Couple thoughts from TC:

-I think it's a little counterproductive that fans basically chant for Rubio to enter the game whenever he isn't in. I know, I know. But as much as our starting 5 is awful, they obviously need confidence. That can't help. Granted Ricky was/is awesome.

-As CW alluded to - Ricky got torched by Conley off the dribble, but many players do.

-When Luke hit the bucket with :26 to go I was convinced that was designed so we wouldn't have had to foul Memphis right away by virtue of the shot clock. Have to say I was confused as to why we did. Had we gotten a stop, it would have been a one point game with about 3-5 seconds to play....

-That Ridnour lane violation was killer. I have to give him props for trying it and he threw it perfectly off the rim. Tough night for Luke overall.

-Aside from that last Gay shot (pun intended), Tolliver is clearly our stopper and he is a good one. Adelman can put him on any scoring forward late in the game. He made some mistakes late but that man is invaluable to this team.

-The Ridnour flagrant foul call was horse shit. Tony A was clearly, CLEARLY trying to draw a flagrant when he hesitated on the finger roll. Luke went straight for the ball. I love Tony A. Wish we had him.

-More Ridnour fun: he needs to learn to draw charges. He just doesnt set his feet and lets the driver plow into him and he won't fall down, will just shuffle to stay standing which makes it automatically a block. He did this twice and it cost us 4 points throughout the game, including 2 crucial free throws in the 4th.

-Wes came up huge again for us tonight. Not.

-Is it too much to say Ricky R is already a star-level PG? Maybe...but, I mean...

-Webster is the best true shooting guard on this team. He shoots nearly 50% from 3. I think him and Rubio could click. Since Kahn won't make a trade, he could provide a nice spark when his paper cut heals.

-Ellington is trash. One of those guys who, when he comes, in, you groan out loud and mutter obscenities to yourself.

-Free throws...that is all.

-As Roundhouse and others said, Darko did an A+ one-on-one job against Gasol. Had a hand in his face every time.

-Rotation still feels like a revolving door. Hopefully Adelman decides within a week or two on a pecking order and sticks with it.

No one has mentioned that KLav has led the team with two blocks the last two games. I think he is getting the idea of help defense now that he finally has good coaching.

Five Buys for the Wolves

espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-1201...-five-surprise-teams

WallyWorld wrote:
Yea i noticed that too. Seems like he's trying different things out. Hopefully he gets over Ellington soon. The only guys who have had steady minutes are Love, Rubio, Tolliver, and Williams.

classico wrote:
One of the blocks was actually by Wes and Love got the credit. But his blocks are up a bit over his career average. Maybe because he has more spring in his step after losing all that weight.

Good last comment WW, very insightful. And shockingly, I agree with pretty much everything you said.

roundhouse wrote: Lol yeah. K-Lav doesn't appear to be quite as "gravitationally challenged" as he was in the past.

Some of my thoughts from the game last night which I attended, sorry if some are repeats of what others said:

- Our defense is immensely better than last year, and it's not even close. I couldn't tell you how many times I banged my head on the wall seeing the opposing team hit a 3 pointer every time down the court last year.

-It's all about confidence for wes (duh). Let me clarify: if his first few shots go in, he is a completely different player. He still has great athleticism which helps on defense and rebounding, but if he starts missing shots, he cannot do ANYTHING offensively.

- Fans sure do love Rubio, huh? I thought it was big but never did I expect that, chanting rubio at random sometimes. I wonder how long the love affair will last (pun intended).

- We are the best team in the league. At turning the ball over. EGADS, some of our passes are just completely forced, in double coverage. WTH.

- We need JJ Barea back soon (and Martell webster for that matter). Both will astronomically help our 2-guard problem (but not completely solve it).

-Kevin Love was complaining with the refs. A LOT. I don't like that from our star player. Maybe that's an effect of so much losing in the past? Either way, it's gotta stop. We basically played 4 on 5 in one possession while he was still crying on the ground on the other end.

- The only way D-will is going to improve is if he gets more extended minutes, not just short bursts of playing time. I say we substitute AR's minutes for his and slide love/tolliver to the center spot along with Darko, since Adelman insists on playing derrick at the 4.

-Darko was fine, good D. Pretty much good individual defense from everybody, for the most part (can't believe I'm saying that after last year). Their height caused problems for us though, as they had a lot of offensive rebounds.

-Let's see if we can avoid a letdown and take the next one against cleveland. I'll be there for that one as well!

CW - I think we agree on most things!

Good thoughts Loyal Wolf. I agree D Will needs more development minutes. He will get 'em. And even tough he has charge issues, he needs to attack. That's why he is here. WES was the guy we used a top 4 pick to draft a one(no)-trick spot up shooter, not D Will

As per your TO comment, Rubio, Love and Beas combined for 12 TO's.... 2 more than the entire Memphis team. Yikes. Beasley had 5 and they all felt horrible.

roundhouse wrote:
and Ridnour to an extent these last few games with Barea out (who will be the closer at SG longer term it seems). On that note, regardless of some obvious holes the team still has, isn't it great that Adelman is actually trying new things, and overall seems to have a strategy and game plan? Would Rambis EVER have fathomed playing Ridnour at shooting guard? No way.

OH and one thing I HATED in the 4th....how many times Ridnour ran the offense while Rubio drifted to the corner. What was that all about?!

I was wondering if anyone was at the game last night and what things are looking like in person. Thanks for the thoughts, Loyal Wolf.

I remember that Love-on-the-floor situation. He never appeared back in the TV screen. Sometimes these guys need to know when to stop bitching and just get back. I remember Wes against the Heat complaining instead of getting back and before he probably had a phrase out of his mouth D-Wade was gone. I was thinking last night that I wish Adelman would tell the guys to let him handle the refs and just keep playing.

When Barea gets back, I would like to see either he or Rubio on the court at all times and one of them as the primary ball handler.

When it is Luke, Wes and Beasley, there just isn't the same flow to the offense, and then the dumb turnovers. I'd rather have the ball in Rubio's hands and live with his turnovers than having Wes and Beas trying to figure out what to do and have it turn into a quick 2 the other way.

If you start Wes with Rubio, it gives Wes the chance to start the game with some open shots in his spots. If he is off from the start (as Loyal Wolf mentioned) get him out of there. Seems like you can tell in about 4 minutes and we don't need to leave him out there for 10 minutes. I guess with Wes, I just don't see much of a chance of Luke bringing out the best in him.

If you want to start Luke with Rubio, I'd be just as fine with that at this point.

You just got to see something happening from the start on a regular basis with ball movement and offensive flow. The way we shot vs. the Spurs is the exception. Even if they aren't hitting 70 percent, they still have to have someone out there that can get them in a flow.

BTW, any word on JJ's return? Or is this going to be the unknown, ongoing type of thing?

All I have to say is........it must be so hard to coach a bone headed player like Michael Beasley.

9Deuce wrote:
Hilarious.

Imagine being a hall of fame coach and watching some of that stuff from the sidelines?!

So what are we supposed to do without a T-Wolves game tonight?

What's with all these off days built into the schedule this year?