts then!
*credit to Bill Simmons for this idea

So what do you think? Are 82 games a few too many? What would you do? How can you not like an 8th seed play-in?

MVP Chris Johnson and the Wolves take it to Atlanta for a matinee against the Hawks. The last time these two teams faced, the Wolves emerged victorious. However, Lou Williams injury or not, the Wolves are going to have a very difficult time winning today. 

As much of an awesome feel-good story Saturday was, let's draw two conclusions from kind of a glass half-empty perspective:

1. The Rockets played perhaps the worst team game seen in the NBA this season. They shot 32% from the field and 8-31 (!!) from 3. McHale benched his starters throughout the game to make a statement. They were playing their 4th game in 5 nights. Again, while seeing Johnson and Gelebale score 23 straight to start the 4th quarter was a Hollywood storyline, the Rockets basically won this game for the Wolves. There is a decent chance the Eagan 8th grade women's badminton team could have pulled off a win against the Rotten Rockets on Saturday.

A larger, positive implication, however, is that Houston remains a big rival for a low seed on the playoffs, and have clearly fallen off of a cliff of late. Despite the Wolves' recent struggles with injury, the core rotation will recover and the Wolves do have a fighting chance of sneaking into the playoffs barring some major mojo gathering, as well as Rubio returning to form in the coming weeks. Hopefully Rick's wife recovers from her ailment soon so our leader can return.

2. Two players signed to 10-day contracts, one of which hasn't played an NBA game in about five years, outplayed a bulk the core rotation. Now, hopefully this gives guys like Steemer, Williams, and Lou a kick on the butt, but the tenured players should sort of be embarrassed with themselves after what happened. Again, the feel good story was glorious to watch, and provided fans with a much-needed temporary surge of optimism, but the fact that two 10-day guys just owned the team is sort of ridiculous. Effort and good shooting. That's how the Wolves will win. And as stated above, hopefully this provides some motivation to the bench bigs at the very least.

Despite his anomaly of a game, it was really nice to see a long, active center in there like Johnson, playing his heart out trying to make the most of his opportunity. I really think there is something to be said playing a guy trying to earn his right in the league versus players like Stiemsma and Lou, who are so obviously resting on their laurels I almost want to see them benched indefinitely. This is a very common and true example of humans responding to incentives. Lou and Stiemsma have a fraction of the incentive as Johnson to put in 100%, hence the difference. Should Johnson have another good set of games, the Wolves really should give some strong consideration to cutting Lou or Lee. One game is one game, let's see how he does today, but this team needs players who can contribute, and as a 4:1 bad play to good play ratio type, Lou has shown he isn't going to contribute anything significant to the Wolves this season. Remember that Johnson can only be here for 10-days max barring a roster move to create a spot.

As for the Hawks, the Wolves will sport the Houston rotation again today, plus DC added to bruise and hit mid-range shots off the bench. While Houston provided that great feel good story, Atlanta is likely to play like an actual NBA team today so expect it to sort of get bloody barring another miracle performance from GeleJohnson off the bench. This team sure can surprise at the oddest of moments, but expect the Wolves to be a bit overmatched this afternoon.

Ed Note: Please welcome guest columnist Michael Pina. Michael volunteered to write an article for us on Derrick Williams, and how he must seize the day with Love out indefinitely. Do enjoy.

Is Derrick Williams the next Michael Beasley? Comparisons are beginning to take form. Are they fair?

After an incredible freshman campaign at Kansas State University that was favorable to Kevin Durant’s tenure at Texas, Beasley was taken one slot after Derrick Rose in the 2008 NBA draft. He’s currently on his third team in five years, and has yet to materialize into the consistent, All-Star caliber scorer many pegged him to be.

Williams was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves three years later, right after the Cleveland Cavaliers used the first overall pick to replace LeBron James with Kyrie Irving. The parallels between Beasley and Williams are heavy. Skewed, but heavy.

Derrick Williams is 21 years old and averaging 17.6 points and 8.4  rebounds per 36 minutes in his second NBA season. That sentence, taken out of context and with absolutely no other noteworthy bits of information, makes him look like a really good player. A young productive forward who appears to be fitting in splendidly as an integral piece on an NBA team’s never ending puzzle.

In his second season, Williams’ PER has increased along with his usage percentage. Another suggestion that he’s adjusting nicely, taking on additional responsibility and handling the daily rigors of professional basketball with a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, none of this is true. In reality, Williams is a hesitant lottery pick who’s continuously struggled adapting to bigger, faster opposition.

Unlike Beasley, Williams’ trouble is rooted in the fact that the team that selected him already had a young, growing All-NBA forward they were ready to build around. Unless Williams is traded, starting at power forward (probably where he belongs) is out as a long term option.

Going back to Love’s first injury before the season even started, Williams has swayed from legendarily awful (a two point, 0-10 shooting performance against the Chicago Bulls in early November), to brilliant flashes (a 23 point, seven rebound, four block explosion against the Golden State Warriors six days later).

He’s logged over 20 minutes in 12 games this season and scored at least 10 points in six of them. That’s the bare definition of inconsistent. For his career, he has three double-doubles in 94 games. 

But how well Williams plays with Love out of the lineup can only be seen as a good thing by the Timberwolves in the sense that it increases his trade value. Moving forward, Williams ability to produce alongside Love is a determining factor in predicting how much longer his Timberwolves tenure will last.

Williams and Love have shared the court for just 29 minutes this season. The sample size is hardly worth looking at, but in case you’re curious it’s been brutal, with Minnesota netting a minus-16.1 points per 100 possessions point differential. They’ve seriously struggled scoring points.

Last season the two shared the court for 699 minutes, the ninth most common pairing Minnesota utilized. These lineups could score, averaging two more points per 100 possessions than Minnesota’s average—mostly by taking more three-pointers and free-throws than average—and they played at a slightly faster pace.

Overall, most of Williams’ offense this season has come from spot-up jumpers and baskets in transition, per Synergy. However, the truth is, in transition, he hasn’t been nearly as explosive as everyone thought he’d be when Blake Griffin comparisons were being thrown around two years ago (he’s currently making less than half of his shots at the rim, which is a little embarrassing). He just isn’t nearly as capable of a ball-handler.

Despite his hefty build, Williams rarely sets solid screens, preferring instead to either slip towards the basket (looking like a shorter Amar’e Stoudemire) or pop out behind the three-point line (where he’s shooting 37.7%).

Watching Williams this season can best be compared to observing an Oscar nominated actor on a small black and white television. You’ve been promised creativity, flair, and spontaneous excitement, but how you’re watching it unfold is incredibly frustrating. 

Let’s say Williams heads into All-Star weekend on a monstrous tear, Godzilla-ing himself on an unsuspecting crop of opposing forwards. Should the Timberwolves choose to cash out when his value hits its peak? Or do they hang on to the potential, and hope to the heavens their man turns into the player Michael Beasley could not? It’s a pivotal question for a franchise that’s finally reached the point where pivotal questions are worth answering.

Michael Pina is a writer for ESPN’s TrueHoop Network and ScoreBig.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelVPina. 

The Wolves are in Dallas, where I currently live. Dirk is back in Big D and the Wolves are on a bit of a low streak and on the 2nd half of a back to back featuring yet another blowout the night prior. Things are looking dim for the Wolves' playoff chances as of now. Very dim. Along with Dallas, the Lakers are set to wake up before long and contend for that 8th seed. Barring some sort of miracle or trade, the team's fate is sealed back to the lottery and I firmly believe it is not too early to call that as of now. 

Fun Fact: I had a dog growing up named Maverick. His shot release was more fluid than Shawn Marion's

Let's have today's topic be Pekovic. Aside from perhaps Glenn Close Kirlenko, he has been this team's best player of the season. After a slow start to the year, Pek has shown he is a player in this league once and for all. The big implication from the Wolves' standpoint is that he is entering into restricted free agency this offseason and will command a solid amount of money it would seem. Now, this is all fun and dandy, but there have been some loose and unsubstantiated rumblings that Kahn has never been a big Pekovic supporter and our favorite Grinch Glen Taylor is not overly enthused about committing top dollar to him. It would appear the Wolves dodged a bullet with Anderson Varejao suffering yet another injury, for the rumors surrounding AV are in trades that most certainly would involve Pekovic. Regardless, I have a sinking, unsettling feeling Pek's time in Minnesota is coming to end either at the deadline or in the offseason where he will most certainly be signed by the Blazers.

Fun Fact: Glenn Close played the pirate who gets sent to the boo box in the 1992 Classic Hook.

Pekovic or not, and not to add fuel to the depression fire, but we very well may have reached the peak in talent acquisition this past offseason. Kirilenko could very well bolt for unrestricted free agency. Pek could be gone. Roy is done. Are we facing yet another rebuilding situation this offseason or at the deadline? Let's hope Kahn makes a move here in the next month to avert these fears and at the very least provide some ammunition to have a fighting chance of competing for the playoffs. Because, plain and simple, the current Wolves will not be able to pull it off. Not without a quick, quality addition to the roster. Not with all current injuries keeping guys out until the month of March. Not with Rubio struggling mightily since his return. Not with Adelman tending to his own matters and out indefinitely, if not permanently. And while the Wolves are apparently close to addng Mickael Gelebale, he will provide role-player production at best.  So what next? 

Fun Fact: Brandon Roy has earned $1 million per game played this season. This is about the amount Greg Oden will probably earn when Kahn signs him this summer.

It is tough because this season is already starting to be viewed in a "well, there is always next year" context. History repeats. And maybe that's the answer here. We only have to wait another ten months! Rubio will be healthy, Love might be in shape, Kahn may swing a deal for a real 2 guard who actually has knees. Who knows? All I know is, when it comes to the Wolves, expect the worst. It happened again. 

Too negative? Let's look at a few things to be excited about for this team over the long term:

1. Love is really good and will return to form someday. In fact, Love will be back yet this year and when he is, his hand will be completely healed this time.

2. Players such as JJ Barea are finally deciding to seek 2nd opinions to our training staff and team "doctors."

3. Alexey Shved is a real NBA prospect and we have him signed for two more years.

4. Derrick Williams is actually starting to hold his own as a sixth man player capable of playing multiple positions.

5. Ricky Rubio has nowhere to go but up.

6. The season is not even half over yet. Despite the knee-jerks above, a lot can happen and probably will.

7. If the Wolves sign Gelebale, that will be interesting thing to follow. That's it.

8. The Wolves are 2 up on the Mavs this season and beat them at home the other month with an equally if not more depleted roster. 

The Wolves are capable of playing some surprising ball. Tonight could be one of those surprising nights against a struggling team working its own star back into the mix. All it will come down to is, as always, team shooting. Hit a few extra shots from the outside, put in a consistent effort and keep getting to the line, and usually the Wolves fare well. It's that thing called shooting that usually gets us. 

The Wolves are in New Orleans tonight to take on the Pelicans with Eric Gordon back in the mix. Some notes:

-Return of Gordon. EG has played 5 games this year for New Orleans, averaging 15.6 a game. While he will certainly be a threat, his 3 point shooting has yet to return to form as he is just 3-20 on the year. However, given how many 3's the Wolves have been giving up over the last few games, leave it to Gordon to get hot tonight. The Wolves will need to keep close on him on the perimeter and keep him below 20 points to ensure an easy victory.

-Ham vs. Brow. You have to love this matchup, Cunningham is proving his worth as one of Kahn's best moves of the offseason. While not scoring at a high clip since taking over for Love in the starting lineup, he has given non-stop energy and defense, two terms not quite typically uttered when discussing the Wolves. With HAM's length vs. Brow, this is going to be an intriguing matchup. But does coach Williams place Brow on Pek in the block given Pek's slight issues against lengthier defenders? Perhaps.

-Adelman Update. Per the team, Rick's wife has been admitted to the hospital for unknown reasons, hence his recent absence.  There have been no formal reports on how long he will be out, but speculation indicates it could be awhile, if not permanently. Wishing Rick the best as he goes through this difficult time.

-Injury update. Barea will likely be out tonight again, along with the usuals: Love, Roy, Budinger, Lee, etc. Not having Barea really hurt bench production against the Thunder the other night. Not that the Wolves had a chance given turnovers and OKC's near perfect shooting. Lazar Hayward continues to be our purgatory player of choice while Gelebale continues to be watched by the Wolves. I have a feeling once Gelebale is ready to leave for the NBA the Wolves will sign him to two 10-day contracts. While Gelebale isn't going to light the world on fire, it will be an interesting storyline to observe should Sixth Sense Hayward continue to be generally underwhelming.

-Prediction: All will depend on shooting. If the Wolves go on a few runs, the game should be ours. 

Limited time for a preview today. Bullet updates:

-No timetable yet on Love's return. I am guessing 6-8 weeks, which is really just awesome.

-Rubio should be back in action tonight. Although I wouldn't be shocked if some odd announcement came out today that  he is sitting.

-The Wolves have opted to re-sign Lazar Hayward to a 10-day. Season saved

-Pek is questionable tonight.....??

-This season is becoming more and more difficult to watch as time goes on. These injuries. I refuse to believe the training staff is up to speed on modern medicine. Some you can't prevent...duh.....but this is just borderline odd. With Love's hand, this is two injuries where they made the wrong diagnosis at first. The other was Howard, who was rehabbing his own mis-diagnosis of an ACL tear. And who the hell knows what is up with Roy. It is certainly getting fishier by the day. Something weird is up over there. Discuss.

-The Hawks are a good team. Horford and JSmoove, with a sea of shooters to frustrate the Wolves. It will be tough to win it tonight.

-That being said, despite the injuries, you have to hand it to Adelman and the Wolves for being a decent team thus far. Can you imagine this team healthy? A refrain to get used to.