Here we all are looking at one of the glass half whatever moments.  Depending on what you’ve read, heard and seen on the Internet and beyond this past week, the Timberwolves are either facing utter disaster or a simple setback as a result of Kevin Love’s injury.  But no matter which –ist you claim yourself to be there’s no debating the impact of losing an All-Star for potentially 5-8 weeks.   Love’s loss will be felt, yet how much is still to be determined.  With all hope his teammates will prevent us all from measuring the glass any more than we half to.

When Kevin Love broke the third and fourth finger on his right hand, he took two very important things to the doctor with him- points and rebounds.  While the Wolves will certainly miss Love’s points, they will mourn over his rebounding.  Love’s 14.4 RPG average over the past two years is a number no other Wolf comes close to matching which means they are looking at a large void to fill.  That’s 14 rebounds that could have inspired fast breaks, created second chance opportunities and even decided the final possesion of a game.  It will be up to Love’s teammates to show they can demonstrate an aggressiveness that at least somewhat resembles what Love brought to the boards each game.

Pekovic is certainly the most likely candidate to make up for Love’s loss, but even he will have to make some strides.  While Pekovic has always been a solid offensive rebounder, 3.9 ORB in 2011-12, he has always fallen short of that mark on the defensive end, averaging only 3.5.  Pekovic will need to find ways to secure more missed shots, and perhaps with his improved agility and newly toned frame, this may be a foreseeable change in the Godfather’s game.  Unfortunately, fans are far less likely to witness any real leaps in Williams, Cunningham and Amundson’s numbers.  With more playing time they will surely see their numbers increase, but to a significant degree is probably wishful thinking.

Williams is an incredibly underwhelming rebounder (1.2 ORB, 3.5 DRB), failing to be in the right place at the right time defensively just as much as offensively.  He will need to be much more mobile and scrappy than he has been in the past in order for him to not lose more playing time to Cunningham and Amundson.  The hustle for which Cunningham and Amundson have fostered a reputation and shown this preseason should earn them minutes if Williams proves to be as lackadaisical as he was his rookie season, and more often than not this preseason as well.  Both Cunningham and Amundson should be safer options to have on the court- if for nothing more than the energy they bring each play.  I fully expect Cunningham to secure the starting spot by mid-November, mainly because he provides more consistency as a rebounder and help-defender and will prevent games from getting out of hand.

Besides solving their rebounding woes, the Wolves will also have to figure out how to operate an efficient offense without a player who commands double teams.  This problem will rest in the hands of the Wolves playmakers.  With Rubio, this fear would be non-existent, as his vision and quickness automatically allow for better spacing and extracting the most talent out of each individual on the floor.   While the Wolves have seemed to show flashes of the “sharing is caring” mentality this preseason, it’s unclear if this will carry over once the actual season kicks off.

Kirilenko’s passing will help take some of the burden off of point guards Barea and Ridnour, but it will still be largely up to them to find open shooters, especially on the wings.  Without Love drawing attention, they will have to be more creative and find ways to spread the floor better overall.  Ridnour will do a solid job of getting points from knockdown shooters like Budinger (and Shved to a lesser degree).  However, Barea will need to buy into the pass-first system quickly.  During last Friday’s game against the Bulls, Barea showed once again that he will not hesitate to dribble for 15 seconds at the top of the key, wasting valuable shot clock seconds.  For this reason it might be interesting to occasionally have Shved man the point for the bench unit, as he has already shown the same kind of flair Rubio demonstrated, especially in tight-game situations.

This team has shooters, something that was sorely lacking last season but it’s up to the playmakers to find them in their sweet spots.  Roy, Budinger, Shved, and Kirilenko all will provide the offensive boost missing from Love on any given night, which is why Love’s points may not be such an apparent loss.  Although if Barea, Ridnour and Shved are able to only create iso plays for themselves and teammates, and in turn fail to distribute the ball wisely, these Wolves will lose games against beatable opponents.

Luckily for the Wolves, the first month of their schedule is not nearly as difficult as one could imagine.  If Love were to return on November 23^rd (5 week mark) they will have already played the Kings, Raptors, Nets, Magic, Pacers, Bulls, Dallas, Charlotte, Golden State and Denver, facing only 3 real playoff shoe-ins in Denver, Nets and Bulls.  If Love stays out another week, they are still looking at only facing one more contender in a matchup against the Clippers.  If these Wolves can find a way to build chemistry quickly, they could very feasibly earn a .500 or better record while Love is out.

When considering how long it will take this team to become cohesive and complimentary, it’s only right to thank the basketball gods that Rick Adelman is their coach.  There are a lot of great things to say about the man who only wears black (seriously watch any interview and he will be wearing a black polo).  Adelman is only 29 wins away from becoming the 8^th coach in history to reach 1,000 in his career per Basketball Prospectus 2012-13, largely the result of his brilliant use of lineups.  Before losing multiple key pieces to injury last year, specifically, Pekovic, Love and Rubio this team was projected for a playoff berth.  This fact also means that players like Beasley, Randolph, Johnson and Darko were so well managed by Adelman (or properly ignored) to have actually been part of a postseason run.  This year should be a gourmet meal compared to the TV dinner Adelman had to work with last season.  With much more depth in this year’s roster, Adelman should excel in his use of multiple rotations through creative and strategic maneuvering.  Whether Kirilenko, Cunningham or Williams mans the 4 spot most, there should be confidence in Adelman’s ability to direct and lead them.   Presuming guys can live up to their natural talents and learned skills, Adelman will make magic out of what he has.

Hopefully we all come out of this situation, Wolves and fans included, curious rather than cautious and confident rather than cynical.  Love’s absence last year would have left this team as broken as his fat fingers, but this year is different.  There is a reason to believe that the glass will still have something left to drink when he and our spicy Spaniard return.  How thirsty we will be is still to be seen, but I, for one, still raise a toast this exciting new team.

Forget about the Love injury for a minute and check out these links below for previews on central division teams. And a friendly reminder to check out our preview posted earlier this week if you missed it. 

Chicago Bulls: BlogABull.com

Cleveland Cavaliers: Fear The Sword | Waiting For Next Year

Detroit Pistons: DetroitBadBoys

Indiana Pacers: Indy Cornrows

Milwaukee Bucks: Brew Hoop

That is all.

Check out the latest TimberTrolls video posted this afternoon and maybe that will cheer you up.

Derrick Williams. Your time is now, son.

Why is it always the Wolves?

Not much more to add at this point.

Discuss.

Seeing that the match of topic was a preseason game against something called Maccabi Haifa, there is only so much constructive analysis to pontificate on.  Half of the fun of attending this game was just being back in Target Center, and everything that goes along with it.  Since there were less fans in attendance tonight than will be gracing the Target Center for a women’s basketball game tomorrow night, it was a no brainer to move down to the 4^th row across from the Wolves bench for maximum viewing pleasure.  From these seats I was able to watch the game, but more importantly study a half-living Sid Hartman, longingly gaze at a dapper Ricky Rubio, eagerly stare at the KAHNman himself, watch Tubby Smith get harassed by fans young and old, and spend too much time examining Kevin Williams’ mom’s hairdo, which happens to be the same exact hairstyle that Big Worm rocks in the movie Friday.

Onto the game…

Despite having hairless armpits, it is awesome to have Andrei Kirilenko on our side.  He seems to have a great command on the game, making countless crafty passes with ease, spacing the floor, and generally leading like a professional.  He really seems engaged with the team and already appears to be emerging as a leader of sorts.  KAHNman backed into this one perfectly, despite the AK47 signing actually being Plan V on his offseason options chart.  Even a broken clock is wrong twice a day, and getting AK47 instead of Batum looks like it may end up being a huge blessing in disguise.

Dante Cunningham > Lou Amundson.  Granted, Stonehands Lou only played 5 minutes tonight, but I would rather generalize to prove a point.  Dante is Lou, except younger, more athletic, with better hands, more offensive repertoire, and more upside.  I hope to see Dante playing over Lou this year, and am prepared to make an overly big deal of it should it not turn out to be the case.

Speaking of irrational conclusions, SHVED!  What a STUD.  Euroflair for the win!  I love the way this dude moves, shoots, drives, acts…he’s like the new Marko, but with more athleticism, upside, and scoring prowess.  It still bothers me that he took Your Guy McCants’ number though.

Big Pecker looks like a beast out there this year.  Dude is more cut, more tatted, more confident, and in better shape.  Did I mention that I have Tyrannasorous Pex as a $10 keeper in my Western Conference Only High Stakes Keeper Auction Fantasy Basketball League this year?  Hyped.

Derrick Williams.  I am not going to be negative tonight.  It’s just the preseason.  Adlfkjasfdka;d.  Moving on…

Brandon Roy, Kevin Love, and Lowtop Luke (I can’t believe a select few NBA players still wear low-top sneakers) all looked just fine.  It is the preseason – there is really nothing more to add here.

Oh, I almost forgot this…Chase Budinger just casually threw down a between the legs dunk during warm-ups.  I’ve never seen one of those in warm-ups before, ever.  Much less from a white guy with blonde facial hair.  Do your thing Chase.  Speaking of skin tone, at one point in the 3^rd quarter, a guy from Russia was our darkest player out there.  Think about that for a minute.  Unprecedented.

And finally, there was no SILENT ABABU sighting tonight.  I will save my tears, as the mute one is clearly saving his energy and theatrics for the regular season, and I can wait.  This is going to be a fun season, Wolves fans.  Things are looking up.

The annual tradition continues. Each year TWB participates in a league-wide blog preview purge creatively designed to boost blog traffic provide a daily/weekly dose of NBA for all 30 teams. These are the weekly links you have seen the past few weeks posted here. Today is the day we look at Alexey Shved and the Wolves.

CLICK "READ MORE" TO CONTINUE READING. 

I wasn't able to catch the game Saturday night in which the Wolves improved their pre-season record to 2-1, by defeating the Chicago Bulls 82-75. Just looking at the boxscore quickly, a few things stick out:

• Holy crap Carlos Loozer sucks. On top of that, he plays below-average defense and is getting paid a bazillion dollars per year. It would be a real shame if the Bulls lost the infinitely better all-around player in Taj Gibson, because they couldn't move/trade/dump/amnesty Loozer. 
• HOLY FREAKIN CRAP MARKO JARIC IS BAAAAACK!!!  He only had two steals and two fouls in ten whopping minutes, but he's back in the NBA nonetheless. And the world is a better place.
• The Peksecutioner had 16 points and 17 boards! Wow. Epic huge STUD.
• Looks like Roy and SHVED also had pretty sweet boxscores, so that's nice to see.
• Hey Derrick Williams... what the hell happened? Following up your 25 point game by shooting an O-fer on eight shots? And only 2 points? That's discouraging.
• 69 total fouls in the game? How is that even possible?!? Good grief, talk about the refs screwing the pace of the game. That's a foul every 41 seconds of game time!  Absurd.

But again, like I said I didn't see the game. However, long-time valued TWolves Blog forum member BonK DID indeed watch the game, and apparently quite closely. Hit up our TWB Forums to check out his post in the Official Wolves -vs- Bulls Game Thread, and/or all the other plethora of T-Wolves and NBA discussions that we've got going on every single day.

Here's what BonK had to say about the Wolves-Bulls game Saturday night:

I watched this game at high attention, after not seeing the squad for over 6 months. The refs really tried hard to make this game completely unenjoyable. And the boring Chicago announcers didn't help the cause either.

The Good:

Big Pecker was easily the STUD of the game. Why did he play 39 minutes?! Why didn't Steamer play in the 2nd half? Why did Kobe have to hit that raw? Tyranasaurus Pex looked awesome though. He is like a 98% post pass catcher, while Darko was like a 50% post pass catcher. Once he gets the ball in the down low it's 2 points for the good guys. As automatic as you can get in the league.

Roy looked just fine. Showed some range and played smart. I was giddy seeing him in that Wolves uni on the court for the 1st time.

SHVED! Make it rain! Euroflair!

D.C. - Cunningham was nice. Total blue collar/dirty work/insert your favorite cliche here player. Every team needs a guy like that on their bench. DC > Lou.

Ricky smiling in a suit behind the bench.

MARKO! Classic Marko game. Did he even take a single shot? His 5:00 shadow wasn't as deep as usual. I was disappointed we didn't get a vintage 3 point attempt with a foot on the line from him.

The Bad:

Lou. He really shot 2 for 8?! Man, it felt like 2 for 13. He had my dad chanting "Bring back Darko!". Which reminds me, Darko & Wes were both in our starting lineup at this time last year. Now they wouldn't even crack our top 10. That's progress. Back to the point though: Lou has zero touch.

The Caged Lion. Way to follow up your 25 point performance. DWill looked like garbage out there. But I will say he did look a LOT slimmer.

Budinger - He played 36 minutes? Dude I barely noticed him out there. And we needed offense.

Taj Gibson - I love hard, physical play as much as anybody. But I thought he was taking some very unnessecary hacks at people for a preseason game.

The Ugly:

K. Love as a no show because he slept with his elbow hanging off the bed. Not a good look. Way to show up for the fans. Diva.

The refs. NO FLOW to this game. That 2nd quarter was especially painful to watch.

JJ Barea. My scapegoat for the season. Will he make the 12 man roster once Rubio is back? Probably, but it's no guarantee. I can't wait until the first "Dress Malcolm Lee and sit JJ" debate that will occur on roughly January 5th.

Thanks for reading, and make sure to stop by again tomorrow to check out our T-Wolves 2012-13 Season Preview, as well as come discuss the Wolves vs. Haifa game tomorrow night!

Last night the Wolves decimated a depleted Indiana team in the fine town of Fargo, North Dakota, sparking irrational exuberance throughout the midwest. While other teams are travelling to Spain, China, Germany, Fiji and Bora Bora, leave it Stern and company to "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" at the Wolves and send them to sunny....Fargo. 

As someone who caught the 1980's-esque camera feed supported by radio commentary (which featured a sponsorship from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute...you can't make this stuff up), it was simply outstanding to catch some Wolves ball again. It was somewhat possible to make out the blurry figures of Roy, Kirilenko, Budinger, Shved and the other new faces all making positive contributions on their first official nights as Timberwolves players. All in all, the game was what you would expect: fairly ugly all around. The first few pre-season games typically feature several boneheaded plays as the team rehearses for the real deal. Not to worry. The polish will settle in as the month goes on. Unless JJ continues to start.

From a team standpoint, what stood out the most was the addition of a single attribute: ballhandling. This team is no longer a 1950's era, pass and catch and shoot team. There are ballhandlers throughout the guard and wing spots. Even Budinger (who looked quite good in general, might I add, even getting a 4 point play in the first half) showed he can put the ball on the floor. The Wes Johnson era is over (although he WOULD put up 18 points in his Sun's debut, in a loss of course). Roy, while maybe not as explosive as his former self, showed he still has the ability to score at the NBA level. While going scoreless, Shved already showed he may be a better decision maker at the point than JJ Barea. Stiemsma had a sick block. AK47 was active and annoying. Pek was mobile. Love was rusty. The Wolves won. Again, while it was the first pre-season game, it was great to see the squad. They will go at it again with Indy tomorrow night, playing a game at the International Falls, Minnesota VFW Post 2948.

Rather than go into specific player reviews, I'll post a solid, humorous review forum member DaddyFatSax posted in our forums last night. As always, feel free to join the discussion this season. Here are his thoughts:

I watched the first half intermittently and most of the second half (save the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter. I had an emergency after eating some greasy thai food earlier).

Barea is even pissed during preseason games.

Adelman still be rockin them turtle necks.

Shved officially looks like Vujabitch. This must change.

Roy Hibbert was either not trying or out of shape.

Kevin Love, Barea, and Pek - just feeling the team out. They seem like their usual selves. Love was going half speed (since he's out of shape) but fine, clearly...same as a month ago in the Olympics.

Barea picked up where he left off at the end of the season, playing unusually well...

Pek looks like a giant sized version of Maurice Jones Drew. He is definitely more cut than last year. Sometimes you see what you want to see but I don't think he looked like he was just lumbering down the lane, he was a bit more fluid, maybe.

AK looks the same as a month ago in the Olympics...Andre Iguodala-esque.

C-Bud looks like he's still in Houston. Very comfortable handling the rock, probably had the best game on the team, but against Indy's backups...so that's ok though.

Derrick Williams...yup. Same guy. So, I watched the Celtics preseason game and sure enough, just like he claimed to be doing in practice, Jeff Green slashed to the hoop like crazy, using preseason as practice for an expanded role and the heir apparent to Pierce. Derrick Williams claimed the same thing...and shot a bunch of jump shots. I think I saw him slash once. Why not practice this stuff? Ugh. Derrick Williams for Darrell Arthur, broken leg and all. I'm going to propose absurd, random proposals until he plays like an adult.

Shveddy looks like Vujabitch, plays more like Rubio. Passing was awesome, shot was fine. I think he even blocked two shots. I can't imagine what will happen when he plays a thick wing like Kobe, Iggy, or Corey Brewer...They are going to toss his little ass around. But between the players that this game mattered for - Shved, Williams, and Roy - He impressed the most. But he did help Paul George up off the floor. The Wolves are trying to start a rivalry with this team Shved. Stare his ass down! Step over him! Step ON him! Don't help him up! fyckin team full of nice guys. Bunch of guys Flash likes and shit the Daddy don't like.

Steimsma - throwing shots, hacking people, being mean.

Cunninghamd and Lou - can't finish Shveddy dimes. Pissing me off.

Roy..? I don't know. He looks healthy so far. Looks effective. Can he be a role player? Man, I have no idea how to read him...

Pretty much as expected. Easy to shine against Pacers scrubs. I think they'll play the starters and try on Friday. A better test.

Lastly, here is a link to some post game video interviews from Adelman, Love and Roy.

The NBA season is near! Be sure to check out the below links which each preview an Atlantic Division team. TWB will post its contribution in mid-October.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics: CelticsBlog | Celtics Green | CLNS Radio

Brooklyn Nets: Nets Daily | Baller Mind Frame | Atlantic Twine

New York Knicks: Posting and Toasting

Philadelphia 76ers: Liberty Ballers

Toronto Raptors: Raptors HQ

55 days without a notable Wolves transaction. The wait is over.

Chris Tomasson of FSN was seemingly the first to report. I'll spare the white jokes: Kahn has signed banger PF Lou Amundson to a 1-year, guaranteed, minimum salary deal. Amundson, 29, played with Indiana last year averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 boards in 60 games for the Pacers. Lou brings an interior toughness to the team. While he is not overly skilled, he fills the bench utility big role of Anthony Tolliver, an energy guy who will work his tail off and piss off the opposition. It remains to be seen how many minutes he will get playing behind D-Will and Cunningham off the bench, but Lou is a serviceable bench big and a safer pickup than Hassan Whiteside (although plenty of good arguments could be made as to why Hassan would have been the better signing). This leaves the Wolves' current roster at 14 players, leaving 1 more spot  that may very likely go unused for now. It seems that, barring a trade, this is the roster you will see to start the season. Lou is a solid acquisition, but I am slightly surprised Kahn didn't go for a true center to help spell Pek and Stiemsma, two centers with feet about twice their respective ages. However, the 14th roster spot is nothing to lose sleep over. Lou is a good pickup at that price.

The writing is on the wall: Anthony Tolliver is a  long shot to be back at this point given the dearth of Power Forwards on the roster. As much as we loved Tolly the person, his season last year was sub-par at best. Hopefully he gets the money he felt he deserved and a solid role elsewhere. 

After a crazy summer that turned our cute "puppies" into an instant playoff team, we decided to ask our TWB writers what they thought about the offseason.

1.) Is this the most anticipated season in Timberwolves history?

Mike Reynolds: I think at least in the last 8-9 years. The Cassel/Sprewell year takes the cake for most anticipated. A case could be made that last year was huge as well with Rubio and Adelman being signed and the lockout simply being over and saving Winter in Minnesota. It certainly is one of the most critical seasons in team history. I will give it a firm 2nd place, mainly because we aren't starting the year with Rubio at full health which is a huge drag. However, It is the first time since the mid-2000's we can, barring major injury, almost guarantee a winning season. A great feeling. 

Jon Schweppe: Given the complete lack of anything resembling decent professional basketball in Minnesota for almost a decade (except the Lynx, of course), I'd have to say yes. We started to seem our team's transformation last season, before Ricky went down with his ACL injury, but I anticipate incredibly competitive basketball this year and quite a few sell-out crowds at the Target Center. Personally, I can't wait.

Erik Cox: 2nd only to the MV3 year. That was a more popular team in general, plus Ricky's injury and the goofy collection of white dudes will leave enthusiasm tempered until the team produces. 

John Grooms: Most will point to the Sprewell/Casell/KG run as the season fans licked their chops over but I’ll go on a whim and say this year is the most anticipated.  Similar to that season, there is an established franchise player finally receiving support from recognizable stars in the league.  Kirilenko and Roy may not receive the same draw Sprewell and Casell offered, but I’d argue that they are joining more fan friendly players than existed in the 2003-04 roster. With Love, Rubio and Pekovic, this team has become a league pass favorite almost overnight and a team that spectators are begging to entertain them.  Fans may not feel as much confidence heading into this season as they did eight years ago but I think more than ever there is a feeling this team will be both ‘fun’ and ‘good.’

College Wolf: Taking into consideration the entire overall pulse of the fanbase, I don't think you can say with complete certainty that this is THE most anticipated season in the short history of the franchise. I am sure that for some fans, yes, the will most definitely be their own personal 'most anticipated' season.  But don't get me wrong, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, as this is certainly in the Top 5 as far as this subjective measurement metric goes. 

The MV3 Western Conference Finals season was probably the most anticipated, and possibly the follow-up season as well.  Granted, 04-05 was a total dud of a year, but the anticipation was massive coming off our near-Finals appearance. I don't think anyone can deny either of those seasons.  
And then you have the initial season of the franchise back in '89.  For a hoops fan in Minnesota, how could THAT not be one of the most anticipated? I mean, we were finally getting our very own NBA franchise!  Heck, even last season (Rubio... finally, yay!) was pretty darn anticipated as well, especially considering the rising star that K-Love has become.

So while this season is very anticipated to most fans, I do think Rubio's injury does put a slight damper on things.  As far as I can tell, he won't be back before December from what I've been reading.

Click "Read More" to check out the rest of the responses!