Sunday, January 30, 2011

T'Wolves Win Big

The Timberwolves played maybe, the best basketball they have played all season long. They have been showing there potential all year long, but tonight it seemed that everyone was playing up to there ability. The basket looked like it was the size of a hula hoop the way the Wolves were shooting. I know it was against the raptors who have lost now, 11 straight games but a win is a win. I think any Timberwolves can appreciate a win when we get one. The Wolves record is now 11-36, I predicted they would win 30 games this year. I still hold strong to my prediction, and think the Wolves will be able to rattle of 19 wins in the second have of the season.  The most exciting thing for me has been the play of Jonny Flynn over the past week. He has been looking more and more like the Jonny Flynn of last year. He has the ability to draw attention to himself and then he kicks it to the open guy. Nothing against Ridnour, but he just doesn't have that to his game. Flynn ended up with 10 points 8 assists and 6 rebounds last night, with a team high +28 efficiency rating. Wes Johnson has also been playing with more aggression over the past week and he has been shooting the ball with confidence.

There were a few big plays in the game but no play was more exciting than Martell Webster's dunk in the fourth quarter. He took off from the middle of the free throw line and threw it down with authority on traffic. It was a crazy good dunk. Webster has also been shooting the ball a little better over the past week. The Wolves need him to be able to score the ball and carry the second unit. Webster needs to just shoot the ball when he is open rather than drive and drive to the basket every time he touches the ball. The only player for the wolves who really didn't play well was Beasley. He only had 7 points on 2 of 12 shooting.Other than that it seems like the Wolves players are all starting to play up to there potential and play together.

Love postgame
Top 5 plays of the week

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Overtime Thriller - Wolves Come Up Short

The Timberwolves have been on the wrong side of more games than they should be. The Wolves have the talent on the team, and continue to show week in and week out that they can play with any team in the league. They have some good pieces to work around and now they just need to get everyone else to play at their highest level. It seems that when one player starts to play good, Brewer, others start to fade, like Johnson and Webster.  The wolves need to get better production from their bench. Flynn has looked a little better over the past week, but he can't seem to get back to the form he was in last year. He needs to get a few more minutes to get into a rhythm.


As for the overtime thriller, Durant was worth the price of admission. The guy just didn't miss a shot. He was able to hit the big shot time after time when it counted, and ended up with 47 points. Beasley looked good throughout the game, but seemed to fade and loose his handle on the ball as the fourth quarter went on. Love played a typical Kevin Love game, but an extraordinary game for most NBA players. He ended the game with 31 points and 21 rebounds. The fourth quarter was an very exciting for Timberwolves fans. It was back and forth and the Wolves were right in the game up until the end. The Wolves seemed to shoot themselves in the foot every time they needed a big play, by turning the ball over.  The Wolves were down by 1 with 14 seconds left and ended up missing the shot and getting the rebound with 7 seconds left. I don't know if he thought the clock was lower, he just tried to draw the foul, or just got caught up in the air and had too shoot. At any rate it was the fatal blow to the Wolves. The could have set up for something with them seven seconds and got a good look. It was a disappointing loss for the Wolves.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Wolves Woes

The Timberwolves have shown throughout this season that they have the ability to play with any team in the NBA, with the exception of a few blowout losses. The wolves recently been on a little winning streak winning 3 of their last 4 games, but since then they have lost their last 5. We all know about the Timberwolves 4th quarter struggles so i am not going to hit on that topic. The Wolves almost pulled out the win in San Antonio, a team they have been close to beating twice already this year, without their star scorer Michael Beasley. Beasley left the game after re-tweaking his ankle. He did not return. The Wolves had kept the game within winning distance and ended up losing by three to one of the best teams in the entire NBA. The Wolves had two three point attempts that were in and out in the final minutes of the game and lost by three.

Kevin Love continues to put up all star numbers averaging 21.5 points and 15.7 boards a game. If you can remember back to KG, that is the exact type of numbers he used to put up. Although they have a completely different method of getting their numbers, they both are efficient.

The Timberwolves have and will continue to be mentioned with the word trade up until the trade deadline. The trade talks involving the Wolves and OJ Mayo are no more. The Wolves interest stopped before his altercation on the plane. Their have been numerous reports that the wolves have had many teams interested in Jonny Flynn. I think Flynn will be a good player in this league if he is given the time. I think he has the scoring ability to play the game like Chauncey Billups. That is who reminds me of right now, how Billups used to look on the Timberwolves before we let him go. The trade rumor that has the best chance of being completed is for Anthony Randolph of the New York Knicks. The Timberwolves have coveted the young athletic PF since last summer. He has been lost on the bench in New York, and recent reports have the wolves offering Telfair.The Knicks have been said to want Ridnour in return. Corey Brewers name has also been brought up in trade rumors, He is a free agent after this year and if the Wolves want to get anything in return for him they will trade him. They extended everyone options early this year except Brewers. With Brewer getting the start last night many people have been saying it was to increase his trade value. Rambis said he wanted to reward Brewer for his outstanding defensive effort over the past week.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

In Farve's Farewell the Vikes Dont Fair Well


The Vikings Season has been one for the record books and not in the way most Vikings fans would have hoped for. Six months ago when the Vikings started their camp in Mankato, many experts, including myself, were picking them to represent the NFC in the Superbowl. With the highly anticipated opener on Thursday night against the hated Saints, the Vikings were looking to start strong and finish the year hoisting a trophy and caring Favre off the field on their shoulders. Instead Favre last game he was inactive and ended up running off the field before any reporters could get to him. Seeing Favre run off the field after the Lions defeated the Vikings 20 - 13 was not the way that I remember hoping the year would end. The Soap Opera star of the year for the Vikings drama filled season was non other other than Mr. Favre himself. Starting the year off with the will he or won't he routine and ending the year with the same except in a different contexts. The Iron Man was hit more than any other quarterback in the league and for the first time in his career, his age started to show. He was not able to play in three of the last four games and only played a few series in the classic Monday night game at TCF Bank. Favre has left Vikings fans with many great memories, and i want to wish him one final farewell. Take a look at Favre's Legacy courtesy of NFL Network



In the absence of Favre, the Vikings were able to look at the quarterbacks they already had on their roster. Jackson looked average at best in his two games before being put on IR with turf toe. Webb was looking to get his second straight win in as many starts. Things did not go as planned. Webb did an average job today. He missed Booker for a wide open touchdown, and made a poor throw across his body for an interception when he could have easily ran for the first down. His QB rating was only 60.4, but he did have a descent completion percentage of 62.5%. You can tell by watching he is a young raw quarterback that has a lot of skills but maybe needs to have a little more time to mature from a football stand point. The game did not have many highlights for the Vikings, Percy was able to make a few plays that made you say, how did he do that, and Allen returned an interception for a touchdown. That was the Vikings first pick 6 of the year. With three of the Vikings top four cornerbacks out Frank Walker was called on to step up and start. The Lions were able to pick our secondary apart. Peterson had an off game, he had 14 rushes for 31 yards and no touchdowns. That is not a typical Adrian Peterson type game. Percy ended with 8 catches for 72 yards and is a boost of energy every time he touches the ball. The Vikings need to find a way to get his migraines taken care of so he can be out on the field every week.




What do Vikings fans have to look forward to. 


Their is always next season, but this will be a crucial offseason with the stadium issue, and the mass of big free agents like Greenway and Rice, the Vikings have some important decisions to make. The Vikes have to either name Frazier as the head coach going forward or find a new one. The Vikings also, with the loss to the Lions, have locked themselves in to a top ten pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. I would not mind seeing Cam Newton in a Vikings uniform next year. We can still hope for a Packers loss today, I know that would make me happy. 

Videos
Favre Final Press conference 
Lions/Vikings Highlights