Left to Right: Anderson Varejao, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bruce Jenner, Todd Day, Sundiata Gaines, Matt Bullard and Kurt Rambis enjoy a Jazz Jam in the offseason

Happy New Year! Why does it feel like the Wolves always have a century in between games? Alas, they resume their regularly scheduled programming tonight in Utah against the declining Jazz. UThe Jazz a clear rival for that 8th seed, have lost 4 in a row and are now a 15-17. With a 9-4 record at home, Utah is a beatable opponent and an important one. These next three games are quietly very important and solid barometers for the rest of the season. Utah, Portland and Denver all are up this week. All division and standings rivals. Some other bullets:

-No Rubio.  Rubes is out with back spasms and will miss the two game road trip. It is just becoming ridiculous at this point. Rubio needs to be healthy. I think the fans are really relying on him to provide a boost for the second half of the season for a playoff run. Thus far, as somewhat expected, that magic still hasn't been there and any series of minor injuries stunting the growth of this team is just yet another setback. Beyond frustrating. Everyone in the west is good. It is absurd. These bit injuries are going to come back to bite us when the final west seedings come down to one or two games at the end of the season.

-Lazar "Major Lazer" Hayward. But never fear Wolves fans, Lazar is back. In a confusing move, Lazar will handle 4th guard duties on this upcoming road trip, signed over the weekend to a non-guaranteed deal. It may be too early to criticize this, as the sequence of moves may be more complete following the contract guarantee date of January 9th, but this signing confused me. Why were the Wolves fearing a guaranteed contract when 3 wing players are out for the season (I am counting Roy here), and Budinger is gone for at least two more months? Who is this player who is on the mend that will come back? And while defense and hustle are nice, getting a knockdown 3 point shooter would have been the answer in my humble opinion. What would be more valuable to this team right now? A +40% 3 point shooter or a 10 minutes per game hustle guard who can marginally slow down opposing bench guards for a few minutes per game? Considering the Wolves are last in 3 point shooting in the league and just continue to fire them, I am saying the former. This team needs a shooter in the worst way. It may have been wise to just cut ties with Roy and use the subsequent injury exception to acquire a shooter such as Anthony Morrow from Atlanta. However, the strong possibility remains that Lazar will be waived next week, giving us the option to sign Mickael Gelebale to a few 10-day deals. Gelebale, while not a great shooter, certainly provides more experience and is likely a better option for a hustle swingman. 

-The Roy Saga. Speaking of Roy, what is Kahn holding on to here? Why distract yourself? The risk of signing him just hasn't paid off. And in hindsight, Kahn looks desperate pulling for the guy and not doing the due diligence with his medical outlook beforehand. There was a chance the move could have been a masterstroke, but let's be aware that what you have with Roy today is a guy making $5 million to endorse Arby's and AT&T while taking up a roster spot in desperate need of production. Like the guy as much as you want for what he did in Portland, or for being a good dude, but today this is what Brandon Roy is offering the Wolves. Roy, who last week went through his second behind-the-scenes stint of wanting to re-retire in the first third of the season alone, is seeing things in the long term and it just doesn't seem as if he has much of a desire to return. You have to feel for the guy without question -- a former superstar who just doesn't have it anymore -- but at this point, he isn't adding value to the roster. It begs the revisionist comment that, while a fair risk to take arguably, the Wolves probably shouldn't have even decided to take any sort of risk in the first place. Courtney Lee or OJ Mayo absolutely, positively could have been had (for potentially even less money), and now with the Wolves being over the cap this summer, that $5 million will not be able to be replaced by a productive wing in the offseason. The risk has cascaded. There are many people who thought staying away from Roy was the right move. Those people were definitely right as it stands today. Could he bounce back for the second half of the year? Sure. Will it have been worth him missing half of the season in a position of desperate need? Highly doubtful. 

4. Utah - The Jazz are on a bit of a slump lately so the Wolves will be in prime position to win. In order to do so, Kevin Love is going to have to absolutely, positively not dog it on defense. Utah has a very talented front court that can score from anywhere on the court, and given Love just surrendered his night last Saturday to Luis Scola, he is in solid position to be outworked by Paul Millsap. Excuse the negative nature of this post in general, but Love has been a disaster to start this season. He certainly has already lost his all-star spot, and he is going to have to get through whatever funk he is in to help this team win games against critical opponents such as the Jazz. 

For the Jazz - Mo Williams is likely out with a thumb injury which is great news for Minnesota. Mo has been a Wolves killer for years and his absence makes things easier on the squad. Tonight also marks another game vs. Randy Foye.

Prediction - The Jazz are good at home. The Wolves are poor on the road. If the Wolves can hit a couple of outside shots and pack the lane on defense to contain Millsap, Favors and Big Al, this game is ours. Unfortunately, magic always seems to happen at Energy Solutions Arena and I don't have a strong outlook for tonight. Wolves lose a heartbreaker. My New Years Resolution of being more positive will begin at a later date. 

Sorry for the lack of front page updates over the holidays. Thank you to regulars to our forums for keeping things interesting over the past week or so. 

Tonight brings the return of Wes Johnson, Michael Beasley and Seb Telfair. The goal ought to be to simply prevent Dudley, Gortat or Scola from having a notable game and the win should not be difficult to come by. Dragic remains questionable for Phoenix. Amazingly, the T-Wolves are favored by 8.5 points tonight, if you are someone that is interested in sports betting. The Suns are dysfunctional and atrocious, play no defense whatsoever (besides Gortat and Dragic somewhat), and are probably going to be without Dragic tonight due to a minor injury. AND Phoenix played a game last night as well.  I just don't see how they can hang with the Wolves at home, although I am also not sure if I'd lay 9 points either.  Tough call. If this isn't your cup of tea, then maybe just go do some Super Bowl betting over the internet intead.

For the Wolves, Phoenix brings another game where we just hope these guys break out of the funk. Love couldn't hit the broad side of an Oliver Miller, and just needs a monster night to get his confidence back. As expected, Rubio's return to date hasn't quite brought back the magic to this team yet. I would suspect we will continue to see growing pains for this next quarter with the back half being something of a revival for the top few guys.

Other team notes:

-Brandon Roy was set to return tonight, but signs are looking like he will shoot for at least one additional full practice before returning.

-Rubio's minute limit has been increased from 18 to 24. 

-Chase Budinger is on track to play the last 1/4 of the season.

-All quiet on the free agency front after the Wolvs brought in Lazar Hayward, Joey Graham and James Anderson earlier in the week.  

The Wolves are in Miami, hours after suffering a horrendous, inexcusable loss against the Magic. Tonight we face the Heat. On NBATV. Without Rubio. The odds aren't in our favor. Might as well pull a Popovich and just start Lou Amundson and a hurt Lee. But, after the atrocious second half last night I think it is safe to say the Wolves are plenty rested. In all seriousness, what it will take to win:

1. AK47 playing out of his mind defensively. As if he hasn't already. AK47 has LeBron, Durant, and Melo to deal with his next three games. Think about that for a minute. Here's to you AK. You are officially the most important player on the court.

2. Getting the right players in foul trouble. The Wolves are quietly among the top teams at getting to the line. It is a good thing too, and the key to early season success. With the shots doing everything but falling, the Wolves' superb ability to get to the line has been the saving grace. Sadly, the Heat's firepower all comes from outside. Adelman should run plays that pack the lane and do whatever on God's green earth you can to get the ref's to buy into the "Minnesota should win tonight on the road in Miami" storyline. If only Rubio were playing to help convince them of the merits of such a story. 

3. Love having an outlier game. I'm talking a 35-20 game. With even scoring through 4 quarters. Not a hot start, but a consistent, amazing night. He needs it. The team needs it in order to have a prayer.

4. Good free throw shooting. 75+% from the fouls the Wolves will have to draw in order to stay in it.

5. A big night from Pek. Interior scoring. Again, it's the only way. This team is not winning games on the perimeter these days.

6. An unsung hero off the bench.  I nominate Barea and Williams. One of those two needs a 15+ point night off the bench against the weaker 2nd unit of Miami. 

Do all that, and we stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning this game. But given it's Miami, I would rather Adelman saves whatever this team has for a gigantic game on Thursday against the Thunder at home on TNT. 

Prediction: Wolves fall easily, although stranger things have happened in Miami. 

The Christmas Magic has returned!

This is the Wolves' last chance for an easy victory before the schedule becomes nothing short of ridiculous. Rumor on the street is that Ricky will play tonight and sit out tomorrow vs. Miami. Good call? Bad call? Weird call? I'm not sure why they don't just stick to a minute limit, but perhaps that is just fan impatience.

For the Magic, guard Afflalo/Redick on the perimeter, keep Vucevic off the glass, get a hand up on Big Baby in the mid range....and you will probably win the game. Should be no trouble. Tomorrow? Well....yeah.

No word on Love but all signs point to him playing tonight. As the fans turn more and more sour on the guy, he needs every minute to get out of his funk and redeem himself. Something is up.

Prediction: blowout win.

On March 9th, 2012, in the final minutes of a game against the Lakers, the current villains/laughing stock of the NBA, Ricky Rubio went down in heroic fashion attempting to draw a charge against Kobe Bryant, the goal per usual being to will his team to yet another surprising victory. As you all know, what happened in that game was a watershed moment for the remainder of the season, as the Wolves plummeted in the standings, in attendance, and in quality of play. To bring the memory full circle, here it is.

I was at this game, and like the rest of the arena was wearing a white t-shirt, deeply engaged in what should have been another Wolves win against a hated team during a period that can only be innocently described as magical for a fan base used to watching a team go through periods where a  3-7 stretch of ten games was considered a quality effort. But Rubio went down, and the crowd was reduced to dead silence. The Lakers then went on to win the game, and Rubio went on to rehab, while the fanbase went on to following other things. Then of course, David Kahn made several quality acquisitions which have done nothing but ease the short term loss of the new hero of Minneapolis, enabling the Wolves to start at a solid 13-11 clip, 6th in the ridiculously competitive Western Conference, despite blow after blow after blow after blow in terms of injuries. And you have to wonder, had Rubio stayed healthy the rest of last season, would the Wolves have had the kind of offseason they did this summer? It remains a burning "what-if?" question in my mind, and a testament to the fact that the symbolic sacrifice Rubio made, and the way the rest of the roster performed when he went down, was awake up call to team ownership.

Now, starting tonight, Ricky will be eased back into the lineup slowly over the next month, likely coming off the bench for awhile in limited minutes while some of the other hobbled players recover. This next quarter may be a growing one, but I have a feeling the back half of the year will be nothing short of spectacular. Ricky's impact on both ends of the floor will be felt immediately. The no-look passes, the random spurts of offense, the key steals. It is going to be fun to watch, but not without some growing pains. One of the things I have noticed about Ricky is he seems to be one of those guys that, no matter what he does, completely captures the crowd. What is it about him?: Ricky could throw a pick and roll bounce pass to Pekovic streaking down the lane and the crowd would go absolutely wild. Minutes later, Luke Ridnour could complete the exact same play in the exact same fashion in the exact same style and the crowd could have no reaction. And how can you not love that as a fan? That being said, Ricky's recovery means more than just the on-court product. It makes the team interesting and fun again. It sort of brings back that pride in the team that this town clearly has wanted ever since the Spree/Sam year. The pride that made last January and February, when the Wolves were beating elite teams on a regular basis, so much fun. Because it was an amazing time after years of ineptitude. And while the team is a quiet 6th in the West, there still has been something missing. The tone around the web is still a bit somber. the TimberTrolls have been quieter than normal. That enthusiasm just isn't there yet. Ricky returning will bring back that magic.

Despite an easy schedule, you have to hand it to the Wolves, winners of 5 of their last 6 games. And now, unless something odd happens this afternoon, Rubio is set to finally make his debut nine months after sustaining the injury that derailed the 2011-2012 Timberwolves season. When Rubio went down in March, it almost felt as if we would never see him on the court again. The town had absolutely fallen in love with the starry eyed phenom; a town that desperately needed someone to love on the sports scene. Yet, the nine months have flown by, and with a team that can only get healthier for here (actually, we probably shouldn't count our chickens here), you have to feel good about where the team is going to head the rest of the season. 

And that starts tonight against a Dallas team that was blown out against the lowly Toronto Raptors last night on the road. The Wolves are already 1-0 against the Mavs this season, taking the first game against Dallas on the road without Kevin Love. However, last night in New Orleans against the Pelicans (still not over that team name, I have grown to absolutely love it), the injury curse hit again, this time claiming Kevin Love and Josh Howard. Luckily x-rays on Love's hand were negative, and he should return to the court soon enough, and hopefully he will hit his stride again in the coming few weeks and start hitting shots. Josh Howard, the victim of a hyper-extended knee, will likely miss a little bit of time. And then there is Malcolm Lee, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had to undergo another knee surgery.

On team Dallas, you have OJ Mayo, who has returned to the form of his rookie year this season, where he averaged over 20 PPG, a year that had Wolves fans livid as McHale of course traded him on draft night. However, Mayo quickly fell into the Jason Terry role in Memphis, perhaps vastly underutilized, while Love summoned his inner Larry Bird and became a superstar. But with a fresh start in Dallas, Mayo has been playing out of his mind, averaging 20.4 PPG, including a 40-point night last week against the Rockets, and shows no signs of looking back. Dallas also made a few more quality short term moves, acquiring Elton Brand and Darren Collison (neither of which have worked out very well to date), as well as signing the wildly underrated Chris Kaman to a 1-year deal. All moves enable Dallas to maintain cap flexibility into next summer, where they will be able to add just about anyone they please, while still fighting for a playoff spot when Dirk returns to the lineup in short order this season. While Dallas' strategy of not defending its 2010 NBA title was criticized widely across the league, you have admire Mark Cuban's long-term vision. Dallas is a team that will likely not have to go through much rebuilding over the long term, which bodes well for the long term winning strategy Cuban has implemented.

As for the Wolves, assuming Rubio plays tonight and Love does not, they will have to rely on Pek and AK47 to bolster most of the scoring load. Pek has had an outstanding couple of games here, including a career-high 31 last night vs. NO. Are Pek's foot issues finally behind him? A big night against Dallas will be a great confidence builder for the burly fan favorite. Another storyline from yesterday was Alexey Shved making his first NBA start, a spot I expect he will hold for the Wolves for the indefinite future. While not perfect, I think it is safe to say that Shved has surpassed expectations for Wolves fans and coaches alike, and his shooting continues to improve. This is looking to be perhaps one of Kahn's top acquisitions since he arrived, and Alexey continues to be a player you just want to root for. Hopefully his pesky defensive efforts can hold Mayo to a sub-par night, a factor that was absolutely critical (thanks to Malcolm Lee's effort in his first NBA start that night) the last time the Wolves faced Dallas.

Prediction: Rubio's debut, a situation where Love being out may actually be addition by subtraction at this point....the movie script says the Wolves win it and rally the fan base before the schedule really ramps up in difficulty. Wolves win tonight at home.

The Wolves are in New Orleans on what is rumored to be the night before Ricky Rubio's season debut. A few short updates are below. Comment on the game here as you see fit, or in the forums if you so desire.

1. Shved Starting. Per the team, Alexey Shved will get the start tonight at the 2 guard. Shved has earned his stripes and is clearly ready for more time. This could perhaps mean that Shved has earned the starting role for the remainder of the season barring injuries or a meeting with the rookie wall. JJ Barea will be your bench sparkplug. Let us collectively begin our campaign to get Shved to Houston for the Rookie Challenge.

2. Lee Hurt. Also reported by the team, Malcolm Lee has suffered a knee injury related to degenerative cartilage and is out indefinitely. Great! Lee has had major knee surgery a few times, so this is of no great surprise. if Kahn has learned one thing since he started, I hope it is to stop going after guys with major injury histories. The past doesn't always predict the future, but his recent fascination with Pau Gasol, who has developed knee tendonitis, basically seems like a match made in heaven for Kahn. Just stop it. 

3. Brow Back. The Wolves will get their first look at Anthony Davis, out the past couple of weeks with ankle problems. Brow came off the bench after returning from injury, so look for Monty to get him back in the swing of things against Minnesota and their porous interior defense.

And lastly.....hug your family and friends this holiday season. A terrible tragedy occurred today that goes beyond words. Let this be a reminder to always keep things in perspective. 

Prediction: The Wolves should have little issue getting the win tonight.

Tonight after what seemed like six years off, the Wolves take it to Target Center in Ricky Rubio's would-have-been season debut. The Nuggets, long thought to be Western Conference contenders, are quietly right on par with the Wolves at an underwhelming 11-11 despite the team being generally injury-free for most of the season. This game marks a bit of a deja vu game, as the last time the two rivals faced off the Wolves benefited from a similar vacation followed by a game vs. Denver at home. Tonight's situation would have been even more eerie had Rubio decided to suit up, as Love miraculously came back from injury the last time the two teams squared off, but it is not to be. Rubio will be gazing onward yet again, hopefully debuting Saturday against the Mavericks. If he doesn't, well, that would stink. 

1, The Love Comments. But let's tackle this elephant first. Unless you live under a rock/Pekovic, you know that yesterday Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a rhetoric-laden account interlaced with some rather shocking (or not, really) quotes from Kevin Love questioning David Kahn and, to a smaller, more implied degree, Glen Taylor. As one who loves to poke around quietly and see what the fanbase generally thinks about current issues, the response to this has been all across the board. Some were quick to blame Love, calling him a Diva. Others were quick to remember just how terrible Kahn has performed as a GM despite a successful offseason. A few blamed Woj for writing an obviously one-sided article that contained mostly his opinion and stance with little-to-no source material other than conveniently guiding Kevin Love's off-color comments towards an obvious personal disdain for the Wolves' front office on behalf of his agent source. Whatever the answer may be, none of this is particularly good for the franchise. But despite this, let's put on our earmuffs and briefly analyze this situation.

a. The media is a tool for athletes, as well as agents. One of the more often misperceived or under thought aspects of sports media today, is that fans and followers don't often grasp that most messaging and rumors are sent with a strategic agenda in mind. Furthermore, rumors and speculation are often, but not always, driven by those who are excellent at controlling the media: sports agents. Now of course there are plenty of examples where FO staffers speak under condition of anonymity, but trade rumors, free agent rumors, and other stories are generally leaked through agents. This is why Woj is so good at breaking stories. He has a national platform with perhaps a little bit more editorial freedom than his competition over at 4-letter or whichever outlet, and as such has become the ultimate PR tool for sports agents to sway public opinion towards or against a particular client and his respective organization. This then elicits action on behalf of a client. And thus the game of chess continues.

That being said, it is not a coincidence that Kevin Love shares the same agent as Al Jefferson, or Michael Beasley for that matter. Consider Love spent an odd amount of time addressing Kahn's decision to trade Al Jefferson over two years ago for pennies on the dollar. Consider Kahn flamed Michael Beasley publicly early on. Consider that good old Jeff Schwartz has not been able to get the better of Kahn in any contract negotiation to date. Consider Kahn has responded by making questionable roster decisions and thus lowering the value of one of his marquee clients. You see, as much as this is really about Love....it is more about the suddenly quiet David Kahn. Why Love was the talking head in the situation instead of Schwartz (under anonymity of course) remains to be seen. But one thing is clear, this wasn't some accidental set of circumstances. Love didn't just wander into an upscale Philadelphia restaurant and happen to run into Woj, known for basically dousing every word he writes in gasoline and setting it on fire, and decide "hey pal, let's talk!" Regardless of the true agenda, this was a calculated decision, whether right or wrong, by Love and his agent to sway opinion in some way. Love, growing more and more unlikable, clearly has beef with Kahn and this was another move on his part to sway the tides against him after Kahn did his best to cover up his liquid cesspool of ineptitude of a roster with a box of Band-Aids (whatever their premium item is! let's not discredit AK47.) this offseason.  

b. So What is the Agenda? As implied above, this is not about Kevin Love. What is done is done. He feels mistreated, he feels mismanaged, he feels like he is in a bad situation and he is, only because of the POBO. I could be dead wrong here, but this issue seems to quietly be about Kahn more than Love himself. And this is, in a twisted way, a good thing. It says to me that Love would rather stay here than leave. Woj tweeted out as much this afternoon. It says Love feels he has a home here, but also that Kahn is not the best guy to lead the ship. And if he and his agent, another guy with a clear agenda and vendetta against Kahn who has had Woj's ear for years, have anything to say about it, they will. It is all a game. MPR Columnist Bob Collins had a great comment on this matter. "You have to be part PR-agent to be a sportwriter." And this is another case of another agenda in action. Just like the next big agent-driven trade rumor you hear (currently happening with Pau Gasol). As much as we think FO's control the league, agents are the quiet deities of the league in many cases. One only needs to remember Stephon Marbury's departure years ago when David Falk basically ran the entire league.

What is important to think about in this situation is not "what" Love said, but "why." The "what" portion has been obvious the second Love started playing at a star level, making all-star and Olympic teams, and watching his inferior peers get 5-year max deals from their respective front offices. But the "why" is really quite obvious if you dig at each carefully (yes, carefully and calculated) crafted comment he makes. He all but said, "I will play in Minnesota; I like this fanbase and community, but Kahn has treated me like scum and I won't tolerate it again." And in a situation where Love will hold every piece of leverage imaginable in three years, he made a good move for a professional exit strategy should no change be made in the front office. Once again, it all boils down to the infamous David Kahn. Anything beyond that is mere speculation. As if he went into the meeting with Woj ignorant of his negative editorial style and masterful rhetorical use of quotes? Give me a break.

And that is about as deep of an analysis as you will get until Love starts commenting about it again.

2. Oh yes, the game. No Rubio as mentioned above, and a grudge match for an over .500 record. Denver played, and defeated, Detroit last night so they will be coming in a little bit tired while the Wolves will be coming off a 4 day trip to the spa. For a team in such bad health, any rest is great rest. Iggy and Gallinari are your x-factors, thus Malcolm Lee and AK47 will have a big challenge tonight. Look for Ty Lawson, coming on after a slow start, to murder Ridnour off the dribble. It will likely come down to what it always has this season: getting to the line and making the shots, and at least trying not to shoot a historically terrible clip from 3. 

Prediction: Wolves win at home 101-92. #embracehomerism

If you haven't seen it before, the website StadiumJourney.com publishes reviews of sports stadiums from all over the world.  To date, they have posted reviews of over 1,200 different stadiums. It's actually pretty cool if you ever go check out the site.  And SJ also recently posted a new review of the "experience" at Target Center. I can't say the "experience" will knock your socks off, but admittedly it is much, much better than things were before the renovations of a few years ago.  Man, Target Center was just brutal before back then.  So, I guess things have improved in that regard!

Please click "Read More" to check out the TC review, and thoughts on the impending return of Ricky!

According to ESPN and a number of sources Kahn offered the Lakers a package built around Derrick Williams and Pekovic for Pau. Since he joined the Lakers you could make a case that the Lakers go as Pau goes, and since last years playoffs it's been very mediocre fare for both.

Why would the Wolves do this? Clearly we are building a foreign based team and Pau is one of the highest profile European players, plus he is the Patriarch of the current dominant Spanish team, so the Rubio connection is obvious. 

Check out this great #EPICWINNING video from Kevin Love that he created with the help of some teammates, to launch his fifth annual "Minnesota Coat Drive":

His coat drive video "The Session" is just full of comedy gold. Look at Nicola the "Peksecutioner" breathing through his "neck gills" at the 0:47 mark. Lolz!  And of course there is K-Love playing his sax throughout. If only Alexey Shved could have made an appearance, this would be the best. video. ever.