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Written by SG
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Sunday, 07 March 2010 07:08 |
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:
The same guy who broke collegiate scoring records held by Michael Finley and Devin Harris at Wisconsin has played in just two games since the Timberwolves acquired him from Phoenix on Dec. 29.It's an exile from which third-year forward Alando Tucker has sought comfort in the game he loves and in what he calls his "big brothers."
"When I'm feeling down, I come to the court," he said.When he feels down, he comes to Target Center and works extra with team strength and conditioning coach Dave Vitel on his shot and his body.And when he feels down, he picks up the phone. He calls his real big brother, Antonio. He exchanges texts with former teammates Steve Nash and Grant Hill, two NBA stars who, for different reasons, can tell him a little bit about persevering.
From Stephen Litel/SLAM Online:
Making my way into Minnesota’s locker room, I found Darko sitting alone at his locker. He just came back in from shooting and was watching film of Houston. He looked winded just from pregame warm-ups, but was in better spirits than when he arrived in Minneapolis. Even after being slammed with the same questions since his arrival, Darko was more than willing to chat.“It’s a good experience,” said Milicic on his brief time in Minnesota so far. “I’m still trying to get back in shape. It’s better than it was because I was in really bad shape when I got here. It’s much better now because I’m working after practice, before practice and trying to get back into shape as soon as possible. It’s been good. Good people, good staff and it’s been a good experience.”
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said half of the 30 teams in the NBA will lose money this year, and the Wolves are one that will lose a lot.
STAR TRIBUNE'S STAR OF THE WEEK
Corey Brewer, Wolves: The third-year guard is working his way into consideration for the NBA's Most Improved Player: He scored 24 points Wednesday in Dallas, and his one three-pointer Saturday gave him a three-pointer in 27 consecutive games, a franchise record.
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Written by SG
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Sunday, 07 March 2010 07:03 |
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Wolves record: 14-49
Ryan Hollins made all seven of his shots. Kevin Love led the Timberwolves in scoring, rebounding, blocks and nearly assists. Darko Milicic grabbed a season-high number of rebounds.
Yes, give the Wolves' big men credit for trying to compensate for Al Jefferson's sizable absence. But realistically, how likely is it that a 14-49 team can win without its central offensive force?
"Well, you know it's not going to be easy," forward Ryan Gomes understated. "I guess we knew that."
Nobody knows it better than Luis Scola. The Rockets forward, without Jefferson to wrestle for position under the basket, erupted for 25 points and a career-high 21 rebounds Saturday as the Rockets throttled the Wolves for the 11th consecutive meeting, 112-98.
"It was a fairly typical game for us," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "Pockets of playing really well and pockets of playing really poorly. Turnovers once again hurt us. ... But [Houston] does a good job of playing together as a team. They move the ball, they keep the basket clear and they read defenses really well. They did a good job out there. They deserved to win. They earned the win."
Love's frontcourt mates, Ryan Gomes, Ryan Hollins, and Darko Milicic helped Minnesota outscore Houston in the paint 52-32. Gomes aggressively fought to reach the free throw line, earning eight trips to the charity stripe, where he connected on seven of his 17 points. The home crowd was also treated to a taped Happy Birthday serenade from Gomes to his wife on the video board during the first half.
Hollins finished with 15 points and was perfect from the field, hitting 7-for-7 and following up missed shots for putback dunks. Milicic continues to work on polishing his low-post game but the Wolves center managed to snag nine boards and dish out five assists in his second consecutive start in place of Jefferson.
Corey Brewer kept the streak alive tonight by draining a trey at the 4:31 mark of the third period. The Minnesota guard has now hit a trey in 27 consecutive games, which is a franchise record. On the opposite side, Brooks' owns a current streak of 34 games with a 3-pointer that continued in the Rockets win.
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Written by SG
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Saturday, 06 March 2010 08:08 |
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Click here for the forum's thread for tonight's game against Houston
Game previews:
The Timberwolves are planning a campaign later this month to promote Corey Brewer for the NBA's Most Improved Player award -- which is as close as they can find to the trophy he really deserves.
Too bad there's no recognition for "Most Surprising Player," because Brewer might win it unanimously. His season, Brewer admits, has shocked him, too.
"Coming off [knee] surgery, I knew I was going to be rusty," said the third-year guard, who turned 23 on Friday. "But I was surprised. My explosiveness came back. I'm feeling a lot more confident."
Minnesota will own a length advantage in tomorrow night's contest, especially in the post. Big man Ryan Hollins has become an integral part of the Wolves gameplan on both sides of the floor. In preparation for facing Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes, Hollins battled Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Darko Milicic and Oleksiy Pecherov in several drills today. Hollins is more confident with his game after a season in the starting lineup and next to several different frontcourt teammates.
"I definitely know it's a lot better, more so, a lot of adjustments, I have changed a lot of things, adjust to the offense and get used to my teammates also," Hollins said. The former UCLA center has just started to tap into his potential talent as he continues to bring non-stop motor to the court.
From City Pages: Charles Barkley, Al Jefferson, Antoine Walker: NBA DUIs
1b. Ricky Rubio
The Timberwolves hold his rights, and either he'll play for them or serve as a great trade asset for Minnesota in a year or two.
Let's say Rubio comes over in 2011-12 and tears it up. Let's say he actually does play like Jason Kidd, a player to whom he's been compared lately. Well, Kidd won Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 (sharing the award with Grant Hill). So yeah, that means the West could have three straight Rookies of the Year, all from the 2009 draft.
It's not likely, and John Wall and Evan Turner will have some say in this next season, but it's certainly possible. Rubio is the lead guard for what might be the best team in the world outside the NBA and is gaining invaluable experience in how to run an elite team. Think about how well Jennings and Omri Casspi played early this season, and consider that Rubio has had much more of an impact in Europe this season than those two guys did before they came over.
Fans can join Love and the Hoops team during the week-long celebration by logging on to hoopsforstjude.org and donating to St. Jude. All funds raised will help children battle cancer and other deadly diseases. While visiting hoopsforstjude.org, fans can also bid on exclusive autographed items donated by the Hoops team members and other NBA stars, including Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
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Written by SG
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Friday, 05 March 2010 06:18 |
From John Hollinger/ESPN: In-Season All-Improved Team
Corey Brewer, Minnesota
Brewer might be the most improved shooter in the league. Or the most improved shooter ever, for that matter. Here's a stat that will floor you: As of Jan. 7, he'd made 23 3-pointers his entire career. Since then, he's made a triple in 27 consecutive games -- breaking Minnesota's franchise record. As you might imagine, the improved stroke helps his other numbers, too: Brewer averaged 15.6 points on 47 percent shooting in February.
Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis told me that Brewer's balance was the key: Brewer had been leaning back or to the side too often as he went up for his shot, and the Wolves had worked with him on going forward toward the rim as he launches. Apparently it's worked; he's made 43.1 percent of his 3s during the current streak, and a shot opponents once happily conceded to him now shows up on their scouting reports.
Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry is scheduled to have surgery Friday to repair facial injuries suffered after Minnesota guard Corey Brewer's elbow and forearm struck the left side of Terry's face during the third quarter of Wednesday's game.
Terry said the blow broke his orbital bone, the area that encases the socket of the eye. A timetable will be released after the surgery is performed.
Brewer was unavailable for comment after Thursday's practice in Minneapolis, but Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said he was sorry to hear about Terry's injury.
"It was completely inadvertent. There wasn't anything malicious to what Corey did. That's what the referees saw, too," Rambis said. "That's unfortunate for Jason. That's unfortunate for the Mavericks, as well."
4. Kevin Love, Wolves: He has embraced his role of coming off the bench and is a threat to notch a double-double on a nightly basis. (Last week: NR)
NBA players' involvement with St. Jude has progressed from a relationship with the Las Vegas Summer League, to the "Rookie Relief" program Love joined in 2008, to this week's charitable triumph -- Hoops for St. Jude Week. From March 1-7, Love, five other players and Nuggets coach George Karl raise awareness about the Memphis-based hospital's efforts to help young cancer patients and their families.
Love, the first NBA player to sign on with St. Jude, has been joined by Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay, Steve Blake and Karl -- the Denver coach touched profoundly and publicly by cancer. Each player has pledged to donate money for every basket he makes this season with a minimum pledge of $20,000 apiece. Coaches throughout the league are wearing Hoops for St. Jude lapel pins this week, and autographed jerseys from superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and others are being auctioned on eBay to raise more money for the cause. Bids are being taken through Sunday.
Darko Milicic earned his first start in a Wolves uniform, finishing with six points and two rebounds. Rambis evaluated his performance, "It's unfortunate that he got into foul trouble. Everything that he's doing -- we're seeing glimpses of tremendous potential, for him and for us… He has such tremendous vision and massive capabilities, and we really haven't seen an exorbitant amount of what he can do scoring-wise. But it's there. It's just starting to poke out, and that's why we're doing things in practice to encourage him to be not only passing the basketball, but to be looking for goal opportunities as well."
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune: Wayne Ellington and Nathan Jawai didn't practice again today with that sprained ankle each sustained in practice on Monday. Best case scenario for Ellington would seem to be Monday's rematch with Dallas, but that may be optimistic.
From RandBall: TFD: The Timberwolves and a new ticket philosophy *The short answer to that question appears to be that if you aren't selling a lot of your available seats, selling a bunch of your seats for less isn't a bad move. "It’s a price value play. It’s almost like a commodity play," Wright said. "You’ve got the available inventory. Number one, what do you want to create for your players? You want to create home court advantage. The way to do that is to put a lot of people inside Target Center. Right now we don’t have that. The model, to a degree, is broken. ... I would say it’s bold. We’ve turned some heads. We talk inside our operation all the time. The business operation is matching the bold moves of the basketball operation."
5. You are also the in-arena announcer for the Timberwolves. Do you have a favorite Target Center snack?
I usually get the turkey sandwich (that whole "trying to eat healthy" thing), but when I drop my inhibitions, I believe they have an item called the "Super Nacho" that's about as deliciously naughty as you can get.
Big Al's been in the news for the wrong reasons and is dealing with a suspension handed down for fourth degree driving while impaired after his arrest by the Minnesota State Patrol. Just so you know, I'm not condoning what happened the other night. No way. I've lost friends in alcohol related accidents and I know, first hand, how deadly all that can be. I agree with David Kahn, SO glad there was no accident and no one was hurt.
However, in this season of struggle for this very young team, it's tragic this has happened and turned so much of the attention away from the team's and Al's work.
I know this has hit Big Al hard. He's one of the hardest workers in practice, he's truly happy to play in Minnesota and he enjoys being a T'Wolve standout. Jefferson also knows he makes a boat load of money and knows that this kind of action carries consequences.
Wolves center Ryan Hollins and rookie guard Jonny Flynn credited a full house at American Airlines Center and some actual crowd noise.
"It's a great environment," Hollins said. "It takes you back to your college days."
For Flynn, that's a whole year removed. "It's a great arena, great fans, great energy," Flynn said. "They bring out the best in us, I guess."
The Wolves lost 112-109 to the Mavs on Wednesday, five days after they got clobbered in front of a loud, sellout crowd in Oklahoma City. "Guys like to perform, absolutely," Rambis said. "But I'd have them look at the Oklahoma City game: Same college environment, packed house. We didn't fare too well there. Maybe you should have brought that up to them."
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 06:39 |
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In a lawsuit scheduled to go to trial next week, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who play in Target Center, are battling the arena's management company over which gets to sell advertising space on one of the facility's gigantic outside walls.
That wall is suddenly prime billboard territory because Target Field next door will soon be full of thousands of Minnesota Twins fans, and every time they look toward right field, Target Center's big wall will be in the background.
They know they won't win a championship next year, so the last-place Minnesota Timberwolves are using a different tactic to sell season tickets: brutal honesty. "We're telling our consumers that we're a growth stock," team president Chris Wright says. From this week until April 1, the Timberwolves are letting fans renew or buy new season tickets at up to 50% off. Mr. Wright says this may boost renewal rates to 85% from this season's 70%. The renewal rate was 93% in 2004 after the team made the Western Conference Finals.
Change is in the air, or better yet, change is on the air. On Monday, the Minnesota Timberwolves launched an aggressive fan development program to pack the Target Center and create a tremendous home court advantage. President of basketball of operations David Kahn stepped in front of the camera to film a variety of new ads that clearly explain the necessary steps to building a winning ballclub.
"We want to create a phenomenal atmosphere inside Target Center, both for our players and our fans, and we're willing to reward the loyal fans who will make that goal a reality by committing to us during March with some of the best ticket pricing in our franchise's history," team president Chris Wright said.
From the Timberwolves:
Kevin Love Helps Launch 'Hoops for St. Jude' Week
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced yesterday that forward Kevin Love is one of six NBA players who have teamed up to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers, during "Hoops for St. Jude" Week (March 1-7). Love, Shane Battier, Steve Blake, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay and Danny Granger are donating to St. Jude for each point they score throughout the season, with a season-end minimum total donation of $20,000. Last season, Love also served as a spokesman for St. Jude and helped in fundraising efforts.
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Written by SG
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 06:24 |
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Wolves record: 14-48
The Mavericks got by, partially because they were playing the team with the worst record in the Western Conference, and because they came alive in the final minutes for a 112-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center.
Kidd was given a night off because he's simply been playing too long lately.
Minnesota nearly became the poster child for parity, putting a scare into a surging Dallas squad that trails only the Lakers in the Western Conference standings. The Timberwolves have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11. They've won only five times on the road all season and have dropped 14 of their last 15 meetings against the Mavericks. They were also playing without suspended center Al Jefferson, their leading scorer and rebounder.
Yet there they were, trailing by just one with 95 seconds left after a putback layup by Ronnie Brewer cut the Mavericks' once double-digit lead down to 107-106.
As expected, Kurt Rambis started Darko Milicic and Ryan Hollings side by side tonight with Al Jefferson serving the first game of his two-game team suspension.
• Brewer extended his franchise-record streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer made to 26, when he made one with about three minutes left in the first half.
• Jefferson can't be in the arena for the two games he missed, but he planned to watch them on television. "Most definitely, I'll watch the games," he said. "I'm kicking myself because I want to be out there. But when you do something, you have to pay for it."
• Ellington and Nathan Jawai also stayed home after each sprained an ankle within 10 minutes of each other in Monday's practice. Don't expect either to be ready to play until Monday at the earliest. "It was so bad, I was like in shock," Ellington said. "I couldn't move it at first. I've sprained my ankle before, but not very bad. This is definitely the worst."
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Written by SG
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 03:36 |
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Click here for the forum's thread for tonight's game at Dallas
Game previews:
While Rambis would not fully commit to the announcement of starting Darko Milicic, he is leaning towards that decision. Al Jefferson's two-game suspension opened a spot at the center position and provides a big opportunity for the former No. 2 overall pick.
"I like Kevin coming off the bench, I think Darko provides us with somebody who can pass the basketball and I like Ryan Hollins in a lot of games -- the things that he had done early, being able to run the floor and matchup-wise for us, they don't like dealing with Ryan Hollins in this push-sprinting, so hopefully that is something we can take advantage of," Rambis said.
Wayne Ellington and Nate Jawai didn't make the trip to Dallas this afternoon because of sprained ankles sustained in Monday's practice and both probably won't play until Monday's rematch with the Mavs at Target Center at the earliest.
Milicic shrugged when asked if he's excited about going from a player exiled beyond the bench in New York to a starting role in his sixth game as a Timberwolf.
"It's just another game," he said. "It's too bad it happened: Al's a great guy and [Jefferson's two-game suspension] is sad. At this point, it's been just enough to make me tired."
Milicic has averaged 24 minutes in his past two games -- he has played five with the Wolves after he went more than three months without playing a game for the Knicks -- even though he is still often gasping for breath after running the floor.
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Written by SG
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 06:17 |
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"I'm willing to do what it takes to prove that I am sorry and set an example for the kids," he said. "I would tell them never to do it. It's OK, have a little fun or whatever, but be responsible and I wasn't responsible. And the consequence of that, I'm dealing with now.
"Trust me, I'm learning from it. I'm a good guy. People who know me know I'm a great guy. I just made a mistake. It's costing me."
Jefferson said he knows that Timberwolves forward Malik Sealy was killed by a drunken driver in May 2000.
"That's what really makes me feel bad," Jefferson said. "He was an innocent guy going home and a drunk driver hit him. I couldn't live with myself if that would have happened, if I would have done something to someone like that. I just kept thinking how it could have been a lot worse than what it was and I was just thankful for that.
Jefferson was cited for driving 56 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone on an I-394 entrance ramp as he headed toward his Golden Valley home. The state trooper noticed Jefferson's car weaving and pulled him over. Jefferson, traveling by himself, took a breath test that revealed a blood-alcohol level of more than .08, the state of Minnesota's legal limit for driving.
In addition to the misdemeanor arrest, Jefferson had to take a blood test. The results could determine the extent of his penalties. For a first-time conviction, Jefferson is facing up to 90 days in jail, a maximum $1,000 fine or a 180-day driver's license suspension. Jefferson is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County court on April 23.
An NBA spokesman said that the league is monitoring Jefferson's situation and that it's unlikely the league would take additional action because of the two-game suspension imposed by the Wolves. The spokesman said the NBA does not have a specific policy regarding DUI incidents, but he said the league can impose penalties on a player if a team does not take disciplinary action.
Item: Timberwolves center Al Jefferson is suspended for two games after a DUI-related arrest.
I think: The lost wages from two games will cost Jefferson nearly $300,000. For that kind of money, he can hire three full-time drivers to be on call 24/7 and pay them almost $100,000 each a year. When you're making $12 million a year, as Jefferson is, why don't you hire a driver so you don't embarrass yourself?
David Kahn says #Timberwolves waives Blount today as a matter of "courtesy"
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Written by SG
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 01:34 |
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From TrueHoop: David Kahn: Ricky Rubio's coming Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has a message about Ricky Rubio. In a phone conversation today, he explained:
Don't believe anything you read, or any kind of emotional outburst, or any kind of emoting of any sort that he will not play here. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm looking very forward to him starting his career here with the Minnesota Timberwolves in what I assume will be a year-and-a-half.
Why a year and a half?
He doesn't have a buyout at the end of this year. I'm assuming it will be difficult for him to leave. Barcelona paid a lot of money for his buyout, about $5.3 million, they're obviously going to want to amortize they're investment over a couple years. There is a buyout after that, however.
Jefferson's comments after practice:
Q: What happened the other night, and how do you feel about it?
It just made a mistake, made a stupid choice for sure. There were a lot of ways I could have handled that situation, in a way I'm glad it happened cause now I know I would never do it again. It was a difficult situation, I could have hurt myself I could have hurt somebody else and I am just so upset with myself. I'm sorry for the embarrassment I caused to my family, myself, my teammates, my fans. I'm a good person, I just made a mistake and I promise it will never happen again. You live and you learn. I didn't realize the danger I put myself in, I put other people in, innocent people, and I just feel real bad. I want to put this thing behind me and just tell myself how stupid it was, and I wish I could turn the clock back in time, I can't. But like I said it will never happen again, even if I have to walk home I will never get behind the wheel in that situation again in my life.
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived center Mark Blount. The Timberwolves acquired Blount from Miami on August 13, 2009 in exchange for Quentin Richardson. Blount did not appear in a game for the Wolves this season.
* Wayne Ellington and Nathan Jawai left practice with sprained ankles. Both limped away down a hallway -- Ellington with his left ankle, Jawai with his right -- to get treatment after getting hurt during a demanding practice today.
They will be re-evaluated Tuesday.
* Darko Milicic wore the black starter's jersey today while Jefferson, suspended by the team for the next two games, wore white on a second unit with Kevin Love.
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Written by SG
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Monday, 01 March 2010 18:32 |
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The Minnesota Timberwolves will waive veteran center Mark Blount on Monday, according to NBA front office sources.
Securing his release before Monday's midnight deadline means Blount will be able to play for someone else in the playoffs, if he can find a new job. Players currently on NBA rosters must be released by midnight in order to retain their playoff eligibility for another team.
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