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Wolves Updates 2/19 Part 2

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Minnesota has made available veteran Mark Madsen, a defensive-minded power forward who isn't playing in their youth movement. 
 
 
 
Nathaniel Friedman/Sporting News on some "bold -- highly unlikely, but not impossible -- predictions" for the second half of the season. 
Every season, some young team comes together and racks up a few extra wins or at least becomes a tougher matchup. It's tough to make a case for the T-Wolves because they live in the Western Conference. But after seeing Gerald Green and Rashad McCants in the dunk contest last weekend, I believe anything is possible.
 
    
 
Here are comments by an Eastern Conference scout about the five rookies from the University of Florida. The scout requested anonymity because of team rules:
 
Corey Brewer: "You've got to keep working [on the outside shot]. It's much easier to get where he wanted [in terms of shooting consistency] when he was in college."
 
Chris Richard: "Needs more work [to become a consistent player]."
 
 
 
Rashad McCants (Timberwolves guard, UNC): McCants missed 44 games last season after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. Back at full strength, he’s averaging 15 points and shooting 45 percent for a Minnesota team that’s adjusting to life without Kevin Garnett. McCants is also adding plenty of tattoos and souvenirs to his collection. This season, McCants has snagged signed jerseys from Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis and Marvin Williams to add to his walls at home. As far as the new body ink, the former Tar Heel, whose “Born to be hated, dying to be loved” tattoo was a source of much discussion in his college days, now has more than 20 markings. A “Lucky” tattoo is on his right forearm, “Fearless” runs down his right leg and a massive “Vicious” tattoo is stamped on his stomach.
 
   
 
Gerald Green kind of got undersold on the blow-the-candle dunk. That was a really, really cool dunk and worth a perfect score.
In the end, however, the best man won.
 
 
 
UPDATE:
After Tuesday's shootaround at Target Center, center Theo Ratliff told reporters he was a "game-time decision," but Wittman did not confirm if Ratliff will be on the active roster against Philadelphia.

After Monday's practice, Wittman said he did not expect Ratliff to play in the next few games.
 
 
 
 

Wolves Updates 2/19

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Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on Thursday's NBA trade deadline: 
The interesting question is whether the Wolves could use their only real valuable bargaining chip — Theo Ratliff’s expiring $11.6 million slot — and a couple of their young pieces to fetch something substantial (say, Memphis’ Miller, who just turned 28) rather than save it for down the road for free-agent signings or to pay for new contracts for the likes of Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes or Sebastian Telfair.
 
 
Veteran forward Antoine Walker is a proven shooter who won an NBA title with Miami two seasons ago, but his limited game and his $8.5 million salary makes him difficult to trade.
 
Young, little-used guard Gerald Green -- the runner-up to Dwight Howard in last weekend's NBA All-Star slam dunk contest -- wants to be traded because he figures his days in Minnesota are over when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer anyway. But Green has little value unless packaged in a bigger deal.
 
 
 
 
Forward Theo Ratliff, sidelined since mid-November and recovering from knee surgery, practiced and is on track to being able to play again sometime in the next two weeks.
 
"He's heading in the right direction," Wittman said.
 
 
 
Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site talks to Greg Buckner about a variety of topics. Buckner on the funniest and least funniest players on the team:
The funniest dude would have to be myself. Wait, you know what? The funniest dude is Dog. Mad Dog (Mark Madsen), and the least funny is probably Theo Ratliff. He's not much of a jokester.
 
 
 
NBA interest in the Twin Cities is at its lowest point in the 19 seasons since the league re-emerged here with the expansion Timberwolves in the fall of 1999.
 
This has been demonstrated not only by the sections of empty seats in the home arena, but also horrendous ratings both for the Wolves' local telecast and the NBA's national events.
 
 
 
Sebastian Telfair, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard, was sitting a few rows behind the scorer's table at Madison Square Garden during the St. John's-Villanova game Saturday night. 

The kid from Brooklyn, N.Y., was asked about his hometown team, which has clearly fallen on hard times.
 
"I can't ... I can't talk about it," said Telfair, who skipped college to go pro. "I can't do that to them. I'm sorry, man."
 
 
    
Previews of tonight's game against the Sixers:
 
Click here for the forum's game thread.  
 

Carnival of the NBA #54

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Head over to SportProjections to check out the Carnival of the NBA, a collection of recent great posts from various basketball blogs.  
 
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More on Green's dunks

Written by SG on .

Click here for a photo gallery of Green's dunks.  
 
 
Speaking of the Cake, we learned a lot about Gerald Green this weekend, too. Namely, that his motivation/innovation comes only in short bursts. One dunk? A year to plot your title defense and you bring out one dunk? The rush of air on that candle put Green in a position to take the trophy. Instead he offered green socks, the false Statue of Liberty, the standard thru-the-legs fare ... and that was it. And I have a feeling Green didn't even frost the cupcake himself; that thing had Rashad McCants written all over it.  

 
 
Well, sure Dwight Howard is creative. Great. Has anyone noticed that he's 7-feet tall?
It makes a difference.
In a better, saner world, no one over that 6-6/6-7ish range could enter a dunk contest. Period.
It's that simple.
I was more impressed with Gerald Green. Love that cupcake thing.
 
Also from Ryan: 
As for Gerald Green, would that he spent as much time learning the T-Wolves plays or figuring out how to defend the pick-and-roll as he does conjuring up dunks involving edibles.
 
 
 
Now, because life is not fair, and also because the NBA has decided (not unfairly) to anoint Dwight Howard as one of its new superstars, Gerald did not win this year. But there was some real beauty, as well as some impressively channeled melancholy, in his performance.
 
 
 
Even 1988 didn't advance the event as much as Saturday's dunk contest did. The props, the teammates serving as magician's assistants, made it even more enjoyable. I loved the look on Rashad McCants' face as he climbed a ladder to carefully place a cupcake on the back of the rim, then lit a candle. He took his job so seriously, like Jerome holding Morris Day's mirror. 
 
 
 

Team recalls Richard from D-League

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The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Monday that the team has recalled first-year center Chris Richard from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Richard appeared in six games for the Skyforce, averaging 10.2 points and 11.5 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game.
 
He led the team in rebounds in three of six contests, while helping them to a 4-2 record in that span. Before heading to Sioux Falls, Richard appeared in 24 games for the Wolves, averaging 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game.
  

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Wolves Updates 2/18

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Mark Murphy/Boston Herald on Gerald Green's "Birthday Cake" dunk:
Had Green closed with that dunk instead of opening with it, perhaps the international audience (which for the first time voted for the winner via text messaging) might have gone the other way.
 
“No, I wanted to do it first and get it over with,” said Green, whose inventiveness in winning last year’s dunk title appears to have sparked a whole new wave of creativity in what some consider to be an aging event.
 
 
 
It’s official: Dwight Howard’s nickname is "Superman." People can't stop screaming it from the upper bowl. I hope this means we can start calling Gerald Green "Cupcake." 
 
 
 
Free Darko with a roundtable discussion on Green's dunks from last night's competition.
 
 
 
Mike McGraw/Daily Herald names Al Jefferson the runner-up to Travis Outlaw for the midseason most improved player award.
 
 
 
Former Florida forward Corey Brewer, donned in a bright green sweater, arrived at halftime and watched the second half of Saturday's game.
 
Brewer, his mother Glenda, and half-brother Jason Rogan sat behind the Florida bench underneath the basket.
 
 
 
A reporter asked Brewer what has been the biggest adjustment in transitioning to the pros.
 
"Learning to lose," Brewer said. "I'm not used to losing."
 
 
 
Fred Hoiberg felt the magic as well, joining nearly 50 other former Cyclones in a Centennial Celebration alumni game that brought together Iowa State players from the 1930s to those who called it a career as recently as a year ago.

“That was great, a lot of fun,” said Hoiberg, an Ames High School product who completed his all-American career in 1995.
 
 
 

CW & Bonk's Slam Dunk Contest Recap

Written by College Wolf on .

CW & Bonk's 07-08 Slam Dunk Contest Recap

dunk contest

   

     It's the All-Star weekend event that we've all been waiting for, the Wham Bam Thankyou Mam Slam Dunk Contest.  Bonk and I will presenting you the drunken ramblings very educated and insightful analysis from Saturday night's contest in all it's glory.  Who had the goods and truly measured up?  If you are reading this, you already know who won... but were they worthy of being crowned champion?  After meeting the contestants, we've got our very own recap of last night's festivities below.    

(Click "Read More..." for our review of this year's Slam Dunk Contest.)

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Wolves Updates 2/17

Written by SG on .

It's always possible, but don't expect any major moves before Thursday's NBA trading deadline. A veteran such as Antoine Walker, who isn't happy with his lack of playing time, might see an increase in his value as another piece for a playoff contender, though his 36.6 percent shooting won't help his chances of leaving town.
 
"I think those might probably be the deals that people look at here as we close in on the 21st, somebody that could boost the bench or give you added shooting or added defense or whatever it is you're looking for," Wittman said.
  
 
 
Timberwolves Today with the latest installment of the Kissing Marney Gellner podcast. 
 
 

Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on the recent big trades benefiting some Western Conference teams: 
The Wolves' road back to respectability now appears even longer, a premise Wittman disputes.
 
"We're not in position to win the world championship," Wittman said. "When we get to that point, which we will as we continue to build this thing, their runs will be over. Jason's 35, Shaq's 36. In two or three years, they could be gone and now they have to start over. Maybe we'll be put in a position to benefit by this."
 
    
 
Kevin Garnett didn't even make time to greet Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who paid him more than $150 million during his career in Minnesota, when the Boston Celtics recently visited Target Center.
 
With the NBA trade deadline Thursday, the Timberwolves say they have no deals pending, but if one is made, it would be minor. 
 
 
 
Mike Freeman/CBSSports on steroids in the NBA: 
"Honestly I don't think steroid use happens in basketball at all or not too much," said Minnesota's Gerald Green. "You'd get hurt too much because we play so many games."
 
Green has another reason for thinking steroid use is practically nonexistent in basketball. "Steroids make you too big," he said. "You need to be fluid to play basketball. You'd be too slow if you used steroids in the NBA."
    
 

Green loses to Howard in dunk contest

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In any other year, Minnesota's Gerald Green would have easily walked away with his second straight dunking crown, but he was upstaged by the amazingly athletic Howard, whose performance has to rank up there with anything Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter or even tiny Spud Webb ever did above the basket.
 
 
 
Inside Hoops on Green's first dunk, "The Birthday Cake":
Assistant Rashad McCants is holding a cupcake with a candle in it, and using a ladder climbs up, puts the cupcake on the back of the rim, on the support that connects it to the backboard. McCants then lit the candle. Green is apparently going to dunk, while blowing the candle out! This seems both dangerous and impossible. Yet - bam! - he got it! Insane! He caught the lob, put it down with two hands dunking on the left side of the rim and successfully blew the candle out!
 
 
On Green's second dunk: 
A ladder is in the paint again, with MCants climbing it and sitting on the top. The ladder is positioned slightly to the right of the rim. McCants is holding the ball in one arm, which is extended so he’s holding the ball in front o the rim. Just as Green launched himself up, Mccants flipped it up so Green could grab it with two hands, windmill it and slam it down. 
 
 
On Green's first dunk in the second round:
Green is up first, starting from the left elbow in three-point range, McCants, standing behind the basket on the right, is lobbing it over the top of the backboard. After some imperfect passes, and then one miss, Green came in, caught with two hands, windmilled it through his legs and slammed it down with one hand.
 
 
On Green's final dunk:
Green, trying to be creative, took his shoes off, autographed them, put them on the judges table, and did a through-the-legs windmill. It was a slightly lesser version of his earlier dunk, minus the shoes.
 
 
 
 
Odenized has video of the Birthday Cake dunk.  
 
 
 
Click here for a photo gallery from the dunk competition

   
 
I kind of figured he had something like that planned. We were in the back working on dunks. And I saw him doing one dunk over and over. And I was like okay, he's got something up his sleeve. I think it was very impressive. At first I thought he was going to take the cupcake, eat it and then dunk it. I thought he would have won with that.
 
 
 
Marty Burns/SI.com gives Green an A- for last night's dunks.
Defending champ failed in his bid to become first repeat winner since Jason Richardson. But his "cupcake" dunk, in which he blew out the candle on a cupcake placed on the back of the rim, was sweet. 
 
 
 
Russ Bengtson/SLAM Online on the "Birthday Cake" dunk:
This is following NBA regulations but raising the basket to 12 feet isn’t? I’m sorry, but this is stupid. Off the bounce, too. He does it—blowing out the candle—but everyone just looks confused. I mean, so what? Dwight Howard could have gone up and ate it. Gerald gets a 46, and I’m fine with that, although Chuck thinks he should have gotten a 50. WRONG.
 

On Green's chances in the Slam Dunk contest

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Kelly Dwyer/Ball Don't Lie on Gerald Green: 
That said, come Saturday night's Dunk Contest, don't overlook the reigning champ. I'm not telling you that he's going to win the competition, the angry ones usually don't, but he's probably going to put together the best batch of technically-perfect dunks we'll see.
 
 
 
Jamario-Moon HQ will be live-blogging tonight's Slam Dunk competition.   

   
 
Henry at TrueHoop with a story involving Gerald Green during an NBA/Habitat For Humanity event this afternoon.  Among topics of conversation at the event was the following:
Debate about whether or not Gerald Green had a chance against Jamario Moon in the dunk contest. Green said that if he lost, it would be because he beat himself. Pierce said a lot of things, but one of them was that if Green could pass the ball between his legs twice on one jump, then Pierce would retire from basketball. Pierce also offered to jump off a second-floor balcony we passed by. I swear I have seen this dunk by somebody on YouTube. But Green sure wasn't suggesting he could do it.
 
 
 
The TNT crew isn’t giving Wolves guard Gerald Green any love when it comes to defending his NBA Slam-Dunk title tonight. Reggie Miller likes 27-year-old Toronto rookie Jamario Moon’s hops. Kenny Smith picks Memphis’ Rudy Gay and his swagger. Charles Barkley figures Orlando’s Dwight Howard got slighted last year when Green won and picks him to win.
 
 
 
Jalen Rose/ESPN ranks Gerald Green #2 among tonight's Slam Dunk contestants.
I expect the defending champ to have something up his sleeve. 
 
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